The Galactic Trinity
by PrincessSerenity1976
Summary: Sequel to Lunar Princess of the Earth. Three teens are on the run from an enemy in Crystal Tokyo. They find themselves in present day Tokyo with our favorite heroes. What will happen when their identities are revealed? Read to see. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**A/N **Welcome back everyone. I can't believe it, but here we are, ready to start the next saga. I'm so excited! Quick note, if anyone is reading this who hasn't read my other story, Lunar Princess of the Earth, I'm telling you now that you will be extremely lost and this story will not make sense to you. Just thought I would warn you.

Anyhow, back to this story. This is a continuation of the original, but it will be a little different. I'm trying my best to keep this T rated for my younger readers, but just like with Lunar Princess, it's a hard battle for me. You don't know how many times that story almost went M. But just to let you know, this story will be a tiny bit darker as it goes on. Definitely more angst than the first one. And I hope nobody gets offended, but there will be underage drinking and heavy partying as well as teens dealing with some sexual situations. But like a said, I'm going to try to not be too graphic. But our new characters are rebellious, headstrong teenagers, and we've all either been there at some point or are still there. So this is just a warning.

I know most of you read this next part at the end of Lunar Princess, but I felt I needed to put it here as well. Feel free to skip it if you want to.

**New Cast Members**

**DJ – **Full name, Prince Darien James Shields – Age, almost 17…Only eleven months younger than his older sister Rini, DJ is Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion's second child. He has his mother's sky blue eyes and his father's ebony hair. More like Darien than Serena in personality. He's in love with his best friend's twin sister, but he's scared of his feelings and picks fights with her. He inherited the power of Earth from Darien's Golden Crystal when he was born. He can conjure roses too, but his are white. When he transforms he looks a lot like Tuxedo Mask, but he's completely in black and doesn't wear a hat. He goes by the name Phantom when in this form.

**Alex – **Full name, Alexander Andrew Furuhata – Age, 16…First born twin of Andrew and Jess. With light brown hair, he inherited his mother's dark blue eyes and his father's easygoing personality. He shares a bond with his sister that goes deeper than most twins and he's very protective of her. He was blessed with the power of the Sun thanks to Andrew's crystal when he was born. When he transforms he takes on a form similar to Andrew's transformation in Lunar Princess, all black clothes with the long black leather duster and dark sunglasses. He goes by the name Phoenix while in his fighting form.

**Katie – **Full name, Kathleen Kimberly Furuhata – Age, 16…Twin sister to Alex and daughter of Jess and Andrew. She has her father's hazel green eyes and light blonde hair that has just enough gold in it to keep it from being platinum. She's extremely close to her brother and is secretly in love with the prince of Crystal Tokyo. She has her mother's quick temper and recent events have made her angry and withdrawn. When she was born the Celestial Crystal chose her, but it only gave her the power of the Moon. When she transforms, she becomes Sailor Eclipse.

**Jack and Sasha – **Both age 17…Abandoned as children, they were taken in and raised by an old man that was possessed by an ancient evil. Over the years they have been brainwashed and conditioned to serve him. They befriend DJ, Alex, and Katie under false pretenses and turn on them when they are ordered to prevent the resurrection of The Galactic Trinity, a magic that was formed by Selene, Apollo, and Gaia that is supposed to be able to defeat the strongest of evil beings.

**Summary – **When an old enemy senses that the power of The Galactic Trinity will soon be awakened, he decides to try to destroy the ones chosen to wield this power before they discover the whereabouts of the Trinity and how to use it. After all three teenagers have been attacked a few times and one was even kidnapped for a few days, their parents sent them to stay in Elysian. Sailor Pluto is ambushed at the time gate and one of her time keys is stolen from her. The enemy also discovers a secret entrance to Elysian hidden in the time plane, allowing them access to the normally secure world. Sailor Pluto arrives in time to help them escape the ambush and takes them to present day Tokyo to put them under the protection of our favorite heroes, hoping that the enemy wouldn't find out what time they were hiding in. In retaliation, the enemies start using the stolen time key to travel through time and start attacking in different eras, even as far back as the Silver Millennium, in hopes of preventing our three newest heroes from ever being born. It'll be a wild fight to save the past, present, and future as well as a time for bonding, friendship, and young love as these three gifted teens struggle to find themselves and discover why the ancient powers of the gods have chosen them for such an important mission.

Okay, so I'm going to shut up and let you get started. Oh yeah one more thing, and this is the only time I'll say this…I don't own Sailor Moon! I only wish that I could be as great as the wonderful and talented Naoko Takeuchi. There, done! LOL!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Prologue

**The Silver Millennium**

"Jonathan!" Serenity screamed as saw her betrothed thrown over the side of a cliff. She breathed a sigh of relief a moment later as she saw his hand clinging to the edge.

"Go help him, Serenity. I'll be fine," said the ebony haired earth prince, whose head she had laying in her lap.

Serenity shook her head and kept applying pressure to the profusely bleeding wound in his stomach. "I can't leave you like this, Edward. Althea would never forgive me if I don't get you home in one piece. You're going to be a father soon, and I promised her I wouldn't let you get yourself killed."

He pushed her away with a growl. "Damn it, Serenity. None of us are getting out of here alive if one of us dies. It's going to take all three of us to get rid of him. Now go!"

She staggered to her feet and ran for the edge of the cliff as fast as her feet could take her, ignoring the searing pain in her right leg. She pushed her silver hair out of her face as she peered over the side.

Her violet eyes widened as she spotted her golden haired prince barely clinging to the edge with one hand. "Jonathan!"

He looked up at her in shock. One eyes was puffy and already beginning to bruise and he has a bloody gash on his forehead, but his light blue eyes remained clear. "Ren, what are you doing? Don't worry about me. Get back to Edward."

Serenity ignored him and lay down on her stomach, reaching her arms over the ledge. "Grab my hands."

Jonathan growled. "You stubborn woman, don't you ever listen to anything I tell you? You can't possibly pull me up."

Tears poured from her eyes as she begged. "Please Jon. I'm a lot stronger than I look. Let me help you. Don't ask me to go through the rest of my life without you. I love you too much for that."

The shattered look on her face broke him, and he reached up with his free hand to grab her slender one. He pushed his feet against the side of the cliff and then released his hold on the ledge to grab her other one.

"Don't worry. I won't let you go," she whispered. "I'll never let you go."

After a few minutes of groaning and straining, she was finally able to help him pull himself up over the edge and back to solid ground. After catching their breath for a moment, they ran to their fallen friend.

"Edward!" Jonathan cried. "You still with me, buddy?"

Eyelashes fluttered over the dark blue eyes, but the earth prince was able to gasp out. "Yeah, I'm still here. I can't imagine heaven being this painful."

Serenity choked on a sob. "Don't even joke like that. It's not funny at all."

Edward chuckled, then grimaced as he clutched his injured abdomen. "Sorry. So what do we do now? We're all too low on power now to use the Trinity to defeat him."

Jonathan cursed softly. "It's my fault. We could have taken him while his defenses were down, but I got cocky and felt like playing with him for a while. It gave him a chance to regroup and become stronger."

Edward reached up and clasped his friend's shoulder. "I'm at fault as much as you are. You didn't hear me stepping up and saying that we should hurry up and take the bastard down, did you?"

"Oh hush, both of you," Serenity muttered angrily. "We've all let the power of the gods go to our heads. It made us careless, and now we're paying the price."

An eerie laugh rumbled around them as a shapeless mist appeared before them. "Yes, you had your chance, but now it's mine. You pathetic little royals thought you could stand against me, but now you know that I am the supreme being. The galaxy put all of their hopes on you, and you failed. Now your kingdoms will be mine to claim."

"Never, ever!" Serenity exclaimed, climbing tiredly to her feet. "Not as long as I have breath left in my body, you monster."

The disembodied voice cackled in glee. "I'm about to rectify that problem. You three have been enough of a nuisance to me, so I believe it's time to eliminate you."

There was a flash of white light. When it faded, a small, round, silver colored crystal hovered in front of the moon princess.

Jonathan scrambled to her side. "What are you doing, Ren?"

Her sad, violet eyes gazed at him. "I can't let him attack this galaxy. Think of all the innocent people on all of the planets. I can't let them be sacrificed to this demon. I'm going to try to seal him away with the crystal."

The golden haired prince smoothed a hand down her porcelain cheek. Then, in a flash of red orange light, he called forth his own crystal. "You can't do this alone. It will kill you if you try to do it yourself. I'm going to be right here by your side, helping you every step of the way."

"Don't count me out," a voice grunted as Edward laboriously pulled himself up and leaned heavily against a boulder. He glowed a deep gold as his crystal emerged. "I'm in this too. And don't either of you give me any crap about me not being strong enough. We made a pact, remember? Together until the end." He held a hand out in front of him, palm down.

A smile trembled on Serenity's lips as she laid her hand on top of his. "Right. Until the end."

Jonathan added his hand to the pile. "Until the end."

They shared a conspiratorial grin before turning to face the mist once more. It swirled angrily before them.

"Are you done saying your goodbyes?" the voice boomed.

"Not a chance, Discord!" Serenity cried. "We may not be able to defeat you, but we can seal you away. We will never allow you to conquer our kingdoms and those of our friends. You're going down."

"Then give it your best shot!" Discord growled as he shot a wide beam of dark energy at them.

In a flash of silver, red-orange, and gold, the three young royals sent their own energy against the evil entity, valiantly trying to turn back his attack. The battle see sawed back and forth for several moments, neither side able to gain the upper hand.

In a last, desperate effort, they pooled together as much energy as they could without draining every bit of their life forces. The large blast of energy hit Discord, and with a bellow of rage, he disappeared in flash of light.

The last of the light faded, and three limp bodies fell unconscious to the ground, drained almost to the point of death. They were all pale, and their chests barely moved with their shallow breathing, but they were alive and the evil was gone…for now.

* * *

**Crystal Tokyo - 30****th**** Century**

**Prince Darien James Shields**

"Darien!!!" an earsplitting voice screeched as the door to the bedroom opened and a woman with raven black hair walked out of the room. Her eyes scanned the sitting room until she spotted the one she was looking for.

Raye stomped over until she was standing directly next to her king where he was sitting on the couch bouncing a pink haired toddler on his knee. "Okay, break time's over buddy. Get your ass back in there."

Darien Shields, or King Endymion if you prefer, stared at the bedroom door with a look of fear on his face. "Do I have to?"

The fire priestess' eyes snapped with violet flames. "Darien! You march yourself in there right this minute. My eardrums can't take any more of her wails. We've all taken a turn sitting by her, and now it's your turn."

He sighed and flexed his hand. He had used the Golden Crystal to heal the three broken fingers he had sustained at the hands of his wife, but it looked as if they were in for more punishment.

"Okay, okay, I'm going," he said, standing and setting his daughter on the floor. Before he could take two steps, the little girl let out high-pitched wail. A glass shattering shriek from behind the closed door mirrored it.

He stood in the middle of the room, torn between the daughter that wanted him to stay with her and the wife that needed his support.

Then a blonde angel swooped in to save the day. Jessica Furuhata, simply Jess to her friends and family, dashed over and scooped the crying girl up in her arms and hugged her close.

"It's okay, Rini," she said, wiping the tears from the round cheeks. "Your daddy just needs to go help your momma for a little bit. How about we go raid the kitchen and see if there are any cookies left."

The little girl's face brightened with a big smile at the sound of the word cookie. Jess grinned over at Endymion. "Problem solved." She twirled and carried the toddler from the room, her husband, Andrew, following her worriedly.

"Be careful on the stairs," his voice floated back to others in the room. "Maybe you should let me carry her. I don't want you to fall."

"For god's sake, Drew, I'm pregnant, not an invalid," Jess's sharp voice retorted. "And I'm only barely pregnant at that. I think I can handle walking down a flight of stairs with a kid in my arms."

"She's going to kill him before those kids draw their first breath," Lita murmured, shaking her head and patting her own swollen stomach. She grinned at Nephrite. "And I thought you hovered a lot."

"Kunzite was worse," Mina said from where she was sitting with her two month old daughter in her arms. "He felt the need to carry me everywhere."

The silver haired man in question snorted. "That's because you have a habit of tripping over your own two feet, my love. I didn't want Emma to be shaken up any worse than she had to be."

The king shook his head at his friends as he pushed open the bedroom door. At first it looked peaceful in the room. Amy and Zoicite had their heads together, talking quietly as they read over something on the screen of the Mercury computer. Then a low, pain filled moan reached his ears. "Darien…" He rushed immediately to the side of the bed.

Serena Shields, better known to the public as Neo Queen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo, lay curled up on her side. Her eyes were clenched tightly shut as she panted for breath. At the feel of gentle fingers smoothing her sweaty bangs away from her face, her eyes fluttered open.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Endymion whispered softly.

She smiled a little, though the pain in her eyes never faded. "I'm making it. I feel better now that you're here. Did you get Rini calmed down?"

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, for now. Jess took her to the kitchen in search of cookies."

She arched a brow at him. "And Drew let her? That's amazing."

"Not exactly," Endymion sighed. "He followed right along behind her acting like she was going to break into a million pieces at any moment."

Serenity gave a little giggle. "I can imagine how well that went over with her. She's going to end up murdering him before it's all over."

"That's the general consensus right now," Endymion agreed. "But the bets are running high that he'll break her down eventually. She may have a temper, but she would never actually hurt him."

"True," she said, and then broke off on a gasp. A moan reverberated in the back of her throat.

Endymion offered his hand to her, and winced as she clamped down on them like a vice. Thank goodness he could heal himself, or he would be in a world of trouble.

After a minute, her grip loosened and she blew out a sigh. She groaned as she opened her eyes again. "I wish this kid would hurry up already. This is getting really old."

"It shouldn't be much longer, Serena," Amy said as she joined them. "You're almost there. I predict about another hour at the most."

True to her word, exactly fifty-four minutes later, Amy was holding up a squalling newborn and announcing, "It's a boy!" before passing him over to Zoicite to be examined.

"As if we didn't know that already," Endymion muttered as he leaned over and kissed his wife's damp brow.

Her face was drawn and exhausted, but there was happiness burning in the depths of her eyes. "He's finally here."

The baby's cry filled the room, making tears spring up in both parent's eyes. They had waited a long time for this moment, first with Rini, and now with their son. Their little family was complete…unless there were any more siblings that the two children that they had known in the past had forgotten to tell them about.

A few minutes later, Amy bustled over with a blanket wrapped bundle. She laid the newborn prince in his mother's waiting arms. "Your son, my queen, Prince Darien James."

"Shh Amy," Serenity mock scolded. "You know he doesn't like being called by his full name. Isn't that right my little DJ?" She kissed the top of his head that was covered in shockingly thick, jet-black hair.

The baby blinked his eyes open, impossibly wide for a newborn, revealing irises of the same sky blue as his mother's. He stared at her with a look that seemed out of place on his baby face, as if he already knew her.

"I've been waiting a long time to see you again, DJ," she whispered. Then she giggled, "Of course you're a lot smaller now than what I remember."

'Just give it time," Endymion said gruffly. "I'm sure he'll be driving us insane along with Rini before we know it."

"Would you like to hold him?" Serenity asked, patting the spot next to her.

Endymion's dark blue eyes were tear bright. "Yeah. Just let me take care of something first." His right hand glowed gold for a moment, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Serenity winced, and glowed silver for a moment as the power of the Silver Crystal healed her. "Oops, how bad was it this time?"

He grinned at her. "Only three fingers broken. You're getting better. When Rini was born you crushed my entire hand."

"Ha!" she scoffed. "I seem to remember breaking both of your hands when Melody was born."

They were both silent for a moment as they both thought back to memories from over two thousand years ago, to when they had been married in their past lives and had a daughter together, a daughter whose soul currently resided inside one of their best friends.

They shook off the memories of the past and returned to the present. Endymion sat next to his wife and hesitantly held out his hands. He wasn't scared to handle the baby; heaven knows he had plenty of experience now after being both a father and a doctor. It was the unknown he feared.

"Come on, Darien," Serenity said softly as saw his hesitancy. "We already know he inherits his power from you. Go ahead."

She was right. Not many people knew about their future before it actually happened. But due to circumstances beyond their control, they had been able to meet both of their children years before they were born when they had traveled to the past.

He took the baby in his arms and looked down at him. Just like how Rini was definitely her mother's daughter, a moon princess through and through, his son was the next prince of Earth and heir to its power.

In a brilliant flash of light, the Golden Crystal emerged from its master's chest and glowed as bright tendrils of power began weaving together in an intricate dance. The crystal retreated back into Endymion's body, but it left a little something behind.

The new crystal was almost identical to its parent, only a much paler shade of gold. It hovered for a moment before being absorbed into the tiny being.

"So it's started," a voice said from the door. Jess stood there watching the scene with Andrew looking over her shoulder. She pressed a hand to her stomach over the tiny baby bump there.

"I felt it just now," she told them. "The wheels of fate have started to turn for all three of them."

Serenity held out a hand and gestured for her friend to join her. Jess took her hand and sank down on the edge of the bed with a sigh.

"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered. "I thought knowing about the distant past was rough, but knowing the future is a hundred times worse."

Serenity put an arm around her and hugged her. "All we can do is love them and teach them everything we know so they will be prepared. We have to have faith that we can raise them to become the strong individuals we met in the past."

Jess sniffled and rubbed at her eyes that were beginning to tear up. "Stupid hormones," she grumbled. "You're right, Sere. Can you believe that Nebula is already making lesson plans for them? It's true. I caught her at it last night. You and the inner scouts don't know how lucky you were to have Luna and Artemis as your advisors. I begged her to please wait until they could walk before she started in on them. And do you know what she said? She said she would think about it. I mean honestly…"

Andrew walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Honey calm down. You're rambling again."

More tears began to sparkle in her sapphire eyes. "But you don't know what a terror that mangy fleabag can be. She'll run them into the ground by the time they're five. I remember lying in bed at night not being able to move after training with her. If she thinks I'm just going to stand by and let her do that to my…oh!"

Serena had been looking around for a way to bring Jess down a few notches. She finally leaned over and plucked the baby out of Endymion's arms and deposited him neatly in Jess's.

Her voice stopped and her eyes grew wide when she suddenly found herself holding a warm little bundle. She looked down to find the newborn looking up at her with his clear blue eyes.

"Hey little guy," she finally whispered. "Oh wow…well…you don't know me yet, but I know you. Gosh, you're so small. But that's okay, you'll grow up to be big and strong."

"Serena," Amy called from the door. "The others are going crazy out here. Is it okay to let them in now?"

The queen sighed. "Might as well get this over with. Yeah Ames, go ahead and tell them they can come in."

There was a flurry of excited voices and rushing footsteps outside the door as Jess handed DJ back to his mother with a wry grin. "Let the pandemonium begin."

* * *

**Six Months Later**

**Alexander Andrew Furuhata and Kathleen Kimberly Furuhata**

The angry cry of a second baby joined the first as Jess fell back against the pillows, red faced and gasping. She felt a set of lips at her temple before a voice breathed in her ear, "You did it, baby. And I didn't even hear anything blow up."

"Smartass," she grumbled as she opened her eyes to meet the hazel green gaze of her husband. "How are they?"

He grinned at her. "Listen to them. They've got some lungs on them, don't they?"

"They're both just fine," Amy reassured her. "Zoicite's just giving them a quick once over and then we'll bring them to you. You may want to take care of yourself first though."

"Good idea," Jess mumbled tiredly before glowing bright blue for a moment as she was physically healed. Sometimes being a crystal carrier definitely had its advantages. She still felt tired and was mentally exhausted though, and leaned her head against Andrew's leg that was next to her on the bed and closed her eyes.

She was close to dozing off, thanks to the soothing feel of Andrew combing his fingers gently through her tangled curls, when she thought she heard a light knock on the door followed by a quiet voice. She shut it all out until she felt the mattress dip slightly on the opposite side of the bed from Andrew and felt another hand rubbing her back lightly.

Soft voices were floating around her. Then she heard Serena's voice whisper, "Poor thing, she must be completely worn out. I know I would be. Having one is hard enough. I can't imagine two."

"'m not 'sleep," she grumbled groggily. "Jus' zonin' out."

Two male chuckles and a feminine giggle had her squinting an eye open to glare at the people around her. "Glad to see I'm so damn amusing."

She struggled into a sitting position and Andrew hurried to fluff up the pillows behind her so she could sit back against them. She gave him a sweet smile before turning her gaze to the other two.

"So how bad did I do?" she asked Serenity and Endymion. She was the carrier of the Celestial Crystal, a powerful crystal that could hold its own against either the Silver or Golden Crystal any day of the week. The one downfall was that it was tied strongly to her emotions, and that could be dangerous if she lost control.

Endymion grinned at her. "You did great, all things considering. It is raining outside, but there's been very little thunder or lightning. There were a few small tremors, but nothing worth even talking about."

"You blew out four light bulbs and cracked two glasses in the kitchen," Serenity told her. "But luckily they weren't the ones you like. They were from that old set that you don't use anymore."

"That works for me," Jess said with a sigh. "So where are your two little rugrats at?"

Serenity giggled. "Well you know that Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru are visiting, right? After I got Andrew's frantic phone call I told them that Darien and I felt like going out for the night and they volunteered to baby-sit. Hotaru never misses an opportunity to spend time with Rini anyway, so it was easy. We slipped out without anyone knowing where we were going. I knew you wouldn't want them all hanging around."

Jess grinned conspiratorially. "Thanks. I need a good night's sleep before I can face all the drama that I know that's coming. Won't they all be surprised when we spring this on them?"

The two women laughed together over that while the men shook their heads at them. They may be two of the most powerful women in the universe, but sometimes they reverted back to their teenage behavior so easily that it was scary.

Amy and Zoicite walked over, each of them holding a small blanket wrapped bundle in their arms. Andrew and Jess shared a private smile with each other before reaching out and receiving their children for the first time.

Amy laid the little girl in her mother's arms. A soft, almost white blonde fuzz covered her little scalp and her eyes were open. They were a pale bluish green that Jess knew would eventually change over to resemble her father's hazel green.

Andrew looked down at his son. He had burnished gold hair that would one day darken to a light golden brown. His heart skipped a beat as his gaze met a pair of eyes that could rival the depths of the ocean with their intense, deep blue color.

The adults in the room all held their breaths as there was a flash of blue followed only milliseconds later by one of copper as both Jess's and Andrew's crystals appeared to bless their children with crystals of their own.

Waves of solar energy twisted together to form a crystal that glowed a deep bronze that was taken into the small body of the baby boy. Andrew chuckled and said, "Thatta boy, Alex. Now I'm not the only one with power from the sun."

The Celestial Crystal was pulsing blue, but only silver energy was flowing from it. In a burst of sparks, a tiny diamond like crystal appeared and faded into the chest of the little girl. Jess held her close and whispered softly, "Katie."

Unknown to them, three sets of eyes were watching them. A woman with long mahogany hair and leaf green eyes turned to smile at her two companions. "Well it's finally done. Your two chosen ones have been born to join mine. The Galactic Trinity will be awakened once again to fight against evil."

A tall man with red hair and golden eyes harrumphed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Really Gaia, they are only babies yet. They have a lot of growing up to do if they hope to ever control the powers of the Trinity. Remember what happened last time. Those three almost didn't make it."

"Hush Apollo," the silver haired, silver-eyed Selene rebuked him. "Just give them time. I have a really good feeling about them. I think they might be the ones to rid the universe of that evil one's threat forever."

The three divine entities fell silent. Each one hoping that they had chosen the right one for the job. A great evil loomed in the future once again, and hopefully the chosen three would be able to defeat it once and for all.

* * *

The dark entity had been trapped in this seal, hidden away under the surface of the Earth for over a thousand years. The world had gone through many changes during that time. Ecological destruction of the planets resources had caused a second Ice Age to descend on the planet, turning it into a frozen wasteland for a millennium. It was if time had stopped as the citizens of the world fell into a long slumber.

The dark one used this time to try to escape, but to no avail. The mighty Discord, at one time the most feared beings in existence had been reduced to a shadow of his former self. All because of those three meddlesome princesses and their friends.

One of them in particular irritated him more than the others, that damn little half blood princess that held possession of the Celestial Crystal. He had severely underestimated her, and that had led to his fall. He had never seriously thought that she would pose an actual threat to him. But as he sat here now, all alone in his dark, isolated prison, he could remember her strength. The way her eyes had condemned him as she had run that sword through the body of his human host and the triumph he had seen on her face at the moment of his defeat was etched so deeply into his memory that even a million years from now he would still remember them.

Someday she would get what was coming to her, her and her friends. They might have been able to seal him away, but nothing could hold him forever.

The 30th century arrived, and he felt the power of the Silver Crystal as it awakened and rejuvenated the world. He also felt as the powers of Serenity's comrades were brought to life once more. They had all survived the long imprisonment on this icy planet, the abominable princess included. God help them all if they were still alive when he finally managed to break free.

His first glimmer of hope came about two years after the world had been awakened. He had felt the birth of a new power, one that commanded the elements of the Earth, and a crack appeared in the seal. And now, six months later, there was another surge as a new power of the moon and one of the sun was brought into existence.

The seal surrounding the evil being shattered, releasing him once more into the world. He felt the power of the Earth, Moon, and Sun and suddenly became very afraid. The gods had chosen new bearers for the Galactic Trinity, the one source of magic that had the power to destroy him.

He longed to rush out right then and kill the ones that would someday hold the power to destroy him while they were still infants, but knew that it would be impossible in his current state. He knew that whoever these children were, they would be highly protected. He would have to bide his time wisely and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike. He would not allow the Trinity to be awakened once more.

So for now he would wait. He needed time to gather his strength and perhaps find a few pathetic humans willing to help out. When the time was right, they would all die, he would leave nobody out. The holders of the Trinity, Serenity, Endymion, Melody, that other little princess with the pink hair, and all of the others, they were all now living on borrowed time.

* * *

**Elysian - Seven Years Later**

"Mom! They're at it again," the voice of the seven-year-old boy carried across the formerly tranquil patio of the Elysian palace.

Jess, groaned but refused to open her eyes. Wanting nothing more than to stay where she was at, basking in the warm glow of the afternoon sun.

"Whose turn is it this time?" she murmured to her companion on a matching lounge chair at her side.

Serenity refused to open her eyes either. "I don't know. I lost count."

"Mooomm!" the voice called again. "I mean it! I think they're really going to kill each other this time."

Both women sighed heavily. Here they were, trying to enjoy the first quiet moment they'd had since the Dark Moon clan and Wiseman had been defeated. Both of them had spent several weeks in a deep sleep after being hit by an attack in the first battle, but things had been chaotic since Crystal Tokyo had been reawakened.

"Alex," Jess moaned. "I know they squabble, but I don't think they are going to kill each other. Now…"

Her voice broke off as an ear-piercing screech split the air, encouraging both women to abandon their sunbathing and hurry to check out the source of the disturbance. They rounded the side of the palace and onto the large side yard, only to be confronted by what was sadly a familiar sight.

Two small bodies were rolling around on the emerald grass, a tangle of flailing arms and legs, and flying long strands of pale blonde hair.

"Get off me!" a high girlish voice screamed from somewhere in the struggle.

"Ha!" a slightly deeper voice retorted. "You get off of me, you Barbie reject! You're the one that jumped on me."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Suddenly two large male bodies were there, pulling the wrestling children apart. King Endymion grabbed the ebony haired boy by the collar and lifted him from the ground, while his best friend, Andrew, snagged the blonde girl around the waist. Both kids were still spitting mad as they glared at each other and struggled against their fathers.

"What is going on?" Endymion demanded. "You both have been warned about fighting." He looked down at the boy in his arms. "DJ?"

"It wasn't my fault," the boy grumbled. He pointed a finger at his attacker. "She jumped on me first."

"Katie, is that true?" Andrew asked sternly.

The little girl's tear streaked face turned even redder than it already was. "Yes. But he was calling me names and it made me mad." She turned pleading hazel eyes on Endymion. "He was picking on me really bad, Uncle Darien."

All of the adults had to bite back smiles at the tragic look on her pixie face. They all knew well that she may look angelic, but she could be as devious as the devil if it suited her. And trying to get DJ in trouble seemed to be her favorite pastime.

Jess was howling inside, but refused to let it show as she stepped forward with a stern look on her face. "I don't care what he did. You've been told time and again not to fight, but you do it anyway. I think you need to spend the rest of the day in your room so you can think about what you've done."

Her daughter gaped at her in wide-eyed shock. "But moommm…we're on vacation!"

Jess stayed firm. "Well you should have thought about that before you decided to fight."

Andrew set her on her feet. "Your mom's right," he said, trying to back his wife up. "Now go to your room."

The little face crumbled and her lips trembled. "But Daaddy!" she wailed. "He called me Tinkerbell!"

None of the adults could hide the snorts of laughter that escaped them.

"Tink…Tinkerbell?" Serenity choked out.

Katie nodded her head furiously. "He said that since Daddy always calls me his 'fairy princess' that I needed a fairy name."

"Well, what's so wrong with that?" Jess asked. "You love Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell is one of your favorite characters."

The girl scowled, then glared at her nemesis. "But he didn't say it very nice. He said it really mean."

"It doesn't matter how he said it. You still broke the rules," Jess said in her best mother knows best tone. "Now go to your room, young lady."

Katie turned snapping, angry eyes on her mother. "That's not fair! You're always so mean to me, momma! I hate you!"

She turned and ran for the nearest door to the palace, blonde hair flying behind her, leaving Jess to stare after her with tears in her sapphire eyes.

"And I'm the bad guy once again," she muttered.

Little arms wrapped around her waist, and she looked down at the light, golden brown hair of her son as he hugged her tightly.

Alex looked up at her with eyes that matched her own. "She didn't mean it, momma. She's just upset. I know that Katie really loves you. I can tell."

She smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. "I know. Now why don't you go after her? She'll feel better if you do."

"Serves the brat right," DJ grumbled as Alex hurried after his twin. "Little Miss Know It All always thinks that she can get things her way."

"But that doesn't give you the right to pick on her Darien James," Serenity scolded. "I think you could benefit from some time to reflect on your actions as well."

DJ's light blue eyes flashed in annoyance. "Fine! I'll be in my room." He stomped off with as much dignity as he could muster.

Endymion shook his head in amusement. "It's hard to believe that those two will ever get along." He slid a sideways look at his wife. "Kinda reminds me of me and you back in the early days."

Serenity's eyes danced in merriment. "Yeah, but we never got into fist fights. We fought in different ways."

Andrew snorted. "Yeah, like food fights in my arcade. I lost track of how many messes I had to clean up after you two."

They all chuckled as they thought about their high-spirited children and then sobered a bit as they thought about what the future held for those same children.

Rini's wheels of fate had already started to turn. She had just returned from her first foray into the past, and was still riding the high she felt from helping the past forms of her parents save the world and their future. She had many more adventures in store for her down the road

As for DJ, Alex, and Katie, well, they still had many years before their adventure would start. All their parents could do was do their best to guide them in the right direction and hope that everything would work out for the best

* * *

"Which way do we go now?" Alex asked, turning to his best friend with a quizzical look.

DJ cocked his head and looked around. He pointed down the path to the right. "That way. That's the way I went before. It's not far from here."

There was the sound of a snapping twig, and they both whirled to see the sheepish looking girl behind them.

"Oh, great," DJ groaned. "Just what we need. What are you doing here, Tinkerbell? Didn't we tell you not to follow us?"

She shrugged, not even getting riled up over the new nickname he had given her this time. "Yes, but I saw you two head into the woods and I got curious. Our parents told us not to wander off."

DJ groaned. "We're not wandering off. We're just exploring a bit. Anyway, this is Elysian. It's the safest place anyone could be. It's not like anything's going to hurt us."

A smile lit up Katie's face. "True. So you won't mind if I tag along."

The young prince let out an agonized moan. "Alex, would you tell your bratty sister to go away?"

"Aw, let her come. She's not hurting anything," Alex said, playing the peacekeeper as always.

"Whatever," DJ muttered and turned to head down the path.

"Yay!" Katie cheered and quickly followed the two boys. "Where are we going?"

"DJ found a cave near here," Alex told her. "He didn't get a chance to go inside before, so we decided to go check it out."

"Sounds like fun," Katie chirped as she skipped down the path.

After a few minutes of walking, the path widened into a clearing. Across the way there was a large stone wall. In it was a small, dark opening. The two boys peered inside eagerly, but Katie held back a little.

"Uh, guys," she said quietly. "Don't you think it's kinda dark and creepy in there?"

"What's the matter?" DJ sneered. "Is daddy's little 'fairy princess' scared of the dark?"

She glared at him. She did have a fear of the dark, but she'd never let him know that. "No I'm not! Let's go!"

Alex grabbed her hand. A look of familiar understanding passed between them. His blue eyes were pleading, her hazel ones were defiant. He finally sighed and looked away, but he never let go of her hand as they proceeded inside.

It wasn't completely dark inside the cave; there was a faint light that almost seemed to radiate from the walls. They made their way cautiously through the ghostly glow. About twenty feet into the cave, a stairway began to lead sharply down.

DJ looked at the other two with a smirk. "Shall we?"

The three of them began descending the stone stairs that wound their way down in a spiral. It was darker down here, and it was impossible to see the bottom.

"Where do you think this goes?" Alex asked quietly.

"I don't know," DJ replied. "But I hope it leads us to someplace cool. Maybe there's a hidden treasure or something."

"I don't like this," Katie whispered. "This doesn't feel right."

"Well go back to the palace then!" DJ snapped. "Nobody's making you stay here."

"Fine!" Katie retorted. "But I bet your dad will really mad when I tell him what you are doing."

She turned to start back up the stairs, and then paused as a loud rumbling sound roared over them.

The three kids screamed as the rocky floor beneath then suddenly crumbled beneath their feet, sending them plunging into the darkness below. Luckily it wasn't a long drop, and they escaped with only a few bumps and scrapes.

"Ouch," the girl complained as she stood and rubbed her bottom where she had landed. "That hurt. Where are we anyway?"

The black haired boy rolled his eyes. "Where do you think we are, stupid? We only fell about six feet, so we're pretty much in the same place we were thirty seconds ago."

Hazel green eyes flashed furiously in the semi darkness. "Don't call me stupid, DJ! You're the one that's stupid. I was just as asking a question."

Another roll of the cerulean orbs. "And I answered it. You are such a blonde sometimes, Katie."

The third member of their party had been uncharacteristically silent during this exchange. But as he saw the blonde girl's mouth open to deliver another retort, he decided it was time to intervene.

The brunette boy stepped between the two, raising a silencing hand. "Just save it, Katie. It's not worth it. Why do you have to pick on her so much, DJ? She hasn't done anything to you."

The other boy shrugged. "She's just irritating. She thinks she can always get her way, and you make it easier for her by always sticking up for her."

"It's okay, Alex," Katie simpered sweetly. "He can't help it if he's nothing but a stuck up snob. I guess that what happens when you're a prince and a momma's boy."

"Why you little…" DJ growled, taking a threatening step toward the girl.

"Enough!" Alex yelled. "Both of you stop it. I'm tired of listening to you fight. Right now all I want to do is find a way out of here."

DJ glanced up the way they had come. The rock stairway had crumbled away. "Well we're not getting back that way."

"Hey guys," Katie called out. "There's a tunnel over here and I think I see a light coming from somewhere. Maybe this leads out."

The two boys joined her and looked down the darkened tunnel. It was long and creepy looking, but there was a definite glimmer of light at the end.

"What have we got to lose? Let's check it out." DJ said, leading the other two into the tunnel.

They crept toward the light, surprised when they found themselves in a large chamber. Instead of cold stone walls, this room seemed to be carved out of solid white marble. A beautifully carved fountain of the same material sat in the center.

"Wow," they all breathed together. They spread out to explore, walking around the fountain.

"Hey, there's a sun carved here," Alex called out, fingering the picture embedded in the rim of the fountain.

"Cool. I found the symbol for Earth," DJ said, laying a hand on it.

Katie scanned the edge of the fountain near her, eyes widening when she saw a crescent moon. She reached out slowly to trace it with her fingertips.

They all gasped when they felt a burning sensation on their foreheads and symbols mirroring the etchings on the fountain flared to life on their brows. A sensation of strong power flooded through each of them, intensified even more by the adrenaline pumping through them. It proved to be too much for them, and one by one, they fell unconscious to the ground.

Three ghostly silhouettes appeared, two women and a man. A women, with long mahogany color hair looked reproachfully at the red haired, golden-eyed man.

"Really Apollo, was it necessary to knock them out like that?" she chided. "They are only children after all."

The sun god huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Exactly, Gaia. They have no business here yet. It will be years before they are ready to handle the power of the Trinity. What in Zeus's name are they doing snooping around in here?"

"Calm down, both of you," said the silver haired moon goddess, Selene. "They were just being children. Curiosity is in their nature. No harm has been done. We will simply transport them back to the palace and erase any memories they have of this place until the time comes for them to claim their destinies."

Gaia sighed. "Yes. That is probably for the best. I'll take care of it."

She went to each child, lightly touching their foreheads, altering their memories and making the insignias disappear. Then all three of them faded from the cave.

She dusted her transparent hands together. "There! Now when they wake up they will be in their own beds and believe that they just had a little nap."

Apollo paced restlessly around the chamber. "I can't believe I let you two talk me into choosing those three to be the next wielders of the Trinity. Did you hear the way they were arguing? They will never accomplish anything with all of that bickering."

"They are still young," Selene said softly. "As they grow things will change. I consulted with Aphrodite on this and she agreed, the bonds between them are strong. They may be the ones to finally vanquish the evil one once and for all."

"Let's hope," Gaia whispered. "A lot is weighing on their small shoulders.

**A/N **So there you have it. The start of another adventure has begun. In the next chapter, I'm going to flash through different points in DJ, Alex, and Katie's life so you can get a feel for their relationships with their parents and see how they become the people they are going to be for the rest of the story. Even though this story will center around the three of them, I'm not abandoning any of the others. We will see lots of Dare/Sere, Drew/Jess, and some Scout/General action as well, that's why I'm still classifying this as a Serena and Darien story, because they will be in it a lot. These first few postings will be laying the groundwork, but I would still love to hear what you think. So if you feel like it, leave me a review. Catch ya next time!

~Sere~


	2. The Chaos Before Discord

**A/N **Okay, here we go. I know you guys have been waiting for this, and I apologize. School has been really hectic lately (but I'm almost done for good…yay me!) and between that and my hubby and son, I haven't had a lot of free time. I want to thank everyone for the response to the prologue, you guys really helped lift my spirits. So my big hugs this time go to:

**chimichurri**

**xo Usako ox**

**GoldenDragon326**

**amaramichelle**

**anime-lover10**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Lady Airly**

**tiny2008**

**sasumiofjp**

**Ldsprincess**

**LittlebitsD**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Seredhiel05**

**JmacKarla**

**madorno81**

**S dot Serenity**

**ange de l'aube**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**Inufan155687**

**Chichiforever**

Thank you so much everyone. I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter except that it covers about six years and shows a few different events in the lives of our three newcomers and their families. The official gauntlet starting the beginning of the new adventure will be thrown at the end. Enough out of me!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 1

The Chaos Before Discord

"Ahhh!!!" the scream echoed down the hall of the crystal palace, bouncing off the walls with enough strength to probably wake up anyone within a ten-mile radius.

Before the sound even had a chance to fade, a door was thrown open and Neo Queen Serenity appeared, quickly tying the belt of her pink silk robe as she hurried down the hall. She burst through a door and hurried to the bed across the room.

"DJ? DJ, sweetie, wake up!" she exclaimed, grasping her thrashing ten year old son by the arm and shaking him gently.

He gasped and flew into a sitting position, eyelids popping open to reveal scared blue eyes. He panted for breath for a moment before realizing who was sitting beside him.

"Mom!" he cried, throwing himself into Serenity's arms with the force of a small speeding car. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he buried his head in her chest.

"Shh, it's okay," Serenity whispered soothingly. "Was it a bad dream?"

The ebony head nodded, but he didn't raise his face to hers. His arms were locked around her waist like steel bands.

She smoothed his tousled hair with soft fingers. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

He shook his head. "I don't remember it," he said in a muffled voice.

"Hey, is everything okay?" a sleepy, husky voice asked from the doorway. Endymion stood there, bare-chested and wearing a pair of sweatpants.

DJ jerked away from his mother and began scrubbing the tears from his cheeks and eyes. He didn't want to let his father see that he had been crying like a little girl.

Serenity smiled at her husband. "Everything's fine. Just a little bad dream, that's all."

Endymion crossed the room to join them, and DJ quickly turned his head away. He knew that his eyes were probably red and would give him away. His mother was the best in the whole world and he loved her with his all his heart, but his father was his idol and hoped that one day he would be just like him. The last thing he wanted to do was to appear weak in front of him.

"Everyone has bad dreams sometimes son," Endymion told him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "And it's okay to be upset by them. There's no shame in crying over them. I've done it myself on several occasions."

DJ's head snapped around to stare at Endymion in disbelief through tear reddened eyes. "You have?"

The king grinned at him. "Yes, I have. No why don't you tell me what this dream of yours was all about."

The light blue eyes suddenly held a shuttered look and his face hardened. "I don't remember it."

Serenity sighed. Just like his father, DJ had a habit of withdrawing into himself when he was troubled about something. "Okay, honey. Now do you feel like you can go back to sleep."

"Yeah, " the young prince answered, laying down and pulling the covers up to his chin. "'Night, mom. 'Night, dad."

They both bid him goodnight and left the room, closing the door quietly behind them. Once in the hall, Serenity threw herself at her husband, holding him tightly.

"He's lying to us, Darien," she said in an urgent voice. "He said he doesn't remember the dream, but I could tell that he does. I could see it in his eyes."

Endymion kissed the top of her head. "I know, but we can't force it out of him."

"He 's too much like you." Serenity sighed. "When something bothers him he pulls away from everything hides behind a wall."

Endymion pulled her arms from around his waist and took her hand, pulling her down the hall toward their room. "Come on, Serena. It's late. Let's go back to bed."

DJ heard his parent's voices fading away and breathed a sigh of relief. He felt bad about lying to them about not remembering the dream, but it was too terrifying to repeat. A part of him was also afraid that if he said it out loud, it would come true.

He had been standing on a hill, outside of the city, looking out at Crystal Tokyo in the distance. Suddenly there were loud explosions, and the city went up in flames. He heard two startled cries and turned to find his best friend Alex, and of all people, Alex's bratty sister, Katie, standing next to him. Both of them were staring at the burning city in the same state of shock that he was.

A heavy fog suddenly rolled over them, making it hard to see. Two shadowy figures appeared not far from them, but it was impossible to see who they were through the fog. An eerie sounding laugh boomed around them, and then the ground beneath them began to buck and crack.

A large hole opened up under Alex and Katie, and both of them fell into an endless darkness. What haunted him the most was the look on Katie's face as she spun to look at him moments before she fell. Her hazel eyes had been full of fear, and for once looked at him pleadingly instead of glaring at him like she normally did. Then he woke up.

A quiet beep came from the cell phone on his bedside table, letting him know he had an incoming message. He looked at his clock, wondering who it could be at 1:30 in the morning. He flipped it open and saw that it was from Alex.

_Hey D, r u awake? If u r, call me. A._

'_Okay. That's weird,' _DJ thought as he dialed his friend. Why would Alex want to talk to him in the middle of the night?

The phone only rang twice before it was answered with a quick, "Hello."

"What's the deal messaging me so late?" DJ grumbled, still feeling irritated by the nightmare."

"Sorry," Alex said, his voice shaking a bit. "I was freaked out and needed someone to talk to. I just thought I'd take a chance and see if you were awake."

"Well you got lucky," DJ retorted. "What's up?"

"Well, it's kinda strange," Alex hedged. "You know how Katie and I sometimes think the same thing at the same time and can finish each other's sentences, right? Well something really weird just happened."

"You wanted me to call you in the middle of the night so that you could tell me about another one of yours and Tinkerbell's crazy twin things?" DJ asked in an exasperated voice.

Alex responded quickly. "Just wait a minute and hear me out. I had this wacky nightmare a little while ago and woke up screaming. Mom and dad are out at a gallery showing and left us here with Dawn. I guess she couldn't hear me downstairs or she would have come running."

DJ felt a shiver down his spine. "What kind of nightmare?"

Alex launched into an explanation. "It was creepy. I was with you and Katie standing outside the city. Then all of a sudden all of Crystal Tokyo went up in flames. Then this fog came out of nowhere and I could hardly see a thing. There were two people in the fog, but I don't know who they were. Then this giant hole opened up and you and Katie both fell in and disappeared."

DJ froze. It sounded just like his nightmare; except he had seen Alex and Katie fall into the darkness.

"Anyway," Alex continued. "This is where it gets weird. Right after I woke up, Katie comes running into my room all crying and upset. It took me a minute to get it out of her, but she had the same dream. She said the only difference was that she saw me and you fall into the hole."

DJ sat quiet for a moment before whispering, "I think something really weird is going on, because I had the same dream."

* * *

**Six Months Later**

"Jerk!"

"Pain in the butt!"

"Come on you two, not again!"

"Momma's boy!"

"Pest!"

"Please don't fight today!"

"Tar head!"

"Tinkerbell!"

"Ohhh…that's it!"

"Oof…low blow, fairy flake. You fight like a girl!"

"I am a girl, genius!"

"Enough!" Neo Queen Serenity commanded, looking down sternly at the three children that were currently in a tumbled heap on the ground.

Two sets of blue eyes and one hazel looked up at her sheepishly. She sighed and shook her head. "What in the world am I going to do with you? It feels like I can't turn my back for two minutes without finding you at each other's throats."

Alex blushed and looked down. "Sorry, Aunt Serena. I tried to stop them."

Serenity smiled down at him and tousled his already messy brown hair. "I know you did, sweetie. Now why don't you hurry up to the dining room, dinner will be served soon."

"Okay," Alex agreed, walking across the lawn toward the Crystal Palace. He turned to look warily back at his sister and his best friend, wondering what their punishment would be this time. He adored his Aunt Serena almost as much as his mother, but she could get scary when she was mad.

Serenity surveyed the two remaining little troublemakers in front of her. "Now, since the two of you seem to have so much pent up, restless energy inside of you, I think we need to find an outlet for that. I want you two to go to the training room now for two hours of practice. That should wear you out enough where you don't feel like fighting anymore."

"But mooommm…" DJ immediately protested. "It's dinnertime and I'm starved. I already trained all afternoon."

Serenity felt her heart melt a little as she stared at her son. He looked so much like his father, but at least he didn't have Darien's pleading eyes. She was a sucker for those. She stayed firm. "You should have thought about that before."

"We're really sorry, Aunt Serena. We won't do it again." Katie said in a sweet little voice, clasping her hands in front of her and doing her best to look contrite. "We'll be better, I promise. May we please go to dinner?"

"Oh no you don't!" Jess said, joining them. "That little pitiful act of yours isn't going to work this time. You heard what Serena said, now move it."

"Fine!" both kids growled together, stomping off in the direction of the wing of the palace that held the training facilities for the scouts and generals. Secretly they called it the torture chamber. They may have only been ten and eleven years old, but they were required to spend several hours a day in there being trained on how to fight and how to control their powers.

Jess shook her head as she watched them stalk away. "And I thought they were doing better. Well, it has quieter recently. They're not fighting nearly as much as they used to."

Serenity sighed. "That's only because they are so tired most of the time. Have your two told you anything about the nightmares. This has been going on for months now."

"Not a word," Jess said sadly. "I can't get a peep out of either one of them. They're trying to hide it, but I hear them crying sometimes at night."

"Same here," Serenity agreed. "If I even bring the subject up, DJ just shuts down. I wish he would talk to me."

"What do you think it means?" Jess asked. "Do you think it has anything to do with, well…_him?_"

Serenity nodded. "In a way. Helios said that they weren't really nightmares, and Raye agreed with him. They think the kids are seeing premonitions of the future, to help prepare them for what's to come."

Meanwhile, two of the children in question were trudging slowly toward their destination. This was looking like it was going to be a long evening that neither one of them were looking forward to. In reality they both felt like doing nothing but going to bed and trying to get some sleep.

"Hey, DJ," Katie began in a hesitant voice. "Can I ask you something?"

He blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm sure you will anyway, so what is it?"

For once she didn't snap back at his irritated tone. "Don't you find it funny that when we get punished for fighting, our parents send us to go fight some more?"

He thought about it for a second. "You know, you're right. I never thought of it like that. Hey you actually made sense for once, Tink."

She scrunched her face up. "Don't start on me again. I'm trying to be serious. I just think it's weird. They don't want us to fight, but then they send us to learn how to fight."

DJ shrugged. "I guess they do it so we can take over one day. The other scout's kids are training too. And look at my sister, Rini can already transform into a sailor scout and she's not much older than us. One day we'll be able to transform too."

Katie brightened a little. "You really think so? That would be so cool! I wonder what my fuku would look like. I would be Sailor Kat, ready to swoop in and beat the bad guys. They better watch out!"

DJ chuckled a little, making her look at him in amazement. He usually had some smart mouthed comment to make when she said something silly, but this time he just looked amused. Then he shocked her further.

"I want to have a long cape and be mysterious, like Tuxedo Mask," he told her. "That would be awesome."

Katie studied him for a minute, and then nodded. "I can see that. You look a lot like your dad, so you could pull off the tuxedo look."

He grinned at her, and then sobered suddenly, realizing that he was actually carrying on a conversation with his arch nemesis that he had been fighting with his entire life. The scary part was he was actually enjoying it.

He surveyed her quietly for a moment. Okay, so she wasn't the ugliest girl in the world. She had long, straight, light blonde hair that she usually kept pulled back in a ponytail tied with a ribbon and large hazel green eyes set in a pixie like face with a light dusting of golden freckles across her tiny nose.

It was her eyes that drew his attention now. He saw the faint purple shadows under them and felt a little pang of guilt for teasing her earlier. Although they never talked about it, he knew that she and Alex had been suffering through the same nightmares that he had been having lately. It wasn't pleasant to see your home being destroyed night after night, and it had made him grumpier than usual. Evidently she was feeling the effects too.

He grabbed her by the arm as they reached the door to the training room. "Hey, I was thinking. You hate these extra training sessions as much as I do, right?"

She eyed him for a moment before nodding cautiously. "Yeah, why?"

A smug look crossed his face. "I propose a sort of truce. If we don't get caught fighting, then we won't have to worry about getting punished anymore."

She looked floored. "You're not going to fight with me anymore? You mean no more name calling and being mean to me?"

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't get your hopes up. I just meant that we wouldn't fight whenever any adults are around. That way we don't get in trouble."

A grin widened on her mouth. "I like it. It's very sneaky. But you have to promise me that you won't pick on me in front of the adults or all bets are off. Deal?"

He answered her grin with one of his own. "Deal! Let's shake on it."

He held his hand out and she took it in one of hers. They both felt a small zap that felt like an electrical shock go through them, and quickly jerked away.

"Let's get this over with," DJ grumbled as he pushed open the door. Both he and Katie moaned out loud when they saw who their torturers for the evening would be.

"Ah, there you two are," Lita said from where she was warming up. "I was beginning to think you got lost or something."

Amara grinned evilly at them. "Let's get started, shall we? We'll work out all that pent up aggression you have built up inside."

DJ and Katie stared at each other for a moment. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Five Years Later**

"Darien! Put me down!" Neo Queen Serenity squealed. "If you drop me in the lake, I swear you'll be sleeping on the couch for the next month."

"Oh, come on, Meatball Head," Endymion chided. "You were just complaining about how hot it was. I thought you might want to take a dip and cool off."

There was a shrill scream from the blonde queen that was cut short by a giant splash. A few seconds later, her head broke the surface of the water as she sputtered angrily at her husband, who was standing on the bridge that crossed the lake in the center of the park, laughing at her indignation.

"You're a dead man, Darien Shields!" she shrieked, swimming toward the edge of the lake. "You better start running now before I get my hands on you!"

Rini rolled her eyes as her mother drug herself from the lake and began chasing her father, both of them acting like a couple of kids. "Ten bucks says they're hiding behind a tree making out like horny teenagers within five minutes," she grumbled to her brother.

DJ's eyes flickered up briefly from his book to look at his parents. "I won't take that bet, because I agree with you. Sometimes they act worse than us, and we're supposed to be the teenagers here. Maybe we should be the parents and them the kids."

"No doubt," Rini agreed. "You would think they would grow out of it after being together as long as they have."

"Were they like this in the past too?" DJ asked curiously. He had always been a little jealous that his sister was allowed to go to the past and hang out with the past forms of their parents and their friends. But he loved hearing her stories about what life was like with them a millennium ago.

Rini watched as Endymion allowed Serenity to catch up to him. When she tried to tackle him, he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her behind a tree and they disappeared. "Yes, they were just as bad back then. I don't think they'll ever grow up."

"Who's never going to grow up?" Alex asked, joining them under the tree they were sitting under and throwing himself down next to them. "What did I miss?"

"Just the usual," Rini sighed. "Hormonal parents that can't keep their hands to themselves and insist on embarrassing the hell out of their children with their public displays of affection."

"Amen," Alex agreed. "At least nobody knows who they are when they're in incognito mode like this. I wish there was a way to make my parents hide their identity when they go out in public. Being around them too long makes me sick to my stomach."

"That's because they're in looovvveee," a voice singsonged above them. They looked up to see a pair of legs dangling from between the branches.

DJ smirked. "How long have you been up there, Tink?"

There was a rustling of leaves before the figure of a fifteen-year-old girl dropped from her perch to land gracefully before them. "Long enough. But you guys are right, it is nauseating. Look around, it's like open season around here."

Their whole mismatched family had decided to take advantage of the beautiful early summer they were having and have a day at the park, complete with one of Lita's scrumptious picnic lunches. They had found a secluded spot in the park that they hoped would keep everyone anonymous, and now there were happy couples scattered around while the younger children ran and played and the older ones broke off into their own little groups.

Katie plopped down next to Rini and put her head on her shoulder. The two girls were close despite the year and a half age difference and Rini's sometimes long absences. "Speaking of love, how's Helios doing these days?"

Rini's cheeks flushed as pink as her hair. "He's fine. How about you? I heard a rumor that you had set your sights on someone."

Now Katie blushed. "You heard wrong. Jack's just a friend. He just moved here and he takes piano lessons with me, that's all."

Rini giggled. "Sure it is. At least tell me, is he cute?"

Katie got a little starry eyed. "Yes he is. He's got the most gorgeous long black hair that he wears in a ponytail. And his eyes, they are just like a puppy dog's, the exact same shade of brown as chocolate."

DJ's hands clenched into fists. He didn't know why, but hearing Katie talk about another guy was pissing him off, something that had been happening more and more in the last year. Every since Alex and Katie had disappeared along with their mother for several weeks last summer, he had become overprotective of them both. Alex he could understand, he was his best friend. But Katie, he didn't know why he felt the way he did about her.

Maybe it was because he had actually missed their sparring matches while she was gone, though he would never admit it to anyone. The two of them had kept their promise that they had made five years ago and never fought in front of any of the adults anymore. But once they were out of earshot, the insults still flew. And they had gotten worse over the years.

He still called her Tinkerbell, but it didn't bother her like it used to. The name really didn't fit her anymore since she had suddenly sprouted several inches in height over the last few years, but he had called her that for so long that it was just kind of like second nature. Now he usually just looked around for the first thing he could find to poke fun at her.

He grinned. Today she had made it entirely too easy for him. He spotted the ragged spiral bound notebook that the girl had in her hand. He knew that old thing was like a lifeline to her. Before he knew it, his mouth opened and the words started pouring out.

"So Tinkerbell, I see you're up to your old chicken scratching again. What are you writing about this time, all the dates you wish you could have but will never be asked on? It's not like anyone would ever actually ask you out," he taunted.

He turned his head away with a smirk, waiting for the angry tirade that he was sure was coming. When seconds passed and he didn't hear anything, he snuck a quick glance over at the others.

What he saw shocked him. It wasn't the fact that Rini and Alex were gaping at him like he had suddenly spouted a second head; it was because of her eyes. Instead of glaring at him in fury and anger like the normally did, those deep swirling pools, that always made him think of a forest after a rain for some reason, were shining brightly with unshed tears.

She just stared at him for several long moments until he began to fidget uneasily beneath her gaze. When she finally spoke, it was in a trembling whisper. "I hate you! Just because I'm not a member of your little fan girl club that follows you around everywhere you go doesn't mean that other people might not find me attractive and desirable. All those little sluts that are constantly panting around you only want one thing, and that's a ring on their finger and a tiara on their head one day. They're only after you for what you can give them, not because they like you for who you are. At least when I get to wherever I'm going in life it will be because I got there on my own and not because of the fact that I was born royalty."

DJ's face paled as he realized that he had gone too far. All he had meant to do was pick on her a little bit, like always. But in a fit of jealousy he had said something that was way more hurtful than he intended.

He did a double take at what he had just thought. Jealous? Was he seriously jealous at the thought of some other guy taking Katie out? He thought about it for a moment and almost passed out when he suddenly realized that the answer was yes. Somehow, without him even knowing it, the girl that he had thought of as an annoying pest his entire life had managed to worm her way under his skin and into his affections.

He saw that she was watching him expectantly, waiting to see if her words had any effect on him at all. He suddenly felt scared. He couldn't let her know that he liked her. She would have a field day with that if she ever knew.

So instead of blurting his feelings out for her and the rest of the world to hear, his lips turned up into his signature smirk. "Sounds to me like somebody's jealous. Maybe deep inside you wish that you were one of my adoring fans, but you know that no matter what you do that you'll never be able to compete with them."

Katie jumped to her feet. "You are nothing but a stuck up snob. And you know what? I feel sorry for you. One day you're going to wake up and realize that no matter how many people you have around you, you'll still be alone. All because you hide who you truly are behind a wall. Well you can go to hell Darien James Shields! I'm tired of trying to be your friend. Don't you ever speak to me again!"

She turned and ran away, but not before he saw the tears she had been holding back begin to slide down her cheeks. Part of him longed to go after her, but at the same time another part of him said that that would be admitting a weakness.

"Man, that was way harsh, bro," Rini said in a disgusted voice. "Whoever thought you'd end up being such a jerk. I find it hard to believe we're related." She stood up and dusted her shorts off before walking off to join Hotaru and Trista who were sitting not too far away.

DJ was so stunned and lost in thought that he never saw the fist that was heading his way until it collided with his jaw and sent his head snapping back as he fell over on the ground. He lay there, dazed for a second as he stared up at his severely pissed best friend.

'_Uh oh, now I'm in trouble,'_ he thought to himself in a panic. Alex wasn't one to pick a fight with anyone. He usually tried to play the pacifist. He was slow to anger and tried to avoid physical confrontations as much as possible. But once enraged he was a damn good fighter. And everyone knew that the one thing you didn't do was hurt his twin sister. He would come down like the wrath of god on anyone that did.

"You stupid son of a bitch," Alex snarled. Angry sparks were practically shooting from his sapphire eyes. "Just what the hell was that all about?"

DJ climbed a little unsteadily to his feet and glared at his friend. "Don't push me, Alex. What does it matter anyway? It's not like Tinkerbell and I haven't been fighting for years. So what the hell?"

"I'll tell you what, you smug, self righteous bastard!" Alex yelled, pushing DJ back hard into the tree behind him. "Do you remember what I did to the last asshole that made my sister cry?"

DJ smirked at him. "Do you think you can take me, sun boy? Then bring it!" His hands began to glow gold.

Never one to back down from a challenge, Alex's hands started glowing bronze. "You're on, _your highness._"

"Whoa, whoa, what's going on over here?" Endymion asked as he came over to them. Andrew was right beside him. The two men put themselves between the two battling teens.

"Alex?" Andrew questioned. "What happened? I would expect this out of Katie, but not you."

Alex raised a still glowing hand to point a finger at DJ. "Why don't you ask that little prick? He's the one that started it. Katie was minding her own business until he had to start showing his ass."

"I think we need to separate these two for a few minutes," Endymion said to his companion as he watched his son's eyes darken with temper.

"I think you're right," Andrew agreed, grabbing Alex by the arm and leading him away.

After a minute of walking, Alex took several deep breaths and his face smoothed as he brought his temper under control. "I need to go find Katie."

Andrew put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Your mom went after her, let her handle it. I've been wanting to talk to you anyway."

"Uh oh," Alex grumbled under his breath.

Andrew chuckled. "Don't sound so depressed. It's just something that has been weighing on my mind a lot lately."

Alex eyed his father warily. "Okay. What is it?"

"It's like this," Andrew began. "I've always admired the way you take up for your sister. She's always been able to depend on you to be there for her whenever your mother and I weren't. But son, you're not little kids anymore. Sooner or later you'll be out in the world making your own lives, and the world is not always sunshine and rainbows. Katie's going to have to learn to fight her own battles, because she's not always going to have one of us there to do it for her."

Alex nodded. "I know. But it just gets to me the way DJ is with her sometimes. It confuses the crap out of me because…" he broke off.

"Because?" Andrew prompted.

Alex looked around quickly to make sure there was no one within hearing distance. "Okay, you can't tell anybody I said this, especially Katie or DJ. They would kill me if they found these words even crossed my lips. I think they like each other. You know, really like each other. But they're both so stubborn that neither one of them would ever admit it."

Andrew just laughed and patted his son on the shoulder. "You're right about that. I don't think there are two harder heads on the planet, except for perhaps your mom's. And she's just plain scary sometimes."

Alex laughed with him as they went to join the football game that the generals were trying to get started.

**(Switch to Katie)**

The tears that had been stinging her eyes finally broke free as she turned and ran away from her tormentor. She didn't bother wiping them away as fled the cozy picnic setting. She wasn't in the mood to enjoy the day with her family and friends anymore.

She knew everyone was staring at her, and she didn't care. She caught a brief glimpse of concern on her Aunt Serena and Uncle Darien's faces as she blew by them, and she thought she heard her mother call her name, but she didn't stop.

She ran like the devil himself was chasing after her, across the bridge, and into the trees and high grass on the other side of the lake. Once she was sure she was alone, she dropped to the ground at the edge of the water.

She sat there for several minutes, just staring out at the glassy surface of the lake. Its calm, peaceful appearance seemed to be mocking the turmoil that was inside her.

She glanced down at the notebook she was still clutching tightly in her hand and growled as anger began coursing through her. She pulled her arm back and was preparing to toss the notebook into the watery depths when a hand grabbed her wrist.

"You don't want to do that, honey," Jess said quietly. "I know you're angry now, but you'll regret throwing it away later after you've calmed down."

"That stupid bastard!" Katie spat. "Just who the hell does he think he is? He always looks down on me like he's so much better. It makes me want to bash in that arrogant face of his."

Jess could see the hurt that was hiding beneath the anger in her daughter's eyes and pulled her close for a tight hug.

Katie wasn't usually one to cry, she was much more prone to lash out in anger when she was upset. But as she sat there with her mother's comforting arms around her, thinking about the words that had passed between her and DJ, she broke down. She sobbed loudly into Jess's shoulder for several minutes before regaining her composure.

"I hate him!" she said harshly. "All he has ever done is make my life a living hell. I wish I had never met him."

Jess studied her for a minute. "Oh sweetie, you don't really mean that. Men can be hard to understand sometimes. I don't always get your dad and his way of thinking, even after all the years of being with him. That's just the way it goes."

Katie sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Can I have a few minutes alone, please? I won't go anywhere, but I just want to be by myself for a while."

Jess nodded in understanding. "Sure. I'll just head back to the others and tell them you're okay." She walked away, looking back once at the forlorn picture the young girl made as she stared out over the lake with sad eyes.

Katie waited until the sound of her mother's footsteps faded away before pulling her knees up to her chest and burying her face in them. She wasn't okay. There was a burning pain in her chest that felt like someone was trying to rip her heart out.

Raising her head, she flipped open the front cover of her battered notebook. This was her secret, her passion, her outlet. The pages of the book were covered in her ideas, songs and poems, which allowed her to pour out the feelings inside of her that she felt she couldn't reveal to anyone else. Not even Alex, whom she was closer to than anyone, knew exactly what that book held.

She traced her fingers over the letters that were inscribed on the inside of the front cover. At one time she had hoped that the words would come true, but now she knew that it was foolish to hope for that.

Her eyes hardened as she pulled a pen from her pocket and completely scribbled out the words, 'Mrs. Darien James Shields'. It was never going to happen. The one dream that had helped her battle the nightmares all these years was going up in smoke.

"Oh DJ," she sighed as a tear fell from her eyes to roll down her cheek. "I tried to win your heart, but I guess I wasn't good enough. No matter what though, I'll love you forever."

Then she took a deep steadying breath. She had to move on with her life. She wasn't going to sit around and waste her time pining away for someone who didn't want her. She was stronger than that.

**(Back with DJ)**

"So, do you want to tell me what happened?" Endymion asked his son.

DJ grumbled, "There isn't really much to say. Katie was being more annoying than usual and it got on my nerves. I guess I just snapped. Maybe what I said was harsher than what I intended it to be, but the words just kinda popped out on their own."

Endymion grinned. "I know exactly how you feel. When I wasn't much older than you, there was this girl who used to irritate me something horrible. It seemed like everywhere I went, she just seemed to keep popping up. Everything about her got on my nerves. It about to drive me crazy when I finally took a step back one day and took a good look at her. Luckily, my sanity was saved when I discovered that she wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe that's what you need to do with Katie. Perhaps if you can find something about her that doesn't irritate you, you might not fight with her as much."

DJ shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know."

Endymion just patted him on the shoulder and walked away. He had only gone a few yards when DJ called after him, "Hey dad, whatever happened to that girl?"

Endymion turned to face him with a wide smile on his face. "I married her and had two kids." He walked away chuckling.

DJ's jaw fell open. The annoying girl from his dad's past was his mother? He had heard some of the stories about the rocky beginning to their relationship, but this was a side that he had never heard before.

Guilt was eating away at him in the back of his mind as he stared off in the direction that Katie had run. Maybe he should at least go find her and apologize. After all, it wasn't her fault that he was feeling so messed up.

He took off at a brisk walk toward the bridge; not noticing the sly looks sent his way by his parents. He reached the other side of the lake and began searching. He knew she wouldn't have gone too far.

The sounds of her sobs caught his attention and tore at his heart. Katie rarely ever cried. She only gave into tears when she had been hurt deeply. This thought only made him feel lower than he already did.

He followed the sound on silent feet, creeping through the tall grass until he finally came upon the spot where she was sitting beside the water. When he saw that her mother was with her, he stopped. He really didn't want to have Jess as an audience when he made his apology and hoped that maybe she would leave soon.

After a few minutes of listening to her heart wrenching cries, he decided that he'd had enough. He was about to step out and make his presence known when her voice reached him.

"I hate him!" her voice was laced with venom. "All he has ever done is make my life a living hell. I wish I had never met him."

Those words stopped him in his tracks. He heard Jess say something to her, but he didn't pay attention to what it was. He ducked down quickly when the older woman began walking his direction, not wanting to get caught eavesdropping. Once she was gone, he looked back up to see Katie with her face buried in her pulled up knees.

He took a deep breath and then did one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do in his young life. He walked away. If she hated him then this was for the best. He would do his best to stay away from her as much as possible. There was no sense in making things between them more complicated than they already were.

* * *

**Six Months Later**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you their royal highnesses, Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion."

DJ and Rini applauded politely with the rest of the guests as their parents made their way down the staircase and into the ballroom. They seemed to radiate happiness as they walked arm in arm toward the high table set on the raised platform that was reserved for the immediate court.

"Aww, they still look so cute together, even after all of these years," Mina cooed, earning a few glares and some eye rolling from the other scouts and generals.

"I think we would all agree that they make a striking couple," Michelle stated as she took a sip of her water.

Next to her, Amara lounged casually in her chair, swirling her wine glass. "Yeah, they look all right together. But I still haven't given up hope that my little kitten will wake up one day and realize that I'm more her type than Darien. She needs to take a walk on the wild side."

Snorts of laughter were heard around the table at the long standing inside joke. They all knew that Amara was only kidding and that she was completely devoted to her relationship with Michelle, but that didn't stop the wind scout from flirting with the queen every chance she got.

"Did we miss something?" Serenity asked as she and Endymion joined them and he pulled her chair for her so that she could be seated.

"Nothing more than the usual," Raye smirked. "Amara was just wondering when you were going to be ready to kick your little Dare-bear to the curb so that she can rush in and sweep you off your feet."

"Oh my," Amy muttered, covering her flushed cheeks with her hands.

Lita looked at her incredulously. "You can't seriously be embarrassed by that. Good grief, Amy. That joke has been going on since the Silver Millennium."

Serenity giggled as she turned to look over her children. "Rini, that dress looks simply adorable on you sweetheart. DJ, sweetie, come here, your tie is crooked."

DJ reared back in his chair to avoid his mother's seeking hands and grabbed the offending tie and attempted to straighten it. "I've got it, mom. Geez, you'd think I was six instead of sixteen."

Serenity gave him a look of mock irritation. "Fine. I was just trying to make you look presentable. Isn't that girlfriend of yours coming tonight?"

DJ growled, "Sasha's not my girlfriend. She's just a friend."

Serenity held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, just a friend. Talk about touchy."

"Momma!" Rini squealed excitedly. "Helios is here. Can I go see him, please?"

"Yes you may," the queen granted with smile. "But walk, don't run, young lady."

Rini was up and gone almost before the words were out of her mother's mouth and off into the arms of her soon to be betrothed. Everyone knew the two were going to be married. The official announcement would be made on Rini's eighteenth birthday in another nine months.

"Don't you dare break that wine glass, Darien Shields," Serenity whispered harshly to Endymion as she reached over to pluck the glass from his clenched fingers. "And you will leave the two of them alone tonight. I mean that. No sending anyone to spy on them."

"But Sere," Endymion complained. "Rini is only…"

"She is seventeen years old, Darien," Serenity hissed. "For the love of Selene, cut her some slack. I had a ring on my finger by that age. And don't even get me started on the Silver Millennium and what I had accomplished by the time I was seventeen."

DJ breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Andrew and Jess enter the room, followed closely by Alex. Thank god for small favors. "Alex is here. May I be excused?"

Serenity dismissed him with a wave of her hand and he quickly made his getaway. He weaved through the crowd, trying his best to avoid the clingy girls from his fan club. They all irritated him beyond belief with their obvious flirting and occasionally strong come ons. He reached his friend's side without mishap, leaving a trail of pouting girls in his wake.

Alex grinned at him. "Running the gauntlet again?"

DJ grimaced. "Yeah. And now it will be twice as bad because you're here. Why can't we ever come to one of these parties and have all those silly girls leave us alone? If we wanted to dance with one of them, we'd ask them."

"That's because the two of you are so handsome," Jess said, smiling at both of them. "I know I'd be interested if I was a teenager again."

"Thanks," DJ mumbled with a slight blush. Then he remembered his manners and told her. "You look very nice tonight, Jess."

And he sincerely meant it. Out of all of his "Aunts", Jess had always been his favorite. She was a few inches taller than his mother, with dark, honey blonde hair and sparkling ocean blue eyes. Even though she was technically over a thousand years old, she didn't look any older than twenty-one. The slim, midnight blue sheath dress she was wearing set her coloring off to perfection.

Jess giggled. "See what I mean? You are such a charmer. Now I'm off to greet your parents. You two have fun." She glided away on Andrew's arm toward the high table.

Alex elbowed DJ in the ribs. "Dude, were you just hitting on my mom?"

"No. That would be sick!" DJ quickly denied. He knew there was no way to explain to his friend that when he talked to Jess, it was like he was talking to Katie. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine that it was her.

Even though Katie's coloring was different, she resembled her mother a lot. They had the same facial features, except Katie had inherited Andrew's eyes. Her hair was also several shades lighter than her mom's, even lighter than his mom's and Mina's sunny gold strands. Out of curiosity he asked once where the twins had gotten their hair from. Jess had laughed and showed him a picture of her parents, who had sadly died in a car accident when she was just a teenager. Her mother had the same light brown hair as Alex while her father had sported the same pale blonde locks that his granddaughter now had.

Katie also had her mother's personality. She was caring and considerate, always ready to help a friend. But you better be ready to hit the deck if she ever got mad. That girl had a temper that was known to make grown men shake in their boots.

DJ chuckled inwardly at the thought of how her face would go red and her eyes would snap when she was angry. It was a sight that he missed seeing. The truth was since they had achieved their transformation powers a few years ago, he hardly ever saw her anymore. Alex and he spent most of their time training with Endymion, Andrew, and the generals, while Katie trained with Serenity, Jess, and the other scouts.

That was probably for the best. Since the day of the disaster picnic at the park, the two of them never even spoke to each other unless it was absolutely necessary. It hurt him deep inside, but at the same time it made it easier to keep his feelings to himself.

"Hey, have you seen Emma around?" Alex's voice cut into his musings. "We were supposed to meet up."

DJ grinned knowingly. "She's around somewhere with the other girls. But you better watch yourself. Kunzite is getting suspicious. He's liable to gut you if he catches you two together."

Alex had been secretly dating Mina and Kunzite's daughter, Emma, for the past several months. They had to sneak around because Kunzite was very overprotective of his only daughter and refused to let her date. He had blown his top a few weeks ago when Emma had come home from an outing that she had supposedly been on with her girlfriend's with a hickey on her neck that she couldn't quite hide.

Alex waved a dismissing hand. "I'm not too worried about it. This place is big enough and has enough hiding places that I should be able to sneak in a kiss with my girl if I want to. Speaking of which, I think I see her now. I'll catch you later."

And with that he melted into the crowd to make his way over to a tall, slender, blonde haired girl in a peach colored dress. DJ shook his head, hoping his friend would survive the night.

"Hello, DJ," a soft voice spoke behind him.

He spun around, thinking for a second that it was _her. _His hopes crashed when he saw who it was. Yes, the girl was blonde, but she was more of a strawberry blonde, not the flaxen hair he had been hoping to see. The girl also had green eyes, but they were a sharp jade green, not the soft brownish green he had been expecting.

"Hey Sasha," he greeted her, trying to not sound disappointed. "I see you made it."

She giggled, a grating sound that sent shivers down his back. "Of course I did, silly. This is the king and queen's anniversary ball. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The music started up then, and she squealed and clasped her hands together. "Oh! I just absolutely adore this song. It makes me want to dance."

DJ gulped, feeling trapped. He could figure out what she was hinting at fairly easily, but right now he just didn't feel like it. He did some quick thinking. "I would love to dance with you, Sasha, but I'm afraid that it will have to wait. I was just on my way to do something for my mother. But I'm sure someone else would be more than happy to dance with you. Save me one for later when I get back."

That being said, he turned and swiftly made his way to the closest exit to the ballroom, not seeing how those green eyes hardened and darkened as she watched him leave. He quickly took off down a corridor, making a few turns until he had left the people and the sounds of the party far behind.

He stopped by a large window and stared out over the glittering lights of Crystal Tokyo as he tugged at his tight, stiff collar. He always hated it when he had to attend these formal parties. The suits his mother made him wear were uncomfortable and the ties felt like a noose around his neck. He was definitely more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.

He had told his mom that once and she laughed at him. Then she had asked how in the world he could find a simple suit uncomfortable when he wore a much more complex tuxedo when he transformed.

He and his father had both protested, saying that the transformation tuxedos didn't feel confining in the least. As a matter of fact, when he became his alter ego, he felt as comfortable as if he was wearing his favorite sweats.

Yes, he had gotten his wish to become like Tuxedo Mask. When he called upon his transformation, he found himself in an all black tuxedo. Everything was black, his shirt, his tie; even the mask over his eyes was black. He had adopted the name Phantom since the black clothing gave him the ability to sneak around in the dark without anyone seeing him.

A soft whimpering sound reached his ears, catching his attention and making him look around. He had figured that he was all alone in this part of the palace since everyone else was at the party. But from the sounds of the quiet cries, he knew that someone else was nearby.

Curious, he followed the sound until he reached a curtained off alcove. He peeked through the curtains and was shocked by what he saw.

A young lady in a mint green dress was huddled up on the padded bench with her head practically buried in the cushions as she tried to muffle her cries. Evidently something had upset her very much.

He cleared his throat hesitantly. "Uh, miss. Are you okay?"

Her head shot up and he almost went stumbling back in surprise when he saw who it was. "Katie?"

She looked at him in just as much shock. Her face was very pale, making her hazel eyes stand out much more than usual. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for breath and she was visibly shaking.

"Go away, DJ!" she wailed in a hysterical voice. "I can't deal with you right now."

His first instinct was to turn and leave her there. But one look at her stricken face and he knew that he couldn't walk away from her when she was like this.

He approached her slowly. "What's wrong, Kat? What's got you so worked up?"

She shook her head violently, looking like she was going to pass out any second as she kept trying to desperately suck in air. "I'm…fine…just…panic…attack."

Unable to stop himself, he knelt down in front of her and took her hands that were clasped tightly in her lap in both of his, shocked at how icy cold they were. Her eyes met his and he could see the wariness and confusion in them.

"Now what have you got to be so panicked about?" he asked in the kindest voice he had ever used with her.

She tried to jerk her hands away, but he held them firmly. "The…performance…I can't…I can't…all those people…"

He grinned. So that was the problem. His little fairy had stage fright. Katie had shown great musical promise at a very young age and Michelle had taken her under her wing. By the age of seven she had mastered the piano far better than most adults and could also play the guitar quite well. With Michelle's help, she had composed a piano piece in honor of his parent's anniversary and was supposed to perform it later in the evening.

"Don't be silly," he told her. "You know you're good. You've been playing in front of all of us for years now. What's the difference?"

Her breathing had begun to slow. "But all those people…There's so many…I don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can," he encouraged. "When the time comes, don't pay any attention to them. Just imagine yourself at home, playing for yourself alone. Or just pretend that this party is just one of our small get togethers and our mismatched family are the only people there. If you do that, I bet you'll do fine."

Her eyes began to look hopeful. "Do you really think so?"

He nodded. "I know so. It's always like magic when you play. You'll knock everyone's socks off. I just know it."

Color had returned to her face and her respiration was nearly normal as she looked at him gratefully. "Thank you, DJ. That's exactly what I needed to hear. I probably would've been catatonic in a few more minutes if you hadn't come along."

He flushed a little and looked down at their joined hands. He couldn't help but feel pleased when he saw a silver charm bracelet with dangling moons hanging from it around her slim wrist. He had seen the bracelet in a store one day last year and had bought it on impulse when it made him think of her. Then he had wrapped it up as a mystery gift and had snuck it under the tree during their annual Christmas get together. To this day she had no idea who had given her the bracelet, but she wore it all the time.

"I guess I better get going," she whispered, pulling her hands gently from his. "Michelle will probably be wondering where I am."

He stood and watched as she got to her feet and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. Then acting purely on impulse he flicked his wrist, conjuring a pure white, thornless rose and presenting it to her.

Her eyes widened in surprise and he shrugged. "For luck."

She took the rose carefully, her fingers trailing lightly over the delicate, silky petals. The look on her face was so wondrous that he couldn't help himself. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a short, but sweet kiss.

Suddenly realizing what he was doing, he pulled back quickly. He felt like he was suffocating as he saw the dazed look in her eyes. He needed to get out of here, fast, before he did something even more incredibly stupid than what he had already done.

"I'll see ya later," he mumbled, making a hasty retreat. He headed for the nearest exit he could find and rushed out into the cool night air.

He cursed himself for being the biggest idiot in the world. He had just kissed the girl that hated him. Great! That was going to go over well. He kept listening for footsteps behind him, expecting her to come rushing after him to lay into him for what he had done.

If he only knew that the girl in question had only stood watching him before rushing to the ballroom with renewed hope pounding through her with every beat of her heart.

"Hey, where's the fire?" he heard a voice call out to him as he stalked down one of the garden paths at a quick pace. He turned to find Rini, arm in arm with Helios.

"There's no fire!" he snapped. "I just needed to get away for a minute."

Rini grinned slyly. "Did one of your fan girls corner you again? Or was it more than one this time? My poor baby brother, always being manhandled by his adoring public. Or perhaps it's just one girl in particular that has your underwear in such a bunch."

"Shut up, Bubble Gum Brains!" he exclaimed. "You don't know anything!"

"Whatever you say," Rini returned, condescendingly. "Anyway, we better get back inside before mom and dad come looking for us."

"Right," he growled, heading for the terrace doors that led into the ballroom. At least coming in this way put him close to his seat so he could avoid having to fight his way through all of the giggling girls again. He made it in with no problems and threw himself down in his chair next to his mother.

Serenity eyed him in concern. "Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he ground out. Alex caught his gaze, and he saw the questions burning in his friend's eyes, but he just shook his head.

There was no way he could tell his best friend that he had just kissed his sister. Alex would kill him for sure.

The chatter in the room fell quiet as Michelle took the stage, her calm, quiet presence demanding everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone," she began in her soft voice. "I want to thank all of you for coming tonight to join in the celebration of the anniversary of the union of our king and queen. We have a night full of entertainment in store for you, and I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to start off the festivities by introducing to you one of my star pupils. She will be performing her own original work for the piano entitled 'Love Everlasting'. Ladies and gentlemen, your majesties, I present to you, Miss Kathleen Furuhata."

There was a round of polite applause from around the room, but it faded in comparison to the amount of noise that was coming from the high table. Jess and Andrew were clapping loudly, eyes shining with pride for their daughter. Alex and several of the younger members of the group whistled shrilly. Serenity was practically bouncing in her seat. Only Endymion's hand on her arm kept her from jumping up.

A spotlight clicked on, illuminating the girl who was walking out from the wings of the stage. She looked like a vision in mint green as she made her way to the piano in the middle of the stage.

She looked confident, but DJ could see the slight hesitancy in her step and the small tremor that shuddered through her. She sat on the bench and held her hands poised over the keys. She closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them to meet his gaze head on. All signs of nervousness seemed to fade away from her in that moment and she gave him a small smile.

Then she began to play. The music started off light at first, but soon built into a swelling complex collection of notes that had her sure fingers flying over the keys like it was nothing. A look of total contentment came over her face and it seemed as if she had escaped into her own private world. She seemed surprised several minutes later when she brought the song to its conclusion and received a standing ovation.

DJ joined the others in the applause and grinned to himself. She had done it, just like he knew she could. And of course she had been amazing, but already knew that. He watched as she stood and curtsied before making her way off the stage. The music started up again and couples went back to dancing.

Just a few short minutes later she arrived at the high table, looking flushed and excited.

"Congratulations, baby!" Andrew exclaimed, sweeping her up and spinning her around.

Her laugh was like bells as she hugged him tightly before he set her down so that she could be mauled by her mother.

"Oh honey! That was simply amazing!" Jess squealed. "I just knew you would be a sensation."

"Not half bad, sis," Alex told her, engulfing her in a giant bear hug.

"Not half bad," Serenity said indignantly as she claimed the girl for another hug. "I thought it was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."

Endymion stood, and with a flick of his wrist produced a perfectly formed blood red rose. "A beautiful rose for our beautiful little future world performer."

"Thank you," she said, hugging him and taking the rose and sliding the stem under the sash at her waist.

DJ almost choked on the mouthful of water he had just taken as he saw his father's red rose now nestled up next to the white one he had given her. He figured that she would have pitched it after what had happened earlier. God, he hoped no one else noticed it.

Dinner was being served, so everyone sat back down. Somehow the seating arrangement had placed Katie so that she was sitting right across from him. He immediately went on the defensive and spent the entire meal ignoring her, just like he always did. He felt her questioning gaze on him many times, but refused to look at her.

They were just finishing when Sasha approached the table accompanied by her adopted brother, Jack.

DJ growled. Sasha was a good friend, even though he knew she was looking for more, and he had become fast friends with Jack as well. Which was surprising since he knew very well that Jack had set his sights on Katie. But the guy was friendly enough, and he had never made an attempt to move in on the blonde girl, so DJ and him, along with Alex hung out a lot.

But his eyes narrowed now as the black haired young man positioned himself behind Katie's chair and spoke quietly to her. "You were amazing tonight. It looks like all of my lesson time that I gave up with Michelle so you could put in extra practice paid off."

She turned that blinding smile of hers on him full force. "Yes it does. I must confess that I had never been more nervous in my life. I just knew that I was going to get my fingers all tangled together in some of the more complex parts, but some guardian angel must have been looking out for me."

Jack chuckled low in his throat. "I never doubted you for a moment. I've been watching you practice for weeks. I knew that you would pull it off flawlessly." Then he held a hand out to her. "Would you do me the honor of gracing me with a dance?"

"O-oh," Katie stuttered. "Well, I…"

'_That son of a bitch!' _DJ fumed inside as he watched the girl that he loved being asked to dance by someone else. He saw her eyes flick to him for a second and his breath caught.

He stood quickly and turned to Sasha. "I believe I promised you a dance earlier," he told the strawberry blonde.

She smiled and took his offered arm. "Yes you did."

Katie watched the couple walking away for a moment in disbelief before tossing her head defiantly and taking the hand offered to her. "Yes, Jack. I would love to dance with you."

Alex groaned and banged his head down on the table with a thump, muttering words like idiots, hard headed, and stubborn jackasses under his breath. The he got up from his chair, saying out loud, "I guess it's just a night for insanity. I might as well join in."

He walked over to where Emma was sitting next to her parents and held a hand out to her. "Shall we?"

She flushed bright red, but quickly took his hand and allowed him to help her up before following him to the dance floor.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Kunzite exclaimed as he got over the shock of having a boy ask his daughter to dance right in front of him. He started to get up from his seat.

Mina reached up and jerked him back down by his sleeve. "Leave them alone."

Kunzite gaped at her. "But…"

"No buts!" Mina interrupted. "As the goddess of love I can't let you interfere with young love while it's in bloom. Now close your mouth dear, something may fly in."

After the song was over, Alex escorted Emma back to her seat, ignoring the glares that Kunzite was sending his way. He took a seat next to his mother and noticed that she looked really agitated about something.

"Mom, are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Jess looked at him and then gave him a forced smile. "I'm fine, sweetie. Where are the others?"

Alex snorted. "I don't know. They were out there dancing and then they disappeared. They're probably of doing something stupid. They're both brain dead idiots."

She nodded jerkily, but continued to twist the napkin in her lap with nervous fingers. Suddenly Alex could have sworn that he felt the floor beneath them shake just a little. Then he saw his father reach over and cover both of her hands with one of his. Their eyes met and Alex could see that they were carrying on one of those conversations that they could have without saying a word out loud.

'_Calm down, sweetheart,'_ Andrew was telling his wife.

'_Calm down! Calm down! How in the hell can you expect me to calm down?' _she shrieked back at him. _'Can't we just go home now? I know we said that we wouldn't do anything to change the events. But I can't just sit here.'_

'_Everything's going to work out just fine.' _Andrew soothed her. _'I hate this as much as you do, but we made a promise to Pluto. If we change anything it could mess the timeline up. And I sure don't want to go through that hell again.'_

"Excuse me for a moment," Jess said suddenly, jumping up from the table and walking away.

"I've got her," Serenity said, getting up and following after her friend.

'_What a weird night,' _Alex thought to himself. He was past the point of even trying to make sense out of anything. His confusion only grew as he looked at a wet spot on the tablecloth, wondering how it got there. A closer inspection showed that the water glass that had been in front of his mother now had a long crack in it and the water inside was slowly trickling out.

'_Wow! Something must have pissed her off royally,' _he mused. He hadn't seen his mom not be able to control her powers in years. And even then it was only in moments of extreme anger that she had ever slipped. Something bad must be going on.

* * *

DJ slammed into his bedroom, ripping off the damn tie and throwing it across the room. He quickly shed the rest of the suit and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt before throwing himself down on the bed.

He was so glad that this night was finally over. He had thought that it would never end. The whole night had been just one crazy thing after another. Not only had he kissed his self proclaimed mortal enemy, but he had been pounced on by an enthusiastic Sasha.

As soon as he had hit the dance floor with her, he knew that it had been a mistake. She wasn't the one that he wanted to be dancing with. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the sight of flaxen blonde hair and sparkling hazel eyes out of his head. His lips burned at the memory of how hers had felt under his.

He had barely noticed when the girl in his arms had pulled him outside into the garden. He was too distracted by other thoughts. The thought of his little fairy dancing in another man's arms had been torturing him.

Making up his mind to do something about it, he had turned to Sasha to make an excuse to her. Before he could get the words out, he had found a warm body plastered up against his chest and a pair of lips over his.

He stumbled and almost fell. To keep his balance, he had wrapped his arms around the girl. After he recovered from his shock, he pushed her back gently.

Sasha had blushed and looked away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I know what you must think of me now."

DJ wanted to yell at her, but the stricken look on her face made his voice gentle. "I'm sorry, Sasha. But I don't feel like that toward you. I like you a lot, but only as a friend."

She nodded. "I think I already knew that. Deep down I knew that you were already taken by someone else."

He gaped at her. "I'm not…I mean there isn't…"

She cut him off by laying her fingers against his lips. "It's okay. Anyone with eyes could see the way the two of you are with each other. Now go get her before that idiot brother of mine works his charm on her."

He hadn't needed any more prompting and had hurried back inside. He had combed the ballroom and every other place he could think of, he even went back to the secluded alcove they had been in earlier, thinking she might have gone back there, but there was no sign of her.

He had finally come across Jack leaving one of the bathrooms and had asked him right out where Katie was. Jack had shrugged and said that she had told him that she was tired and decided to leave early.

He had been pissed that she had slipped away from him, and had been tempted to chase her down. But common sense prevailed, and he decided to wait until morning. He was emotionally exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. He would go see her in the morning. It wasn't like she was going anywhere.

He returned to the party and told his mother that he was retiring for the night. One glance at the somber group around the table made him glad he was. They were all extremely down looking considering they were at a party. He said his goodnights and left, waving a goodbye to Alex, who was dancing with Emma again.

So now here he was, staring up at the ceiling as he thought about what the next day may bring. He figured he would go over to her house early, right after breakfast, and ask her if she would take a walk with him. Then they would go to the park, to the same spot where he'd had his revelation about his feelings for her, and then he would confess it all and see what happened.

He drifted off to sleep as the vision of her smiling happily and throwing herself into his arms flitted through his head. How he hoped that would happen. But when he began dreaming, it was anything but happy.

He found himself on the same hilltop that his nightmares always seem to start on, but this time he was alone. He alone was the witness to the destruction of Crystal Tokyo as it crumbled and burned to the ground.

He heard a muffled cry behind him and turned to see Sailor Eclipse, Katie's alter ego, standing behind him with tears in her eyes. She collapsed to her knees, her black-skirted fuku with silver bows fading away into the mint green dress she had worn at the party.

Her teary eyes beseeched him as she cried out, "DJ! Find me, please!" Then the life faded from her eyes as she fell to the ground, dead.

He tried to reach her, but before he could, darkness swallowed them both.

DJ jerked awake, bolting upright in his bed. He took several breaths to try to calm the pounding of his heart. As the roaring noise in his ears died down, he became aware of his cell phone ringing shrilly from the bedside table.

He was reaching for it when his bedroom door was thrown open and his mother rushed in, flicking on the lights. She looked to be very distressed and was dressed in a pair of jeans and one of his father's old sweatshirts.

"Mom! What…" DJ began.

"There's no time to talk about it right now," Serenity cut him off. "Just get up and get dressed. Meet us downstairs as quick as you can." And with that she was gone.

He stared after her in stunned silence for a moment before he realized his phone was still ringing. He picked it up in a daze. "Hello."

"Oh thank God! Where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call your sorry ass for the last ten minutes!" a panicked voice came over the line.

"Alex?" DJ asked, confused.

"No, it's freaking Santa Clause!" came a sarcastic reply. "Of course it's me numb nuts!"

DJ had never heard his friend like this before. Alex was usually the calm, composed one of their group. Now he sounded hysterical and almost as if he had been crying. "Chill down a sec, Lex. What going on?"

A ball of dread began to form in the pit of his stomach. Something told him that he wasn't going to like this answer. But he still wasn't prepared when he heard the words.

"Kat's gone, DJ. Some sick bastard broke into the house and kidnapped her."

**A/N **Whew! Long chapter! Well I hope this gave you a little insight into what life was like for our three newcomers. Katie's kidnapping is the beginning of a whole new war. And don't forget about Sasha and Jack, I'm sure you've all realized that they tie into this somehow. In the next chapter there will be more Crystal Tokyo, we have to rescue Katie after all. But who will be the one to save the day? Check and see next time! Later!

~Sere~


	3. Discord's Miscalculation

**A/N **I'm sooooo sorry guys. I know this is mega late. The last few weeks have been unbelievable. First I got really sick and thought I was going to end up in the hospital, and now I've spent the last few days trying to keep from floating away. If any of you have been watching the news, I'm sure you've seen the flooding that's been going on in Nashville. Luckily my house sits on a hill, so I escaped any damage. But it's freaky because right down the road from me there are houses still under water. It's been crazy!!! Anyhow, I want to give a shout out to my wonderful reviewers. You guys are awesome. Hugs and cookies to:

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You guys rock! I hope I haven't lost any of you due to the long wait for this update. Life can be a total bitch sometimes. So I made this chapter super long in hopes of making you happy. I hope everyone likes it.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 2

Discord's Miscalculation

BONG!…BONG!…

A clock somewhere in the distance struck twice, sending its booming sound out to echo over the sleeping city of Crystal Tokyo. Well, not all of it was sleeping.

The moon was almost full, sending its bright, shimmering light out to shine gently over the buildings, clearly showing the two dark figures that were sitting on the roof of one of the tallest ones.

'_Two o'clock, and all is not well. As a matter of fact, it sucks!'_ thought the black haired one dressed in a black tuxedo. His blue eyes flickered behind the black mask that was covering them, searching for a sign, anything that might lead him to what he was searching for.

"Where the hell could she be?" his companion growled. His expression was unreadable since his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses. It may have been the middle of the night, but his sharp blue eyes could see through them as clear as day as he too scanned the surrounding area.

"I wish I knew, Alex," the tuxedo clad one said. "It's been so long now. She may not even be in the city anymore. Whoever the bastard is that took her could have taken her anywhere in the world by now."

"Oh god, DJ, don't say that!" Phoenix, also known as Alex, moaned as he jumped up and began pacing, his long black trench coat snapping behind him in the wind. "She's got to be around here somewhere."

"I sure hope so," Phantom grumbled. "Are you not picking up anything on her?"

As twins, Alex and Katie had always had a close connection. They always seemed to be able to read each other's thoughts and feelings, even finishing each other's sentences at times. But since his sister had gone missing two nights before, Alex hadn't been able to sense a trace of her anywhere.

Alex was also something of a computer wizard, and had built his own mini computer loosely based off the same properties as the Mercury computer. Usually it could pinpoint anyone's whereabouts in a matter of seconds, but Katie wasn't even showing up as a blip on the screen.

The brunette shook his head slowly. "Not a thing. It's like she just up and vanished off the face of the planet or something. It's really weird, I never realized how closely connected we were, but for the first time in my life, I feel completely alone."

The dark haired prince heard the pain and loneliness in his friend's voice. "We'll find her, Lex. And we'll probably find whoever took her in pretty bad shape. I'm sure Kat's good and pissed by now, and she won't hesitate to take her frustrations out on them."

Phoenix forced a chuckle. "You're probably right. She's kicked both our asses on a couple of occasions. I'd feel better if she had this with her though."

He pulled a slender silver chain from his pocket. Dangling from it was a small diamond, cut into the shape of a crescent moon. This was what held Katie's transformation powers. Without it, she couldn't transform into Sailor Eclipse.

After Neo Queen Serenity had rushed into DJ's room the other night and the disturbing phone called from Alex, DJ had dressed quickly and hurried downstairs where he found his parents, his sister, and the scouts and generals waiting. They had all hurried over the couple of blocks to Andrew and Jess's house.

It had been a nightmare. The house was in utter chaos. Furniture was knocked over and pictures had fallen off the walls. It looked like a hell of a fight had happened. There was a spot of blood on one of the stairs, and everyone's hearts almost stopped when Amy confirmed that it was Katie's blood.

Nebula, Jess's feline advisor, had been found under a stack of books that had fallen off a shelf, drugged and unconscious.

Raye had summoned a fireball in her palm and began meditating while Michelle used her mirror and Hotaru read the lingering auras. Between the three of them, they were able to piece together what had happened.

Whoever had done this had broken into the house and attacked Nebula first, and then waited. When Katie arrived home alone, he had taken her by surprise. She had tried to fight off her attacker, fleeing through the different rooms. It was obvious she was trying to make her way upstairs to her room to get her transformation pendant, since she hadn't been wearing it that night.

Her room had been the worst. More blood was found there, on the floor, on the rumpled bed, and even a few smears on the walls. It seemed that she had put up a fight even though she had been injured.

It also appeared that she had almost reached her goal. The jewelry box that normally sat on her dresser had been knocked over, and Alex had discovered her all-important necklace lying on the floor amid the other scattered pieces of jewelry.

Phantom took a deep breath, trying to force back the painful memories of that night. He reached a hand into his pocket to touch his own memento. He had found the silver charm bracelet that he had given to Katie snagged on a loose thread on one of the blankets that hung half off the bed. It must have gotten caught during her struggles and been pulled off her wrist.

Running his fingers over the delicate bracelet helped renew his hope. They would find her, and then he would personally put the bracelet back on her wrist where it belonged.

Two thumps behind them had the two boys spinning around, tense and ready to attack. Their stiff posture relaxed when they saw who had snuck up on them.

"I thought you two were supposed to be going back to the palace to get some sleep," Endymion said, stepping out of the shadows.

Both of the boys shrugged, not saying anything.

Andrew, standing next to Endymion, sighed. "Alex, you need to go back for a while. Your mother is crazy with worry and I think it would do her some good to see that you're okay."

The king nodded. "Same thing for you DJ. Both of you have been out here searching for almost two days straight with no rest. Take a break. Go get something to eat and get a little sleep. There are others out here searching as well."

"We will in a little bit," DJ told him. "There are a couple of more places we wanted to check out first."

"That wasn't a request," Endymion replied in a commanding tone. "The others are looking, too. The two of you aren't going to do anyone any good if you both collapse from exhaustion."

DJ wanted to argue, but he had learned at an early age that his father wasn't easily persuaded. As much as he wanted to protest, he knew better.

"All right, dad," he sighed, giving up. "Come on, Lex."

"But…" the other boy began to protest.

"Alexander! You march your ass back to the palace right this minute!" Andrew snapped, and then lowered his voice. "Go see your mother and put her mind at ease, please."

"Fine," Alex grumbled. "But she better not get all clingy. I'm almost sixteen for crying out loud."

Andrew smiled sadly. "I know, but she's under a lot of stress right now. We all are. And with your sister missing it's only natural that she would worry about you more than usual."

Alex shuffled his feet and looked down. "I know, dad. I'll go. But if she attempts to strangle me to death with hugs, you better bail me out."

"It's a deal," Andrew agreed.

Both men shook their heads as they watched the two boys jump over to the next roof, taking the high route back toward the palace.

"It's scary how much they're like we used to be," Endymion commented with a low chuckle.

Andrew agreed. "Yeah. Too much like us for their own good. We better follow them and make sure they actually go back. I wouldn't put it past them to take off once they're out of sight."

"True," Endymion sighed. "Then I'd have to deal with Serena, and I would prefer to avoid that if at all possible."

"I hear ya," Andrew sympathized as he looked out over the city. A heavy expression settled over his face. "This part will be over soon, right?"

Endymion clasped his friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll have your little girl back with you soon."

A tear fell from Andrew's eye. "But she won't be the same. Remember what she was like when she first came to us in the past. She was so hurt and angry. I wanted to stop this from happening, but Pluto's warnings of what would happen if we changed events stopped me. I feel like the worst father in the world for letting Katie go through this."

"I know how you feel," Endymion told him. "I feel the same way every time I send Rini to the past and I know she's going into a dangerous situation. But these experiences are what will shape our children into the strong individuals they will become."

* * *

The old man tapped a finger against his chin as he stared thoughtfully through the one-way glass and into the pitch-dark room beyond. His red, beady eyes had no problem penetrating the darkness to see his prey huddled up in a ball on the floor.

"It's hard to believe that this sniveling little girl is the daughter of Sailor Shadow," he said in a thin, reedy voice.

The girl at his side nodded vigorously. "I know. I couldn't believe it either when I first met her. She's a complete flake and a horrible whiner. Not a thing like the other two. She's definitely the weakest link out of the three. No power to really speak of unless she's transformed. The other two are far more dangerous, they can call on their powers at any time."

"Don't delude yourself," another voice said as a young man walked into the room. "Sure, she may not have mastered her crystal's power yet, but I've been watching her train for months. She's a highly skilled fighter, and very lethal. Look at what she did to that guardian that kidnapped her. She messed him up good, and that was while she was in her civilian form."

Cold eyes narrowed on him. "So she got in a few lucky hits. He messed her up good, too." She turned her head to look back into the room again, her eyes shining gleefully as she took in the bloodstained, tattered green dress of the girl in the dark room.

"Now, now you two, no arguing," the old man cautioned them. "I have learned from experience to not underestimate any of these people. There may be more to her than meets the eye, otherwise she wouldn't have been picked to be one of the bearers of the Trinity."

"Bah!" the girl scoffed. "She's way too fragile. You should have seen the look on her face the other night when she saw me kissing her precious prince. It was priceless."

The old man gave her a benevolent smile. "Yes, Sasha, you did well in ensuring that she would run off alone. It saved us a lot of hassle and also gave us the element of surprise."

He turned his attention back to the glass as the huddled figure on the floor began shaking and the sound of sobs reached his ears. Yes, this one was almost broken. Once he was done with her, the Trinity would be no more. Of course he hadn't forgotten about the two boys, he would get them eventually too. What better way to exact his revenge on the ones that imprisoned him than to take it out on their children?

He grinned as the girl began begging to be let out. She wouldn't last much longer. He flipped a switch and let his true voice come out. "Poor little thing. You want to go home, don't you?"

Katie looked blindly around the room, her face was swollen and red from the tears she had cried the last two days. She whimpered in the darkness. "Yes, please, let me go. I just want to go home to my parents. I don't care who you are or why you took me, just let me go home, please."

He chuckled, and saw her shiver at the sound. "Such a pampered little girl. If you are so important to your family, why haven't they come to rescue you yet? They are the heroes of Crystal Tokyo, are they not? You would think that they would be able to find one missing girl fairly easily. Maybe they think that you aren't worth the effort,"

Katie pushed herself shakily to her feet, shaking her head. "No. My family loves me. I know they have to be looking for me. Somebody will come for me. I just know it. And you'll be in major trouble when that happens."

"No little one, I don't think they will," he said in a deceptively sympathetic voice. Then he used his powers to project images into her mind.

She saw her parents, her brother, and all of her aunts and uncles going about their normal daily lives. Every time someone would mention going to look for her, someone would say, "She's a big girl. She can look after herself. She doesn't need us to do it for her."

"But I do need them," she whispered. "I know I'm not that strong. I can't do anything when I'm all alone."

The voice returned. "Of course I know your secret wish, the one you harbor in your deepest heart. You fantasize about your prince, the one that you love, charging in to your rescue. But I'm afraid that he has moved on to other interests."

The scene played over in her head like a recurring nightmare. The night of the party, she had slipped away from Jack and had gone looking for DJ. She couldn't get their earlier kiss out of her mind. It had been her first.

She had just stepped out of a set of doors that led to the garden when she had looked up and seen Sasha throw herself at DJ and kiss him. The moment that she had seen his arms wrap around the girl, her heart had shattered. She had turned and ran as fast as she could, all the way home.

If she hadn't been so upset, maybe she would have picked up on the strange atmosphere in the house when she got there. The lights had all been turned off, which was odd because the family always left a few burning when they were out for the evening. Before she knew what was happening, a tall man with red eyes had been on top of her.

After a stunned moment, her years of training had kicked in, and she fought back with everything that she had. Even after she had received several cuts from the knife that the man had carried, she continued to fight. She had cursed herself for not wearing her transformation necklace, but she hadn't thought that she would need it, she never had before.

She finally made it to her room, but before she could retrieve the pendant from her jewelry box, the man had tackled her. She had held him off for a few more minutes, but eventually he had pinned her to the bed and had jammed a syringe into her neck. The next thing she knew, she had woken up in complete darkness.

She hated the dark. That was the one thing that scared her more than anything. Alex had often laughed at that, wondering how the dark could bother her so much. After all, their mother was the sailor scout of the shadows, and she herself was Sailor Eclipse. The very name alone meant when the moon was dark.

She couldn't explain it. When she was in the dark, she felt so alone. She wasn't the type of person that liked a lot of solitude. She enjoyed being around people, and surrounded herself with her friends and family as much as she could.

'_I can't believe they would leave me alone like this,' _she thought. _'I thought for sure that someone would come for me, mom, dad, Alex, somebody. I'm all alone. I can't deal with this by myself. I can't…I can't…"_

The faces of her family and friends blurred in her mind. None of them were coming. She was alone. It was at that moment that her body shut down. There was no reason to keep fighting it. Her family would move on without her, and DJ seemed to have his life in order. What use was she?

The old man smiled as he saw her face go blank and her legs give out as she slumped back to the floor. Finally, she had broken. Now he would have his revenge.

He turned to the young man at his side. "Jack, prepare one of the guardians to take my message to the palace. It's time for the next phase of my plan."

* * *

Alex gasped and sat upright as he came awake. There was a strange, horrible burning sensation in his chest that he couldn't explain. He looked around, disoriented for a moment, trying to remember where he was.

Pale, early morning sunlight was streaming through large windows, highlighting the mostly black furniture in the room. His brain slowly began functioning again, and he realized that he was on the couch in DJ's room. They had come back and crashed after their dads had sent them back to the palace in the wee hours of the morning.

They had both suffered through their mothers coddling and had managed to choke down a little of the food that Lita had insisted on making for them before escaping to the privacy of DJ's room with the promise of getting some rest.

They had sat up for a while, making plans and mapping out the next areas they were going to search for some sign of Katie. His computer had picked up some unusual readings near a bridge down at the bay. They figured it was worth checking it out since they had nothing else to go on.

Exhaustion had finally caught up to them, and they both dozed off. Alex had been plagued by dreams, but not the usual nightmares about the destruction of Crystal Tokyo. In these dreams he was surrounded by darkness. He could her the sound of Katie crying somewhere nearby, but he couldn't find her in the dark. He called out to her repeatedly, but she never answered him. All he heard was her voice repeating over and over, "I'm all alone, all alone, all alone…"

He looked over to the rumpled bed and saw that it was empty. Evidently his friend had gotten even less sleep than he did. He knew that Katie's kidnapping had hit DJ hard. He was trying to hide it, but Alex could tell. It was little things that he picked up on like the look in his eyes and the way he kept slipping up and calling her Kat. Up until now, Alex had been the only one to ever call her that.

He stood and stretched, trying to energize himself for another day of searching. The burning in his chest had subsided a bit, and was now just a dull ache. He couldn't help but feel that it and the dream he had was a sign that something was about to happen.

The door to the adjoining bathroom opened, and DJ walked out, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt, drying his wet hair with a towel.

He nodded a good morning to his friend. "The shower's free if you want it."

Alex nodded. "Thanks. Did you get any sleep."

DJ shrugged. "An hour or so, I guess. I kept having weird dreams. It was different from the normal nightmare."

Alex paused in pulling his clothes from his duffle bag. "So you heard her too," he murmured.

"What?" DJ asked in shock.

Alex sighed. "Don't tell me, you had a dream where everything was dark and you could hear Katie crying that she was all alone, right?"

DJ's face paled. "Yeah, I did. Why? Did you have the same dream?"

Alex shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah. I think she was calling out to us somehow. But I've got a really bad feeling. I think something's happened to her. She sounded so lost and afraid in the dream. She didn't sound like herself at all. I think something big is fixing to go down."

DJ agreed. "I know what you mean. I also get the weird feeling that our parents and the others know more than what they're telling us. Yeah, they're all freaked out and everything, but know of them acted like this was a huge shock."

Alex thought back two nights to when his sister had been taken. All of the adults had been fine at the beginning of the party, but as the night had gone on, the mood had become more somber. Then there was the way his mother had been acting, something had caused her to wig out that night.

He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you're right. Perhaps there's an enemy threat that they've been keeping quiet. But why would someone target Kat? It doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does," DJ told him "Your dad works for my dad, and your mom is pretty well known and close to my mom. Everybody knows that the four of them are friends. It's possible that they took Katie to try to force some issue with my parents."

"I guess anything's possible," Alex agreed. "It doesn't matter what it is though, all that matters is getting my sister back."

"Damn straight," DJ growled. "Go get ready so we can get started."

Alex grabbed his clothes and hurried into the bathroom. Normally he would take his time and enjoy his morning shower, but this time he was in and out in five minutes. He walked back into the bedroom to find DJ clicking his phone closed with a look of disgust on his face.

"I can't believe she left me seventeen messages," he grumbled. "Can't the girl take a hint?"

Alex grinned as he sat down and put on his shoes. "One of your adoring fans?"

DJ shook his head. "I guess you could say that. It's Sasha. I thought she would have figured it out after that kiss the other night, but evidently not."

"Whoa, back up!" Alex exclaimed. "You kissed Sasha? Have you gone insane?"

DJ flushed. "She kissed me, I didn't kiss her. And I told her afterward that I only thought of her as a friend. I thought she was cool with it, but she had the nerve to leave me a message asking if I wanted to go to a movie with her. Like I have time to be going to a movie with everything that's been going on around here!"

"That does sound a little psycho," Alex commented. "You better watch out for her. She could be a potential stalker. You may wake up one morning tied to your bed with her naked and on top of you."

DJ chuckled and threw a pillow at his friend. "I damn well better not! She's not my type. She may be super model gorgeous, but something about her just rubs me the wrong way. It's a total cock kill."

Alex just grinned. Sasha definitely possessed the looks that would turn most men's heads. But he knew that his friend was attracted to more of the girl next-door type, specifically a certain tall, slender blonde with a natural, wholesome beauty and sparkling hazel eyes.

"Enough about crazy girls," DJ said. "Let's go grab some grub and check in with the parental units before we head out. I've got a feeling that we're going to find her today."

The two made their way down to the dining room, surprised to find nobody but their parents, Mina, and Kunzite there. Usually the room would be packed at this time of the morning. They both headed to the buffet, filling their plates quietly while they listened in to what the adults were saying.

Mina was giving the rundown of everyone's positions. "So Lita and Nephrite are searching the industrial zones. Amy and Zoicite are looking through the residential areas. Raye and Jadeite are covering the shopping district. And Rini is with Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru down by the bay."

Both boys' ears perked up at the mention of the bay. That was one of the areas that they were wanting to search.

"Yes," Serenity replied. "It seems that the Neptune mirror began acting funny in that area, and Hotaru thought she felt something strange as well. They wanted to check it out and see if they could find anything. It's strange because nothing showed up on the earlier scans of the area and it has been searched several times already."

Kunzite spoke up, but his voice was barely a whisper, making the boys strain to here the words. "You have to remember who we are up against. He is capable of doing anything."

Alex and DJ shared a look of understanding. This confirmed what they had thought. The adults knew more than they were letting on. It sounded as if they were already aware of who was behind Katie's kidnapping, they just didn't know where she was being kept.

Realizing that nothing else of any importance was going to be said for now, the two took their plates and sat down at the table.

"Good morning, you two," Serenity chirped, attempting to sound cheerful. "Did you guys finally get some rest?"

They both shrugged and muttered, "Some."

"Good grief, Alex," Jess commented, looking at her son's plate. "There are like fifty different things to choice from on the buffet, and you get nothing but a couple of pieces of bacon and a spoonful of hash browns. You need to eat more than that or you're going to wither up and blow away."

Alex shot his mother an exasperated look. "This is all I want. I'm just not very hungry right now."

"But…" Jess began to protest, but stopped when Andrew grabbed her hand. He gave a slight shake of his head, telling her to leave him alone.

An awkward silence fell over the room as everyone continued to eat their breakfast. DJ and Alex finished quickly and were about to make their escape when a guard rushed into the room clutching a package in his hand.

"Your majesties!" he exclaimed with a quick bow. "This package was just delivered to the front gate by a suspicious looking man with the instructions that it was to be delivered to you right away. We scanned it, and there doesn't appear to be anything dangerous about it."

Serenity took padded envelope from him. "Thank you. You may return to your duties."

"Well, just staring at the envelope isn't going to tell you what's inside," Endymion joked when Serenity made no move to open it.

She shook her head as if coming out of a daze. "You're right. But what about…?" she inclined her head toward the two teens.

Endymion sighed. "They're going to find out what's going on sooner or later. We can't keep them in the dark forever."

Serenity nodded and slipped her finger under the flap of the envelope. Once it was open, she tilted it up and two things fell out of it and onto the table. One was a small device about the size of a calculator, and everyone's breath caught at the sight of the second item.

It was a thin tail of pale blonde hair tied tightly with a delicate silver ribbon. The hair was knotted and tangled and the ribbon sported smudges of blood, but there was no doubt who it belonged to.

"That bastard!" Jess hissed. "That spineless sack of shit! I'll kill him this time! I should have blown his sorry ass to hell a thousand years ago! When I get my hands on him…"

Andrew put a gentle hand over her mouth. "Okay sweetheart, I think we get the point. The bottom line is that if you had blown him up before, you would have taken the whole planet and us out along with him."

She sat back with a huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know, but he turned it personal the moment he decided to take my baby. I want to smash his face in."

DJ had to resist the urge to jump up with a whoop and give Jess a high five. He didn't know who this person was she was talking about, but totally agreed with her. He wouldn't mind getting a piece of this guy too.

"Well, let's see what this says," Serenity said, pressing a button on the device. A hush fell over the room as they waited in anticipation.

A fuzzy holographic figure about eighteen inches tall appeared on the table. The person was wearing a hooded cloak, hiding their features completely. When the voice began speaking, it sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"Well, well, greetings Serenity and Endymion. I'm sure my favorite little princess is listening in to this as well, so hello Melody, Sailor Shadow, or whatever name you choose to go by now. This form may be unfamiliar to you, but you're all smart enough to figure out who I am, so I'll skip the introductions and cut right to the point. I have taken something of yours, or more specifically someone, one of the pieces to the puzzle, so to speak. I'm sure you are all anxious to get her back, so I propose we get together and negotiate the options. Meet me tonight at 8:00 on the bridge that spans the bay. Bring whoever you want with you. I will bring my associates as well, so don't try anything funny. The girl still lives, for now; but make one wrong move against me and I will slit her throat before you can blink. Until later."

The image grew blurry, and then faded away. No one spoke or even moved for a few minutes.

Alex banged his hands on the table as he stood, his body trembling in rage at the person who would dare threaten his sister. "I knew it! I knew I picked up on something down in the bay area. Come on, DJ. Let's go check it out."

DJ was half out of his chair when Jess stood up in a flurry. "Oh no you don't, young man. You're not going anywhere."

"But mom," Alex protested. "Now we have a pretty good idea where Kat is. Maybe we can sneak in and get her out before tonight and blow his plans sky high. It would be perfect."

"And you heard what I said," Jess insisted. "You're not going anywhere near the bay; not now, and not tonight. I forbid it."

Alex was usually slow to anger, but now his temper flashed to the surface. "That's bullshit! I'm not an idiot, you know. I'm well aware of the fact that you all have been hiding something from us, something pretty damn big. If you don't want to tell us, that's fine, but you can't spend years training us and trying to turn us into these perfect fighting machines and then expect us to sit out the first time trouble comes knocking. Whoever this son of a bitch is has got my sister, and I'm going to do whatever I can to get her back!"

DJ stood up next to him. "He's right. We're in this whether you like it or not. I don't know why, but I feel like this involves us as much as it involves Katie. You guys have been throwing the three of us together for years, making us work together as a team. We've had to train twice as long and twice as hard as any of the others. We are what you have made us, so don't expect us to sit back and do nothing."

Jess stared at them both with tears shining in her eyes. "Neither of you know what you're talking about, what we're up against. Trust me, he will chew you up and spit you back out like you are nothing. I know."

Alex threw his hands up in the air. "Well I'm glad somebody knows something, cause from where I'm standing I can tell you I don't know shit! The only thing I can figure out is that some asshole with a grudge against you has decided to take it out on my twin sister. I'm sorry, mom, but I can't stay out of this."

There was a puff of magenta smoke, and then Sailor Pluto appeared in the room. "The boys are right. We have sheltered them from the truth for as long as we could, but time is catching up with us. They deserve to know the truth and how it will impact their lives."

Serenity's communicator began beeping, and she answered it almost robotically.

"Mom," Rini's voice came through. "Neptune and Saturn were right. We just found the mother load of all negative energy sources coming from somewhere under one of the bridge supports down here. It's heavily shielded, that's why we didn't pick up on it the first time. What do you want us to do?"

Serenity sighed heavily and glanced around at the others before answering. "Fall back. I want you to call the others and tell everyone that I want them to return to the palace immediately. We have plans to make."

* * *

Discord sat back and admired his handy work. He had figured out who the bearers of the Trinity were fairly early in their lives and had followed them carefully throughout the years. He had always been captivated by the girl, thinking that she was an exact duplicate of her mother as far as her spirit and passion for living went. But as he examined the broken girl in front of him, he realized that she must have missed out on those genes after all.

He grasped her chin, forcing her dull, lifeless hazel eyes to meet his intense red stare. "So," he hissed. "This is the daughter of the proud Sailor Shadow. I must confess I find myself a little disappointed. I had expected to encounter a little more fight from you, but you caved in under very little pressure. It's no wonder your family didn't come rushing to your rescue, you must be such a disappointment to them."

'_Am I a disappointment to them?' _Katie thought. She thought of her brother. Alex was brilliant with anything electronic. He had a bright and sunny personality that made everyone automatically want to be friends with him.

And DJ, he was always polite, to everyone except her, anyway. He was also very intelligent. He had always scored better grades than her no matter how hard she studied.

Rini was, well, Rini was perfect. She was the crown princess and an accomplished fighter. She would lead and protect Crystal Tokyo well when the time came for her to be queen.

And then she thought about the children of the other scouts. Emma was beautiful and vivacious. Her little brother, Kyle, was just as charming. Skye and Nick, Lita and Nephrite's deadly duo, were the powerhouses. They were some of the best fighters she had ever seen. Raye and Jadeite's kids, Jayden and Ryssa were extremely gifted. They were blessed with both their mother's gift of sight and their father's telekinetic abilities. Hannah and Corey were the geniuses, of course they would be having parents like Amy and Zoicite.

But all of those special gifts weren't what she envied about them. It was the fact that all of them, even six year old Corey, had developed control over their crystal's powers already. She had been trying for years to be able to use her powers when she wasn't transformed, but the most she had ever gotten were a few silver sparks to shoot from her fingers.

So yeah, she probably was a disappointment. Whoever heard of a crystal carrier that couldn't even use their powers? She was kind of glad now that nobody had come rushing to her rescue. She was supposed to be a sailor scout, she shouldn't need to be rescued. Even if she couldn't transform, she should have been able to fight.

"I'm a disgrace," she whispered.

A wide smirk appeared on Discord's wrinkled face. "There, there, don't be so hard on yourself, precious. Not everyone is meant to be a hero."

She fell to the floor like a rag doll, sobbing, "I'm not a hero. I can't do anything. I just want to be left alone. I wish someone would kill me."

Discord knelt down next to her and patted her tangled hair. "You'll get your wish soon enough, my dear. But first we have an appointment to keep."

This was going better than he thought. He could already taste the sweetness of revenge on his tongue. He couldn't wait to wave this now pitiful little girl under the noses of his enemies and watch the suffering in their eyes. And then he would kill her in front of them, severing the Galactic Trinity and any hope that they may harbor of being able to defeat him.

Then the planet would his for the taking. He was no longer afraid of being sealed away, for now he had an impenetrable army. Instead of funneling his power into making hundreds of worthless youma, he had cultivated an elite group of warriors. His guardians were super powered humanoids with unmatched speed and strength. They also held the ability to launch energy attacks, making them an even match for any enemy that may confront them.

He had also merged his magic with the characteristics of some of Earth's most dangerous predators to create his sentinels, creatures that usually looked like wolves or large cats that had been jacked up on steroids. They were highly venomous. One bite from them or one scratch from the spikes that protruded from their bodies was enough to incapacitate a person in minutes, eventually killing them if they weren't magically healed rather quickly.

Yes, victory was almost in his grasp. He would render the Trinity powerless by killing the girl. He would eventually take care of the other two, just to be safe, along with those other meddlesome fools. He would deal with them swiftly and effectively this time. He had learned to never underestimate them, so the quicker he could get them out of the picture, the better.

He snapped his fingers, and one of his guardians came over to jerk Katie up off the floor. She whimpered as she was pulled upright, her eyes wide and frightened.

Discord grinned at her. "Now let's go show your family what a good little girl you are, shall we?"

* * *

"What time is it?" Alex hissed to his companion as they crouched in the darkness, hidden high up on the structure of the bridge.

DJ sighed and glanced at his watch. "Exactly one minute since the last time you asked me. It's two minutes until eight."

"Two minutes," Alex sighed. "Dou you think this Discord guy is going to show up?"

"He better," DJ ground out. "We didn't just go through hours of begging our parents to let us come while practically on our knees just to have him be a no show. Anyway, from what we've heard about him, that doesn't seem like his style."

Alex agreed. "Yeah, he sounds more like the type to wait until the last possible moment to make an appearance just to rattle everyone's nerves." He was quiet for a moment, and then asked, " What did you think about all of that crap they told us earlier?"

DJ shook his head. "I honestly don't know. It was kind of freaky. For a moment I wondered if they were all on something, but they seemed so serious. What do you think?"

Alex shrugged. "Beats me. But it would explain a lot. You know, why they always pushed the three of us to train so much and all. But to say that we will be able to control the powers of gods, that's kinda out there."

"I here ya," DJ replied. "But then again, I can't completely write it off. No one in our group can be called exactly normal, can they?"

"True," Alex said with a nod of his head. "Maybe there is something to it, but I'll think about all of that later. Right now all I want to do is get my sister back."

"Right," DJ agreed as he looked down at the group assembled on the bridge below them. Serenity and Endymion were in the front along with Rini, Jess, and Andrew, flanked by Mina and Kunzite on one side and Amara and Michelle on the other. The rest of the scouts and generals were close behind them. They were all transformed, except for the king and queen, who were already in their most powerful forms, watching and waiting.

Alex couldn't help but stare in awe at his parents. He had rarely ever seen them in their fighting forms before. Crystal Tokyo was peaceful for the most part, so other than taking part in the occasional sparring match, they never changed into their alter egos.

His father's bronze armor glinted softly in the moonlight, making him seem to be an imposing figure. His deadly lethal aura matched that of the woman next to him.

He had always heard that his mother was one of the strongest of the sailor scouts, but he had never had a chance to see her in action. The only time he had come close had been when he was seven and the Dark Moon clan had attacked Crystal Tokyo. But that was all kind of a blur since they had all been hit by a sleep spell within just a couple of minutes of the attack starting.

Sailor Shadow stood poised and ready, looking like a cobra that was coiled and set to strike. A grim look settled over her face as the clock in the distance began to strike the hour of eight.

The two boys held their breath in anticipation. After hours of pleading, they had been allowed to come along as long as they promised to stay out of sight and out of the fight unless it was absolutely necessary.

A fissure went through the air as the last sound of the clock faded into the night. Energy crackled as figures began appearing on the bridge. Some of them looked to be ordinary humans, but the rest looked like escapees from a genetic testing lab or something. They were snarling, rabid looking beasts that resembled mutated wolves and a variety of large cats.

"Whoa!" Alex whispered as he typed away on his mini computer, just like Sailor Mercury was below him. "Their energy reading is way off the chart. Those guys may look normal, but they're definitely something else."

"What about Kat? Any sign of her?" DJ asked quietly.

Alex grinned and looked up. "Yep. She's somewhere close by. I can't get a sure location, but she's near."

They both fell silent as another figure materialized onto the bridge. They recognized the hooded figure from the holographic message earlier. So this was Discord.

"Good evening," he drawled, sounding more sinister than pleasant. "I'm glad to see you all could make it. It's been a long time."

"Enough with the pleasantries, asshole!" Sailor Shadow snapped. "Where is my daughter?"

"Tsk, tsk," Discord admonished her. "Patience, princess. You never were very good at that. This is my game, and we play by my rules. You see, I've been planning this for a long time. I knew that if I was to make my presence known too soon, that you would use those three brats to invoke the power of the Galactic Trinity in an attempt to destroy me, so I had to take out some insurance first."

He snapped his fingers, and another one of his guardians appeared. It was holding tightly onto a bundle of wrinkled, bloodstained, mint green fabric with snarled blonde hair that was thrashing furiously against it.

"Let go of me!" Katie screeched. "You lousy, steroid pumped son of a bitch! The first chance I get, I'm so giving you an ass kicking that you'll never forget."

DJ grinned at the sound of her outraged voice. He also felt a profound relief wash through him. A part of him had been afraid about what kind of condition they would find her in, especially after the disturbing nightmare he'd had earlier.

"Whoa, she sounds pissed," he whispered, turning Alex. He was surprised to find his friend frowning as he studied his computer screen. "What's the matter?"

Alex shook his head. "What is that asshole trying to pull? He had to have known that we would figure it out pretty quick."

"What are you muttering about?" DJ asked. "What are we supposed to figure out?"

Alex looked up at him in exasperation. "That the girl down there is not Kat."

DJ's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at her again, studying her closely. "You're kidding, right?"

"Trust me," Alex said confidently. "She may look like her and sound like her, but whoever that is isn't my sister."

"Are you sure?" DJ asked skeptically.

Alex snorted. "Of course I'm sure. Look at the others if you don't believe me. Mercury figured it out even quicker than I did. He's trying to pull a fast one on us."

DJ looked down at the adults and saw that they were all conferring with Sailor Mercury who was pointing at the girl and shaking her head. Sailor Shadow had tears running down her cheeks and was being held back by Andrew as she was attempting to run across the bridge.

"You bastard!" she screamed. "Did you think I wouldn't know my own daughter? I'm not falling for your mind tricks this time. You said that you would bring her if we came. Now where is she?"

Discord sighed. "Still just as stubborn as ever, I see. You never want to play the game by the rules. Very well." He snapped his fingers, and the imposter turned into a flamed haired female guardian with glowing red eyes to match her hair. She snickered evilly as she stepped back to join the ranks.

Discord's hooded head shook back and forth slightly. "What a pity. I was hoping that you would fall for it, at least for a few minutes. It would have been amusing. I would have considered seeing your anguish as a small step toward compensating me for some of the isolation you condemned me to for over a thousand years. That really wasn't very nice, you know."

"I'll show you nice, you son of a bitch!" Sailor Shadow retorted as she lunged against Andrew's restraining arms. "How about we meet halfway and have our long overdue showdown…mmpphh…"

Andrew slapped a hand over her mouth to cut off her angry tirade as he struggled to hold on to her. Uranus and Neptune stepped in front of them to block the way in case she broke loose from him. They could tell that she was barely holding on to her restraint by a thin thread. Her motherly instincts were warring with the ironclad control that she had learned to command over the years, and nobody really wanted to die that day.

"That's enough, Discord!" Serenity demanded, sounding every inch the queen that she was. "We have met you here according to your terms. Now I demand that you return Katie to us."

A gruesome chuckle rumbled from Discord. "You are in no position to make demands of me, Serenity. The rest of the world may rest in your delicate little hands, but you have no power over me. I said that I would bring the girl and meet with you to discuss our options, but I never said anything about returning her to you. Without her, you only hold two keys to the Trinity and pose no threat to me. Now shall we negotiate my peaceful takeover of this planet, or are things going to get ugly?"

"We will never hand this planet over to you," Endymion declared. "Give us back Katie and leave now, and we may let you live."

The hooded head shook. "Forever stubborn I see. Oh well, that is of little consequence. We will just do this the hard way." He gestured to his guardians and sentinels. "My pets, they are all yours."

Activity exploded on the bridge as Discord's forces charged them and the heroes sprang into action. Alex and DJ watched in open-mouthed shock as the violent fight broke out.

"Holy shit!" DJ exclaimed as he watched not just the scouts and generals, but his parents as well, jump into the fray. He knew from the stories he'd heard growing up that his mom and dad were veteran fighters, but in his mind he had never seen them as anything other than the powerful king and queen that they were. He looked on in amazement at their smooth, practiced moves as they fought.

"Wicked!" Alex crowed gleefully as saw Sailor Shadow leap straight up into the air to flip over the head of a rushing guardian. She landed behind it and planted a well-placed kick in its back, sending it sprawling to the ground. "Mom's got some moves!"

DJ nodded enthusiastically. "I've never seen any of them fight like this during sparring sessions. This is cool!"

A beeping sound came from Alex's mini computer, catching both of their attention. Alex pressed a few buttons and a wide grin appeared on his face.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed. "I got her! Whatever energy that was that's been scrambling the computers signal has weakened. Kat's right below us, under the bridge."

DJ scrambled up to stand on the beam they had been sitting on. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get her."

Alex looked a little apprehensive. "I don't know. Our parents told us to stay here out of sight. Maybe we shouldn't go down there."

"Are you out of your mind?" DJ asked incredulously. "They're all a little busy at the moment and we know where she is. We can sneak down there and get her before anyone even knows it. I bet that would piss this asshole off and send him running."

Alex thought about it for a moment. He winced as he saw Sailor Mars duck to avoid a panther looking sentinel. She escaped a head on collision, but he heard her cry of pain as one of the cat's spikes laid open the skin on her arm. Their side was holding their own in this attack, but it would be nice to stop it before anyone got seriously hurt.

"You're right," he agreed. "This fight could turn against us at any time. Let's go."

They both transformed quietly, black clothing taking the place of the jeans and t-shirts they were wearing. They began quickly climbing down from their perch, moving silently and sticking to the shadows to keep from drawing attention to themselves.

They landed on the far side of the bridge, away from the fight, without encountering any problems. With one last glance over their shoulders at the battling adults, they turned and ran quickly for the end of the bridge.

* * *

The cold water of the bay had turned her feet numb a long time ago, and goosebumps covered her skin as the water steadily rose slowly, inch by icy inch up her legs. But she didn't feel it. She just stood there where she had been bound to the bridge pillar with her arms tied above her head and stared out at the tranquil bay with empty eyes.

The moonlight was reflecting off the water, lighting up the area around her and bringing her a tiny bit of relief. Anything was better than the nightmare of darkness that she had endured the past few days. Of course this caused her to resent herself even more.

'_Scared of the dark, just like a little baby. I am such a wuss!' _Katie berated herself. _'Well that's another strike against me. God I really am pathetic. Maybe if I'm stuck here long enough the water will just cover me up and I'll drown. It would probably be easier on everyone to just take me out of the equation like that. Yeah, that's a thought. Come on in tide. Come and get me.'_

She felt the pillar at her back shudder a little and heard several yells from above her. She closed her eyes and tried to tune it out as the water creeped up some more. It was at her waist now and she silently begged it to go faster.

She had heard her mother's voice a few minutes ago, and knew that her family was up on the bridge confronting that psycho old man that had orchestrated her kidnapping, but she didn't want them there.

'_Just go home and leave me here,' _she pleaded to herself. _'I don't want you to save me. I'm not worth saving. I just want everything to be over. Please just go away.'_

She felt a burning hatred for the old man that had ripped her from her family, but at the same time she was grateful to him for showing her exactly how weak and helpless she was.

All of her life she had thought that she was something special. After all, it wasn't just anyone that was chosen to be a crystal carrier. And all of the training she had endured in her life had made her think that one day she would be able to stand proudly at the side of the other sailor scouts as an equal, as a fellow protector of Earth. What a joke! That was probably why her powers had never fully awakened, her crystal knew that she was a fraud.

Even more laughable was the fact that she had thought that she could have been a match for the prince of Earth. DJ was royalty for crying out loud. He was strong and powerful, and one day he would help his sister rule Crystal Tokyo. When the time came for him to pick the person he would spend the rest of his life with, it sure wouldn't be a weak, whiny person like her.

A grim smile touched her lips as the water began to inch up her ribs. It wouldn't be much longer until she was at peace. She knew that her family loved her, despite her shortcomings, and that they would miss her, but this was for the best. She knew Alex would probably mourn the hardest since they had been together since the moment of their creation, but he had Emma and his other friends. He would be fine. No more having to watch out for his weakling sister.

The tide was coming in faster now. The water was at her chest now. Just a few more minutes until the end. A tear slid down her cheek as she thought of her parents. She hoped they wouldn't hurt too much when she died. She didn't want them in pain. She was just freeing them from the meaningless obligation of caring for her.

She pictured her dad as he puttered happily around their kitchen cooking up something delicious and her mom as she swayed and hummed to a song on the radio as she worked in front of her easel. They would be fine.

Her breath froze for a moment as water reached her neck and a momentary spark of uncertainty went through her. Was this really what she wanted, to be separated from her family and loved ones forever?

'_Yes,' _she convinced herself as she saw again the picture of DJ and Sasha locked in a passionate embrace. _'What good would it serve to have me hanging around for years to come, watching as everyone moves on with their spectacular lives? It's best to just end it now.'_

She raised her chin and spit out some water as it reached her lips and began tickling her nose. Her time was almost up. She conjured up the faces of her loved ones in her mind, wanting those to be the last thoughts that she had, especially DJ's beloved features. She pictured the way his silky midnight hair fell into his mesmerizing blue eyes and smiled and drew in one last breath as the water closed in around her. In that second she thought she heard voices calling her name.

Now all she could hear was the water rushing around her. She was completely alone and surrounded by the icy oppression, and in that instance she knew that she had made a mistake. She didn't want to die. She may not be a good sailor scout, but she wanted to be. She wanted to live so that she could become more. She would train night and day and do all that she could to unlock her powers and become an unbeatable force, if she could only survive this.

She began struggling against her bonds, but was unable to loosen them at all. Her lungs were beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen and blood was pounding in her ears. Her body acted reflexively, taking in a breath and filling her nose and mouth with water. Her vision began growing dark as the suffocating feeling pressed down on her.

'_So this is what it's like to die,' _she thought as unconsciousness settled over her. Just before she left reality, she thought she felt a hand touch her.

* * *

Phantom and Phoenix slid down the bank toward the water of the bay that ran under the bridge, looking around cautiously in case of an ambush. They were fully expecting to encounter some of those creatures like what the others were fighting up above, but were surprised to find the area seemingly empty.

"Are you sure she's down here?" the tuxedo clad Phantom hissed.

"Positive," Phoenix whispered back. "And I don't even need the computer to tell me that. Her aura is all around the place."

They began walking the shoreline, searching for any sign of the missing girl, and seeing nothing. The water was rising quickly, making it hard to keep searching as they covered the entire bank.

"She's not here," Phantom muttered in a hollow sounding voice. "Your computer must have made a mistake."

"I'm telling you she is," Phoenix argued back. "I can feel her. She's nearby somewhere."

Phantom huffed out a breath and shook his head as he looked out over the bay for a moment. He was turning away when a glimmer of something silvery gold caught his eye. He spun back around and studied it for a moment.

"Tell me I'm seeing things," he gasped as he pointed out what he was looking at for his friend to see.

"No freaking way!" Phoenix choked out.

But neither one of them could deny the sight of the pale blonde head that was quickly disappearing under the water.

"Kat!" they both yelled as they plunged into the frigid water and began swimming toward her. By the time they reached her she was completely submerged with only her arms that were tied above her head sticking out of the water.

Phoenix pulled a dagger from his belt and began sawing at the ropes while DJ dived under the water. He ripped the mask off of his face so that he could see, and his heart almost faltered to a stop at the sight in front of him.

She was pale, bruised, and battered, tied to the pillar by a rope around her waist. The remnants of her green dress and her blonde hair floated around her, giving her an eerie, angelic like look. She was still and her eyes were closed.

He reached out and touched her cheek for a moment before pulling the sword he carried from its scabbard at his waist and hacking at the rope around her. It took a few tries, but he finally cut through the rope and her body was free. He grabbed her and pulled her up above the water's surface with him.

Her brother had managed to free her hands by now, and between the two of them, they managed to get her back to land. They laid her limp body on the sandy shore and were horrified to discover that she wasn't breathing.

The dark haired prince felt a moment of raw panic before a feeling of calmness settled over him. Before he had taken his place as king, Endymion had been a doctor, and he had insisted on teaching both of his children how to perform CPR.

DJ let go of his transformation so that the heavy, wet tuxedo and cape would be out of his way and leaned over Katie. He heard his father's voice whispering instructions to him as he put a hand behind her neck and tilted her head back.

He put his mouth over hers and blew deeply, forcing air down into her lungs. He repeated the process several times, growing frantic once again as he failed to get a response.

"Damn it, Tinkerbell, don't you give up on me now!" he growled at her before he leaned forward and forced another breath past her lips.

The body beneath him jerked suddenly and a choking sound came from deep in her throat as she tried to suck in a gulp of air. He rolled her to her side as she coughed up a massive amount of water from her lungs.

"Thank God!" Alex exclaimed as her coughs began to cease. He pulled the shivering girl into his arms and hugged her tight. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"Alex," Katie whispered in confusion as her eyes blinked open to stare at her brother. "I'm not dead?"

Relieved tears sprang to his eyes at her softly spoken question. "No, you're still among the living. Luckily DJ spotted you before you went under, or we would have never found you."

"DJ," she mumbled and turned her head to meet his blue gaze. For a moment she looked genuinely happy to see him, but then a look of what almost appeared to be heartbreak flitted across her face before her familiar mask of indifference fell into place.

DJ's mouth popped open, ready to spill his guts out to her despite the fact that they had Alex as an audience. The fact that he had almost lost her forever had convinced him that he needed to come clean to her about his feelings, even if she rejected him.

But she interrupted him before he could speak. "Well I guess dragging me out of the water has done wonders for your already over inflated ego. I admit, I owe you one, but you better not rub it in."

DJ blinked in surprise. He didn't know what he had been expecting, he had thought that she would act differently toward him after all that had happened between them the other night, but here she was treating exactly the same as she had all of their lives, snapping and glaring at him like he was her worst enemy. Maybe now wasn't such a good time to confess to her after all.

His lips turned up in his signature smirk. "Oh I wouldn't dream of it, Tinkerbell. It may prove hazardous to your health if my fan club found out that I had my lips on yours. They would hunt you down and lynch you if they did."

Katie glared at him before looking pointedly away, but a slight blush stained her cheeks. Her heart broke a little more at the sound of his teasing words, but she knew it was for the best to keep their relationship on the same level that it had always been. She had enough to think about without letting her feelings for the raven-haired prince get in the way. She had to get over him and move on. Her motives in life had changed, and the complications of a relationship didn't figure in to it.

There was a loud boom from overhead and the bridge above them shook, reminding them all that there was a fight going on up there.

Alex stood and then offered Katie his hand to help her up. "How about we go let everyone know that you're okay and rain on this asshole's parade."

She shot one last wistful glance toward DJ before letting her brother pull her to her feet. "Sounds good to me. I'm dying for a shower and a good night's sleep."

"Dying…ha ha…very funny," DJ grumbled.

She turned and arched a blonde brow at him. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger?' I may have almost died, but I didn't. It just showed me that I need to be a stronger person."

"Maybe this will help," Alex told her as he pulled her necklace from his pocket and handed it to her.

She took it from him and fastened it carefully around her neck before pinning the two boys with a fiercely determined look. "I'm going up there. Are you two coming?"

* * *

"Serena! Duck!" Endymion yelled at his wife. She heard him and ducked down as he flung a red rose charged with golden energy at the sentinel that had been sneaking up behind her. It was a dead on hit, but instead of exploding into dust, it merely howled and retreated back.

"Thanks honey," Serenity gasped as she joined her husband. "I didn't feel like becoming puppy chow for the big bad wolf tonight."

"Very funny," he growled at her. "This is getting out of control. I wish Trista would have told us what we are supposed to do. We're flying blind here."

Serenity sighed. "I know. But you know how she is. She won't tell us anything more than we already know. I just hope that if anything goes wrong she'll step in and intervene."

They both shot a glance over to where Sailor Pluto was busy battling one Discord's guardians. While everyone there had a little knowledge of the current events, she was the only one who knew exactly how things were supposed to play out. She seemed calm and composed for the moment, so that gave them some reassurance.

"Rini!" Sailor Shadow's voice screamed suddenly as a bright burst of blue energy lit up the night. A blue sphere of energy hit a guardian that had been attempting to strangle Sailor Crescent Moon, knocking him away from the pink haired princess.

"Thanks," Crescent Moon gasped as Sailor Shadow rushed over to check on her.

"No problem, kiddo," Shadow told her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Crescent Moon reassured her. "But these things are starting to piss me off."

"I hear ya," Shadow agreed. "They're nasty little bastards, that's for sure. But we…Oh shit! Look out!"

She shoved the younger girl away from her as a leopard looking sentinel sprang at them. The mutated cat slammed into her, knocking her to the ground. She tried to push it away and shrieked as it sank its long fangs into her arm.

One second she was pinned to the ground, and the next she was free as a body hurled itself at the cat. She looked up to find her husband glaring at her with anger burning in his eyes.

"Have you lost your mind?" Andrew demanded. "You know how poisonous those damn things are. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Don't start on me!" she snapped as he pulled her up and began dragging her toward Serenity and Endymion. "You would have done the same thing."

He just groaned and shook his head as he shoved her toward the king, gesturing at her arm. No words were needed as Endymion placed his hands over the bite and let his golden energy heal the wound and remove the venom from her system.

Andrew sighed and pulled her into his arms once she was healed. "Don't do that again!"

She pushed him back a step. "Piss off, Drew! I'm not in the mood! Now where is Discord hiding his happy ass during all of this? I want a piece of that bastard!"

Discord grinned as his sensitive ears picked up on the reincarnated princess's words. He had moved himself further down the bridge, away from the fight, and was standing on the railing as he looked out at the rapidly rising water of the bay. It was time to spring the ultimate coup de grace on his enemies. He relished the thought of the agony they would soon experience. He had just felt the dim light that remained in his little hostage flicker out of existence. The Trinity was broken and the world was now his for the taking once he got the rest of these pests out of his way.

"Stand down and return!" he commanded his warriors, pleased to see that while there were a few injuries, none of his army had been destroyed. The guardians and sentinels fell back to gather around him.

"Now, let's get down to business," he drawled. "I had planned for this to go a little differently, but this works as well. I had thought to let you watch as that sniveling little girl died, but you insisted on forcing my hand from the beginning. But no matter, the end result is the same. The moon key to the Trinity has been extinguished. I'm sure her body will be discovered in the morning when the tide recedes."

Sailor Shadow's legs gave out as she slumped to the ground. "You're lying!" she ground out. "My daughter isn't dead! I would know if she was. This is another one of your tricks!"

Discord clucked his tongue. "I assure you this is no trick, princess. You wasted precious time that you could have spent trying to locate that poor little girl fighting with me. Little did you know that she was right below you the whole time, hearing your voice as she slowly drowned and wondering why her mother didn't come and save her. I was astounded really. How did you manage to give birth to such a pathetically frail child? She was easy to break. After the guardian I sent to abduct her had roughed her up a bit, all I had to do was shove her into a dark room and plant a few uncertainties in her head. She crumpled quicker than I expected."

"I don't know what crystal ball you're using, but you better check it again, because I'm not dead yet!" a high, clear voice rang through the still air. All heads snapped up to look at the three drenched, bedraggled teenagers that were standing not too far away.

"Impossible," Discord hissed as he took in the sight of the blonde girl in the ragged green dress that was before him. "I felt your soul vanish. There's no way you can be here."

"Surprise, surprise," Katie quipped in a sarcastic tone. "I guess I wasn't good enough for heaven and not bad enough for hell, so they kicked me back out. You may have tied me to that pillar and hoped for my death, but I'm not going down that easily."

Discord's gleaming red eyes narrowed as he took in the defiant girl, but a thrill of victory ran through him at the sight of all three of the Trinity's holders before him. They had made this entirely too easy for him.

He chuckled darkly. "You may have escaped death once, but I promise that you won't do it again."

He shot a beam of dark, crackling energy at the three, determined to destroy them on the spot, but was unprepared as a wall of silver sprang up between them, blocking his attack.

Katie gasped as a surge of power she had never felt before flooded her system. Without thinking, she projected it out to form a barrier between her, Alex, and DJ and the attack that was heading toward them. Anger coursed through her veins. She hadn't escaped death only to be killed minutes later by the same lunatic.

Discord cursed to himself as he saw a flash of silver race across the hazel eyes of the defiant girl. "There may be more to you than I originally thought, but it makes no difference. I know how weak you really are. You don't stand a chance against me."

"Maybe I don't," Katie responded in a cold voice. "But if I go down, I'm going down fighting. I won't sit back this time and let you bulldoze yourself over me."

"Selene was a fool to pick you as her champion!" Discord fired back. "You are nothing but a weak little girl. I have seen how easily you can break. This new confidence of yours won't last."

Katie shrugged. "Perhaps it won't, but I refuse to sit back and let you manipulate me. I will either rise to the occasion, or I will crash and burn, but I won't let you walk all over me. You may have gotten the drop on me once, but I promise it won't happen again."

Discord chuckled. "You are more like your mother than I thought. I feel the anger coursing through you the same as it did her all those years ago. This is good; it will make you even weaker. Today may not be the victory that I was anticipating, but I can't say that I'm entirely displeased with the outcome. I will be seeing you three again."

Discord and his followers disappeared with a loud cracking sound, leaving the heroes alone on the bridge. Flashes of light flickered as they all returned to their civilian forms.

"Katie!" Jess screeched as she rushed over to her daughter to engulf her in a giant hug. "Oh sweetie, I was so worried about you. Are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you?"

Katie wanted nothing more than to melt into her mother's embrace and cry away her fears, but the new resiliency that had been instilled in her through the pain and misery of the last few days refused to let her.

She pushed herself away from Jess. "I'm fine, mom. No sense freaking out."

Andrew growled as he took in every bruise and cut that marred her pale skin. "You're not fine. I could kill that bastard for hurting you. Darien, come work your magic on her."

Katie stepped back and shook her head. "I don't need healing. I'm fine just the way I am." Her face held a hard look, nothing like the happy, bubbly girl she had always been. "I don't mean to sound rude, but I just want to be alone for a while."

She turned and began walking away, her stiff posture and uneven steps giving testament to the pain she was feeling from her ordeal. They all watched her in silence, mourning the loss of the innocent girl she had been.

Alex stepped forward to follow her, but was brought up short by the fierce growl that rumbled up from her throat. "I said I wanted to be alone, Alex," she snapped without turning to face him. "What part of that is so hard to understand?"

Alex froze at her words. The defensive tone in her voice was familiar to him, but he had never heard it directed at him before. "But…but, Kat…" he faltered.

Her voice softened a bit at the hurt tone in his. "I'm sorry, bro. It's nothing personal. I just need some time to think, okay. Please don't follow me."

"Okay," he agreed sadly, stepping back toward the others. Jess wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a light squeeze of reassurance.

DJ watched her with brooding eyes as she walked away. "What the hell happened to her?" he muttered.

"Some experiences change your life," Serenity said softly. "Katie has had some things put into perspective for her. It may seem harsh, but she has grown up a lot in the last few days. Now it's up to her to decide how she wants her life to go."

DJ craved to run after her. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her until the smile he loved came back to her face again. This new bitter young woman was a stranger to him, and he wasn't sure that he liked her too much. He wanted the fairy princess of his dreams back, not this hardened imitation.

'_I'll get you back,' _he vowed to himself as he reached into his pocket to clench his fingers around the silver bracelet there. _'I know the real you is still in there somewhere. I won't let you give in to this hate and anger. Somehow, I'll find a way to bring you back.'_

**A/N **Yay, Katie's back, but the poor girl has got some serious issues going on. And poor DJ, my heart just breaks for him. Him and Katie are one screwed up couple, aren't they? LOL! Anyhow, I'm hoping to have the three of them landing in present day Tokyo sometime in the next chapter. It all depends on my muse and where it leads me, I never know. Hopefully there will be no more drama in my life so I can get it out to you quicker.

Oh yeah! I've had a lot of people asking if I'm going to do a youtube trailer to this story like I did for Lunar Princess. I really want to, but I need help. I need suggestions for characters to step in and play the roles of DJ, Alex, Katie, Jess, Jack, and Sasha. I have a few ideas, but I'm stuck. So any ideas you get, please feel free to shoot them my way. Oh, and if any of you are also Twilight fans, I did a SM/Eclipse trailer several weeks ago that came out really good. So if you're interested look me up on youtube. My screen name there is CelticPrincess827.

I also want to give you the rundown of the other scouts kids that were mentioned in this chapter. I'm not sure yet how big a part they are going to play in this story, but they will be popping up from time to time.

Mina / Kunzite – (daughter) Emma – 17, (son) Kyle – 8

Raye / Jadeite – (son) Jayden – 14, (daughter) Ryssa – 10

Lita / Nephrite – (daughter) Skye – 16, (son) Nick – 12

Amy / Zoicite – (daughter) Hannah – 14, (son) Corey- 6

Okay, I think I've said enough. Remember to review and tell me what you think. You guys are great and I luv ya all. Later gators!

~Sere~


	4. Fire and Ice

**A/N **Okay, here we go. Chapter 3 has arrived. I don't really have a lot to say this time. But I have a nice long chapter for you here. It was 27 pages on Word before hugs and AN's, so I hope you all enjoy it. Lot's of stuff happening in this one. Okay, moving on. Time for my huggles! BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Seredhiel05**

**Gini Justice**

**Serandi82**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**anime-lover 10**

**tiny2008**

**Luthien Morgon**

**amaramichelle**

**ange de l'aube**

**sunbeam07**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**Lbricker88**

**rainbabie**

**S dot Serenity**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**JmacKarla**

Thanks bunches you guys! You are all so awesome! Okay, time to get down to business. Oh yeah, just a side note here. Emma, Alex's girlfriend, transforms in this chapter and I'm calling her Sailor Ishtar after the Babylonian goddess of love and beauty. I figured I couldn't call her Venus because that's her mom, and Diana and Aphrodite are already taken. Besides, I've always liked that name and have wanted an opportunity to use it. Okay, nuff said!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 3

Fire and Ice

"That's it! I can't take any more out of her!"

DJ's head snapped up at the sound of Alex's voice as his friend threw himself down in the seat across from him. His eyes widened as he took in the other boy's appearance.

"Dude! What the hell happened to you? You look like shit!…Ouch!" DJ rubbed the back of his head and turned to glare at the person who had just smacked him.

"I don't want to hear that kind of language out of you," Lizzy scolded him with a glare of her own. "What would your mother say if she heard that?"

After the awakening of the Earth in the thirtieth century and the building of Crystal Tokyo began, Serenity had insisted on restoring as much of the former city as possible. Several structures had managed to survive the freeze, and the Crown Arcade had been one of them, much to everyone's delight.

Since Andrew now worked for Endymion, he had turned the place over to his sister to run. But when the royal family came to visit, he would roll up his sleeves and resume his former place behind the counter to serve the queen her favorite chocolate shake and supply the king with endless amounts of coffee.

Over the years, the tradition had been passed on to the younger generation, and the arcade had become the favorite hangout for the children of the original patrons.

"Sorry," DJ grumbled to Alex's red haired aunt. "I was just calling it like I see it. You've got to admit, he looks rough."

The anger in Lizzy's hazel eyes faded as she took a good look at her nephew. "Good grief, Alex, what have you been doing? You look dead on your feet."

He forced out a cheerful laugh. "Nothing much. I've just had a hard day. Can I get a chocolate peanut butter shake Aunt Liz?"

"Sure," she replied before walking away, muttering under her breath about teenagers and their issues and how it was surprising that her brother hadn't fallen dead from a heart attack yet.

DJ waited until he was sure Lizzy was out of hearing range before leaning toward his friend and whispering, "So what has she done now?"

Alex didn't have to ask who he meant, they both knew who was responsible for him looking like he had fallen down a flight of stairs before being tossed in front of a speeding truck.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "The computer for the holograph chamber is screwing up again, so she said she needed a sparring partner."

DJ let out a low whistle. "And you volunteered? You're crazier than I thought."

A few months had passed since Katie's kidnapping and murder attempt, and the blonde girl had thrown herself into a rigorous training schedule. Where once she used to complain about the time she had to spend learning fighting techniques, she now spent every available moment she had pushing herself to her limits and sometimes beyond.

In all fairness, it was paying off. She had always been a talented fighter with flawless ability and skill, but now she fought like a veteran with years of experience. Of course if things kept going the way they were, they would all be veterans in no time.

Discord hadn't shown himself since that night on the bridge, but he kept reminding them that he was around. A few times a week he would turn some of his goons loose on the city, sending people screaming and scrambling for cover.

The city's protectors were kept busy with the attacks. So much so that they had stopped protesting about letting any of their children fight. The oldest ones had been given permission to join the battle, as long as they promised to be extremely careful and not to get in over their heads.

Alex cracked open one ocean blue eye to look at his friend. "Yeah, maybe I am crazy. I'm still not sure how she talked me into it. And something really had her panties in a bunch today. I think she and that _boyfriend_," he sneered at that word, "had a another fight or something."

Anger sparked in the raven-haired prince's light blue eyes. After saving Katie from her near drowning, he had walked around for days trying to find the nerve and the right opportunity to talk to her and tell her how he felt about her. However, she had dealt him a major blow when she had began openly dating Jack

It sickened him to see the two of them together, but he had some small consolations that made it a little more bearable. The fact that her new icy demeanor never thawed, even when she was with Jack, and the knowledge that Andrew and Jess didn't approve of the relationship made him feel some better.

Of course he had reacted badly in the beginning, and had managed to get himself into a hell of a mess in the process. Driven by hurt and anger, he had stopped refusing Sasha's invites and began seeing the strawberry blonde on a regular basis. Now he felt stuck. He wanted to break up with the girl, but he didn't want to hurt her. It wasn't her fault that he didn't return her feelings.

He pulled away from his thoughts and smirked at Alex. "So she put you through the wringer, huh?"

The brunette boy snorted. "No! I met her blow for blow. She's good, I admit, but she's not better. I would call her an equal. It's just that her power surges keep catching me off guard."

DJ winced in sympathy. He had been on the receiving end of what they had termed 'Katie's flare ups' a few times himself, and it was never pretty.

Her crystal's power had begun manifesting itself since the night of the showdown with Discord, and she had developed several new attacks that she could use in both her civilian and scout forms, but she had a hard time controlling it whenever she was upset or pissed, which she seemed to be most of the time nowadays.

Lizzy came back and delivered Alex's shake, and after fussing over her nephew for a few minutes and ranting about her niece and her homicidal tendencies, she left the two boys alone again.

"Enough about my crazy sister," Alex declared as he slurped the milkshake. "It's Saturday. Let's go do something tonight. We haven't been out in weeks."

DJ grinned. "Now you're speaking my language.

* * *

"Can I kill him? Please tell me that I can," Jess muttered under her breath as she looked out the window at the three motorcycles that were roaring down the long driveway of the palace.

"Only if I can strangle that other little bitch," Serenity growled from beside her. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the strawberry blonde girl that was perched on the back of the shiny black bike with her arms wrapped tightly around the waist of her only son.

Jess's face held a look of disgust that mirrored the queen's as she watched the long blonde hair of her daughter flying behind the girl from where she was sitting behind a boy with a black ponytail on a similar black motorcycle.

The only one not on the receiving end of their glares was a sleek red machine that held a brown haired boy and a giggling blonde girl. No one had a problem with Alex and Emma dating, well, except Kunzite, but he was getting over it with some…persuasion… from Mina. But allowing DJ and Katie to spend time with the ones that they knew were backstabbing betrayers was hard.

"What I wouldn't give to have five minutes alone in a locked room with that little shit!" Jess snapped, her eyes blazing. "Hell, I don't even need five. I'd have him pissing his pants inside of thirty seconds."

"Careful, my love, you're showing your bad side again," Andrew said as he walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

She snorted sarcastically. "Oh I'm sorry. Maybe I should invite him in for tea and polite conversation before I kick his ass."

Andrew just sighed and rolled his eyes, but wisely kept his mouth shut. His wife's temper was legendary, and he had learned over the years when it was best to just stay silent.

"Pluto be damned, I'm with you," Serenity ground out between clenched teeth. "Screw the timeline! I just want this nightmare to be over."

Endymion wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to his side, whispering soothingly into her ear, "Shh darling. It will all work out. And you really don't want to get on Trista's bad side, do you?"

She blew out an irritated breath and leaned against him. "No. I don't want to cross her. But this still sucks."

* * *

The music pounded through the darkened club as multi colored laser lights briefly highlighted the close packed bodies of the dancers that filled the floor. It was a popular nightspot for people of all ages, but it mostly catered to a younger clientele. The teenagers of Crystal Tokyo flocked to it in droves because you only had to be sixteen to enter. The fact that the bartenders never checked ID's was an added bonus.

DJ sat at one of the tables near the dance floor, sipping his beer as he looked out over the sea of dancers. Since it was Saturday night, the club was filled to overflowing.

"Come on, DJ, let's dance," Sasha whined from her seat at his side.

DJ tipped his bottle back and took a long pull from it. "I said I didn't want to, Sasha. I'm just not in the mood. If you want to dance that bad, go find somebody else. I'm sure in this crowd you can find somebody that would be willing to dance with you."

The girl fell silent, leaving him free to return to his perusal of the crowd. Alex and Emma were nearby, their bodies pressed close together as they moved in perfect synchronization to the beat of the blaring music. They looked to be perfectly content and lost in their own little world.

DJ growled to himself as he saw Alex lean down to whisper something into the golden blonde goddess's ear that made her smile before he buried his face in her neck. He didn't hold it against his friend that he had a great relationship with Emma, it was just hard to watch them be so happy together when he was in constant torment.

He scanned the crowd, but saw no sight of the one he was looking for. Katie and Jack had disappeared in the direction of the bar about a half hour before and hadn't been seen since. There was no telling what they were off doing.

A smirk passed his features as he hoped that they were fighting again. The two of them seemed to be at each other's throats at least once a day since they had started dating, and it was amusing to watch. Jack was at a loss as to how to deal with the temperamental blonde, and she usually made quick work of him with her biting words and sarcastic wit.

You would think that the fool would realize that their personalities were far from compatible and head for the hills, but the idiot kept crawling back for more. It was like he was blind to the fact that they had nothing in common.

They didn't even have the shared love of music anymore. Katie had stopped indulging in her favorite pastime since her ordeal at the hands of Discord. She was never seen scribbling away in her old notebook like she used to and hadn't been near a piano in months. All the time that she once devoted to her music was now directed into her fighting.

Sasha huffed next to DJ and shifted in her seat, drawing his eyes back to the pouting girl. He turned his head to find her glaring at him.

"What?" he snapped, becoming seriously agitated.

Her face turned red with suppressed fury. "You are such an ass! Why did you even bother inviting me to go out dancing tonight if all you're going to do is sit here and sulk? I have better things I could be doing with my time."

Maybe it was the beer talking. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't stand being in this situation anymore. His temper snapped. "Well if you have so many important things waiting for your attention, then why don't you go do it then? Nobody's stopping you from leaving."

She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her jacket from the back. "Fine! I will! I hope you enjoy the rest of your miserable night."

A wave of guilt hit him. "Sasha…"

She held up a silencing hand. "Save it, DJ! I know when I'm not wanted. I knew that you have been using me all of this time, but I was willing to take what I could get. But I hope you realize that she'll never return your feelings."

His expression went cold. "What did you say?"

She barked out a harsh laugh. "Get real, DJ! You follow along behind her panting like she's a bitch in heat, but she'll never see it. Katie's too screwed up in the head to take notice of anything around her. If I were one of her parents I would have had her locked up months ago. That bitch is crazy!"

DJ saw red at her words. "I think you've said enough. You're right, I think you should leave. You are nothing but a bitter, selfish person, and I can't believe I ever thought there might be something more to you."

Jade eyes glittered dangerously. "And the mighty prince has spoken." She shoved her arms into her jacket. "Have a great life, _your highness._" Then she stomped away.

There was a lull in the music as Alex and Emma stumbled over to the table. Both of them were flushed and laughing as Alex flopped down into a chair and pulled Emma onto his lap.

"What's up?" Alex asked with a grin as he looked around the empty table. "Where did Sasha get off to in such a hurry?"

"She left," DJ said shortly, taking a large gulp of his beer. "She got pissed and started acting like a bitch, so I told her to go."

Alex almost choked on his beer. "Did you guys break up?"

DJ thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. I guess we did."

"Oh DJ, I'm so sorry!" Emma exclaimed with sympathy in her china blue eyes.

A goofy grin appeared on his face. "Don't be. I'm not. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get some air."

He pushed his chair away from the table and got up, walking away toward the door that led to an outdoor patio where the patrons of the club could escape for a few minutes to get away from the stifling heat generated from the crowded building.

Emma smirked as she looked at her boyfriend. "So he finally got rid of her. Good riddance. Do you think he'll make a play for your sister now?"

Alex shook his head. "If he's smart he would. But I don't know, the two of them are so bull headed."

Emma wrapped her arms around his neck. "They'll figure it out someday. You can't fight fate, and they are fated to be together."

Alex groaned. "You sound just like your mom when you talk like that."

Her smile widened. "What can I say, I'm the next goddess of love, baby."

Alex growled low in his throat and pulled her close. "I won't deny that." Then he kissed her deeply.

* * *

"You are so beautiful," the deep voice growled into Katie's ear.

She sighed and leaned back against the wall behind her, tilting her head back as she felt the lips that had just been near her ear begin to nibble a path down her neck. Her eyes darted to the side to see the black hair of the boy that currently had her pinned to the wall in a dark corner of the club.

She couldn't see his face. That, combined with the two rumrunners that she had drank, allowed her imagination to run wild. In her mind, the head full of dark hair belonged to someone else.

She sank her fingers into the inky black strands and a low moan escaped her as his lips made their way to hers and claimed them in a rough, demanding kiss. It wasn't the type of kiss she wanted, so she retreated to the part of her mind that made her believe that it was tender and loving.

In her mind, she wasn't in a loud, crowded club, and she wasn't with the boy whose arms she was currently wrapped in. Instead she was standing on top of one of the tall buildings of the city, under the light of the full moon, as a dark, mysterious hero wrapped her in his cape and whispered words of love softly to her.

'_DJ,'_ she thought wildly, unconsciously returning the kiss with an intenseness that shocked her date for a moment.

Jack indulged in her answering passion for a moment before pulling back slightly to look at her flushed cheeks and slightly swollen lips. "Let's get out of here and go someplace more private," he rasped harshly.

Katie came crashing back down from her high as she opened her eyes to be confronted by soft brown eyes instead of the beautiful blue ones that she had pictured in her mind. She felt horrified when she realized what she had been doing.

"I'm sorry, Jack. But I've already told you, I'm not that type of girl," she said as gently as she could.

His already flushed face turned even redder and his eyes began to simmer with anger. "I bet if your precious little DJ asked you to go off with him, you would."

Her new icy expression fell into place. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

His hands tightened around her upper arms. "Don't play the dumb blonde routine with me. I've seen the way you watch him when he's not looking. You have a crush on him, don't you?"

Katie shoved him hard so that he stumbled back several steps. "You're full of shit! You don't know anything about me or my feelings. You never bothered to learn. I should have kicked you to the curb weeks ago."

Jacks hands tightened into fists at his sides and he took a menacing step toward her. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Katie pointed a finger at him and he paused when a few silver sparks shot from her fingertip. "Now you're getting the picture. And don't try being all macho and overbearing. Trust me, you don't want to tangle with me."

Jack's eyes widened. "You're crazier than hell. I wouldn't want to stay with a psycho bitch like you anyway. Good luck finding someone that would be willing to put up with you. I'm outta here!"

He turned and stomped away, leaving Katie feeling relieved and lighthearted for the first time in weeks. She just now realized how much she actually hated having Jack around so much.

Deciding that she'd had enough partying for one night, she went in search of her brother to tell him that she was leaving. She knew that he would insist on driving her home, but she wanted to walk. It would give her a chance to clear her head and think.

She returned to their table only to find it vacant. But the sight of Alex's brown leather jacket slung over the back of a chair told her that he still had to be there somewhere. She scanned the crowded dance floor, but saw no sign of her brother or his blonde date.

She looked toward the door that led to the back patio and saw that it was slightly open. Thinking Alex and Emma might have stepped outside for a moment, she headed that way.

She walked out into the cold winter night and shivered as she pulled the collar of her black suede jacket up around her neck. She crossed the patio and looked around, finding it surprisingly empty. She stopped and gazed up at the full moon for a moment, basking in its comforting glow with a small smile on her face for a minute, before turning to head back inside.

"Looking for someone?" a voice asked from the shadows near the wall.

She spun around, her hand automatically going to the pendant around her neck, ready to transform at a moment's notice if whoever this person was turned out to be a threat.

DJ stepped into view. "Chill out, Tinkerbell. It's just me."

Her posture relaxed a little, but she still remained tense. "What were you doing hiding in the dark? Were you spying on me?"

Her angry words sparked his own temper and he snapped back. "Hey! I was out here first. Maybe it was you following me."

"Ha!" she barked out. "As if! You have enough girls to fuel your massive ego, and I'm proud to say I'm not one of them. I'm surprised that your little girlfriend's not out here to play watchdog and make sure nobody makes a move on you. Isn't that what she usually does?"

She expected him to fire back with an equally nasty comment, so she was surprised when he grinned broadly at her.

"Not anymore," he said happily. "As of now I have no more clingy female latched on to me. I am a free agent."

"O..oh," Katie stammered. "Did you guys break up?"

His smile grew even wider. "Yep! I finally had enough of her nagging and bitching, so I told her to move on."

"Huh," she muttered. "I guess that makes two of us."

Blue eyes snapped to hers. "What do you mean?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "Oh nothing. Jack was acting like an ass, so I told him to hit the road. It was good for me. He's not really my type anyway."

DJ studied her for a moment before working up the nerve to ask. "What is your type of guy?"

She looked taken aback. "Well…I guess I never really thought about it," she lied. "I really don't have time for a relationship anyway with the schedule I keep. Between my training and my studies, I have very little free time."

He took a step toward her. "You could cut back on your training. You really push yourself too hard. Everybody needs a life, but it seems like you have totally given up on yours. You should have time for friends and fun, like you used to. You used to be happy, but now you've changed. You're not the same anymore."

Her look hardened into the mask he had become so familiar with. "You wouldn't understand, DJ. Nobody would understand. I have to do this; I have to become a better fighter. I'm not the same person I used to be, but it's for the best. I have to get stronger and become the best that I can be."

He took another step toward her. "No one expects you to be perfect, Kat. None of us are. Nobody expects you to be anything but yourself."

She shook her head. "I told you that you wouldn't understand. I have to do this for me. I made a promise to myself that I would never leave myself open and vulnerable ever again. I control my life, and nobody else."

He heard the underlying pain beneath her harsh tone, and his heart cracked a little for her. His poor little fairy tried to hide all of her pain under a façade of anger and bitterness, but it was there, bubbling right under the surface.

He was close enough to touch her, and he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "I hate that you had to go through what you did. I hate that it changed you so much. I never thought I'd admit it in a million years, but I miss my verbal sparring partner. It's not the same without you."

She stepped away from him; her eyes shining with unshed tears. "That weak girl doesn't exist anymore."

He followed her steps until they were standing so close together that they were almost touching. He tipped her chin up with one hand to meet his eyes while he slid the other hand into his pocket to grasp the bracelet that went everywhere with him. Maybe the time had finally come to return it to her. He stared down into her luminous eyes and saw her gulp. Her breathing was becoming uneven.

"You're wrong," he whispered. "I think she's still here. She just needs to be set free from the prison she's been locked up in. She deserves the chance to live again."

Katie swallowed convulsively as she saw his face inching slowly closer to hers. She tried to control her pounding heart. In just a few more seconds, his lips would be touching hers.

'_You can't do this! It's wrong!'_ her mind screamed at her. _'You can't drag him into your screwed up life! It will never work out and you know it.'_

But the old her that was trapped inside was begging for his kiss. Just one more chance to feel his lips against hers. She had dreamed about it for so long. She knew she should stop him, but she couldn't.

"I've waited a long time for this," DJ growled as he suddenly claimed her lips with his.

The spark between them ignited, and the kiss went from sweetly chaste to a full-blown battle in a matter of seconds. Both of their lips parted and their tongues began a fierce duel, each one fighting for dominance over the other.

Then the earth shook beneath their feet, literally, followed by a loud boom. The sadly familiar cry of "MONSTERS!" filled the air. They broke apart, both flushed and breathing heavily as they stared at each other.

"_Stupid, stupid, stupid!' _Katie cursed herself for her moment of weakness. She should have never let him kiss her, much less kiss him back. What the hell had she been thinking?

Even though it was killing her inside, she fixed a look of anger and disgust on her face. "Don't you ever do that again!"

He looked dumbfounded for a moment before a similar looked of anger appeared on his face. Good, she could deal with his anger, but not with the other feelings he stirred up inside of her.

"What the hell!" he exploded. "I didn't hear you complaining at the time. You kissed me back!"

Heartsick, she smirked at him. "Maybe I just wanted to see what all of the hype was about. I will admit, you're good, but I've had better."

Burning fury coursed through him. "You really are something else! I guess I was wrong. There's nothing left of the old Katie inside of you. Daddy's little fairy princess grew up to be a frigid bitch."

A coldness descended on her at his words as she glared at him. "And don't you forget it. You're fire and I'm ice, two things that should never be close together. You have your life to live, and I have mine."

The door behind them flew open as Alex and Emma burst through.

"Do you guys hear that?" Alex asked, not noticing the tension between the two.

DJ and Katie jerked their attention away from each other and heard the screams that were echoing down the streets. It seemed that their night was far from over.

"Shit!" Katie spat. "I guess we better go take care of business." She grasped her necklace tightly. "Eclipse Power!" There was a burst of silver sparks and ribbons, and few seconds later Sailor Eclipse stood in her place. She took off immediately toward the disturbance.

There were more bursts of energy as the others transformed, and soon Phantom, Phoenix, and Sailor Ishtar were hurrying after her.

* * *

Neo Queen Serenity entered the glassed in conservatory located at the top of the Crystal palace. Her sky blue eyes had a worried look to them as she glanced around quickly. A look of relief crossed her face as she spotted the person she had spent the last several minutes looking for.

Stepping up next to the other woman, she looked out at the dark clouds that hovered on the horizon. Thunder rumbled softly in the distance and there were a few flashes of lightning.

"You're not doing that, are you?" she asked, turning to look at her companion. "It's not like you to let things overwhelm you anymore."

Jess sighed, pushing a stray strand of dark blonde hair behind her ear. "I may have influenced it a little bit, but the storm was already brewing. It just seemed to suit my mood. Are the kids still sleeping?"

Serenity nodded. "Yeah, they were completely worn out from the fight. I'm just glad that none of them were seriously hurt, just a few bumps and bruises. Darien healed those up good as new in about five seconds. They just need to rest."

"I can't believe this is finally happening," Jess whispered. "This is the day that I've been dreading since the day I found out I was pregnant. I had hoped that something would change and we wouldn't have to do this. How can we send our children into certain danger? Alex and DJ are strong enough to probably handle it, but Katie…she's so fragile right now. How can I do that to my baby?"

Serenity looked solemn. "I know. It's hard. If I could, I would keep DJ locked up right here at home. But they have their destinies to claim just like we did. As much as I hate to admit it, they're not little children anymore. They are standing at the verge of adulthood, and we have to let them go."

Jess heaved a sigh. "I know, but it doesn't make this any easier." Her voice was thick and her eyes were shiny with tears. "Excuse me, but I need to be alone for a while."

Serenity stared after her friend as she walked away with profound sadness in her eyes. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the soul of her past daughter resided inside the strong, independent woman, but when Jess had moments of vulnerability like this, it was easy to remember the little princess she had been during the Silver Millennium.

She stared out at the cloud-darkened sky; lost in her thoughts as she remembered the blind panic she had felt when she and the others had arrived at the scene of the fight earlier in the evening. The sight of DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma backed into a dead end alley with nowhere to go and surrounded by an army of guardians and sentinels was an image that would be burned into her brain for the rest of her existence.

She jumped a little as a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her back against a firm warmth.

"You shouldn't be torturing yourself like this, love," Endymion breathed into her ear. "All you're going to do is get yourself all worked up."

She turned in his arms and snaked her arms around his waist as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I know, Darien, but I can't help it. If we had only been a few minutes later…" she broke off on a sob.

Endymion held her close and stroked her back gently. "Shh, it's okay," he comforted her as he struggled to keep the mental images of his son's bruised and battered features and those of the others out of his head. "We got there in time. They're okay."

"But they almost weren't!" she protested, her voice beginning to rise hysterically. "We could have lost our son and the others tonight, Darien. And we already know what challenges they will face soon. This shouldn't be their fight. How could the gods be so cruel to put this burden on them? It's not fair!"

Endymion held his wife and let her cry out her frustrations. It wasn't often that she had emotional moments like these anymore. When they were younger, he had found himself in this position with her on numerous occasions, but over the years she had schooled herself into being the strong, graceful queen she had become. But everyone had their moments, and even royalty were allowed to break down sometimes.

He kissed the top of her head. "Shh, Serena. Baby, please calm down," he said in a soothing tone, reverting back to his old habits of the past. Right now he wasn't King Endymion of Crystal Tokyo, he was simply Darien Shields, holding and comforting his wife as they both fought against the fears that they had for their children like any other parents on Earth.

She finally quieted and raised her head to look at him with puffy eyes. "Sorry," she whispered in a hoarse voice.

He wiped the tears from her face with gentle fingers. "Don't you dare apologize for crying. Heaven knows you deserve to after all the stress we've been under recently. So don't say that you're sorry for being human."

She nodded and gave him a watery half smile. "You're always my rock. Some enemy would have probably dusted me years ago if it hadn't been for you. You've saved my ass more times than I can count."

He grinned at her. "The feeling's mutual. I don't even remember how many times you had to save me because I got kidnapped, brainwashed, injured, or killed."

She shivered at the memories his words conjured up. "Okay, let's not go there right now."

He hugged her again. "Sorry. Now, why don't you head to bed? It's been a long day."

"But I was going to go check on DJ and the others," she protested.

"I'll pop in and look at them," Endymion told gently, but firmly. "You need to get some rest."

Serenity crossed her arms and pouted. "But I sleep better when you're with me."

The king chuckled as he steered his wife from the room and sent her on her way to bed with a swat to her butt. "I won't be too far behind you. Now go warm the bed up for me."

* * *

DJ woke up with a start and stared around the room, surprised to find himself in the palace infirmary.

"What the hell?" he muttered, as he looked around in confusion, not sure what he was doing in the infirmary or how he got there.

He turned his head to the right and received a shock when he saw Katie in the next bed. She was fast asleep, curled up on her side facing him with a hand tucked under her chin. He took a moment to look at her. She looked so peaceful and innocent when she was sleeping.

A movement behind her caught his eye, and he saw that it was Alex on the next bed, rolling over in his sleep. What were the three of them doing there?

His breath caught as memories began flooding his mind. He suddenly recalled being at the club, his fight with Sasha, Katie, their kiss, the harshly spoken words, and then the battle.

He, Alex, and Emma had rushed after Katie when the commotion had started and had found a guardian and a sentinel terrorizing moviegoers at a nearby theater. They had sprung into action without breaking stride and had begun launching attacks at the creatures, trying to draw them away from the crowd.

Suddenly more monsters appeared, quickly outnumbering them. A quick call on the communicator had assured them that back up was coming, so they had tried to hold them off as best as they could.

They had been doing okay until one of the guardians holding a knife had unexpectedly lunged after Sailor Eclipse and snagged her by her long blonde ponytail before hauling her up in front of him with the blade pressed to her neck.

"Hello, pretty," it had drawled to her. "Remember me? We had so much fun together last time. I'm glad to see that we have a chance to renew our acquaintance."

"You!" Eclipse had hissed as she pulled her head back in an attempt to ease the pressure on her neck where the blade had nicked the skin and a thin trail of blood was running down.

The guardian had cackled gleefully while the others gasped at the realization that this guardian was the one responsible for Katie's abduction four months before.

The man like creature surveyed them all with his eerie red eyes before turning his attention back to the girl he held. "And I see this time you brought some friends along for my companions and I to have fun with as well. Two strapping young men and another pretty doll like yourself, this should be fun."

The furious flash of silver that raced across Eclipse's eyes was all the warning anyone had. Phantom, Phoenix, and Sailor Ishtar knew what it meant and hit the ground as she released a powerful shock of energy that disintegrated the guardian immediately and then swept out to claim two sentinels as well, turning them all to dust.

Howls of fury had left the remaining enemies, and they descended on the young heroes with a vengeance, pushing them back until they had found themselves trapped in a dead end alley with no where to go. The sides of the building were too high for them to jump to without getting a running start, and they were out room.

Ishtar had been the first to fall after receiving a cut from the spike of one of the venomous sentinels. She had fought bravely for a few more minutes until the poison began to take effect and she detransformed and passed out

The other three had rallied in front of their fallen comrade, praying that help would arrive soon. Phoenix had been taken out next when he was hit with an energy bolt. He could have moved out of the way, but it would have left Emma lying open to the attack. He'd tried to erect a barrier, but he wasn't fast enough. The energy slammed into him, knocking him down next to his girlfriend where his transformation faded as well.

As Phantom and Eclipse had scrambled to try to protect their fallen friends and keep the enemy at bay, a voice had screeched out into the night, demanding that the creatures kill them. Before they knew what was happening, they had both been blasted hard into a wall.

The last thing he remembered was lying on the ground, stunned and bordering on the edge of unconsciousness as he reached for Katie, who lying a few feet away from him with her eyes closed and her body still.

A hand landed on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He whipped his head around to find his father standing there, watching him with concerned eyes.

"Hey Dad," he whispered, sitting up as Endymion took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey yourself," Endymion whispered back with a lopsided grin. "How are you feeling?"

DJ returned the grin with an identical one. "I'm fine. But what about them?" he asked gesturing to the room's other two occupants.

"They're going to be just fine," the king reassured him. "And Emma recovered quickly once she was healed of the poison, so I sent her off with Mina and Kunzite."

"Thank goodness," DJ sighed. "I don't mind telling you, dad, things got pretty intense this time."

Endymion nodded his head. "It sure looked like it. Why don't you tell me what happened."

So DJ gave him the rundown of the fight and how it happened. He paused however when he reached the part where he and Katie had been blasted, a frown marring his face.

"What is it, son?" Endymion asked him.

DJ shook his head. "It's probably nothing, but right before that blast was shot at me and Katie, I heard a voice yell out the command. It was a woman's voice. It sounded familiar, very familiar. If I didn't know better I would almost say it sounded like…well…it almost sounded like…" he couldn't finish his statement.

"Sasha," Endymion said softly. "The voice you heard sounded like Sasha's."

Light blue eyes widened, "How did you know that's what I was thinking?"

"Let's just say that I've had my suspicions about her and leave it at that for now," Endymion answered. "What's important right now is keeping the three of you safe. Discord is getting desperate and beginning to escalate. He knows that every day that passes brings you closer to claiming the power of the Trinity, and he wants to stop you before that happens."

"So what do we do about that?" DJ asked. "I'm not going to spend all of my time locked up in here just because some asshole is gunning for me."

"And I'm not asking you to," Endymion told him. "But we have to take precautions. I know it's a lot to ask, but you, Alex, and Katie are the keys to Discord's destruction. If something were to happen to one of you, then we would have no hopes of defeating him. Sure, we could seal him away again, but he would just find some way to break out again in the future and we would find ourselves in the same position."

DJ shook his head. "If the three of us are supposed to be the ones to control this Galactic Trinity, then how come we haven't gotten this so called awesome power yet?"

Endymion's eyes clouded over, and he looked to be lost in thought. "The gods are funny like that. They do things their own way. They will wait until they think it is the right time to turn the power over to you, and not before. I'm sure that they are being doubly cautious this time considering how it backfired on them the last time."

They were both quiet for a moment as they both recalled the fragmented story of the fight that took place over two thousand years before. All of the original documentation of the battle had been lost during the destruction of the Silver Millennium, so all they had to go on were the fragments that Queen Serenity had passed on to Serenity and Jess.

Nobody knew exactly what had happened when the then moon princess and the princes of the Sun and the Earth had faced Discord, they only knew that something had gone horribly wrong, resulting in Discord only being sealed away and the three young royals near death.

Endymion shook himself from his thoughts. "We'll talk more in the morning. We have plans to make. For now get some more rest, okay?"

"Sure, dad," DJ said, lying back down as Endymion stood. "Give mom a hug from me and tell her I'll see her later."

"I will," Endymion said as he ruffled his son's unruly hair that was so like his own. Then he cast a glance over the other two sleeping teens. "Goodnight to you two as well. You're not fooling me. I know you're awake."

One pair of blue eyes and a set of hazel ones popped open as they both exclaimed together, "How did you know?"

Endymion chuckled as walked to the door. "I have my ways. Now all three of you troublemakers get some sleep. I don't want any reports from Amy or Zoicite that you sat up all night talking."

"Yes sir," they answered as he closed the door behind him and began making his way down the halls of the palace to seek his own bed and the comfort of his wife's arms.

* * *

**Two weeks later**

Sailor Pluto stood at her post at the gates of time, keeping watch over the timeline like she had done for centuries. She took her job seriously, even though it was sometimes a heavy burden to have the knowledge of what was going to occur before it happened.

Like now, she heard the slight scraping of footsteps and turned with a broad smile on her face to greet the ones that she knew were approaching.

"Your majesties," she greeted them with a bow.

"For the love of Selene, Trista," Neo Queen Serenity fussed. "You know that you don't have to stand on ceremony with us all the time."

A small smile twitched the time guardian's lips. "My apologies, but centuries of old habits are hard to break."

Four people appeared through the mists of the time plane and joined her, the king and queen, and two of their closest friends.

"So how are things progressing?" Endymion asked.

"As they should," she answered as she waved her time staff to bring up mirrors that showed different places and times.

"Rini is currently enjoying herself in the past with your past selves," she said, pointing to one mirror that showed the pink haired princess as she roamed the Juuban mall with Hotaru at her side. "And the other three, well, let's just say that they are climbing the walls right now,"

The other three mirrors showed Elysian. DJ was standing by a pond, lethargically skipping rocks across the surface with a look of boredom on his face. Alex was flung on a couch in one of the sitting rooms, his computer forgotten on the floor at his side as he stared lifelessly up at the ceiling. And Katie sat in the middle of the training room floor, occasionally flicking an energy burst at one of the dummies with a look of disgust.

"Oh, they all look so miserable," Jess said in sympathy. "They must be going crazy being trapped there. It's only been two weeks for us, but it's been almost two months for them. I'm surprised they haven't killed each other yet."

Pluto smirked. "There have been some close calls. I've had few complaints from Helios, wondering when I was going to get them out of there. It seems he doesn't have the temperament to handle three headstrong teenagers."

"Ha! Serves him right," Endymion muttered under his breath, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his wife.

"Knock it off, Darien," Serenity hissed. "You're going to have to get over the fact that he's our daughter's boyfriend at some point. Anyway, I thought he was one of your closest friends."

"He is," Endymion grouched, rubbing his side. "It's nothing personal against him. I would feel the same way about any guy Rini was with."

Serenity stomped her foot. "That is such a double standard! I've noticed that you don't have a problem with watching DJ while he's trying to get to Katie."

Andrew growled low in his throat, making the queen snap around to look at him. He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, gut reaction. This is my only daughter we're talking about."

Serenity pointed a finger at the blonde man. "You're just as bad as he is," she snapped. "You keep encouraging Alex to pursue Emma, even though Kunzite is about ready to turn him into mince meat, but the moment Katie's mentioned you go on the defensive."

Jess let out a whoop and high fived the queen. "You tell them, Sere! They need something to knock their chauvinism down a peg or two."

Pluto broke into the conversation. "As much as I would love to continue this discussion about teenage drama, please remember that we are pressed for time."

The four visitors fell silent with sheepish looks on their faces as they realized the scout of time was right.

"Now," Pluto continued. "Later today Discord will discover the secret entrance to the time plane on the outskirts of the city and come in to "ambush" me," she said with a roll of her eyes.

After all, how could somebody that could see the future be ambushed? If Discord weren't so powerful, he would actually be quite pathetic. He thought out elaborate schemes, but they always seemed to fall through because they were riddled with flaws.

"Anyhow," she carried on. "He will discover the entrance to Elysian located here and go after the kids. I will pop in and get them out and deliver them safely to the past and put them under the watchful eyes of your past selves."

Snickers were heard from the adults as they all remembered the impact that meeting their future children had on their lives. Things were about to get very interesting in Tokyo of the past. Then they all sobered.

"I trust you, Trista," Serenity whispered. "Keep them safe for us and bring them home when it is time."

Sailor Pluto bowed to them all. "You have my word. I will watch out for them. But you all know that they are facing difficult times. These experiences are needed if they hope to claim the power that they will need to defeat this evil."

Her head snapped around and she looked off into the mists. "Now you must go. I will be in contact whenever possible."

The two couples hurried away, leaving her at her solitary post. A few minutes later she heard the sound of more shuffling footsteps, but pretended that she didn't hear them as she focused her gaze on the swirling streams of time.

She was expecting the blast, but it still took her off guard when it hit her in the back and knocked her to the ground. She lay there, dazed, but awake. She kept her eyes closed, feigning unconsciousness.

"Well, well," she heard Discord's voice say as she felt his evil presence draw closer to her. "It seems that the illustrious Sailor Pluto isn't as infallible as once believed."

She felt a hand at her waist and heard a click as a time key was removed from the chain she wore there.

"Thank you for making this easy for me," he drawled. "Those three brats have disappeared from Crystal Tokyo, and I'm pretty sure you had something to do with it. I'm thinking you probably have hidden them in a different time, and now I have the tool I need to search for them."

Pluto longed to jump up and attack him, but knew that to do so would put DJ, Alex, and Katie in severe danger. So she forced herself to remain quiet and still.

There was the sound of running footsteps, and then Jack's voice was heard. "We've found a hidden door. And from the descriptions I've heard, it looks like it leads to Elysian."

"Ah," Discord mused. "Elysian, hmm…that would be the perfect place to hide someone that you don't want found. It's the one place that I am unable to go to on my own. But now that I'm here and there is a door so conveniently available to me, I think it could be advantageous to check it out."

* * *

"This sucks! How much longer do we have to stay here? I'm going crazy!" Katie groaned as she stomped into the entertainment room of the palace in Elysian and threw herself down in a recliner. "I want to go home!"

"Damn it, Tinkerbell! Is all you ever do is bitch?" DJ snapped. "I'm sick and tired of listening to your whining and complaining."

Her eyes glittered dangerously. "Why don't you shut the hell up, asshole? Nobody asked for your opinion!"

He glared at her. "Why don't you make me, blondie? You think you're so big and bad, so bring it on!"

"With pleasure!" she snarled as she jumped up from the chair. "I hope you've got a big enough band aid to cover your ass when I get done kicking it."

"Whoa!" Alex cried, throwing himself between them. "What the hell is wrong with you two? You've both spent the last several weeks either ignoring each other or at each other's throats. This shit is getting really old. You guys didn't fight like this when we were kids."

DJ and Katie continued their death glares at each other around Alex, but remained silent. Every since the night of their disastrous kiss and their subsequent exile to Elysian, they had reverted back to their childish picking on one another. Only now it was fueled by pain and heartache, and it often resulted the harshest insults they had ever thrown at each other and the two of them practically toe to toe.

"Knock it off, both of you!" Alex ground out. "I'm tired of trying to keep the two of you from killing each other. Do you really think that stomping the shit out of one another is going to make our situation any better?"

Hazel clashed with blue for a long moment in a furious battle of wills for moment before Katie shrugged and walked away.

"Whatever," she growled. "I'm going to go practice some more. I've gotta do something to pass the time."

DJ's mouth popped open to let out what was sure to be another insult, so Alex quickly clapped a hand over his friend's mouth and glared at him with a furious shake of his head.

Katie had just reached the door when there was a loud explosion and the entire palace rocked on its foundation, sending all three tumbling to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" they all three exclaimed at once as they began climbing back to their feet.

There was a puff of magenta smoke as Sailor Pluto appeared in the middle of the room. "Thank the gods, you're all together. Come on. We have to leave now."

"What's going on?" DJ demanded.

Pluto shook her head. "We don't have time now, but I promise I will explain everything in a little while. But right now I've got to get you three out of here."

She turned to look at Helios, who had appeared in the doorway. "Call Endymion and Serenity. They will send help. And make sure you tell them that the package is being delivered."

Then she grabbed all three teens and pulled them close as a bright pink light surrounded them.

What seemed to be a few seconds later, they all hit the ground hard. After taking a moment to catch their breath, DJ, Alex, and Katie sat up, surprised to find themselves in a bright, sunny park, a very familiar park.

Katie scrambled to her feet. "Oh thank god, we're finally home! I don't even want to see Elysian again for a good long while." She looked around to get her bearings, and then glanced toward where the Crystal Palace should be so she could tell what direction she should head to go home.

"What happened to the palace," she shrieked when she didn't see it standing where it was supposed to be.

This caught the boy's attention and they looked around in confusion as well as they took in the difference in the city skyline. It was Crystal Tokyo, but it looked so different. Some of the buildings were familiar, but there were others that they had never seen before.

Sailor Pluto grinned at them before she glowed for a moment and transformed into her civilian form. "Welcome to Tokyo. We are now in the early 21st century."

"You mean we're in the past?" DJ asked in disbelief.

"That's right," she confirmed. "Elysian is no longer safe for you to stay in, and it would be suicide to send you home, so I decided that this would be the best place for you. Rini is already here, although she hasn't been informed that you three were coming. Now it's time to look up some old friends."

She snapped her fingers and a large handbag appeared in her hands. She reached in and pulled out three baseball caps and three pairs of sunglasses and handed them to them. "Put these on. I don't want to start a panic. I'm going to have to break this to them gently. You DJ in particular, make sure you keep your face covered. Darien and Serena would likely have heart attacks if they saw you before I tell them."

"Wait a minute!" Alex croaked. "You don't mean…" he was unable to finish.

Trista sighed. "Yes, we're going to the Crown Arcade. As soon as I locate Rini, it will be time for you to meet your parent's past selves."

* * *

Andrew jumped up from the booth where he was sitting across from Kunzite as they were going over some of the details of their joint business venture.

"I think I left that file sitting on my desk, I'll be right back," he said, hurrying toward the arcade's office. He had finished his business degree about nine months ago and his father had practically turned over the running of the family business to him. He had decided that it was time to expand, and had entered into a deal with Kunzite and the other generals.

Soon the Crown would be more than an arcade. It would be part of an entertainment multiplex. They had bought the whole block and had leveled all of the old crumbling buildings before replacing it with one big, new super structure.

The original arcade was still there, but it was connected to the new building that housed an ice-skating rink, bowling alley, dance club, restaurant, and several other small shops. It would be an entertainment paradise for people of all ages. The old arcade had undergone a transformation in order to fit in with this new image.

This had pleased his fiancé to no end. As an artist, Jess was always looking for ways to change things up and give it more pizzazz. She had been begging him as long as he had known her to let her redecorate the arcade. As he looked around now, he could see that she had truly left her mark on this place. The bright colors and bold designs seemed to increase the level of excitement and enticed the kids that came in to spend their allowance freely.

He grinned as he thought of his fiancé. Spunky and bright, she always kept him on his toes. She would be graduating college in a few months with a degree in art. Then they had the rest of their lives ahead of them.

He'd had to restrain himself on several occasions from hauling her in front of the first preacher he could find and marrying her right then, but she had wanted to wait until she had finished school before taking the plunge with him. Being the understanding person he was, he had respected her wishes. And after seeing some of the headaches that his best friend and his fiancé were going through with wedding plans, even though the wedding was still months away, he was kind of dreading that part.

Lost in thought, he really wasn't paying attention to where he was going. As he passed the door that led to the bathrooms, he ran smack dab into someone that was walking through it. Taken by surprise, they both fell to the floor. Shaking his head, Andrew looked over to see who he had bumped into.

A young girl of about sixteen sat there muttering to herself. "Well that's just damn great. You'd think I'd be able to walk through a simple door without winding up flat on my ass. I swear, shit always seems to happen to me."

Andrew chuckled as he watched her arguing with herself. She pushed her long, light blonde hair out of her face and reached for the black baseball cap that must have fallen off her head when she fell.

He got to his feet and offered a hand to her. "Sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going."

At the sound of his voice, her head snapped up. She was wearing dark sunglasses, but they had been knocked askew when she fell, and Andrew caught a glimpse of one widened, surprised hazel eye before she shoved the glasses back into place.

"It's fine," she said in a quiet voice as she took his offered hand. "I always seem to mess up the simplest things. I'm used to it."

He watched as she twisted her hair up and shoved it under the cap. He didn't know why, but she felt familiar to him. "I'm sorry, but have we met before? You look familiar to me for some reason."

She shook her head. "No. I'm new to town. I haven't really met anyone yet."

Andrew shook off the feeling of déjà vu. "Welcome to Tokyo. My name's Andrew by the way."

The girl seemed to cringe at his words before she whispered. "My name's Katie."

"Well it was nice to bump into you." Andrew said cheerfully. "I hate to chat and run, but I'm in the middle of a business meeting. Maybe I'll see you around."

He hurried off toward the office, not knowing that the girl stood there staring after him with tears in her eyes.

"Daddy," she whispered as she reached up to wipe away a tear from her cheek. Once she composed herself, she returned to the booth that she was sitting at with Alex and DJ. She slid in beside her brother and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Alex asked in concern. "Did something happen?"

She just shook her head. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go home. Seeing her father's past self had stirred up a wave of homesickness in her that threatened to crack her icy shell.

She closed her eyes tiredly, not knowing that a pair of blue eyes were studying her intently from behind the lenses of dark sunglasses across the table.

DJ knew that something had shaken her up, but knew that if he asked her about it, it would start a fight, and Trista had warned them before she had left them at the arcade to go find Rini to not do anything that would draw attention to them.

He looked out the large window and gasped as a black haired man in a green jacket walked by, heading for the arcade entrance. He slumped down in his seat as his father's past self walked in the sliding doors.

"Shit, shit, shit!" he hissed under his breath, catching the attention of his companions. They both looked up and their mouths fell open as they saw the younger version of King Endymion striding through the room.

"Drew, Kunzite," Darien called out in greeting as he waved toward the back of the arcade. He stopped at the counter long enough to say hello to Lizzy and pick up the cup of coffee she had poured for him before walking to a table in the back.

All three teens slouched down as Darien walked by their table and held their breath as he passed within inches of them. Then they gasped as they saw two men stand to greet the newcomer.

"Oh crap!" Alex whispered. "Dad's here too? This is getting scary." Then he looked at his sister. "You knew, didn't you? That's what had you upset before."

She nodded. "I kinda ran into him when I was coming out of the bathroom. It was freaky."

They all three began praying with all of their might that Trista would get back with Rini soon before something happened to blow their cover.

* * *

Darien sat across from his best friend, sipping a cup of coffee as they waited for the women in their lives to finally make an appearance. He glanced at his watch. "The mall closed ten minutes ago, so they should be here soon."

Andrew nodded. "I'm just glad we're not with them. I get tired just watching them shop."

"True," Darien agreed. "I don't see how they can keep going for hours like that. I guess it's a woman thing."

Right on cue, the arcade's doors slid open to reveal two women completely loaded down with shopping bags. One was a golden blonde with a ponytail that went past her hips and wide, china blue eyes, while the other was a few inches taller and wore her dark, honey blonde, waist length hair in a thick French braid and had deep sapphire eyes.

Darien chuckled at the sight. "Did you two leave anything in the stores for other people to buy?"

Both women stuck their tongues out at him before giggling and dropping the bags. Sliding into the seats next to their significant others, they greeted them with a hug and a kiss.

Andrew let out a low whistle as he studied the pile of purchases now littering the floor. "I'm sure glad you have your own money. I'd go broke supporting your habit if you didn't."

Jess smacked him on the arm. "Don't be a jerk! I had to take advantage of the sales. Warmer weather is right around the corner, and I have to be ready for it."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "What about all of the clothes you have now that are packed into our closet?"

She looked at him, horrified. "But those are from last summer. A stylish young artist such as myself has to keep up with the latest fashions. What would people think of me if I didn't?"

"Says the woman that runs around most of the time in paint stained jeans and t shirts," he muttered, earning an elbow in his ribs.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Serena chirped. "Dinner, movie, perhaps both?" she asked sweetly, fluttering her eyes innocently at her fiancé.

"Definitely food," Jess moaned. "I need to recharge after our spree."

The women began talking about where to go eat while Andrew let his eyes wander. His gaze landed on the girl from earlier. She was sitting in a booth at the back with two boys. He could see light brown hair peeking out from underneath the baseball cap of the boy sitting next to her. They had been sitting there for a couple of hours now, not speaking and barely moving, Just sipping on sodas while they looked out the windows.

The girl, Katie she'd said her name was, had laid her head on the shoulder of the boy next to her some time ago and seemed to have fallen asleep. It was hard to tell because she was still wearing those sunglasses. In fact, all three teens were wearing hats and sunglasses, despite the fact that the sun had set long ago.

"Hey Liz," Andrew called out to his sister as she passed by. "It's about closing time. Shouldn't you be ushering those kids out of here?"

Lizzy looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I thought you knew. They came in here earlier with that friend of yours. You know, that tall lady with the long, dark green hair."

Serena perked up with interest. "You mean Trista?"

Lizzy nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. She asked if I had seen Rini, and I told her that she had left with Hotaru earlier. She went to go look for her and asked if they could stay here until they got back. I thought she would have been back by now."

Just then the doors opened again, ushering in a pale-faced Trista dragging a protesting Rini behind her.

"But Puu, why are we here?" Rini complained. "Hotaru and I had plans tonight."

Trista just pointed her finger at the back booth where all three teens had raised their heads at the sound of the pink haired girl's wails.

"Chill out, bubble gum brains," said the boy who was sitting alone. "It's not the end of the world, you know."

"Huh, speak for yourself," the girl huffed. "Personally, I think this is hell."

"You would, blondie," the boy snapped. "You think everything that doesn't go your way is hell."

The other boy just leaned down and laid his head on the table with a resounding thud.

Rini stared, struck speechless for a moment. Then she screeched. "Oh shit! No way! What the hell are you three doing here?

**A/N **So there you have it! Yay! Now they're in the past. Next chapter our little time travelers meet their parent's past selves. As if there weren't enough sparks already flying between DJ and Katie, now we're going to throw in the others, this could get fun. I hope you liked it. Don't be afraid to hit that button below and tell me what you think. I live for reviews!!! Later gators!

~Sere~


	5. Bomb's Away

**A/N **I can't believe I got this done! To those of you reading my other story What If, I told you guys that I was going to try to post this before I got busy with graduating college this weekend, and I made it! Yay me! So before I turn this over to you guys, let me take care of business. I'm giving out hugs, cookies, milkshakes, whatever you want this time. (Don't mind me, I'm crazy…lol) So BIG, ENORMOUS, GIGANTIC…uh…WHATEVER YOU WANT TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**GoldenDragon326**

**rainbabie**

**Seredhiel05**

**anime-lover10**

**S dot Serenity**

**tiny2008**

**amaramichelle**

**sunbeam07**

**madorno81**

**moonangel0905**

**Luthien Morgon**

**LBricker88**

**My Veggie Burger**

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**JmacKarla**

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**ElisabethBoleyn**

**CharmedSerenity3**

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**kiARA**

(Sere-chan throws confetti) Whooo! Thanks for all the great reviews you guys. You're the best. Now strap yourselves in, because some jaws are about to hit the floor. Tee hee! Have fun!

_ENJOY!_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 4

Bombs Away!

"Are either one of you finding this as weird as I am?" DJ asked as he and his two companions watched the four younger versions of their parents sitting at a table not too far away.

"Way beyond weird," Alex muttered. "I am seriously starting to question my sanity. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if they didn't look almost exactly the same as they do back home. I keep expecting my mom to turn around and start talking to me, then I remember that she has no idea who I am."

"Uh oh," Katie whispered from where she had her head laid tiredly on Alex's shoulder. "I think daddy's getting suspicious. He keeps looking over here and now he's talking to Aunt Liz."

DJ chuckled. "He probably thinks we're casing the place to rob it. We have been sitting here since this afternoon. We should be okay though, Trista said she cleared everything with Lizzy."

Silence fell between them again until the doors slid open and a familiar voice reached their ears.

DJ grinned wickedly. "This should be good," he said in glee as the sound of his sister's wailing voice rang through the arcade.

"But Puu, why are we here?" Rini complained. "Hotaru and I had plans tonight."

The three of them had looked up in anticipation of seeing Rini's familiar face, but froze when Trista raised a hand and pointed a long finger at them.

DJ snickered to himself as he saw the shock and confusion on his sister's face and couldn't help but pick on her a little. "Chill out, bubble gum brains. It's not the end of the world, you know."

Across the table, Katie snorted. "Huh, speak for yourself. Personally, I think this is hell."

DJ rolled his eyes and retorted back in his usual fashion, "You would, blondie. You think everything that doesn't go your way is hell."

Alex groaned and let his head fall to the table with a thump.

Rini's face went stark white for a moment before flaring bright red. Her mouth opened and closed several times like a gaping fish until she finally found her voice. Then she screeched, "Oh shit! No way! What the hell are you three doing here?"

The sound of Rini's distressed voice had Serena jumping up to check on her future daughter. "Rini!" she exclaimed. "Sweetie, what's the matter?" She hugged the girl close.

Rini was trembling in her arms. "I'm going to kill them!" she said in a shaky voice. "I swear I'm going to murder my parents for this."

Serena let go of her quickly at her harsh tone and took a step back. Hurt and confusion were evident on her face.

Rini sighed. "Not you, Meatball Head. I'm talking about the you in the future that must be laughing her ass off right now at the thought of saddling me with those three." She waved her hand in the direction of the teenagers.

DJ barked out a harsh laugh. "Take a chill pill, Rini. It's not like we asked to come here. As a matter of fact, we didn't have a choice. One minute we were in Elysian, and the next all hell broke loose. Pluto showed up out of nowhere and brought us here."

Rini paled. "Elysian was attacked? But how? What about Helios? Is he okay?"

Jess was just as scared and pale looking. "Oh my god! What about Dawn? I can't stand to lose her too. Do we need to go there and help?"

"Everything's fine," Trista reassured them. "The situation is under control and everyone's fine."

Right on cue, the doors slid open and two people walked in, one was a young man with silvery white hair and amber eyes while the woman that accompanied him had the same fair hair, only longer, and soft dove gray eyes.

"Helios!" Rini exclaimed as she flew across the room and launched herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. "I was so worried. I heard that Elysian had been attacked."

Helios returned the embrace and smiled gently. "I am perfectly fine, my little maiden. Thanks to Pluto's warning and some quick action from your parents and the others, Elysian escaped any major damage. And what little damage there was quickly rectified by the magical protection in place there."

Jess had jumped up as well and had hurried to check on the priestess that had been a second mother to her. "Dawn, are you really okay?" she asked as she hugged the other woman.

Aurora pulled back and patted the younger woman's cheek gently. "I'm fine, Jessie. I will admit to being a little shaken, but other than that I'm as fit as a fiddle."

She turned to greet the others where both Serena and Andrew hugged her before she was swept up in Darien's arms in a gigantic bear hug and lifted off the floor.

"Endymion, you rascal, put me down!" she squealed.

Darien grinned at her before setting her lightly on her feet. "Sorry, Rory, I'm just relieved that you're all right. If there was trouble in Elysian, you should have called us."

"There was no need, my prince," Helios reassured him. "Crystal Tokyo was alerted to our situation and the problem was taken care of."

"Oh!" Aurora gasped suddenly and rushed over to the booth where the three teens were slumped down in their seats, looking like they were trying to avoid drawing any attention to the fact that they were still there. "My poor little darlings! Are you okay?"

All eyes turned to them, and they visibly cringed at the intense scrutiny they were receiving. They slid even lower into the booth's seats, as if they were about to slide to the floor under the table and out of sight.

An oppressive silence fell over the arcade and stretched on for several long seconds without anyone saying anything. It was finally broken when the door to the staff room opened and Lizzy walked out with her jacket and purse.

"I'm outta here, Drew," she called out. "I guess you're sticking around for a while."

Andrew glanced around at everyone before nodding. "Yeah, I'll be here for a little bit longer. Don't worry, I'll shut down the lights and everything."

"Okie dokie," she chirped as she pulled her keys from her purse and then waved. "I'll see everybody later!"

Everyone echoed her goodbye as she walked out the door and left them alone in the closed arcade.

"All right!" Rini snapped. "I want to know what's going on, right now. Did something happen at home?" She turned to glare at the slightly younger trio. "And why are you three here? This is supposed to be my private getaway. I didn't think that anyone else from Crystal Tokyo would ever come here."

"Crystal Tokyo!" Serena gasped. "You mean they're from your time, Rini?"

The pink haired girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, they are. That's why I can't figure out why they are here." She turned a questioning gaze on Trista. "I thought you said that time traveling was taboo and that you only bent the rules in my case. So why did you bring them here?"

Trista sighed wearily. "A lot has happened since you left Crystal Tokyo three weeks ago, Rini." At the princess's look of alarm, she hastily told her, "Don't worry, everyone's okay. But there were some circumstances that required me to get those three out of there. I hid them in Elysian, but the enemy found them and came after them. I couldn't take them back home yet, so I brought them here instead."

"But how could an enemy get into Elysian?" Darien asked. "It is the most secreted and guarded place on earth. There's no way anyone can get in there without permission. It's unheard of."

"Normally speaking, you would be right," Trista said. "But just like everything in life there are a few loopholes. I am the only person who can come and go from the time gate at will. If anyone else wants to travel to the time gate, they must either have a time key or go through one of the hidden doors. The enemy found one of the doors."

Serena gasped. She knew where the door here in Tokyo was; she had used it on a few occasions to talk to the time guardian. It was located in the basement of a tall office building in the center of the city where one day the Crystal Palace would stand.

"Are you saying that this person made it inside the palace to get access to the time door?" she asked in astonishment.

Trista shook her head. "No. That wasn't the door that was used. There is another door besides the one that will one day be located inside the palace. Remember when you traveled to the future during the fight with the Black Moon clan? You arrived there through a second door that is located on the outskirts of the city."

Serena shivered as she remembered the long walk through the silent, dead looking city of the future. "Oh yes, I definitely remember that. So this enemy found that door?"

"Yes," Trista confirmed. "They figured that when these three disappeared from Crystal Tokyo that I had hidden them in another time. Once they gained access to the time plane, they also found the entrance to Elysian that is there. They sensed that it was where this lot was hiding and attacked."

"Sounds like a real jackass," Jess commented. "What's this bastard got against them anyway? They're just teenagers for crying out loud. Why would someone be hunting them down?"

Trista gave her a steady look. "You should know the answer to that better than anyone else here. Why were people after you at one time? For power of course. Except this time instead of wanting to steal this power, this person wants to destroy it. And the only way to do that is by killing at least one of them."

Something was nudging at the back of Serena's mind, something from the distant past, but she wasn't sure what it was. It was disturbing. She felt like she was missing something big.

"Well that's just sick!" Jess spat. "People can't help it if they're born with certain powers or abilities, and they shouldn't be persecuted for. Unless they're evil that is." She shot a glance at the three that were still sitting silent. "You guys don't look evil. You're not, are you?"

They gaped at her for a moment before all three heads shook back and forth vigorously.

Rini dissolved into peals of laughter. "Slow down, Jess. I think you're superimposing them."

She waved an erratic, dismissive hand. "Nah, they look intelligent. I'm sure they can keep up. Anyhow, I thought Discord was a bastard, but this guy sounds twice as bad."

"It's funny you should mention him," Trista said quietly.

Jess paused in her ranting. "Oh yeah, why's that?"

Trista took a deep breath before stating calmly, "Because that's who's after them. A thousand years from now he breaks out of the seal that we locked him up in a year and a half ago, and now he's after these three."

That took the wind right out of Jess's sails, and she collapsed on the nearest seat. The shock on her face mirrored on Serena's, Darien's, and Andrew's.

Then the missing piece clicked into place for Serena. Discord was free. He was after these three teenagers. Three people blessed with the power of the moon, the earth, and the sun were needed to control the power that was capable of defeating him once and for all.

"The Galactic Trinity," she whispered softly.

Trista nodded. "You are correct, Serena. These three are the next bearers of the Galactic Trinity, but they have yet to receive the blessings of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo. That's why Discord is after them so desperately. He wants to stop them before they become powerful enough to kill him. I brought them here in an attempt to keep them alive."

"How can we help?" Serena asked. "I'm sure that's why you brought them to us, isn't it?"

"Yes it is," Trista said. "I won't insult them or their intelligence by saying that they need babysitters, they are wonderfully capable fighters and can take care of themselves, but they need support and the knowledge that you guys will have their backs if anyone comes looking for them here."

"Of course we will!" Serena exclaimed. "I'll get the others in on this too. There're plenty of us around to help keep a lookout and lend a hand if needed."

Jess stood up, finally having gotten over the shock of knowing that Discord had resurfaced. "That's right! If anyone comes nosing around that's not supposed to, they'll find trouble. I kinda hope they do, I haven't had a good fight in ages. It would be nice to kick some ass again."

Andrew chuckled and shook his head. "Always so bloodthirsty. I thought you might have outgrown that by now. Well, count me in too. I'm game for anything that results in that bastard getting what's coming to him."

"Amen," Darien agreed. "I'd love to know that he's finally gone for good. They'll be safe here, Trista. We'll keep an eye on them."

A small smile touched her lips. "I never expected anything less."

"Oh joy," Rini grumbled. "I can't believe this is happening. I could seriously kill someone right now for putting me through this."

Serena wrapped an arm around her and gave her a squeeze. "Come on. It won't be that bad. They're friends of yours, aren't they? Now why don't you introduce all of us properly so we can get to know each other."

Rini shot a startled look at Trista who nodded at her. "Would you like to do the honors, Rini?"

"But…but…" she stammered.

"It's okay," Trista reassured her. "We're not keeping any secrets this time."

A positively evil looking grin appeared on the pink haired girl's face. "Okay. I'll introduce my _friends._ This is gonna be good." She walked over to the table and looked gloatingly at the three.

"Just get it over with, spazoid," DJ snarled at her.

She smirked at him. "All in good time. I want to make sure I do this right."

"Okay, this is DJ, Alex, and Katie," she announced, pointing to each one as she said their names. "As you already know, they are from the same time as me."

"Oh for the love of all that is holy! Would you just get on with it?" Katie snapped. "You don't have to drag it out."

"Would you shut up?" DJ growled. "You're only going to slow her down if you keep yapping."

"Make me!" Katie shrieked as she stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "I swear, you are such an ass!"

DJ came up out of his seat to glare at her as he put his hands on the table and leaned forward to emphasize his point. "I'd rather be an ass than an ice queen like you! Two seconds in your company is enough to make anyone want to go jump off a bridge just to escape."

She squealed in fury and brought her hand up like she was going to slap him, but Alex reached up and grabbed her hand before she could and jerked her back down into her seat.

Rini pushed DJ back down into his. "What the hell is wrong with you two? I thought you outgrew fighting with each other a long time ago. Now knock it off!"

They both huffed and sat back, crossing their arms across their chests and looking pointedly away from each other.

"Anyway," Rini continued. "I think the disguises can come off now. Alex, would you like to go first."

He chuckled as he reached up and pulled the hat off his head. "You have a mean streak in you, Rini."

She grinned back. "Yes I do, but humor me. I'll never get this opportunity again, and I want to enjoy it."

Still laughing, he pulled the sunglasses off and turned to look at the adults. They all gasped at the sight of his sapphire blue eyes. Darien and Jess both froze in shock while Serena and Andrew's heads whipped back and forth between the three sets of identical eyes.

Jess turned and pointed a finger at Serena at the same time Serena pointed at her. "He's not mine! He's yours!" they yelled together.

Rini and Alex both fell across the table, laughing hysterically while Trista, Helios, and Aurora looked on in amusement. Darien and Andrew were both standing still with blank looks on their faces.

A small smile twitched at Katie's lips, and she glanced over quickly at DJ to find him trying to keep from cracking up as well.

Suddenly he leaned over and whispered to her, "This might be fun after all."

Giving in to the moment, she giggled. "You might be right. Did you see the looks on their faces? That was classic."

Rini straightened up, wiping tears from her eyes. "All right, break it up!" she yelled at Serena and Jess where they stood with their hands on their hips, still arguing about potential motherhood.

They both stopped midsentence and looked at Rini, who stood grinning at them.

"That's better," she said in satisfaction. "Now would you like to know the answer to this mystery?"

Both women looked apprehensive, but they slowly nodded anyway.

Rini's grin grew wider. "This is Alexander Andrew Furuhata. He's Jess and Andrew's son from the future and he's sixteen years old."

"No freaking way!" Jess whispered as she collapsed on the floor. "I can't be a mother. I have a hard enough time keeping myself together, much less a kid. Drew, tell me I'm dreaming."

Andrew pinched himself on the arm and jumped when he felt the sting. "Uh, I don't think we're asleep, honey. If we are, this is the most realistic dream I've ever had."

"Ha!" Serena crowed. "I told you he wasn't mine!"

"Time to move on," Rini announced. "Katie, you're next."

Katie whipped the hat off and shook her head to release her long waterfall of shimmering light blonde hair. The glasses came off to reveal her wide hazel eyes.

They all studied her for a moment, and then Serena squealed, "I know! You're Mina and Kunzite's daughter, aren't you? Your hair is almost as light as his."

"No way!" Jess interjected. "She's Amy and Zoicite's daughter. Her eyes are green like Zoicite's and she kind of has that serious look about her."

Katie looked crestfallen. "My eyes aren't green, they're hazel," she muttered under her breath.

Andrew took a good look at her and knew the truth. Now he knew why he felt a connection to her when he had met her earlier. "You're both wrong," he told Jess and Serena. "She's mine and Jess's too. Those are my eyes."

"Sweetie, you're seeing things," Jess said distractedly. "We've already established that we have a son. Big shock, I know, but I'm trying to get over it."

Andrew wouldn't be dissuaded. "Would you just take a good look at her? Those are my eyes in a face that looks just like yours. She even has the same little upturned nose with the same golden freckles scattered over it."

Jess gave her a closer inspection and her eyes widened in realization. "Holy shit! You're right. She looks just like me just with different hair and eye color. So she really is ours too."

"Correct!" Rini cheered. "This is Kathleen Kimberly Furuhata and she's sixteen as well."

"Oh my gosh, I have two kids," Jess muttered. "I have a son named after my family and Drew and his dad and a daughter named after both of our mothers. This is too much. I have two sixteen year olds…Wait a minute! How come I have two kids the same age? Is it even possible to have them that close together?"

The dumfounded expressions on the faces of their parent's past selves sent Katie and Alex into another fit of laughter. Katie clutched at a stitch in her side as she leaned against her brother. She hadn't laughed like this in months, and she had to admit that it felt good. There was just something infectious about being with this group.

Rini shook her head in amazement at Jess. "And I thought you were smart. I think the paint fumes are beginning to fry your brain. Haven't you ever heard of twins before?"

"Twins!" Jess screeched as she jumped up from the floor and began pacing. "You mean like as in having two babies at one time? What did I ever do to deserve that? I don't remember pissing anybody off bad enough in my past life to warrant that sort of punishment."

She froze in place suddenly with a horrified look on her face as she turned to look at DJ. "You're not mine too, are you? Don't tell me that I have triplets. I don't think I can handle that."

"No, no, no," DJ said hastily, holding his hands up. "I promise, I'm not your kid."

"Thank heaven for small favors," she moaned as she began feeling overwhelmed again and sat down in the booth across the aisle from them. The table in front of her began to shake and the light bulb above her flickered like it was about to go out. A faint blue glow began to surround her.

Andrew sat down beside her and put an arm around her. "Calm down a little. Take deep breaths. I know this is a shock, but I really don't want to have to call an electrician in here tomorrow because you accidentally fried all of the wiring. That would suck."

She let out a shaky laugh as the glow disappeared, the table stopped shaking, and the light quit flickering. "Sorry. Just having a moment. That's why you're the calm one in this relationship."

"Are you quite done having your little breakdown?" Rini asked in an irritated voice. "I'm not finished yet."

"Sure, Cotton Candy Head, carry on," Jess said with a wave of her hand.

Rini rolled her eyes. "Anyhow, our last surprise guest of the evening is…" she reached over and plucked the hat and sunglasses off of DJ before he could even blink, "my wonderfully annoying, yet sometimes lovable little brother, the prince of Crystal Tokyo, Darien James Shields."

Darien stood in open-mouthed shock as he found himself looking at a boy who was almost the spitting image of himself at that age. The only difference was his eyes. They were a lighter, brighter blue, like Serena's.

Serena's head spun. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The boy was dead ringer for Darien back when she first met him, right down to the stubborn black hair that hung down into his eyes. The eyes were lighter and softer, but he could have been a clone.

The room began to swim around her and her vision began darkening. She reached blindly for Darien's arm and whispered, "I think I'm going to pass out." And then everything went black.

* * *

Serena felt something cold and wet on her face and tried to turn away from it. She was sleeping so good. She didn't want to wake up yet.

"Five more minutes, Luna," she mumbled sleepily, thinking her cat was nosing her, trying to get her up out of bed. "I don't wanna go to school today. Miss H. will give me detention anyway, and then that jerk face Darien will pick on me again."

She heard a deep masculine chuckle in her ear. "Aww, Meatball Head, I didn't know you still felt that way about me after all these years. Anytime you're ready to join us in the present, feel free to."

"Huh?" she muttered as she opened her eyes to see her fiancé's beloved features hovering over hers.

"Darien!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him tightly as she began babbling. "I had the weirdest dream. I dreamed that these three kids from the future showed up here and two of them were Jess and Drew's kids and they were twins. And there was this other boy that looked just like you and Rini said that he was our son. Trista was there too, and she said that Discord was attacking the future and Elysian and that the three kids were the next bearers of the Galactic Trinity. Omigosh, it was crazy. I must have eaten something that didn't agree with me to have a dream like that."

Darien watched her with an amused grin as she paused for breath. "Are you done now?"

She sucked in a big breath and nodded. "Yeah. It was the craziest dream though. It felt so real."

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how to tell you this, sweetheart, but it was real."

She pulled back to look at him. "Don't tease me right now, Darien. I'm really not in the mood."

"I promise, I'm not teasing you, Sere," he insisted. "DJ, Alex, and Katie are really here. You were so shocked when you saw DJ that you passed out. Don't you remember?"

She frowned, she did remember feeling woozy before everything went dark, but she thought that was just part of the dream. As she looked around, she realized that she was on the couch in the arcade staff room.

She heard a scuffling sound, and then a whispered, "Damn it, Drew! Would you move over some? I can't see."

This was followed by a soft, "Shh, I can't hear what they're saying with you talking."

Serena sat up carefully and looked over the back of the sofa. Jess and Andrew were both crowded by the door, where it appeared that both of them were attempting to peek out of a tiny crack that they had opened

Suddenly Andrew let out a sharp hiss and jumped back. He glared at his fiancé while he grabbed his side. "I can't believe you just pinched me!"

Jess smiled innocently at him. "I told you to move over so I could see. Maybe you need to hit the gym more often. There seems to be more to you than there used to be."

Andrew snorted. "And maybe we do need an enemy to attack us so you can get some exercise. All those cherry cokes and cheeseburgers are going to your hips."

She blew a raspberry at him and turned back to the crack in the door. In seconds, Andrew was right back where he was, and the scuffle started again.

Serena couldn't help but giggle, earning her two harsh shushes from the couple at the door. She looked at Darien, who just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

Curiosity finally got the better of her, so she got up off of the couch, despite Darien's protests that she lay back down, and tiptoed up behind them.

She leaned down so that she could whisper between the two close pressed blonde heads, "What are you two Peeping Toms doing?"

She stepped back quickly as they both jumped at the sound of her voice and tried to spin around at the same time. But since they were so close together, they bumped into each other.

Jess let out a startled "Eep!" as she fell on her butt. Andrew tripped over her legs and ended up sprawled out across her lap.

Serena couldn't help herself. She clapped a hand over her mouth, but the sound of her giggles escaped anyway. Darien's deeper chuckles joined in a moment later as he stepped up next to her.

The duo on the floor glared at them for a moment before they saw the hilarity in the situation and began laughing as well.

"That wasn't funny, Sere," Andrew tried to say angrily, and failing miserably.

Snickering, Jess replied, "Oh, I don't know, we probably deserved it for eavesdropping. I think your gossipy personality is starting to rub off on me."

Andrew looked offended. "I don't gossip! Gossiping is for teenage girls and little old ladies. Besides, I didn't force you to listen in on them. You did that yourself."

Jess sniffed disdainfully. "Whatever you say. Now get off of me before I lose the circulation in my legs."

Andrew scrambled up and then reached down to help her to her feet. When they were both upright, Jess swatted Andrew on the arm.

"I can't believe you said that my hips are getting fat!" she pouted. "I'll have you know that I still wear the same size clothes that I've been wearing since high school, thank you very much. Keep it up, and you'll be sleeping on the sofa tonight!"

"Hey, you started it!" Andrew snapped back. "You said that I needed to work out first. I was just returning the favor."

"You were hogging all the space!" she retorted back. "Would it have been too much for you to move over a couple of inches so I could see too? I'm just as curious about them as you are."

"What are you talking about?" Serena jumped in, breaking up their bickering.

Jess sighed dramatically. "We're trying to get the lowdown on our mysterious little visitors. I am way weirded out right now. I know you're used to knowing about being a mom in the future, but this is a whole new ballgame for me. I feel like I've stepped into the Twilight Zone or something."

Serena rubbed her temples. "That makes two of us. I can't believe that in all the years that I've known Rini, she never once let it slip that she had a brother. I'm still trying to comprehend it all."

The low sound of voices from out in the arcade caught their attention, and Serena and Jess dashed to the door, pushing Andrew out of the way so that they could peek through the crack.

Rini was sitting on one of the stools at the counter, looking upset as her brother leaned against the counter next to her with a dark look on his face.

"What in the hell were you thinking?" DJ growled at her. "I mean, could you have been anymore insensitive? You should have broken it to them a little gentler than that."

Rini sniffled. "I'm sorry, okay! I never thought she would pass out like that. Come on, have you ever known mom to just up and faint like that?"

"No," DJ replied. "But that was one hell of a bombshell to drop. You made it all fun and games when you broke the news about Alex and Katie, and then WHAM! You sprang me on them with no warning. Surprise! Meet your son! How thick can you get?"

Serena turned her head to look at Darien, arching a brow at him. "Not only does he look like you, he sounds like you too."

Beside her, Jess was nodding her head robotically while chanting under her breath, "Weird, weird, weird…I'm still not convinced that this isn't just some wacky dream. Maybe Helios is finally getting his revenge on me for all of the times I've picked on him."

A high, irritated voice caught their attention. Katie and Alex were behind the counter, making themselves at home as they scrounged around making milkshakes like it was second nature to them.

Katie thumped a strawberry shake down in front of Rini and ordered, "Drink it. Sugar's good for calming your nerves." Then she turned a glowering look on her nemesis. "Why don't you lay off of her, DJ? She screwed up and she knows it. She doesn't need you to keep rubbing it in. Cut her some slack."

DJ's nostrils flared angrily. "I don't remember asking your opinion, Tinkerbell! Why don't you butt out? This doesn't have anything to do with you."

"The hell it doesn't!" she snapped back. "I'm not just going to stand here and listen to you go off on one of my best friends like this, even if she is your sister. You are being a world class jerk!"

"Katie, it's okay," Rini protested softly. "I deserve it."

"No you don't!" Katie fired back. "Nobody should be made to feel inferior because of their mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes and you learn from them. And you don't need some stuck up, overbearing asshole making you feel worse than you already do."

Alex sighed and took a sip of his chocolate and peanut butter shake before once again playing peacekeeper. "Everybody chill! Rini, we all know you feel bad about what happened. Now let's all drop it, okay? All of us getting mad and upset isn't going to help anything."

All voices fell silent as the four teens stood there, staring morosely into the milkshakes before them.

Serena and Jess eased away from the door and turned to the guys, who had been able to hear the conversation from where they were standing.

"Talk about tension," Serena commented. "It's so thick out there that you could cut it with a knife."

Darien nodded. "They've been through a lot today with the attack on Elysian and then finding themselves here. I'm sure it's just as much of a shock for them to meet us as it is for us to find out about them."

"Definitely," Andrew agreed. "I'm sure their nerves are pretty rattled."

"I feel sorry for them," Jess said softly. "It must be rough to be in a strange time and not be able to go home. I would go crazy."

A bright smile lit up Serena's face. "Well we're just going to have to help them out as much as we can. And we can't do that if we keep hiding back here."

The others quietly agreed, and they all walked to the door.

All four sets of eyes snapped up as they heard the door swing open and the past forms of their parents filed out of the room.

Rini was around the counter in a flash, and she threw herself at the younger version of her mother. "I'm so sorry, Serena. I wasn't thinking. I never should have dropped the bomb on you like that. I'm such an idiot!"

"Shh…it's okay," Serena said soothingly as she hugged the younger girl. "I admit, it was a major shock, but I'm getting over it. Let's put it behind us, all right."

Rini grinned and skipped back to her seat where she began slurping her milkshake happily.

Serena turned her gaze to DJ and took a close look at him. At first glance, his resemblance to Darien had been uncanny. But now that she had the chance to study him closer, she noticed some differences. While they both shared the same unruly black hair, DJ had her crystal blue eyes. His jaw was also softer than his father's and the shape of his nose was different. But they still could have passed for brothers.

DJ began to shift uncomfortably under her intense scrutiny, making Serena giggle.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to make you nervous. I guess I'm still a little shell shocked."

He shrugged a little and gave her a familiar lopsided grin. "It's cool. I'm just glad you didn't pass out this time. It'd be bad if you ended up doing a face plant on the floor every time you looked at me."

Serena couldn't help but laugh at that. Maybe her future son had more of her in him than she first thought. His lighthearted quip sounded just like something she would say. She reached across the counter and patted his hand. "I think I'm going to like having you around."

Beside her, Darien chuckled. "I'm just glad to know that I'm not going to be outnumbered in the future. I always thought that I would be stuck all alone with two screeching Meatball Heads. Now the odds are evened."

Jess's eyes kept darting back and forth between her son and daughter. "Twins! I'm still blown away. Who'd have ever thought that I would have twins?"

Andrew shook his head in amusement. "I guess it's not all that shocking. After all, my dad and my aunt are twins you know."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that," Jess replied. "I guess it slips my mind because they don't look anything alike, just like these two."

"Thank goodness for that," Alex said with a laugh. "I already have to share a birthday with her. I can't imagine looking like her too."

Katie stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Whatever! I wouldn't want to look like you either. Blondes have more fun."

Jess looked up and studied Katie closely. Although the girl was joking around, there was a sharp undertone to her voice. Closer inspection showed a hardness in her eyes, one that Jess knew quite well from her own younger days. There was a deep-seated anger burning inside of this young lady, and Jess wondered what could have happened to her future daughter to cause her to be so pissed at the world.

Those sharp hazel eyes caught and held hers as one pale blonde brow raised slightly. "What! Do you think if you stare at me long enough I'll just disappear? I'm afraid I haven't mastered that trick yet."

Jess's own temper began to simmer. "Well excuse me for living and breathing! You can't blame me for being a little curious, can you? Damn! Now I know I'm being punished for something if I have a kid that's just as sarcastic as I am."

Katie's lips twitched like she was about to smile, but then it was like she retreated behind a wall. Her face smoothed itself into a blank, expressionless mask. She didn't answer back; she just took another sip from the glass in front of her.

"What are you drinking?" Jess asked as she eyed the contents of the glass. It looked like a milkshake, but the color was unusual and it was topped with a mountain of whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

Katie looked up at her again. "Oh, I don't know what you would call it. It's kind of a cross between a milkshake and an iced latte. I blend up ice cream, milk and, espresso with caramel syrup."

"It's mostly espresso," Alex interjected. "I don't see how you drink that crap at night. It's no wonder you don't sleep."

Katie shot a cross look at her brother. "Like you have any room to talk. When was the last time you slept the whole night through without any interruptions?"

That wiped the smug look off his face. "Point taken."

"Right on," DJ agreed quietly. "Of course our nights might go a little easier if a certain someone would help us out." He shot a glare toward a corner where Helios stood talking with Trista and Aurora.

"It's not his fault!" Rini denied hotly. "You know he would make the bad dreams go away if he could. But he says that he can't do it. So just leave him alone, DJ!"

He smirked at her. "What's the matter, can't stand to have someone criticize your perfect little boyfriend?"

"Ooo!" Rini fumed. "I'm going to hate having you here! Why couldn't I have been an only child?" She turned a murderous look on Serena and Darien. "Do us all a favor and invest in some birth control after you have me and save us all the misery of his presence."

DJ flung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Come on, sis, you don't really mean that. You know you love me."

"About as much as a trip to the dentist," she grumbled, but then she caught the teasing twinkle in her brother's blue eyes and began to laugh. "Okay! So maybe I do love you just a little bit. Now get off of me!"

Serena had been watching the interaction between her future children with a look of intense fascination on her face. But her expression turned to one of embarrassment when a loud growling sound came from her stomach.

Darien began laughing. "Ah…the beast awakens. I guess that's my cue to feed you before you go on a rampage."

She smacked his arm. "Shut up, Darien! I can't help it if I'm hungry. In case you haven't noticed, it's late and I haven't had anything since lunch."

"Okay, okay," he said in a placating tone. "So what are we supposed to do with our surprise guests?"

"I was hoping they could stay with all of you," Trista said as she joined them. "DJ could stay with you, Serena, and Rini while Alex and Katie could bunk in with Jess and Andrew. After all, you live right next door to each other."

That was true enough. When they had started the renovations on the arcade and the expansion of the business, Andrew and Jess had vacated the apartment upstairs that they had been sharing. By luck, fate, or whatever you wanted to call it, the apartment next door to Darien and Serena's had become available and they jumped at the chance.

It was a good arrangement since Darien often kept long hours at the hospital and Andrew was busy building up his business. Serena and Jess were both still college students and they kept each other company. They could usually be found at each other's homes studying together or watching movies.

Darien pulled out his cell phone. "How about we order a bunch of pizzas and head for home?" he suggested.

That idea got everyone's approval. Helios and Aurora declined the invite, returning instead to check that all was well in Elysian.

Trista also decided not to join them, claiming that she needed to reassure the worried parents back in Crystal Tokyo that their children were safe. She promised to return in the morning so that they could all sit down and talk about what to do next.

* * *

Discord growled as he searched through the streams of time trying to discover where that annoying time guardian could have hidden those damned kids now. He had been so sure that he had those three in the palm of his hand when he found them in Elysian, but Sailor Pluto had foiled his plans.

He sneered in disgust as he looked through the river of time at a scene from Earth during the latter part of the twentieth century. He couldn't tell if the ones he was looking for were there or not.

There were billions of people on that miserable planet and thousands of years to search through. It would be only too simple for those brats to disappear, and he couldn't have that. They may not be a huge threat to him at the moment, but once they claimed the legacy of the gods they would come back for him.

"We wouldn't be in this situation if you two had played your parts right," he ground out to Jack and Sasha. "How hard was it just stay with them and keep an eye on them?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "I just couldn't handle being with that jerk for another minute. He thinks he's so much better than everyone else, the perfect little prince. He has an ego the size of a large country. I know you wanted me to stick with him, but he was annoying the hell out of me."

"Same here," Jack agreed. "That Katie is one miserable, brooding little bitch. I got to where I could hardly say anything to her without her blowing up and throwing a tantrum. And anyway, she broke up with me, not me with her."

"That doesn't matter!" Discord hissed. "I took the two of you in when you had nothing in life and nowhere to go. I have given you a life most people only dream about. You have both received good educations; you have your own vehicles and money. I even managed to get you into the same social circles as the royal court. The only thing that I asked in return was for you to keep tabs on the Trinity bearers."

Both teens bowed their heads and mumbled, "Sorry." They really were grateful to the old man that had taken them in and raised them.

**Flashback**

They weren't really brother and sister, but they had known each other all of their lives. They had both been born to single mothers that had been friends. Their fathers hadn't been in the picture at all. Actually, considering their mothers' wild lifestyle, they both had the sneaking suspicion that the women hadn't even known which of the many men they slept with had impregnated them.

The two women had shared a small house with their children, and Jack and Sasha had bonded together at a very young age. That wasn't really surprising since they had been forced to share a tiny bedroom that was barely 10x10 and they spent most of their time in there trying to avoid their often drunk and resentful moms and their myriad of guests.

It had been a hard life for the children, forcing them to grow up much faster than they should have. Most kids didn't even know what a prostitute was, but by the time they were six, both of them had figured out that that was exactly what their mothers were.

There were different groups of men in the house every night. Drugs and alcohol ran freely as the adults would party the night away, oblivious to the presence of the frightened children closed up in the room.

The two shared a small bed, and they spent most of their nights with their heads buried under the pillows trying to drown out the sounds of the strung out adults and their loud orgies.

When Jack and Sasha were eight, they were woken up in the middle of the night by their mothers and bundled into the car. The two grungy looking band members that they had hooked up with recently who were loading luggage into the trunk joined them.

So they had left the town they were living in and drove throughout the night. Just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, they had pulled over on the side of a narrow country road.

The two women had ushered the kids out of the car and explained to them that their current boyfriends' band was going on tour in America and that they were going with them. But the two of them couldn't come along.

"So you're just going to abandon us out here in the middle of nowhere?" Jack had demanded.

His mother hauled off and slapped him hard. "Don't you dare speak to me like that, you filthy little brat! I won't miss your smartass attitude when I'm gone."

Sasha's bright green eyes had filled with tears. "Mommy," she begged, "Please don't leave me out here all alone!"

Her mother turned cold eyes on her. "I'm not leaving you alone, you stupid little girl! Jack will be with you. And if the two of you follow this road it will take you to Crystal Tokyo. When you get there, go to the palace. I've always heard that the queen has a soft spot for children. She'll make sure you're taken care of. She'll probably do a better job of it than me. I was never meant to be a mother."

And with that, both women had gotten back in the car with the men and had driven away without another word, not even looking back at the children that had just been dumped on the side of the road like stray dogs.

The two of them had stood in stunned silence for a long while before Jack quietly took Sasha's hand and began leading them down the road toward what they could only hope would be a better life.

The day was hot and the sun beat down on them mercilessly. They were both tired, hungry, and thirsty, but they trekked on. In the middle of the afternoon, they finally saw a glimmer in the distance.

"Is that it, Jack?" Sasha had asked. "Is that Crystal Tokyo?"

Jack shrugged. "I guess so. We haven't seen anything else, and we've been walking all day."

They continued on for a while longer. But it seemed that no matter how much they walked, the elusive city never appeared to be any closer.

"Jack," Sasha suddenly whimpered. "I don't feel so good." Then she fell to the ground in a dead faint.

Jack was frantic. He didn't know what was wrong with her or what to do for here. They were stuck out here in the middle of nowhere without another person in sight. Or so he thought.

"Do you need some help, young man?" a high, thin voice asked.

Jack had looked up in relief at the old man that had seemed to appear out of nowhere. "Yes! My friend passed out. We were trying to make it to Crystal Tokyo, but we've been walking all day. I don't know what to do."

"There, there," the man said calmly. "Let's just have a look at her, shall we?"

He knelt down next to Sasha and placed a wrinkled hand on her red, burning hot forehead. "Oh dear, I do believe your friend here has a touch of sunstroke. We need to get her inside and cool her off. Why don't you accompany me to my home? It's not far from here."

Normally Jack would have been suspicious of this stranger, but he was so worried about Sasha that he didn't care. "Okay. Lead the way."

The old man pulled out what looked to be a phone of some sort. "Let me just call one of my associates to come and fetch the girl."

"That's okay. I've got her," Jack said as he picked up Sasha's limp body. He was very tall for his age and strong too. Sasha was petite and weighed next to nothing, so picking her up was easy.

The old man eyed him as the boy swayed a bit. "Are you sure? You don't look like you feel the best in the world yourself."

Truthfully, Jack felt like he was on fire and nauseous, but he pushed those feelings back. "I'm fine. Now which way?"

The old man patted his shoulder. "You're a strong boy. That's good. You will go far in life with that strength."

So Jack had followed the old man who had led him to a large house hidden in a grove of trees less than a quarter of a mile away. There were a few men and women there, and in no time the two children were tucked into bed side by side with ice packs to bring their body temperature down.

Sasha woke up a couple of hours later, much to Jack's relief, and they were served a scrumptious dinner that they both attacked ravenously. After they had finished, their host came in to check on them. He seemed pleased to find them both in much better shape than they had been in earlier.

"Thank you so much for all of your help," Jack told him. "I don't know what we would have done if it hadn't been for you."

"It was nothing, my boy," the man replied. "I couldn't leave the two of you out there in your condition. Now, why don't you tell me what the two of you were doing out roaming the countryside all by yourself. Did you run away from home?"

Slowly, they told him their story, about their selfish, uncaring mothers and how hellish their lives had been. The old man made sympathetic noises at the appropriate places and expressed his outrage when they told him how they had been abandoned on the side of the road.

"So that's why we are trying to get to Crystal Tokyo," Jack finished. "We're hoping that the queen may be able to find a place for us to stay. Do you think you could help us get there?"

The man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But I have an even better idea. Why don't the two of you stay here with me? It's nobody but my servants and I here. It would be nice to have to you around. We are in the country, and I'm sure the fresh air here would appeal to you more than being in a stuffy city."

"Oh, we couldn't impose on you like that!" Sasha protested. "You've done more than enough for us as it is. We wouldn't want to trouble you."

He waved a dismissive hand. "It would be no trouble at all. And I'm sure that you would enjoy living here more than wherever the queen will put you. You two might even be separated."

Sasha's eyes widened in fear at that thought. She had always been with Jack, all of her life. She wouldn't know how to function without him around.

That idea scared Jack too, but he also had picked up on something in the old man's voice. There had been a harsh, bitter tone when he had spoken about the queen. "What do you have against the queen? I can tell you don't like her."

The old man grinned. "Very perceptive of you, Jack. Let's just say that she and I have a history. How much do you know about Neo Queen Serenity?"

They both shrugged. "Just what they have taught us at school."

He templed his fingers under his chin. "Ah, so you only know the pretty little version that they print in the history books and not the real story. They all paint her as being this saint that has saved the world on several occasions, but they never tell the whole truth. Not that I blame them, if the word ever got out that Serenity and Endymion along with their guards had actually ganged up on the person that was really supposed to command this world and locked him away, it would cause a panic."

He then told them a tale, and being children they bought into it. He spun a story that, while based on actual events, was full of more lies than most people would tell in a lifetime.

He told them about how he was Discord, once the most powerful being in the universe, and how the gods had been jealous of him. So they had banded together and created a way to destroy him. But it didn't work.

He told them about being locked away and how he had escaped. Now this was where he really started changing the story to make himself look good. He told the kids about the clan of sorcerers that he had taken up with, making it sound like they had been one big happy family.

Then he said that he had known that the world was headed for disaster and that he had wanted to save it. (All lies!) But when he had tried to use his power to prevent the planet's destruction, (More lies!) Sailor Moon and her friends had shown up and combined their powers to seal him away again. (At least that part was true!)

The kids were spellbound, he could tell by the look in their eyes. He almost had them completely won over.

Then Sasha had whispered, "What happened to your family? Did they get locked away too?"

Ever the convincing actor, he put a tragic look on his face. "I don't know what happened to them. By the time I broke out in this century all trace of them had vanished." That was another bald-faced lie. He had done some checking around and discovered that Talon and Anya were living happily with their little band of magicians far up in the mountains where they had built their own little village. But those traitors weren't worth his time.

Discord had been shocked when he suddenly found a pair of arms thrown around his neck.

Sasha beamed a wide smile up at him. "I like you, and I want to stay with you. We'll be each other's family since we don't have one."

"I'm staying too!" Jack cried as he scrambled over to them. "I don't want to go to Crystal Tokyo anymore."

Neither one of them had noticed the sly grin on the old man's face as he whispered, "Just call me Grandpa."

**End Flahback**

Both teens shook themselves from their memories and looked to where Discord was still fuming as he studied the pictures in the time stream. They really did feel bad about disappointing him.

"We really are sorry, Grandpa," Sasha whispered. "I guess I shouldn't have let DJ irritate me so much."

"I'm sorry too," Jack grumbled. "If I had stayed on Katie's good side, she may have at least found a way to tell me what time she was going to."

"This is ridiculous!" Discord exploded, stomping away from the time stream. "How can I, with all of my powers, fail to locate three miserable little brats? It's outrageous!"

Jack walked over to look at the scene the Discord had abandoned. It was a park in Tokyo sometime in the latter part of the twentieth century. Children were running everywhere while parents sat around on benches watching them and chatting with one another.

One little girl in particular caught his eye. She looked to be about six years old and her golden hair was done up in buns and pigtails.

He watched as a woman with indigo hair and pushing a stroller with a toddler in it called out to her, "Serena, darling! It's time to go. Daddy will be home from work soon and I have to get dinner ready."

"Coming momma!" the little girl squealed as she jumped off the swing and ran to the woman.

A light bulb went off in Jack's head and he turned quickly to Discord. "With that time key we can go to any time we want, right?"

"Yes," Discord growled. "But it would take forever to go to every single time period and search for those brats. For all I know, Sailor Pluto may have either split them up or she could be moving them to a different time every day."

Jack began to grin. "We may not be able to find Katie, DJ, and Alex, but we do know where to find some other people that are just as important."

Comprehension began to glow in Discord's red eyes. He chuckled darkly and slapped the boy on the shoulder. "Good thinking, my boy! I always knew I kept you around for a reason. I'm surprised I didn't think of that myself. Now, let's do some research and see if we can find the best time and the best person to strike."

* * *

Phantom, Phoenix, and Sailor Eclipse were surrounded by whiteness. Everywhere they looked, they saw nothing but misty white. It was like being trapped inside a cloud. The ground felt solid under their feet, but when they looked down, all they saw was the same mist.

"Where the hell are we?" Phantom growled.

"I don't have a clue," Phoenix answered, whipping out his mini computer. "Shit! My computer's not working."

Eclipse's eyes darted around. "Something doesn't feel right. How in the hell did we get here? I thought I was asleep."

She jumped when she felt something tug on her hair and a slight sting in her scalp and turned to glare at the tuxedo clad boy next to her. "Damn it, DJ, you jackass! What was that for?"

He shrugged. "I was just checking to see if you were dreaming. But since you felt that, I guess it's safe to assume you're not."

Eclipse clenched her fists. "That wasn't funny! You're lucky that I haven't already shoved my foot up your ass for that!"

Phantom sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. Here…" he reached out like he was going to smooth her hair back into place.

She jerked back at their close proximity, her eyes flaring in alarm. "Don't touch me!" she hissed.

He turned his head away so she wouldn't see the hurt expression that he knew was visible on his face even with his mask on. His chest burned at her rejection of his friendly gesture. That girl just wouldn't thaw out for a moment.

"What the hell is wrong with this stupid thing?" Phoenix grumbled, catching the other two's attention. "I mean it won't even come on."

"I don't know, Alex," Eclipse said, moving closer to her brother's side. "You're the computer wizard. Maybe it's because we're in the past."

"No. That's not it," he insisted. "It was working earlier because I checked it. And honestly, I can't say we're still in the past. I have no idea where or when we are."

"That's because where you are right now, time doesn't exist," a female voice said.

All three teens jumped at the sound and whirled around, searching for the source. Three figures began to materialize from the mist and come toward them. They all dropped into fighting stances.

"There's no need to be alarmed. We mean you no harm," a second female, but softer voice said.

"Yeah, it isn't wise to pick a fight with a god," a third, this time masculine voice boomed.

"A god?" the three teens whispered together as they watched the shadowy forms take the shape of two women and a man.

"Apollo!" the woman with long silver hair chastised the red haired man. "Don't frighten them. The poor dears have already had a rough day. There's no need for you to be so overbearing."

A woman with long mahogany hair snorted. "He's just afraid that they'll find out what a big teddy bear he is and ruin his reputation."

They turned to face the young, shell-shocked faces in front of them. All three had their mouths open in surprise and their eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Oh, where are our manners?" the silver haired woman exclaimed. "Here we are just carrying on like we don't have guests."

The other woman sighed. "I'm afraid you're right. It's been so long since we've had visitors from the outside that we've forgotten how to behave." She stepped forward and inclined her head. "Please forgive our rudeness. I am Gaia, the goddess of Earth, and I am thrilled to finally meet all of you."

The other woman stepped forward as well. "I am Selene, the goddess of the moon, and I am also ecstatic to make your acquaintance."

They both looked over their shoulders to the man standing behind them who huffed and crossed his arms. "They already know who I am. Apollo…god of the sun…blah, blah, blah. It's not hard to figure out."

Selene looked horrified at his response while Gaia just shook her head. She told their visitors, "He was never properly trained. That's why we don't let him out much. I think he has some insecurity issues."

"I heard that, Gaia!" Apollo thundered. His face had turned almost as red as his hair and sparks were sizzling in his golden eyes.

"Sweet Zeus, save us all," Selene whispered as she fanned herself with a slim hand. "Can you turn down the heat Mr. Sunshine? I'm broiling here."

The hilarity of seeing three major deities bickering like children amongst themselves finally hit Phantom, Phoenix, and Eclipse, and they all about fell over as they began laughing.

Gaia giggled as well. "That is what you call an ice breaker people."

Apollo grinned. "Hermes would disagree with you. According to him, nothing can break Mercurian ice."

Selene rolled her eyes at the pair and then whispered slyly to the laughing teens, "Actually, it was quite amusing to see Hermes eat those words a few millennia ago when Ares challenged him to a duel. It is now a proven fact that Mars' fire can melt Mercury's ice quite easily."

"Okay, enough gossip," Gaia said as she took control of the conversation once more. "Now that we've all laughed a bit, I hope that we feel a little more comfortable with each other now. We welcome you Darien, Alexander, and Kathleen."

"DJ"

"Alex"

"Katie"

All three of them automatically corrected her. Their transformations faded, returning them to their civilian forms.

She smiled widely. "If those are the names that you prefer. Now to get down to business. You are not dreaming, but at the same time you are not physically here. Your bodies are asleep back on Earth. We just kind of borrowed your consciousness so we could have a little chat.

Now all three of you are aware that you have been chosen for an important task. Apollo, Selene, and myself chose you three ourselves to be the ones to control the Galactic Trinity. Once you have received this gift, you will be able to actually call upon our powers and use them as your own."

"Why us?" DJ asked. "Out of all the people in the world, what made you choose us?"

Selene jumped into the conversation. "We needed three strong and dedicated people, one blessed with the power of the Moon, one of the Sun, and one of the Earth in order to bring all three parts of the Trinity together. You three fit the bill."

"So if that's all you need, why didn't you give this power to our parents back when they faced Discord before? Alex wondered. "I mean, you had all of the power of the sun, moon, and Earth sitting right there. They could have probably taken him out in two seconds."

Apollo shook his head. "Humans, they always think they have everything figured out. The Trinity is tied to certain bloodlines, whether directly or, in this case, through reincarnations. While Serenity and Endymion were prime candidates as the children of the elder Serenity and Edward of Earth, Motoki, or Andrew as you know him, was only a distant cousin of the sun prince, Jonathan."

Alex looked puzzled. "So why am I different from my dad?"

Apollo chuckled. "Don't they teach you anything about genetics in school these days? Think about who your mother is."

"That's right!" Katie squealed. "Mom was Jonathan's granddaughter in her past life. So that provided the missing link, right?"

"Smart girl!" Apollo complimented her with a wink.

"So what do we do now?" DJ asked. "I can't imagine that it's going to be something as simple as you give us this power and send us on our way to face the bad guy. I'm sure there's more to it than that."

"You would be correct," Selene answered. "While the three of you have grown into wonderfully strong young people, there is still more that you need to learn first. The power of the god's is not given lightly, and we won't hand it to you until we think you're ready."

Gaia stepped forward and looked deeply into DJ's eyes. "You are a son of the Earth, and you are a credit to your family and your heritage. But need to learn how to stop being so critical of yourself and others. Learn to look past what you perceive to be flaws and look for the positive. You've already made some steps to achieving that."

DJ flushed a little when he saw her eyes cut quickly toward Katie. He knew what the goddess meant without her saying it.

Apollo stepped in front of Alex and surveyed him for a moment. "You're extremely smart, but you rely too much on technology and figuring out every detail before you act. You need to loosen up and go with your gut instead of thinking and planning everything out so meticulously. If you can do that you'll be fine."

Alex nodded his head. He hated going into anything blind. But he knew that when it came to battles things happened. Even the most well laid plans could fall apart in seconds.

Selene faced Katie. "I know you're hurting. I wish I could make it all go away for you, but only you can do that. I hope that soon you will be able to move past the pain and self doubt that is eating you up inside and see what a strong, capable young woman you are. Stop running from yourself and others and embrace your life fully. That is my wish for you."

Katie stood in shocked silence as the moon goddess smiled at her and reached out to smooth her bangs back from her forehead.

"Now I believe we have taken up enough of your time tonight," Gaia told them. "Return to your beds and sleep well. There will be no more nightmares to plague your nights. Use this time that you have in the past to reflect on yourselves and become the people that we know you can be."

Then the whiteness faded to black as the three consciousnesses floated back down to their bodies. Smiles appeared on the sleeping faces as they slipped into pleasant dreams.

Alex dreamed of spending a day at the beach with Emma, laughing and joking as they played in the surf and the sand and spent time cuddling with each other.

DJ dreamed of sitting under the same large tree in the park where he and Katie had fought. Only this time she was snuggled up against his side as they whispered words of love to each other and shared kisses.

Katie found herself sitting at her piano, the notes tinkling from it light and melodic as she smiled up at DJ. He was standing next to her as she played, and when the song was over he presented her with a beautiful white rose. Then he kissed her lips gently as he pulled her up into his arms.

It was their first night in Tokyo of the past, and it was also the most peaceful night any of them had known in years. Perhaps being in the past would be good for them after all.

**A/N **Whew, done! I had a blast writing this chapter. I hope that it has given you a little more insight into the actual Trinity itself and about our poor bumbling little villains, Jack and Sasha. Discord played them just like Katie can play a piano, didn't he? More Sere/Dare and Drew/Jess in the next chapter, and some of the scouts and generals will possibly pop up as well. I gotta run now. It's midnight here and technically my graduation day! Yay! Later!

~Sere~


	6. The First Day

**A/N **(Sere-chan slams her book closed and jumps to her feet) Oh no! I got so wrapped up reading the new Sherrilyn Kenyon book that I forgot to update my story! My readers are going to lynch meee! Where's my Silver Crystal when I need it? That would protect me. Wait, I have a big strong husband to keep me safe. Endymion! Where are you?

LOL…sorry. I guess I was just having a moment of insanity. But in my defense, I really was sidetracked by a good book. Sherrilyn Kenyon is my favorite author and I adore her Dark-Hunter series. Now she's gone and made my obsession worse with the launch of her new Chronicles of Nick series. I think Acheron and Nick sound so hot. Don't tell my hubby I said that. I've also been an absolute bum, yes I said it. I guess maybe I shouldn't have graduated so I could keep busy. (gasps) What am I saying?

Anyway, back to business. I hope some of you are still around to read this. So to make it up to all of you for the long wait, I'm treating everyone to Andrew's wonderful milkshakes at the Crown along with hugs for this chapter. So BIG HUGS AND MILKSHAKES TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**My Veggie Burger**

**Luthien Morgon**

**Seredhiel05**

**BmsPsylocke**

**amaramichelle**

**rainbabie**

**Gini Justice**

**GoldenDragon326**

**James Birdsong**

**sasumiofjp**

**anime-lover 10**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**tiny2008**

**nileena**

**LBricker88**

**Stashed Away**

**inufan155687**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**S dot Serenity**

**ange de l'aube**

**KageNoNeko**

**JmacKarla**

Thank you so much guys. Thanks to you this story already has over 100 reviews. You seriously rock! Anyhow, enough out of me. I'm sure you've heard enough of my insane rambling to last you a while.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 5

The First Day

"DJ! Give me the remote!" a voice screeched, shattering through Serena's sleep fogged brain and dragging her back to reality.

"No way, Bubble Gum Brains!" a second yelled just as loudly. "You've already made me sit through an hour of Cardcaptor Sakura. I want to see if anything better is on."

"Nooo!" Rini wailed. "You'll put it on Bleach or something like that, and I don't wanna watch that!"

There was a scuffling sound and then a triumphant, "Ah ha!" followed by a piercing, "Give that back!"

Serena raised her head off the pillow and yelled at the closed bedroom door. "Both of you knock it off this minute, or I swear I'm going to go have my tubes tied!"

The noise abruptly stopped, and a few seconds later DJ's voice said in a much quieter tone, "Look, Yugioh's on. We both like that one. Is that okay with you?"

The blanket covered lump next to Serena chuckled and rolled over. "Tubes tied, huh?"

"Shut up!" she grumbled irritably. "It's either that or never let you touch me again. Take your pick."

Darien winced. "Ouch! Somebody's cranky this morning. Come on perk up! I've got the whole weekend off; remember? How often does that happen?"

"Hmph!" Serena huffed as she rolled so that her back was toward him. "That's just until one of those other so called genius doctors runs into something they can't figure out, then they'll be calling you like they always do."

"They better not," Darien growled as he scooted up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "I threatened all of them with certain death if I heard one peep out of them this weekend. I'm all yours until Monday morning." He placed a gentle kiss on her neck.

"Mmm…" Serena sighed. "That sounds good. Almost too good to be true." She snuggled up closer to him, content to just lie there in his arms and enjoy the peaceful moment. But it didn't last long.

_Knock! Knock!_ "Serena! Puu just called me and said that she would be here in about an hour. So you better get your happy ass up out of bed."

"I'm definitely getting my tubes tied," Serena moaned.

Darien laughed and kissed the top of her head before he threw back the covers and jumped out of bed in his normal, annoyingly cheerful manner. "Get up sleepyhead! I'm sure we have a busy day ahead of us."

Serena dragged a pillow over her face. "It's disgusting how perky you can be first thing in the morning."

Darien pulled the pillow off of her and tapped her lightly on the nose. "But you love me anyway."

Then he was gone into the bathroom where she heard the water start running a few seconds later. She finally dragged herself out of bed and to the closet to pick out something to wear. She studied her choices before deciding on a simple pair of jeans and a soft, comfortable sweater.

She shed Darien's giant t-shirt that she had slept in and pulled on the clothes. Then she grabbed her brush from the dresser and began attacking her hair with a vengeance, trying to get rid of all of the tangles.

Darien came out of the bathroom in nothing but his boxers, making Serena pause for a moment to enjoy the view as he walked over to the closet to get his own clothes for the day.

Then he turned his head and grinned at her over his shoulder. "Somebody's having dirty thoughts."

Serena blushed and turned her attention back to her hair. "I was not! I was just admiring the goods." She snapped an elastic band in place around her ponytail and escaped to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

She came back out just in time to see Darien slip his arms into that hideous green jacket. She shuddered a little. She had tried on several occasions to get rid of that damn thing, but somehow Darien always found out and stopped her before she could.

She shook it off and headed out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen. She needed caffeine badly. Just as she was passing the front door, she heard a soft knock. She cursed under her breath at the delay of reaching her coffee, which she could smell from here thanks to the automatic timer, and turned furiously to the door.

"What!" she snapped as she threw it open.

Jess stood there in shock for a moment before lapsing into a fit of giggles. "Oh my god! I wish you could have seen your face. You looked like a hyperventilating hyena!"

"Ha ha," Serena said dryly.

"Oh don't be like that!" Jess scolded. "Especially when I come bearing gifts. I thought you could use one of these." She held a cup out in front of her.

Serena moaned as she breathed in the scent of fresh ground espresso, dark chocolate, and whipped cream. "You are a lifesaver. I mean it. You are a saint, an angel straight from heaven, a…"

"I get the picture," Jess said with a laugh and handed over the cup before following Serena inside.

They paused before entering the kitchen and glanced into the living room where a wrestling match was happening on the couch. Evidently Yugioh was over, and the battle to see who got to pick the next show was on.

Serena smirked. "Tubes tied," was all she said, and the two teens jumped away from each other as quickly as they could.

Darien chuckled as he came down the hall. "Threatening them again, my love? You're going to give them a complex if you keep that up."

"Hell, she's a bigger woman than me," Jess retorted. "I wouldn't be threatening to have my tubes tied, I'd tell Drew that he'd have to go get clipped or sleep on the couch for the rest of his life."

"I heard that," Andrew said as he came in through the door. "What have you got to complain about anyway? Our two have been as quiet as church mice. You can hardly tell that they're even there."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Sure, now they are. But they weren't last night. Thank goodness I don't get migraines anymore, or all of that squabbling would have given me one."

They had returned home the night before and settled down with the pizza, thinking that they could take the opportunity to talk with the kids and get to know them a little better.

Wrong! It had been a night filled with high-strung teenagers running on adrenaline and rampant emotions. DJ and Katie took the cake though. The two of them had hurled insults at each other faster than Sailor Jupiter could hurl lightning bolts. It had almost been a blessing when Katie had screeched that DJ was a 'low down, rotten, son of a bitch that walked around like he had a stick up his ass' and had stomped out of the apartment.

"Maybe things will calm down now that they've all had a chance to rest up a little," Serena said doubtfully as she watched the silent tug of war with the remote that was now ensuing in the living room.

Finally DJ gave up the battle. "Fine! Take the stupid remote, Rini! I've got other things to do anyway." He shoved himself off the couch and stalked from the room.

He stopped when he saw the four adults standing in the entry hall. "Hey, everyone. Is Alex up yet?"

Jess nodded. "Kinda. He and Katie were both up early, but Katie mentioned something about going up on the roof and Alex was dozing off on the couch while watching Yugioh."

A mischievous grin split DJ's face. "Sweet! I can't pass this up," he said, and slipped out the front door.

"I don't even want to know," Serena groaned and took a long sip from the cup in her hand, savoring the sweet flavor and silently begging for it to work its magic on her.

"Maybe this will perk you up, Sere," Andrew said as he held up a platter of his melt in your mouth cinnamon rolls. "They're fresh from the oven."

Serena practically drooled. "I could kiss you, Drew!"

Andrew smirked at her. "Sorry, I'm already taken," he said. He snaked an arm around Jess's waist and pulled her to his side.

"Ew! No public displays of affection!" Rini muttered as she walked through, snagging a cinnamon roll off the plate. "I would like to keep my eyesight, thank you very much."

"Ah, but we're not in public, are we?" Jess said snidely as she placed a big, smacking kiss on Andrew's cheek.

Predictably, Rini made the appropriate gagging noises. "Whatever, Jess. You're such a spaz queen. Anyway, where is that stupid brother of mine? There's nothing good on so I was going to let him have the damn TV."

"He went to see Alex," Serena mumbled as she licked gooey icing from her fingers. "Jess said he was dozing on their couch watching TV."

Rini's eyes widened. "And you let him? Are you insane?"

Serena looked bewildered. "Why? What did I do?"

"You've got a lot to learn," Rini sighed with a shake of her head. "Oh well, it should make for a good show."

She walked to the door and opened it just in time for them all to hear a loud bellow come from the apartment next door. "Shields! You're a dead man!"

The door to Andrew and Jess's apartment flew open and DJ ran out into the hall with a big grin on his face. But a moment later he was knocked to the floor as a blur streaked out the door and tackled him.

"Dude! I can't believe you did that!" Alex tried to say in an angry tone, but everyone could hear the laughter in his voice. "That shit was cold!"

"It woke you up, didn't it?" DJ grumbled as they wrestled. Somehow he managed to flip so that he had Alex pinned to the floor.

"Boys, boys, boys," Katie said as she came through the door that led to the stairs that went up to the roof. "Just when I think the two of you might be growing up just a little bit, you have to go and prove me wrong."

Alex grinned at her. "Hey, Kat! Want to help a brother out? He stuck ice down my shirt."

She tilted her head for a moment, contemplating the two of them sprawled on the floor. "Nah, I think I'll pass this time. I'm just not feeling it today." Then she spied the plate that was still in Andrew's hands. "Ooo…cinnamon rolls!"

She jumped over the two of them on the floor and almost ran to Andrew where she grabbed one of the sticky buns and took a big bite out of it.

Alex and DJ had frozen at her words and stared at her in incredulous disbelief as she stood there savoring the warm sweetness that melted on her tongue.

She noticed the silence and looked at the two of them in confusion. "What?"

They both sat up, still looking at her like she had grown a second head.

"You…you…you…" Alex stammered, unable to get the words out.

DJ smacked him on the back of the head to shut him up. "What he's trying to say is you have never in your whole life passed up on the opportunity to try and kick my ass."

The familiar icy look slid back into place on her face. "Why, did you feel like getting kicked around this morning?"

DJ gulped. "N…no."

She smirked at him. "Then count your blessings that I'm in a fairly decent mood today."

The elevator dinged an opened to show Trista standing there. She took in the chaotic scene with a look of amusement on her face.

"Okay boys," she said as stepped through the doors. "Time for horseplay later. We have business to discuss."

In minutes they were all gathered in Darien and Serena's living room with coffee and what was left of the cinnamon rolls. The three newest arrivals held their breath in anticipation as the time guardian began to speak.

"First off, your parents were relieved to hear that you arrived here safely and without incident and they all send their love. They also told me to tell you to behave yourselves and all of that other advice that parents always go on about. But since they wrote you letters saying all of that in their own words, I'll skip that part."

That brought a round of chuckles from everyone. Even the past forms of the future parents found it humorous, although a couple of them, Serena and Jess in particular, couldn't quite picture themselves as lecturing mothers.

"Okay, next up," Trista continued. "You're not under house arrest here. You are free to go out and enjoy the city and have fun. But for safety's sake it would be best if you didn't go out alone. So try to keep someone else with you. The only stipulation is that all three of you attend school while you are here."

Three sets of eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa!" DJ breathed out.

"Are you serious?" Alex whispered.

"You mean real school?" Katie said softly. Then she screeched, "YES!" and pumped a fist in the air.

"What is it with you Crystal Tokyo kids actually enjoying school?" Serena asked in dismay. "Rini acts the same way every time she comes here."

DJ explained it too her. "Because back home Amy and Zoicite teach us. None of us have ever been allowed to go to regular school. I guess it was a security issue."

"Anyhow," Trista broke in and handed each of the teens an envelope. "I took the liberty of enrolling all three of you at Azabu High School. Because of the advanced curriculum that you have studied in Crystal Tokyo, I forged records to show that you are seniors. I figured any grade lower than that would be nothing but boring review for you. Rini is already attending classes there as well, so this will keep the four of you together."

"Great," Rini muttered. "Just what I need, the Treacherous Trio invading every aspect of my normal life."

"Come on, Rini. It won't be that bad," DJ insisted. "If you want to, you can pretend that you don't even know me."

Trista cleared her throat. "Not exactly. I had to come up with a cover story for you, so on paper you three are American exchange students. I figured that wouldn't be too hard since you all speak flawless English. As you also know, Rini uses the last name Tsukino when she is here and poses as Serena's cousin. Since the resemblance between Darien and DJ is so noticeable, the only plausible explanation I could come up with was to invent a long lost cousin for Darien as well."

Darien nodded his head. "That makes sense. Nobody outside our immediate circle of friends really knows about my past anyway, so no one should question it."

"That's what I thought," Trista said. "So it would strange if Rini and DJ pretended not to know each other since their _'cousins'_ are engaged." She turned to Alex and Katie. "As for you two, I figured too many questions would pop up if you ran around with the last name Furuhata, so I thought that you could pose as Jess's cousins from her mother's side and use her maiden name. If that's okay with you Jess."

Jess waved a hand. "That works for me. Alex and Katie Morgan, it kind of has a ring to it."

Trista sighed. "So that's settled. Inside those envelopes you'll find everything you need for your new identities, including birth certificates and identification. Your class schedules are in there as well."

They all three ripped open the envelopes eagerly, and took a moment to look over the documents that were the keys to their new lives. DJ and Alex whooped when they saw the shiny driver's licenses and then put their heads together to see if they had any classes together.

"Sweet!" DJ crowed. "We have Trig, French, Literature, and Chemistry together."

"All right!" Alex cheered. "What about you, Kat? Do you have any classes with us."

When they didn't get an answer, they turned to look at her, surprised to find her extremely pale. She held her class schedule in a shaking hand.

Katie's head spun. She did indeed have the same classes as the boys in the morning, but it was her afternoon classes that shook her up. She glared up at Trista. "Advanced Music and Composition?"

Trista didn't even flinch at the accusatory tone in the girl's voice. "Yes. Michelle teaches those classes, and I thought that it was time for you to get back into the swing of things. I spoke to her last night, and she's anxious to meet you."

Katie felt sick. The cinnamon roll she had eaten now felt like a solid lump in her stomach. The lighthearted attitude that she had felt all morning fled as coldness began to seep into her. "I can't take those classes."

Trista pinned her with a firm, yet kind look. "Of course you can. You've been fast tracking yourself for years to try to gain admission into Julliard. I know that the last few months have been crazy, but it's time to move on. These classes will be good for you."

Katie continued to stare furiously at the time guardian, her cheeks burning and her breathing labored. A brief spark of silver shown in her eyes for a moment before it faded as she jumped at the hand that landed on her shoulder.

"Chill, Kat," Alex said softly. "She's right. We all need this. Remember what we were told last night. Think of this as your first step."

"Okay, I'm feeling left out," Jess complained. "What are you guys talking about? Music classes? Julliard? Katie, are you a musician?"

Katie took a deep, calming breath as she shared a last understanding look with her brother. Then her eyes caught and held DJ's. He gave her a grin and an encouraging nod, making it possible for her to turn to her future mother with a small smile.

"I guess you could say that," she whispered. "I've been known to dabble in music a little bit."

"Cool!" Serena exclaimed. "So if we have the three of you starting school on Monday, you know what that means."

Darien and Andrew both groaned and buried their faces in their hands as Serena, Jess, and Rini all squealed together, "Shopping!"

* * *

"This one's too big in the waist. I need a smaller size," Katie declared as she tossed the skirt over the door to the changing room.

Jess sputtered as the navy blue fabric of the Azabu High School uniform skirt smacked her right in the face. "Nice aim," she muttered sarcastically. "I don't know if they have a smaller size. What are you, like a size 0 under that sloppy sweatshirt you were wearing?"

"Ha ha," came the caustic reply. "The 6 is too big. Let me try a 4."

"Whatever you say, Toothpick," Jess quipped as she hurried out of the dressing area and back out into the store to exchange the skirt for a smaller size. On the way she passed Serena and Rini who were digging through one of the sales racks and emitting squeals of delight.

"Ohh! Look at this one!" Serena gushed as she pulled a sparkly red, spaghetti strapped dress from the rack. "This is just too gorgeous. I have to try this on. Raye would go nuts if she saw it on me."

"At least it's not pink or white," Jess said as she dove into the sea of uniform skirts to find the size Katie needed. "You've come a long way in learning how to wear colors since I met you."

"Says the woman that always seems to wear the same color," Rini snorted. "Do you even own any clothing that isn't blue?"

Jess emerged from her hunt and plucked at the hem of her royal blue sweater. "Hey! I like blue. You don't have a lot of room to talk, Little Miss Pink! How many pink shirts are hanging in your closet?"

Rini flushed but said nothing, knowing it was true. Jess grinned in triumph as she swept back into the dressing area. Without thinking, she pushed open the door to the changing room Katie was in instead of just tossing the skirt over to her.

"Here. I think this one will fit…" she began before her voice trailed off.

Katie jumped and grabbed her large black sweatshirt and held it up in front of her, hiding the fact that her upper body was bare except for the lacy bra that she was wearing.

Jess's eyes widened as she focused on what she had seen before the shirt blocked her view. Katie had the same lightly sun kissed complexion that she had, but it was marred by a faint collection of white scars that marked her arms and chest. One in particular was worse than the others. It was an angry red color and ran from her left shoulder down almost to her elbow.

Jess raised a shaky hand to her mouth. "Katie…what happened?"

The fear and panic in her future daughter's hazel eyes vanished as they became hard and angry. She stomped forward and snatched the skirt from Jess and then growled. "Get out!"

"But…but," Jess stammered in shock.

Katie sent her a look so full of venom and malice that it sent a shiver down her spine. "Do have to draw you a picture? I said get out!"

Not knowing what else to do, Jess fled. She heard the door slam loudly behind her as she stopped to lean up against the wall to catch her breath. It seemed like she had finally uncovered one of the reasons why Katie had such a cold, distant attitude. She longed to rush back in there and demand to know how she had gotten those scars, but she knew that doing that would probably just stir up more animosity.

The sound of laughter reached her ears and gave her a new idea. She may not be able to get any answers out of her future daughter, but she had three other people that she could make talk.

She marched back through the store, grabbing the giggling Rini on the way. She heard the younger girl protest and try to pull away, but she tightened her grip on her as she pulled her from the store. Faintly she heard Serena's exclamation of surprise and knew that the blonde was following them.

She stomped out of the store, pulling the struggling teen behind her, and made a beeline for the four males that were currently sitting on the edge of the fountain in the center of the mall. The boys had finished their shopping in less than an hour. Now they were playing the waiting game while the women shopped.

Andrew's head came up and a big smile lit his face when he saw Jess coming toward them. "Hey honey. Are you girls about…"

He broke off midsentence as she held up a hand to stop him. He gulped when he saw the look on her face that meant that she was trying very hard to keep her emotions under control. Uh oh, something must have upset her pretty bad.

She pushed Rini down to sit next to DJ and Alex and pinned all three teens with a murderous look. She took in a deep breath. "Okay, spill it! What the hell happened to her?"

All three fidgeted nervously. Alex suddenly seemed to find the ceiling very interesting while DJ had his eyes glued to the floor. Rini looked all around, trying to avoid eye contact as she mumbled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jess's eyes flashed bright blue for a second and little ripples danced across the surface of the fountain's water before calming back down. The trio scrambled back from her a little, almost falling into the water.

"Don't play dumb with me," she ground out. "You three know exactly what I'm talking about. I want to know what happened to my future daughter to make her look like she's a walking pincushion. It looks like someone has been using her as target practice."

"What!" Andrew exclaimed as he jumped up to stand next to her. "What are you talking about?"

She whirled to face him with a furious, yet heart broken look. "I'm talking about the fact that our future daughter is covered in scars. They're all over her arms and chest and god knows where else. I want to know how she got them."

"Oh, the poor thing," Serena cried softly with tears in her eyes. "Something really bad must have happened to her. Rini, can't you tell us?"

The pink pigtails swished back and forth violently as Rini shook her head. "I can't say anything, you know that. It could change the timeline and mess up the future."

Next to her, DJ let out a huge sigh. "We don't have to tell them everything, but they do deserve to know that Katie wasn't always the way she is now. None of us really know what she went through since she won't talk about it, but I can imagine that it was hell."

Alex elbowed him hard in the ribs, making him hiss out a sharp breath. He shot an infuriated look at his friend. Alex ignored the death glare and turned his eyes to look pointedly over Serena's shoulder.

Everyone turned and fell silent at the sight of Katie standing behind them with her fists clenched and furiously flashing eyes. She was shaking so much that even her hair seemed to quiver.

But when she spoke, her voice was deadly calm. "So you want to know about these?" she asked, pushing back the sleeve of her sweatshirt to show some of the less hideous looking scars. The adults all cringed a little at the sight of them.

She focused her gaze on Rini, DJ, and Alex. "Why don't you guys go ahead and enlighten them. Tell them about how Discord targeted me first because I am the weakest. Tell them how I was a disgrace to the sailor scouts when I failed to defend myself against one freaking guardian. I was captured and locked in the dark for three days while that bastard fed on every fear and doubt that I had in my mind and twisted them around until I wanted nothing more than to lay down and die."

The tears that had been brimming in her eyes spilled over. "Now is everyone satisfied? You can all stop speculating about why I'm as screwed up as I am. For a few hours I deluded myself into thinking that being here might help fix whatever's wrong with me, but I guess I'm just defective."

"Shut up!" Alex yelled suddenly as he lunged to his feet. The anger on his face mirrored hers. "It wasn't your fault that you were taken. If I had been paying attention to the vibes I was feeling that night instead of sneaking champagne and dancing, things might have been different. You know I can always sense when something is wrong with you, but by the time I realized it that night you were already gone."

Katie sucked in a deep breath. She had never known that her brother felt any blame for what had happened to her. "Alex, it was my fault. I left the party and went home alone. I was stupid enough to not have my transformation pendant with me. And even so, I should have been able to get away from him. Isn't that what all the training we've been through was supposed to prepare us for?"

He shot her an exasperated look. "You were attacked by a knife wielding maniac. I don't think anyone would have expected you to be able to fight him off by yourself. And you were never weak. Hell, you've kicked mine and DJ's asses more times than I can count. You've even given Lita and Amara a run for their money. How could you be weak and do that?"

She sniffled and hung her head to stare at the floor. "I don't know. I feel so confused most of the time. I tell myself that if I keep training that I will become strong enough to actually make a difference."

She jumped as she was pulled into a sudden hug. Her head snapped up, thinking that it was Alex who was embracing her, but was surprised instead to find herself staring into her mother's past self's intense blue eyes.

"Oh boy have you come to the right place," Jess said shakily. "I can tell you a thing or two about feeling out of place. Been there, done that, got a souvenir t-shirt to prove it."

The sincerity of her words made Katie freeze for a moment as she thought back on the carefully written words in the letter from her mother that she had read a few hours before.

_'I know that you have been scared, lost, and confused these last few months, and it has shredded my heart into a million pieces to watch you go through such a hellish ordeal. But I want you to know how much I love you and how proud of you I am. I know I have never really gone into some of the events that happened to me when I was young, but believe me when I say that I understand the way you are feeling right now, probably more than you know. I hate that you are not here with me now, but I want you to know that no matter what time you are in; you can always depend on me to be there for you. Trust in my past self. She can help you understand and work through the emotions that have been plaguing you.'_

Katie felt the icy barrier that she had erected around herself crack a little more. "Momma," she whispered softly as she returned the hug and buried her face in Jess's shoulder.

Sensing the need for them to be alone, the others began to drift away. Serena latched onto Darien's arm as they walked away. Rini grabbed a protesting DJ by the collar and began dragging him after them.

Andrew approached his future wife and daughter slowly. He laid a comforting hand on top of Katie's head for a moment before slipping a set of keys to his fiancé. "Alex and I will catch a ride with Darien and Serena. You two be careful, and I'll see you at home."

Jess nodded her head and watched as Andrew walked away with Alex, the younger boy looking back over his shoulder worriedly at his twin. Jess gave him an encouraging smile and mouthed the words, "She'll be okay," to him, making him grin at her.

She turned her attention back to the trembling girl in her arms. Though she had only known Katie for about sixteen hours, she had seen enough of her personality to know that while the girl had inherited some of her father's easy going personality, she also had a lot of her in her and probably wouldn't want to make a big issue out of this little breakdown.

So she tried her usual direct approach. "Cool! I can't believe we got rid of all of them that easily. Now we have the mall to ourselves and my credit card is just itching to be used. Not to mention Drew left me the keys to his Mustang, and I just love driving that car. The afternoon is ours. So, did you finish picking out your school stuff?"

The light blonde head on her shoulder lifted up to reveal a tear streaked face and slightly reddened, puffy eyes, but a genuine smile tilted up Katie's lips and her hazel eyes were clear and sparkling.

"Yeah, I did," she replied. "But I kinda left it all in the dressing room when I ran out." Then she giggled. "That stuffy saleslady looked really pissed when I ran by her. Crazy old bat."

Jess giggled too. "She probably works on commission. Let's go really piss her off by taking everything she probably just hung back up back off the rack again. That'll teach her to mess with us."

Katie laughed as she wiped the tears off her face with her sleeve. "I never knew you had such a devious side to you."

Jess gave her an exaggerated wink. "Well, what kind of mother would I be if taught my kids how to cause trouble? But the moral of the story is that I'm not your mother yet, so there's no excuse for us not to have fun."

Katie answered her grin with one of her own. "Lead on, oh wise teacher. I am your willing student."

* * *

Darien juggled the grocery bags in his arms as he fumbled with the keys to unlock the door. He finally succeeded in sliding the key into the lock and pushed the door open with his foot as he made his way into the darkening apartment.

"Sere, I'm back," he called out toward the living room as he walked into the kitchen and set the bags on the counter. Not hearing a response he tried again. "Serena."

He still didn't hear anything, so he went to make a quick check of the apartment. All of the bedrooms were empty as well as the living room. He frowned as he clicked on a lamp and looked around for a note telling him where everyone was. When he didn't find one, he pulled out his cell phone to dial his fiancé.

As his finger hovered over the call button, a flicker of movement from the glass doors caught his eye, and he turned to see DJ standing out on the balcony. He was leaning against the railing as he looked out over the late afternoon city.

Darien was struck once again by the resemblance between him and his future son. From the back it would be hard to tell the difference between the two of them. Granted, he was a few inches taller and was broader through the shoulders. But with both of them having the same tousled black hair, it would be an easy mistake to make.

He slid the door open and stepped out quietly to take up an identical pose next to the brooding boy. "Hey, what's up? Where did everybody go?"

DJ jumped at the sound of his voice and Darien saw a flash of silver in his hand before his fist closed tightly around whatever he was holding. "Oh hey! Uh, mom…I mean Serena and Rini ran over to the Tsukino's house. I think they said grandma had baked something. Alex went with Andrew to the arcade for a while, and Katie and Jess haven't made it back yet."

Darien noticed that this last part was said in a miserable voice. "You three have been through a lot lately, haven't you?"

DJ nodded slowly. "Yeah, but Alex and I haven't been through a fraction of what Katie has. Today was the first time that I've ever heard her talk about it. I knew it had been bad, but to hear what she said let me know what a nightmare it must have been. Her physical injuries were bad enough, but to lock her up in the dark…she's scared to death of the dark. It must have been torture for her."

Then a lopsided grin appeared on his face. "She'd probably kick my ass for saying that. I'm not supposed to know that she still sleeps with a nightlight, but Alex can't keep a secret to save his life."

Darien chuckled. "Just like his dad. Drew's the same way. I think there's something in the Furuhata blood that turns them into gossip queens. They can't help themselves." Then he sobered a bit. "So the three of you are pretty tight, huh?"

DJ shrugged. "Alex and I are. We've been best friends since before we could walk or talk. Katie and Alex…well they're twins. I don't think you can get any closer than that. They have this, I don't know…thing between them. It's like they know what each other are thinking. They finish one another's sentences sometime. It's really creepy."

Darien realized that DJ had danced around the topic of his and Katie's relationship. He had a feeling after observing the two of them together that there was more between the two teens than met the eye.

"So," he began casually. "What about you and Katie? You two seem to butt heads a lot."

"Humph," DJ huffed in irritation. "Butting heads is putting it mildly. I swear I've never met a more infuriating person in my whole life. The earliest memory I have of her is her pushing me down and calling me a dummy. I guess the best way to describe us is tolerant adversaries. At least we were before the kidnapping. Then everything changed."

"Ah," Darien mused, reading between the lines. It seemed that his son held some feelings for the blonde spitfire. And just like once upon a time that he had tried to deny what he felt for a certain bubbly golden angel, DJ was having a hard time coming to terms with it.

"Women are mysterious creatures sometimes," he said carefully. "Men have been trying since the beginning of time to figure out the way that their minds work, but that's like fighting a losing battle. They may say one thing and mean something else entirely. Take Serena for example; when I first met her, I thought she was the flightiest, most airheaded person I had ever had the misfortune to meet. I tried to avoid her, but it seemed like karma kept throwing us together. She was so annoying that I couldn't help but ridicule her about every tiny thing that I saw as a flaw in her."

DJ thought back for a moment to that day in the park when Endymion had told him a similar story. Maybe now he could go more in depth. "So what changed your mind about her? How can you go from hating someone to loving someone? Was it because she was Sailor Moon and you were Tuxedo Mask, or was it because of your past lives?"

Darien shook his head. "I see you are pretty well informed about our past. No, it didn't have anything to do with any of those things. I know now that I had feelings from her from the very beginning, but I was just too stupid to face them. Then one day I saw her stop on the street to help a little old lady that had dropped her grocery bag. She gathered everything up and insisted on assisting the woman to the bus stop. Then I saw her consoling a little girl at the park that had fallen off the swings. I began watching her with her friends and realized that underneath her childish ways she had a heart of gold. Before I knew it, I fell in love with her. I was working up the nerve to tell her how I felt when the Silver Crystal was discovered and our pasts were revealed. But I can definitely say that Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity had nothing to do with me falling in love with Serena."

DJ opened his hand, and Darien was able to see that he had been holding a silver charm bracelet that had dangling crescent moons hanging from it. "So was it hard to do? I mean, to confess how you felt about her the first time you told her?"

Darien thought back to that day and laughed. "You have no idea. I was shaking like a leaf, fully expecting her to turn me away. I figured she would think that I was only telling her because of our pasts, but she didn't." He stopped and rubbed his head. "Of course that was also the day that we met your sister for the first time."

DJ's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep," Darien replied. "There we were, standing on the dock by the lake at the park," he purposefully didn't tell him that he was locked in a passionate kiss with Serena at the time. After all, what kid wants to hear that about their parents? "When WHAM! This little girl came falling out of the sky and landed right on top of us. What were the chances of that happening?"

"Oh yeah," DJ muttered. "That was during the whole Dark Moon invasion. I often wondered if I hadn't been caught up in that attack if I would have come back with Rini then."

Not able to help himself, Darien reached over to ruffle the midnight hair that was like his. "Who knows? But you're here now. It's shocking, yes, but not unwelcome. Now, maybe you can come help me with the mediocre chore of putting away the groceries. I don't know what she's like in the future, but I try not to let Serena anywhere near the kitchen if at all possible."

DJ grinned. "She's still just as hopeless. Lita's threatened her with a long, slow, painful death on many occasions if she comes within more than twenty feet of the palace kitchen. Not that I blame her, mom could burn water."

"Yeah that sounds like her," Darien chuckled.

"Darien, DJ, we're home," Serena's voice filtered out to them through the open door. "Mom baked us a big chocolate cake for dessert. Did you guys want me to cook dinner tonight?"

Identical looks of panic crossed their faces as they lunged for the door at the same time. "No! We've got it!" they cried together.

* * *

"Wow! Great score," Andrew said as he leaned over Alex's shoulder to see the end result as the screen flashed 'Game Over.'

"Thanks," Alex grinned as the game then informed him that he had achieved a high score and prompted him to enter his initials. He typed in AAF before remembering that he was supposed to be undercover. He changed the F to an M.

"Are you sure you've never played Sailor V before?" Andrew asked as Alex's score appeared on the list of high scores in second place. "Nobody's been able to crack this list in years. Mina's going to flip when she sees that someone bumped her out of second."

"Nope," Alex replied as he eyed the small difference between his score and the top one. "First time. I came close to getting first though. Any idea who that is?" he asked, pointing to the initials SUT that sat firmly at the top of the list.

"Ah," Andrew sighed. "Yes I do. I think that day will live in my mind forever. It was probably about six years ago now. There was this girl that used to come in everyday after school like clockwork to play this game. She was determined to get the high score no matter what. After months of trying, she finally succeeded. I thought every glass in the place was going to shatter when she started screaming. It sounded like she was being murdered."

"She must have been good to get a score that high and been able to keep it as long as she has. Sounds like a real gamer." Alex said in a reverent voice. "It's a shame that she's probably too old now to be interested in video games and never comes in here anymore. I would have liked to talk strategies with her."

Andrew chuckled. "You can ask her any time you want to. She's still in here almost every day. The initials SUT stand for one Serena Usagi Tsukino, and I'm sure she would be willing to share her secrets with you."

Alex's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Serena? That's wicked! She played around with us a little bit on some video games when we were younger, but I never pictured her being a die hard fanatic."

"Trust me," Andrew replied. "If we had a wall of fame here, she'd be at the top, followed closely by each member of her little entourage. Actually, I take that back. Jess would be at the top for keeping the riff raff out. There are fully grown men that won't come in here anymore because they got tossed out on their asses by her."

That brought a laugh from the brown haired boy. "That sounds like her." Then he sobered some. "Do you think she and Katie are okay? Kat was really upset when we left. I don't think I've ever seen her that worked up."

Andrew turned inquisitive hazel eyes on his future son. "You care about your sister a lot, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. We've always been really close. Some people used to joke and say that we should have been Siamese twins because it was like we were joined at the hip. But I never realized exactly how tight we were until…" his voice faded.

"Until the kidnapping?" Andrew prompted gently.

There was another nod. "Yeah. It's always been like a part of her is always hovering right in the back of my mind. I didn't ever pay attention to it until she was gone. Then it was like there was this big empty hole in my head where she used to be. I was going crazy until that night that Discord finally showed himself. I was able to sense her again, but I knew something was wrong. It didn't feel like her anymore. That probably doesn't make any sense to you."

Andrew shook his head. "It makes perfect sense. It's kind of the reverse of what happened when I met Jess. The first day she came blowing in here and ordered a cherry coke she was lost and lonely. I didn't see it then, but she was searching for companionship and for people to accept her for who she was, despite her certain, uh…abilities. You know that she lost her parents when she was only sixteen?"

"Uh huh," Alex murmured. "She doesn't talk about it much. She's told me stories about them from when she was little, but then it's like she skips over her teen years and goes straight to when she moved back here."

"That sounds about right," Andrew agreed. "She had a rough few years what with Nebula showing up and awakening her scout powers and then the accident. I've met her aunt and uncle from New York. They seem nice and all, but you can see that they look at her like she's different. Of course we can't tell them that she's a reincarnated princess from a thousand years ago that controls a powerful magic crystal. They'd probably lock us all up in the loony bin if we did. But the point is she's been through some tough times. I think that maybe if she opens up to Katie and tells her about it, it may do them both a world of good."

Alex sighed. "I sure hope so. It's hard for me to admit this, but I'm scared. Everyone keeps talking about how Katie, DJ, and I are the ones who can save the world from Discord, and it's a lot to take in. I don't see us even being able to put a dent in him the way we are right now. The last battle we had back home knocked us all on our asses, and that was just against some of his lackeys."

Andrew clasped him comfortingly on the shoulder. "And that right there is why I think you are here. You all need some breathing space and a chance to grow into your powers some more. We're all here to help you. I think that with a little guidance, the three of you will become closer and be a formidable team. And it's okay to be scared. I'd call you crazy if you weren't. I know my knees were knocking together when we faced him a year and a half ago."

"Really?" Alex asked in shock. He thought back to that night on the bridge when he saw his father in his gleaming armor, battling bravely against the guardians and sentinels that Discord had sent against them. "You were scared during that fight?"

Andrew grinned. "You better believe it. I'm an infant compared to the others when it comes to fighting. I never even knew that I had any powers until a couple of months after I met Jess. The others have known about their abilities for years. I'm still in the learning stage myself. I wouldn't be surprised if you could teach me a few things."

"Yeah right!" Alex snorted. "I'm sure Nebula's gotten a hold of you. I've often wondered if that cat is mentally unbalanced."

Andrew winced a little as he remembered the training sessions he had suffered through at the hands of the maniacally enthusiastic feline. "Artemis swears that she is off her rocker. I feel sorry for the poor guy, she tears into him every chance she gets. And Luna always gets stuck in the middle of them trying to keep the peace."

Alex gave him a rueful smile as he thought about all the times that he had to play peacekeeper between Katie and DJ. "I know how she feels."

Andrew eyed him speculatively. After witnessing a few of the spats between Katie and DJ he had seen the way that Alex always stepped in and tried to diffuse the situation. "I'm sure you do. Anyway, I'm done with what I needed to do here. What do you say we blow this place and go home and see if the girls are back yet?"

Feeling completely at ease with his father's past self, Alex hopped up with a big grin. "Sure. Do you think I can drive back? It's not far." He had been itching to get behind the wheel every since he had seen Andrew's cherry red Mustang. Of course they had left it back at the mall with Jess and Katie. But Jess's sleek, midnight blue Camaro wasn't anything to sneeze at either.

"I don't think so." Andrew said with a laugh. "I value my life too much. Jess would have both of our heads if she found out I let you behind the wheel of her precious car."

"Oh, come on!" Alex complained. "I'm a really good driver. I promise." Then he lowered his voice. "You taught me yourself and always said that I was a natural at it. Please, Dad."

'_Damn those eyes!' _Andrew cursed to himself as he was confronted with the same pleading blue eyes that Jess used on him whenever she wanted something from him. And the fact that the boy had just called him dad weakened him more.

"Fine," he sighed. "But if she catches us I'm going to blame it all on you. I'll tell her you hit me over the head and threw me unconscious into the car. Then you two can battle it out."

"Yes!" Alex crowed as he snagged the keys from Andrew's hand and tore out the doors toward the car parked by the curb.

Andrew shook his head and followed his enthusiastic future son, thinking to himself about what a sucker he was.

* * *

Serena paused outside the bedroom door when she thought she heard a strange sound behind it. She listened harder, but the sound of laughter floating down the hall from the kitchen suddenly drowned everything else out.

She shot an irritated glance in the direction of the disturbance, but really the sound made her feel happy. Obviously Darien and DJ had some kind of a talk while she and Rini had been gone to her parent's, and now they were both laughing and joking together with Andrew and Alex in the kitchen where they had insisted they could take care of dinner.

Feeling a little out of place with all of their male bonding, she had gone to look for Rini. She had been a little concerned about the younger girl all afternoon. Normally Rini was as big of a chatterbox as she was, but she had been abnormally quiet every since they had left the mall earlier.

She raised a hand to knock on the door, but stopped when she once again heard the strange, muffled sound from inside the room. Her concern grew and she quickly tapped on the door before pushing it open and sticking her head inside. "Rini?"

The room held all of Serena's furniture and her childhood mementos from her old room at her parent's home. In fact, it had been arranged so that it was almost an exact copy of the room she had grown up in, right down to the blanket on the bed that was covered in moons and stars. The same bed that a certain teenage girl was currently crying her heart out on.

Serena slipped inside the room and closed the door behind her before flying to the bed and perching on the edge of it. "Rini, honey, what's wrong?" she asked as she began rubbing the upset girl's back tenderly.

The tousled pink haired head turned to the side to reveal a slightly puffy, tear streaked face. "It's nothing, really. I'm just being stupid."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked. "It has to be something to have you so upset."

Rini rolled over and then sat up before pulling her knees up to her chest. "I guess it's just pressure. I mean, I always thought that there was something different about DJ, Katie, and Alex. They started training at a very early age, even younger than me. And they always had to practice longer and harder than anyone else. But I never knew why that was. Even after I helped you seal away Discord, the thought of the Galactic Trinity never even crossed my mind. Then when Katie got kidnapped the whole story came out. I felt like such an idiot."

"Oh honey," Serena commiserated with her as she wrapped a comforting arm around her future daughter. "I don't see how you could have figured that out if no one ever told you. Why are you beating yourself up over it?"

Rini sighed and leaned her head down to touch her knees. "Because they are the only ones that can save the future and now they're here. If something happens to one of them it will be all my fault." She broke into fresh sobs.

Serena was shocked by the outburst. The thought that Rini believed that the responsibility of watching over the three teens was absurd. "Rini, you heard what Trista said earlier. They're here for all of us to keep an eye on. This burden doesn't fall completely on you."

"But it feels like it," Rini hiccupped. "I thought it was strange when my parents asked me to come back to this time while we were going through such a hard time back home. They said that they thought I needed a vacation from all of the attacks that I had been fighting against recently. And like a dummy I bought into it. Now I feel like a glorified babysitter."

Serena watched her in sympathy. "Things have been hectic in the future, haven't they?"

"Hectic!" Rini snorted. "I think screwed up describes it much better. Everything was going along like normal, and then BOOM! Utter chaos hits. Now there's attacks almost every night, sometimes more than one, and we've all been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. It sucks!"

Serena let out a dramatic sigh and flopped across the bed. "So goes the story of our lives. I think we should protest. We're princesses. We shouldn't have to do anything except lay around all day and eat ice cream while we wait for our dream prince to come and carry us off into the sunset."

She shifted her eyes back to her future daughter to find the younger girl looking at her like she had suddenly sprouted horns out of her head. And then suddenly, Rini broke into a fit of giggles.

"Omigosh, Serena!" she choked out while laughing. "You are such a goofball! I don't see how anyone that's as obviously messed up in the head as you are could possibly end up being my mother."

A sly grin appeared on Serena's face only moments before she pounced on Rini. She pinned her to the bed and proceeded to tickle her ribs unmercifully.

"Ha!" she crowed in victory. "You may think I'm mental. But I got you to laugh, didn't I?"

"Yes!" Rini shrieked. "Okay! Stop! I give up! Stop the tickling! Please!"

Serena stopped the torture and they sat up, both of them flushed, rumpled, and panting for breath.

"Are you feeling better now?" Serena asked affectionately.

The big grin stayed on Rini's face. "Yeah. I think I do."

"Sere, Rini, dinner's ready," Darien's voice floated down the hall to them.

The two of them grinned conspiratorially at each other as they made a mad dash from the room to see which one of them could reach the food first. And that was fine until they both tried to go through the kitchen door at the same time.

"Ouch! Rini, back up!" Serena squealed.

"No way, Meatball Head!" Rini protest. "I was here first. You back up, Blimp!"

"Blimp! Are you trying to say I'm fat?"

"Just speaking the truth."

"Why you little…"

"Enough!" Darien said loudly. "Both of you back up right now and go sit at the table or I promise you that neither one of you are getting a single bite."

"Sorry," both of the troublemakers mumbled and shuffled quickly to the table where they sat quietly awaiting their dinner.

DJ burst out laughing so hard that he almost fell off the stool he was sitting on at the breakfast bar. In fact, if Alex hadn't been sitting right next to him, he probably would have ended up on the floor.

"Oh man!" he gasped, clutching his stomach. "You've got guts, sis. If you had said that back home, mom would have washed your mouth out with soap."

Next to him, Alex was also laughing. "That's better than what my mom would have done. If Kat or I had the nerve to call her fat to her face, we probably wouldn't be able to sit for a month."

Rini templed her fingers under her chin and said in a mock serious voice. "Ah! You have much to learn, my young rookie time travelers. You will soon come to realize that the people here are not the same parental units that you have known. The wise Serenity knows all."

That time both boys did hit the floor. They couldn't help it. Rini had just done a dead on impersonation of Yoda from those old Star Wars movies that they had seen. The mental image of Rini as a short little green alien with big bat ears and pink pigtails was too much for them.

Andrew sat a giant platter of food on the table and then smacked Serena's hand as she reached eagerly for it. "Hold your horses there for a minute, Sere. Geez! Let me get the rest of it on the table at least before you go into a feeding frenzy."

"Are we not going to wait on Jess and Katie?" Rini asked, trying her best to be mature, but in fact she was practically drooling just like Serena at the sight of the mouth-watering food before her. "Drew, you are the god of the kitchen," she couldn't help but sigh.

Andrew barked out a laugh. "Don't let Lita hear you say that. I think she's still a little pissed that my peanut butter fudge was a bigger hit than her fruit puffs she made for the Christmas party. And don't worry about Jess and Katie, I saved some for them to eat when they get back."

A sudden pounding at the door had everyone in the apartment jumping up in alarm. They all shot startled looks at each other, wondering if there was any danger, until they heard the voices on the other side of the door.

"Serenaaa! Pleeease let me in!" Mina was wailing. "I reeeally have to talk to you."

Then Raye's gruff voice was heard. "Pipe down, Airhead! You're acting like it's the end of the world."

"Amen," they heard Lita agree. "You're acting like such a child, Mina."

Amy, always the voice of reason, broke in. "Maybe we should have called first. Serena may not even be home."

"Nooo!" Mina shrieked. "Don't say that Amy. She just has to be here."

"Oh for the love of Selene," Serena muttered as she jumped up from her chair and rushed to the door. "What the hell is wrong with them?"

She threw the door open to find her four best friends standing there. Raye had subdued the wailing Mina by putting her in a headlock and the love goddess's face was beginning to turn blue from the lack of air. Lita and Amy were both standing several feet away glancing around as if they didn't know the wrestling duo.

"What in the world is going on?" Serena demanded. "You four better have a good excuse for barging over here and making a scene like this." Then she heaved a deep breath and opened the door wider. "Get in here. Now."

All four of the women had the good grace to look sheepish as they filed silently past their princess and into the apartment. They went into the living room and sat down quietly.

Serena carefully closed the door and took a deep breath before following them. Instead of taking a seat herself, she stood before her scouts with as much poise and dignity that she could muster.

"Okay," she began slowly. "What seems to be the emergency this time?"

Amy and Lita didn't say anything, but Raye threw a scathing glance at the semi hysterical Mina before snapping, "Ask Little Miss Aphrodite complex over there. She came rushing into the apartment about twenty minutes ago, babbling like a deranged idiot. We haven't been able to make heads or tails out of anything that has come spewing out of her mouth. I think she's been drinking."

Mina's head shot up to reveal blue eyes that were swirling with emotion. "I have not been drinking, Pyro! I was trying to tell you guys what I saw, but none of you would listen to me. Nobody ever listens to me!"

Raye opened her mouth to shot back some sarcastic comment, but Serena butted in first. "Okay Mina, I'll listen. What's got you so upset? Did something happen between you and Kunzite?"

The blonde head swished back and forth violently. "No. That I could handle. Love is my specialty after all. This is…well…it's confusing as hell. I don't even know how to explain it."

Serena sighed and sank into an armchair. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"

Mina took a deep breath. "Okay. So I was at the mall doing my usual Saturday marathon…"

"Giving Kunzite's credit card its marathon, you mean," Raye retorted.

Mina glared at the fire priestess but continued. "Anyhow, I was passing by this shop when I saw Jess walk out with this girl that I have never seen before. Okay, no big deal right? They were carrying on together like they were long lost friends, so I thought that maybe she was one of Jess's friends from America that had come to visit or something. But it bothered me because I could see something between them, some kind of bond. So I went in and asked this girl that I know that works in that shop if she knew what they were up to. She told me that they introduced themselves as being cousins. I know that can't be right because Jess only has one cousin and he's a guy who is about five years older than her."

"So what are you getting at?" Lita growled, clearly getting fed up with Mina's theatrics. "Did you ever stop to think that you don't know everything about everyone's lives? Maybe she really is a cousin. Perhaps her aunt or uncle had an illegitimate child or something."

"No way!" Mina declared. "I know what I saw between them and it wasn't just two cousins out for an afternoon of shopping. I saw a soul bond between them and it's scaring me. I can only see those types of bonds between either soul mates or…or…"

"Or their children," Serena finished for her. "I was going to call a meeting with you guys tomorrow, but I guess now is as good a time as any."

Lita was instantly on guard. "A meeting? Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well…not exactly," Serena hedged. "It's kinda complicated."

At that moment, DJ decided to come strolling out of the kitchen. "Hey mom, the food's getting cold. I thought you were hungry. You better hurry up or Rini's going to eat it all. And you know what a black hole that sister of mine is. Oh hey Mina, Lita, Raye, Amy, I didn't know you guys were here." He grinned devilishly at them and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Four audible thumps were heard as the scout's jaws dropped open to hit the floor.

"Oh my," Amy whispered.

"Did he just call Serena mom?" Lita asked in a daze.

"Holy shit! He looked just like Darien," Raye squeaked.

Mina slid off the couch to land on the floor. "Somebody tell me what the hell is going onnn!" she screamed.

At that moment the door opened and Jess and Katie walked in.

"Ah, Mina," Jess said with a grin. "I thought I heard your dulcet tones all the way down in the lobby. What happened this time? Did they kill off your favorite actor in a soap opera?"

Mina jumped up and pointed a finger at Katie. "That's her! That's the girl I saw. She's the one."

Katie took a step back and pointed a finger at herself. "Me? What did I do? Geez, Mina, have you been drinking?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Mina exploded. "I am not drunk! I am, however, very confused. Just where the hell did you come from?"

"Uh…uh…" Katie stammered uncertainly.

DJ and Alex came out of the kitchen where they had been celebrating the victory of DJ stunning the scouts into absolute silence. Darien and Andrew were still in hiding in the kitchen, not wanting to face a group of temperamental and emotional women.

Raye gasped as she took in all three teens as they stood together and it was her turn to fall off her seat. "Mother of all that is holy! Just who are these kids? They have the brightest auras I have ever seen, and they get more intense the closer they get to each other."

Serena stood up and crossed over to a cabinet to pull out two bottles of wine. "Might as well sit back and relax, ladies. This may take a little while to explain."

Alex grabbed Katie's arm and pulled her from the apartment, DJ following close behind.

"Where are we going?" she hissed as they made their escape into the hall.

Alex held up several containers of food. "Let's go eat on the roof and let the adults handle the details. What do ya say?"

Katie answered with the first genuine smile that either boy had seen come from her in months, making both of them pause for a second. "I say that if that is indeed dad's orange chicken I'm smelling, then lead on."

* * *

"Jack, have you discovered a suitable place for us to strike yet?" Discord grumbled. "This has been taking some time."

"I'm sorry, Grandpa," the boy apologized. "I just wanted to make sure I found the perfect opportunity for us to strike before we acted. I think I have found it." He waved a hand toward the shimmering image in the time stream that showed a young girl of twelve skipping down a sidewalk.

"Are you sure it is wise to attack when they are older?" Discord asked. "It might be better to target them when they are younger."

Jack shook his head. "I think this is ideal. She is old enough to not always be under adult supervision, so we can catch her alone. Yet she's also young enough that she hasn't come into her powers yet. She won't be able to fight back."

"Very well," Discord agreed, using the time key that he had stolen from Sailor Pluto to open a portal. "Take one sentinel and go to that time. I want that girl dead. By killing her, we will change history. The earth will then be vulnerable and the Galactic Trinity will be fractured."

* * *

"Oh man, I'm stuffed," Alex moaned as he shuffled his way down the stairs.

"You should be. You ate three helpings," Katie teased.

DJ snorted. "Like you didn't Miss Piggy? I saw you sneaking more onto your plate when you though no one was looking."

Katie stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't help it if my dad is one of the greatest cooks in the world. Anyway, I deserved it after spending all day at the mall with my shopaholic mom."

Alex smiled to himself but remained quiet. He didn't know what had transpired between his sister and his mother's past self after they had left them earlier, and he didn't ask. He could only be grateful that it seemed like Katie was beginning to act a little bit like she used to.

She hadn't once blown up at DJ for his teasing comments while they ate, content to just tease him back. She had lapsed into a sullen silence a few times, but she was easily snapped out of it. Listening to the two of them now bickering in a nonviolent way about who made a better French Silk Pie, Andrew or Lita, Alex couldn't help but think that maybe things might possibly be able to return to normal between them.

He had just reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard a thump behind him and Katie's frantic voice calling, "DJ! What's the matter?"

He spun around to find his best friend slumped against the wall with his eyes clenched shut and gripping the handrail in a white knuckled grasp. He was pale and short of breath with a fine layer of sweat on his face.

Katie had wrapped an arm around his waist to keep him from falling, and Alex rushed back up the steps to offer support on the other side.

"What happened?" he asked in a panic.

Katie was just as panicked. "I don't know. We were just talking and then he all of a sudden acted like he was going to pass out."

"I'm fine," DJ ground out from between clenched teeth. "I just felt dizzy for a second. Now would you two mother hens quit clucking around me? And don't tell anyone about this, it's embarrassing."

"Embarrassing!" Katie said in disbelief. "You almost pitched yourself down a flight of stairs! You could have broken an arm or a leg!"

"And I can heal myself, remember?" he cut into her rant as he pulled away from her and Alex.

"Not if you had broken your neck!" she shot back. "You can't heal yourself if you're dead, you idiot!"

"Hey, hey, guys calm down," Alex said, coming between them. "He said he's okay, Kat. Just leave it alone." Then he turned to his friend. "But you promise me that if you have any more spells like that you'll say something to your dad. He is a doctor after all."

"Okay, I promise," DJ agreed. "It's not that big of a deal. I just felt lightheaded for a moment. Now let's go veg out and watch some old school TV. We saw the scouts leave while we were on the roof, so everything should be quiet now."

The twins watched him worriedly as he headed down the stairs, but kept their comments to themselves. They followed him back to Serena and Darien's apartment where they walked into a hectic scene.

Rini was sitting on one couch with her head resting on Jess's shoulder while Darien was bent over Serena, who was laid out on the second couch. She was trying to get up, but Darien was holding her down.

"I'm fine, Darien. Would you please stop making such a big deal over it?" Serena pleaded as tried once more to sit up.

"Hey, what's going on?" Alex asked Andrew, who was standing in the doorway to the living room.

Andrew shrugged. "No idea. All of a sudden Serena collapsed and then Rini almost passed out too. It was so weird. They were both just standing there talking, and then woosh, it hit them. I've never seen anything like it."

Both Alex and Katie shot a fearful glance at DJ. They both had a sneaking suspicion now as to why he had felt dizzy. They had both experienced it once themselves, and finding out that Serena and Rini were both affected too made it all the more believable. They just both prayed that they were wrong.

Their hopes were dashed when Sailor Pluto arrived in her usual puff of smoke. She turned and pinned the three of them with serious eyes. "I need you three to come with me, right now. I had hoped that we would have a few days before Discord started his crap, but unfortunately we don't."

"What do you mean, Trista?" Serena demanded, struggling into a sitting position. "What is that bastard trying to pull now? You can't take the kids from us yet, they just got here."

Pluto bowed her head to Serena. "I apologize for barging in like this, princess. But do not worry, I will return these three to you. I just need to borrow them for a couple of hours."

"Borrow us for what?" Katie steamed. "You know, I'm really getting tired of all of these cryptic answers and being jerked around to different places. What's going on?"

Pluto sighed heavily. "Discord has been searching the streams of time relentlessly for you three. But since he has been unable to locate you he has decided to strike in a different way. He has established himself at the time gate, so sometimes my visions get fuzzy. And this one almost slipped right by me. Luckily I discovered it before it was too late. I need you three to go back a few more years into the past. If you don't, the streams of time will begin to unravel and the world that we know will cease to exist."

"But what good will going back a few years do? I don't get it," DJ grumbled.

Pluto's eyes flashed bright magenta for a second. "Fine! Maybe you'll understand it this way. Discord has sent a sentinel back in time to go after Serena before she became Sailor Moon. If you don't go and stop it, it will kill her. Then the sailor scouts will never be revived, the Silver Crystal won't be recovered, Crystal Tokyo will not be created, and none of you will ever be born. The Earth will fall to darkness and become a planet of death. Is that clear enough for you?"

**A/N** Wow! Is Pluto suffering from PMS or what? Anyway, now little Serena of the past is in danger and it's up to DJ, Katie, and Alex to save her and protect the future. Katie must have taken Selene's words to heart because she's trying her best to change. But just like anything else, there's bound to be good days and bad ones. The past parents are bonding with their kids, awwww! Up next-Operation Save Serena! Also, our three little time travelers enter the scary world of high school. (Sere-chan stares into her crystal ball) I see things getting very tricky. Hmmmm. LOL! Hope you liked this chapter. And don't forget to make me smile, review me please. (puppy dog eyes) Lots of love!

~Sere~


	7. Covert Operations and Alien Abductions

**A/N **Hey guys! Here I am with another chappie for you. I'm thrilled that you seem to be enjoying it, and I'm going to try my best to have weekly updates. I do have a couple of other projects I'm working on as well, but I'm trying to make this story my priority.

I also want to take a moment to thank any of my readers out there who followed What If for all of their wonderful support and reviews. I wanted to respond personally to each one, but that just didn't happen. I am planning on doing the other seasons and have already started on the prequel, Rekindled, which will be my wacky retelling of season one. I also have begun the outline for Stolen Hearts, a twist on the S season. So hopefully I will be able to continue that storyline soon.

Anyhow, back to this story. There's quite a lot happening here in this chapter. I'll let you get to it in a moment, but first I need to give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**tiny2008**

**Seredhiel05**

**LBricker88**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**Luthien Morgon**

**amaramichelle**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**rainbabie**

**Silvermoonlight9 – **(I missed you! Welcome back!)

**KageNoNeko – **(I missed you too! Glad to see you back!)

**GoldenDragon326**

**anime-lover10**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**My Veggie Burger**

**nileena**

**Stashed Away**

**ange de l'aube**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

Okay, enough out of me. On with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 6

Covert Operations and Alien Abductions

"Ouch, Pluto! Do you think you could try to soften up that landing a little bit?" Katie complained as she stood up and rubbed a hand over a sensitive area that was now stinging from its impact with the ground.

"Yeah, no doubt," Alex and DJ both agreed as they both picked themselves up and dusted off their clothes.

"Sorry," Pluto said in a distracted voice. "Making time jumps takes some getting used to." She stared into her garnet orb muttering to herself, "Please let us be in time."

"So where are we? Or I guess I should say, when are we?" DJ asked as he looked around. Everything looked pretty much the same as the time they had just left. The Tokyo skyline was the same and so was the secluded grove in the park they were standing in, the same grove that Pluto had transported them to when she had first brought them to the past.

"We've gone back about eight years," Pluto answered in that same detached tone. Then a big smile of relief appeared on her face. "Yes! We made it to the right time. That's a relief. I was scared that I might not be able to pinpoint the exact day."

"But that shouldn't be a problem for you," Alex said in dismay. "I mean you can see the exact time that anything happens, right?"

Pluto shook her head. "Normally I could. But I have no access to the time gate right now since Discord has stationed himself there and it clouds my vision. The garnet orb can help guide me, but with the turmoil that time is in right now it can be a little unpredictable."

"So what do we need to do?" DJ asked in a terse tone. Tension was evident in every line of his body. "You said he was going after my mom, right?"

"That is what I have foreseen," Pluto answered. "In this time Serena is only twelve years old. She hasn't met Luna yet, so she has no idea about Sailor Moon or being the moon princess. None of the other scouts or Tuxedo Mask have been awakened yet either, so she is completely defenseless."

"Cowardly bastard!" Katie snarled. "Attacking a helpless child is just sick. I don't see how this would help him anyway. If he kills Serena and alters the future to where Crystal Tokyo doesn't exist, there will be nothing for him to conquer."

"That's not entirely true," Pluto replied. "If this time stream changes like he wants it to, the world will become a different place. The Dark Kingdom will eventually attack. Luna will find and awaken Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter. Venus will join them later. Without Serenity's soul to call out to him, Endymion remains asleep inside Darien, so he never turns into Tuxedo Mask. Beryl succeeds in capturing all seven Rainbow Crystals, but of course cannot summon the Silver Crystal since it was locked away inside Serena's body. Instead she unleashes her seven shadow warriors on the world. The scouts try to fight against her, but without Sailor Moon they are easily defeated."

"So what does Discord stand to gain if Beryl and Metallia take over the Earth? He still wouldn't have it," DJ mused.

"True," Pluto agreed. "But in reality it would make it much easier for him to take over. Discord exists in this time too, hiding away up in the mountains as he plots the world's demise. That's why he sent somebody else here to do the job for him instead of coming himself. As you know, two of the same person can't exist in the same place at once, at least not for too long. He's trying to rewrite history. His power surpasses Metallia's ten times over. His past self would be able to defeat her easily, and thus take over then planet now in this time instead of waiting to make his move."

All three sets of eyes widened at the implication of her words. Talk about a drastic change in history.

"Now," the time guardian said as she powered down to her civilian form. "The middle school is just a couple of blocks away and will be letting out soon. You should have no problem locating Serena there. I want you three to go find her and keep her in your sights. Be alert to anything suspicious that you see around her. It is uncertain as to when the attack will actually happen. Try to keep a low profile though. The less people that see you, the better." She turned and began walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" all three yelled after her.

She looked back with a grin. "I'm going to get a cup of tea. I think you three can handle this without me. Think of it as a training exercise. You three do need to keep up with your training after all. I'll be back when you are finished."

They stared after her in disbelief for a moment before shrugging and making their way toward the middle school to hunt down the future queen's adolescent self.

* * *

Darien tilted his head back as he drained the glass, savoring the taste of the smooth, mellow rum mixed with bubbling cola as it slid across his tongue. As a doctor used to being on call, he didn't really have the opportunity to drink much. He had to be ready at all times to answer an emergency call. But this was his weekend off; damn it, and they better not try to call him in. Besides, he had more pressing issues to deal with, like hoping that his fiancé would live.

He looked over his shoulder from his position on the balcony to watch the blonde woman who was asleep on the couch. She had been a high-strung bundle of nerves after Trista had disappeared with DJ, Katie, and Alex. She had paced the floor until he swore he was starting to see a rut being carved into the carpet by her tiny feet. Finally she had exhausted herself and had curled up on the couch to wait for any news.

Faint music could be heard from a nearby window. Rini had retreated to her bedroom with the lame excuse that she had some homework that she needed to complete. But he knew that it was just an excuse for her to be alone. She had been slightly pissed when she had asked Pluto if she could go with the others and had been turned down.

"Make way! I'm coming over," a quiet voice spoke up to Darien's right, and he moved away from the railing. A few seconds later a figure landed silently next to him.

He grinned ruefully. "You know, some day you're going to give some old woman a heart attack if they ever happen to be looking out their window and see you jumping ten feet from one balcony to the other while being twenty stories up."

Andrew snorted. "Screw them! I couldn't give a shit. Anyway, it's faster than walking down the hall and coming in the door. On top of that I didn't want to disturb Serena." He eyed the glass in Darien's hand. "Got any more?"

Darien pointed to a small table that held a bottle of rum, a bottle of cola, and a second glass already filled with ice.

Andrew grinned. "You were expecting me?"

"Of course," Darien said as he moved to top off his own drink. "How's Jess doing?"

Andrew sighed and took a long sip of his drink before answering. "The same as she always does when she gets pissed about something. She ranted and raved for about a half hour, threatening to go back up into the mountains and open the seal on Discord herself just so she could have the pleasure of dragging him out and stomping the living shit out of him. Then she finally calmed down a bit and got into her zone. Now she's in her studio trying to keep herself busy."

Darien nodded slowly. "I don't blame her. This waiting is killing me. It's hard to know who the enemy is and what they are doing, but be unable to confront them. Instead the fate of all our lives rests on the shoulders of three sixteen year old kids. I just hope they can pull it off."

Andrew clasped his friend's shoulder. "I think they can. They seem like good kids. And Pluto said that they were good fighters. We just have to have faith in them."

Darien knocked back some more of his drink. "I guess you're right. After all, they are our kids. Hopefully our future selves have bee smart enough to teach them well."

"Drew," Jess's voice floated over from the next-door balcony. "Are you out here?" Her voice sounded stuffy, like she had been crying.

"I'll be right there," Andrew called back anxiously. He drained the last little bit out of his glass and set it on the table. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked Darien.

Darien waved him off. "I'm fine. Go see about Jess. She sounds upset. I'll let you know if anything happens."

"All right, I'll see you later," Andrew said as he climbed onto the railing and then jumped through the dark night to land on his own balcony.

Darien's cell phone began to ring in his pocket and he cursed. "That better not be the hospital," he growled, pulling the phone out and checking the caller ID. Sighing in relief, he flipped it open, "Jed."

"Hey man," Jadeite's voice came over the line. "How are things going?"

"As well as can be expected I guess," Darien answered vaguely. "What's got you calling so late?"

"Weeell," Jadeite drawled uncertainly. "It was Raye that wanted me to call you. It seems that she saw something in the sacred fire about Serena that shook her up pretty good. She tried to call her, but all she got was her voicemail. She wanted me to check with you and make sure everything was all right."

Darien sighed. He really didn't want to start a panic among their friends, but Raye and Jadeite were the spiritualists of their group, and having them around might be a comfort. "We do have a little bit of a situation going on," he confessed. "Can you and Raye slip out without the others knowing? No sense in concerning everybody just yet."

"Yeah sure," Jadeite replied immediately. "It shouldn't be a problem. We're not at the apartment anyway. We're at the temple. Raye wanted to meditate after meeting your surprise guests earlier. We can be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Thanks. See ya soon," Darien said as he flipped his phone shut. He slid open the doors and walked inside where he got down on his knees beside the couch and the sleeping Serena. He brushed her bangs back from her face and was surprised when her eyes opened and she smiled at him.

"Raye and Jadeite are coming over?" she asked sleepily.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you eavesdropping on me?"

She yawned widely. "Not exactly." She tapped her temple. "Your mind was wide open to me. I couldn't help but hear what was going on. I even heard what you and Andrew were talking about."

"Oh," he mumbled sheepishly.

"Hey," she said, taking his hand in hers. "I would tell you not to worry, but I know you will anyway. But try not to stress so much. I have complete confidence in the kids. And DJ is so much like another you that I'm not too concerned about my past self. I know he'll do everything in his power to protect me. I believe they all will. I've sensed the power that they carry, and they are way stronger than I was at sixteen. I think that if they were given a chance they could probably take down Metallia, Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, Nehelenia, and Chaos with their eyes closed. So I'm not really all that worried."

"Well I am," Darien ground out. "This is your life we're talking about, Serena. No, it's everyone's lives on the line here. Do you realize that if something happens to you that it will affect everyone on this planet? The Earth is depending on that little girl that Discord is targeting to become Sailor Moon and save the planet countless times. Without her, there is no future."

"I know," she whispered. "But it's out of our hands. Now stop being such a grump and give me a kiss before Raye comes in and ruins the peace and quiet."

* * *

"Good grief! How much more can one little girl possibly eat?" Alex muttered. "I've always known that Serena had an appetite, but damn!"

"Ow Tinkerbell! That was my eye that you just stuck your elbow in," DJ growled.

"Well excuse me!" Katie snapped. "It's not like we exactly have a lot of space to work with. Just be thankful that I haven't booted you out on your ass yet. But that still may happen if you don't shut the hell up!"

"Why are we up in a tree anyway?" DJ complained. "We could have just as easily kept an eye on her from the ground."

Alex sighed in frustration. "Because, genius, Trista told us to keep a low profile. This is a fairly quiet neighborhood, and I'm sure somebody would notice the three of us scoping the place out. This gives us a great vantage point. We can see the entire house and the surrounding area from here."

DJ leaned close to whisper in Katie's ear. "Your brother's starting to scare me, Tink. I think he's taking this undercover spy thing a little too far."

Katie jumped a little at the feeling of his breath against her ear, but covered it with a hasty nod. She whispered back to him, "All of those covert operation video games must have warped his brain cells."

"I can hear you guys, you know." Alex said loudly, pushing his face between them.

Katie shot back wobbly and would have pitched headfirst off the branch she was perched on, but luckily DJ's quick reflexes kicked in and he snagged her around the waist and hauled her back up. She blushed bright red as she realized that he had pulled her into his lap.

"Uh, thanks," she stuttered and began to crawl off of him.

His grip on her tightened and held her in place. "Just stay here. It's a better use of the limited space we have. Not to mention that I can't heal you if one of you gets hurt. I've only recently begun to be able to heal myself. I know you heal faster than normal because you are a scout, but not that fast."

"Fine," she huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, trying to ignore the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and turned her attention back to the white, two story house across the street that belonged to the Tsukino's.

They had caught up with the young girl quite easily when the middle school had let out for the day. Her unusual blonde hairstyle made it easy to spot her, even in a sea of rambunctious preteens rushing out of the building to start their weekend.

They had followed her and her friend Molly to the Crown where they had climbed up on the roof of a neighboring building to keep her in their sights. They watched as she downed two milkshakes, a burger, a plate of cheese fries, and an order of onion rings before she flounced off to play video games. Once she had run out of money, she had returned to the counter where she talked to a young Andrew and his mother, Kathleen, Katie's namesake, for several minutes before she left for home.

They had followed behind her at a respectable distance until she had reached her house. From the tree they did have a good view of everything. They had been able to see into Serena's room when she had gone up to drop off her school stuff and gather a change of clothes. Luckily she had spared them all the embarrassment and had gone to the bathroom to change. DJ had already muttered under his breath several times that he felt like he was invading his mother's privacy.

Now they were watching through the dining room window as the whole Tsukino family was enjoying dinner. Serena was already on her third helping of whatever Ilene had concocted for her family.

"Man, she can pack it away, can't she?" Katie said in awe. "I always knew Aunt Serena could out eat anyone, but damn! She's a regular little glutton."

"Look who's talking," DJ snickered, making a few oinking sounds.

Katie struggled in his arms, and DJ tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. They both froze when their chests came into full contact with each other's. Their faces were only inches away and both sets of eyes flared wide.

"If you two are through making out over there," Alex said slyly. "We should get back to business. She's on the move."

They jerked away from each other so fast that they both almost went tumbling from the tree before regaining their balance. Katie was still on DJ's lap, but she had turned now so that her back was toward him. She leveled a murderous glare on her brother.

"Me make out with him? Not freaking likely!" she hissed out furiously. "I've seen dog's butts that have held more appeal to me. Get over yourself bro."

"Same here," DJ hastily added. "I like girls with a little fire in them. That way you don't get frostbite when you get near them."

"Uh huh," Alex said in a tone that clearly showed that he didn't believe them as he glanced down to where DJ still had his arms around Katie's waist. "Whatever you guys say. But anyway, like I said, I think Serena's about to go mobile again."

The blushing duo turned their attention back to the house where sure enough, dinner was over and the family had dispersed. Ken Tsukino was stretched out in a recliner in the living room reading the newspaper while Sammy sat in front of the TV playing a video game. Ilene was nowhere to be seen, probably in the kitchen, which wasn't visible where they were.

Serena was in her bedroom stuffing things into a pink bag decorated with little white bunnies. A few minutes later she ran down the stairs to the front door.

"Bye, mom! I'm going to Molly's now," they heard her call out.

Ilene appeared in the doorway, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Okay honey. Be careful and call me when you get there. And take the long way around. I don't want you walking through the park this late."

"All right, mom. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" Serena called over her shoulder, already heading down the street.

Once Ilene had gone back in and shut the door behind her, the three James Bond wannabes dropped down from the tree to follow Serena, careful to stay about a half a block behind her.

The young girl paused when she reached the entrance to the park. After a moment of what seemed to be indecision, she raised her chin defiantly and walked in.

"That little idiot," Alex said in disbelief. "What the hell is she thinking? Her mom told her not to go through the park."

Katie shook her head. "Now I see why Uncle Darien and Aunt Raye used to call her Meatball Head. She doesn't have a lick of sense."

DJ groaned. "Please guys! This is my mother we're talking about. Now let's hurry up. It's already completely dark out. And the park is the perfect place for an attack to happen."

"Right!" the twins agreed together as the three of them barreled toward the park.

The park was unusually empty for a Friday night. As a matter of fact, there was no one in sight at all as they rushed down the main path that cut through the center of the park, trying to keep the bobbing golden head in their line of vision as they scanned the surrounding trees for any sign of a threat.

All three gasped as a shiver went through them and every hair on their bodies stood on end.

"A sentinel is near. We need to transform," DJ said quietly to the others.

Since there was no one around, and Serena was far enough ahead of them to not notice, they didn't bother finding a place to hide and activated their transformations right there. In flashes of gold, bronze, and silver, Phantom, Phoenix, and Sailor Eclipse appeared.

They ran after Serena, not caring now whether or not she saw them. Her life was in danger. Eclipse froze when she looked up into the branches of a tree that Serena had just passed and saw a dark, hulking shape and a pair of glowing red eyes.

She grabbed Phantom's arm and pointed. "Up there. Do you see it?"

"I sure do," he said tersely before leaping from the ground and into the branches. There was a muffled thud and a low growl before Phantom and a black puma looking sentinel fell from the tree and hit the ground hard.

The puma leapt to its feet, snarling viciously as it advanced on its attacker. It was preparing to leap on Phantom when a wall of swirling red gold energy, hotter than any fire, sprang up in front of it. It turned toward its newest threat.

"Bad kitty! Go sharpen your claws on a tree or something," Phoenix taunted.

With a growl of outrage, the sentinel sprang at him, the poisonous spikes protruding from its massive shoulders aimed right for the boy. Then in midair, the puma found itself wrapped in ropes of silver energy that swung him around before sending it slamming into a tree.

"Nice one!" Phoenix crowed to Eclipse.

"Yeah. Way to go Cowgirl Eclipse," Phantom ground out sardonically as he joined them. "Do you think you could take it easy with the solar flares Phoenix? You almost singed my eyebrows off. Where did my mom go?"

Phoenix pointed down the path. "She continued on her merry little way. She was far enough ahead that she didn't hear our little scuffle back here."

Phantom turned to Eclipse. "Kat, do me a favor. Follow my mom and make sure she gets to Molly's without any problems. Alex and I will take care of Garfield over there."

"No way!" Eclipse protested. "I'm not going to miss out on this. I want a piece of that sucker!"

"Kat, please," Phantom pleaded softly, turning the full force of his eyes on her. "I'm trusting you to make sure she's okay,"

She felt her insides melt and cursed at her weakness. "Fine! I'll keep an eye on her. But you two be careful. I know its only one sentinel, but those bastards are sneaky."

Both boys grinned cockily at her as she turned and hurried off after Serena. Then they grinned at each before they faced the puma that was regaining its footing after the unexpected impact with the tree trunk.

"Shall we?" Phoenix asked as shimmering solar waves began radiating around him.

A light golden glow encompassed Phantom. "Oh yeah! He's toast!"

Then they flung their energy at the beast.

Sailor Eclipse faintly heard the boom of the combined attack and felt the small vibrations in the ground from the release of energy. She longed to turn back, but she could tell by the bond she shared with her brother that he was fine. Anyway, DJ had entrusted her with Serena's well being, and she planned to see it through.

Serena must have moving faster than she thought because it took her a minute to catch up to the girl. She was almost to the park's exit, and her destination, the Osa-P jewelry store, was right across the street.

The blonde adolescent was about to walk through the gates when Eclipse detected a blur of movement in the shadows of the trees. Kicking it into hyper drive, she rushed toward the dark figure as it began to move stealthily toward Serena.

She barreled into the person, knocking them both to the ground. With a long practiced move, she leapt back to her feet in one fluid motion. A quick glance showed her Serena skipping across the street and knocking on the door to the jewelry store.

Eclipse breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her attention to the person on the ground. It was probably some lecherous pervert that liked to prey on young girls. It might not be the same as pounding a sentinel, but she was going to teach this bastard a lesson.

Unexpectedly, a hand shot out to grab her tightly by the ankle and jerk her to the ground. She felt the air rush out of her lungs as her back slammed hard into the ground. The dark figure was suddenly on top of her, pinning her down.

She gasped as a beam of moonlight found its way between the leaves overhead and illuminated the person's face. "You!"

"Hello, darlin'. Did you miss me?" a harsh voice rasped to her before a pair of lips pressed against hers in a bruising punishment.

* * *

"Darien, would you stop that? You're going to wake her up," Raye chided gently.

The reincarnated prince looked up guiltily from where he had been running his fingers through Serena's long golden curls. "Sorry."

The priestess gave him what she hoped was a supporting smile before closing her eyes once more to meditate and see if she could catch any visions of what was happening. The candles burning in front of her weren't the same as gazing into the sacred fire, but she refused to leave her princess.

Next to her, Jadeite jumped up as his cell began ringing. He flipped it open as he walked into the other room to take the call so that his conversation wouldn't disturb Serena. "Hey…no we haven't heard anything yet…"

"Must be Nephrite again," Andrew commented from his seat on one of the couches.

They had been unable to keep the chestnut haired general out of the loop for long. He had called after he had seen the signs of a disturbance in the stars. He had been informed of what was going on, but was sworn to secrecy. The last thing anyone wanted was to have the place swarming with concerned sailor scouts and generals.

Michelle had called as well after she and Hotaru had experienced a feeling of unease. She said her mirror wasn't showing her anything, but that she would call back if she found something. She also promised that neither she nor Hotaru would say anything to Amara. The tall, blonde scout of wind was as protective of Serena as a pit-bull, and nobody felt like dealing with her tonight.

"I wonder how much longer we'll have to wait. This is torture," Jess whispered from her seat beside Andrew. Rini was curled up in a ball next to her with her head lying in her lap.

"I don't know," Darien answered softly. "They've been gone for a few hours now. But Serena is still not showing any signs of fading away, so I can only guess that's a good thing. As long as she's still here, then that means her past self is still alive. What about you, Rini? How are you feeling?"

The pink haired girl shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I feel pretty solid and I don't feel sleepy anymore." She sat up and looked at her future father. "Actually I feel pretty good, better than I have since this whole thing started."

"That makes two of us," Serena's voice spoke up from where she was lying on the couch. "I think the kids must have been successful, because my energy is coming back to me."

She sat up and Darien scrambled up from his spot on the floor to sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Do you really feel better?" he asked anxiously. "You scared me there for a little bit. You seemed so weak."

She nodded and gave him a bright smile. "I feel great. I was really tired before, but now I feel like a million bucks."

"Pluto's coming," Raye said suddenly, her eyes popping open.

Sure enough, a few seconds later Sailor Pluto arrived in her usual burst of smoke and light, accompanied by three others that landed sprawled out on the carpet, and one of them was swearing loudly.

"I still can't believe that rotten, no good, sneaky, lying son of a bitch is working for him," Katie shrieked. "I knew I should have just murdered him months ago and chopped his body into kibble and thrown him to the wolves. Even though, now that I think about it, that might be too easy a punishment for him. A long death by slow disembowelment would suit that low down bastard better. I just…ARGH!"

She jumped up from the floor and began pacing back and forth; cussing a blue streak in the most curious mixture of both Japanese and English words that only Alex, DJ, Darien, and Jess could completely understand what she was saying.

"Whoa! What's got her so worked up?" Rini asked. "I haven't seen her this pissed since, well…no I take that back. I don't think I've ever seen her like this."

DJ smirked at her. "It seems Little Miss Tinkerbell received quite a shock tonight."

Katie's head whipped around. "Shock? SHOCK! Oh no! This goes way beyond shock. This goes right off the chart for shock. I can't believe that I was so stupid that I never saw the truth even though it was staring me right in the freaking face. Now I know how that damn guardian knew how to take me down so easily that night. That son of a bitch told them all of my moves. I'm such an idiot!"

At the dumbfounded looks on everyone's faces, Alex said calmly, "Kat just found out that her ex-boyfriend has gone over to the dark side. He was with the sentinel that went after Serena in the past."

"What!" Rini exclaimed as she shot up from the couch. "Jack is working with Discord? I can't believe that son of a bitch! Wait a minute…ex-boyfriend? I didn't know that they broke up."

Katie barked out a harsh laugh. "Yeah. I kicked his sorry ass to the curb the last night I was in Crystal Tokyo for being a dick. And then tonight he blindsided me. To make matters worse he…he…the stupid prick had the nerve to kiss me! I need some industrial strength mouthwash to get that foul taste out of my mouth."

Alex chuckled. "So that's why he was running for his life like a little bitch when we found you. I wondered what he had done to get you so mad. You had him jumping through hoops sis."

Katie growled low in her throat. "I would have done more than that to him if he hadn't jumped through that portal that opened up. Ugh…I can't believe I ever dated that bastard. Come on, Trista; send me to the time gate. I want to strangle that little shit with my bare hands."

Rini looked at her brother, who had been oddly silent through this revelation. "Hey DJ, if Jack is working with Discord, do you think there's a possibility that Sasha is too. I mean, I know she's your girlfriend and all, but do you think she might be involved?"

DJ sighed. "She's my ex-girlfriend. We broke up before I left home. And I had a suspicion that she was involved with all of this, but I wasn't entirely sure until tonight. But if Jack is in this, you can guarantee she is too."

Katie finally ran out of steam and flopped on the floor where she looked in disbelief at the ebony haired prince. "Damn DJ, we know how to pick them, don't we? We really are a couple of loser dorks."

He smirked at her. "Maybe you are. Don't forget that I have a fan club that follows me everywhere. My options are wide open."

Surprisingly, she giggled and picked up a small throw pillow that had fallen from the couch and threw it at him. "You're such a nerd!"

Pluto cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Okay, now that all of the excitement is over for the night, there are a few things that I want to cover. I think the last thing Discord expected was for the three of you to show up out of the blue and foil his plans, so it's a pretty safe bet that he is going to redouble his efforts to find you. That was why I had you power down to your civilian forms before we came back here. I didn't want him to be able to trace your energy signatures. So while you are in this time there is to be no using your powers or transforming unless it's a life or death situation."

"Oh man! That's not fair!" Alex and DJ groaned together.

"Yeah," Katie agreed. "How are we supposed to train if we can transform or use our powers?"

Pluto turned thoughtful for a moment before she turned to Serena. "Do you still have that cloaked clearing near the middle school where you used to train? That would be safe enough for them to practice."

Serena shook her head. "I honestly don't know. I haven't been there in years now. I guess I could check with Amy and see. She was the one that set it up way back when it was just she, Raye, and I. If not, I'm sure she could set up something similar for them."

"Please see about it," Pluto told her. "Not that I imagine that they will need it all that much. If Discord went after the past once, I'm sure he'll do it again. Especially if he thinks that it might draw them out of hiding. So I'm sure they'll be getting their regular workouts."

"Right," Serena muttered. "Darien and I are calling a meeting with everyone tomorrow to explain the situation to them. Will you be able to attend? It would be a big help if you were there to help me keep the facts straight."

Pluto inclined her head. "Myself and the other outers will be there. I have already apprised them of the circumstances, but we need to make sure that everybody is on the same page."

* * *

"Where did they come from?" Discord bellowed, his voice echoing across the time plane, sending the groups of guardians and sentinels into quaking spasms of fear.

Jack was no exception as he stood with his head bowed. The shiver that raced down his spine was almost enough to bring him to his knees, but he remained upright. "I don't know, sir. There was no indication that they were in that time, and there's nothing to prove that they are still there. It's like they just magically appeared, blasted the sentinel, and then vanished once more. It was definitely unexpected."

"Pluto!" Discord snarled. "It has to be her. She's making time jumps with them just like I suspected. She may not be keeping them hidden in one particular time. She must have foreseen our attack on Serenity and brought them there. But if that meddlesome time guardian thinks that she can stop me so easily, she is sadly mistaken. We will take our time and carefully plan out who and where we will strike next. With any luck, those troublemaking brats will appear again. Then perhaps we will have a shot at taking them out."

He turned back to the time stream and began sifting through it, searching for who would be the next victim. Jack breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, grateful that he hadn't been punished for his failure.

Sasha walked up next to him and raked him with a contemptuous glare, her emerald eyes snapping in fury. "Well, did you have fun tonight?"

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked uncertainly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" she hissed back at him. "I was watching the whole thing. You _kissed _her!"

"Oh, is that all," he said nonchalantly. "It didn't mean what you think it means. I meant it as an insult to her, as a punishment."

Sasha's gaze softened and she giggled. "She definitely took it as an insult. I feared for your life for a minute when she went after you. It's obvious that she doesn't have any nice feelings for you anymore."

Jack snorted. "Well I don't have any for her either. I respected her as a fellow musician, but that was about it. What about you? Do you have any lingering feelings for DJ?"

"That nerd boy? Hah!" Sasha scoffed. "Please! All he cares about inflating his princely ego and burying his head in his books. Totally not my style."

Jack chuckled. "You have a cruel streak in you, Sasha."

She smiled beautifully at him. "So do you. That's why we make the perfect team. I can't wait to bust up their little band. It'll be so much fun."

Jack grinned at her. "That it will. We'll make them pay for all the wrong that they've done." He held out a hand to her. "Put it there, partner."

Instead of taking his hand, Sasha pulled his head down and gave him a scorching kiss. When she pulled away seconds later, she smirked at his astonished expression. "That's how a real woman kisses."

* * *

Monday morning dawned bright, sunny, and cold over Tokyo. It seemed that the late winter warm spell that the city had been experiencing the last few days had finally gone away, and the early February day promised to be a chilly one.

"Get up, Alex. You're going to be late if you don't get a move on," Katie snapped as she flung open the curtains over the window to the bedroom that she was currently sharing with her brother.

Although Andrew and Jess's apartment was exactly like Darien and Serena's with three bedrooms plus an office, there was only one guest bedroom since Andrew used the office to oversee his business and Jess had claimed the other bedroom as her studio. Luckily the third bedroom was fairly big and had both a bed and a futon, so the teens weren't too cramped for space.

Alex moaned and rolled over to look at the clock. "Are you crazy, Kat? It's 6:30 in the morning!"

Katie shook her head at him. "Exactly! School starts at 8:00. Now get moving and go take your shower and get dressed. Dad's cooking breakfast, but you won't have time to eat if you don't get up now."

'Just give me ten more minutes," he grumbled, pulling a pillow over his head. A few seconds later he felt the whole futon he was laying on tip as he went tumbling to the floor.

"All right! I'm up already! Sheesh!" he exclaimed as he glared up at his sister. But his glare turned to one of shock as he took in her appearance. "Wow, Kat! You look nice."

"Really? You think so?" she asked as she twirled. "I wasn't too sure about it in the beginning since it reminds me so much of wearing a fuku. But it's really not all that bad."

Alex let his eyes travel up the length of her: from the modest black ballet flats on her feet, past the navy blue skirt that fell to just below her knees, to the white sailor style long sleeved shirt with a red bow on the front. She had pulled her long, shimmering hair into a ponytail and tied it with a silver ribbon.

"Oh man! I'm going to have to kill every guy at that school. I can see it now," Alex groaned.

Katie laughed. "I'm going to assume that's weird brother talk for saying I look good and leave it at that. Now come on! Dad's making French Toast." Then she was gone in a blur.

Alex shook his head at her excitement, glad to see that spark of her old self beginning to return. He gathered his clothes and trooped off to the bathroom.

Katie flew into the kitchen and plunked down at the table next to Jess, who was reviewing some notes for a test she had that day.

Andrew set a plate down in front of her with several thick slices of French toast dusted with powdered sugar. "Eat up, kiddo. You've got a big day ahead of you."

"Thanks dad, I mean Drew," she corrected herself. "Man, I've gotta break that habit."

Andrew grinned at her. "I kinda like hearing it. But you're right, it would be strange if somebody heard you calling me dad."

"Is your brother up yet?" Jess asked, taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm sure he doesn't want to be late on his first day."

Katie reached for the syrup and poured it over her toast. "Yeah, he's up. He's just not much of a morning person."

"Knock, knock," Serena called out as she stuck her head in the door. "Is everybody up and decent?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "In here, Sere."

Serena came into the kitchen, followed closely by Rini, who was wearing a uniform that was identical to Katie's. "Good morning everyone. I thought I'd come and see how everyone is doing today."

Rini sniffed. "Bull! Tell the truth. You smelled Andrew's cooking and bolted out the door."

Serena flushed a little. "That wasn't the only reason."

Katie sensed someone standing in the doorway and turned to look, figuring it was Alex. Instead she almost choked on her food when caught her first look at DJ in his school uniform.

The gray slacks showed just how long his legs were and the navy blue blazer did nothing to detract from his wide shoulders. The entire look was pulled together nicely by the white button down shirt and red tie.

'_Good grief, are we going to school or a court function?' _Katie thought to herself. _'He looks absolutely gorgeous. That jacket makes his eyes seem bluer than usual.'_

Then the voice of the new Katie, the colder, more calculating one, broke into her thoughts._ 'Get a grip on yourself, Kat! He's off limits, remember?'_

Yeah, but a girl could look. And Katie took advantage of the fringe of bangs that fell over her eyes to sneak in covert glances at him. Alex joined them a few minutes later, looking no less dashing in his matching uniform. The girls of Azabu High better watch out, because there were likely to be quite a few swooning today when they caught sight of this duo.

Darien popped in for a moment on his way to the hospital to say goodbye and wish the new students good luck. Serena accompanied him outside for a private goodbye while everyone else finished breakfast.

Finally Rini pushed back from the table. "Are you three ready? I guess we should get going so I can show you around a little bit before class starts."

"Good luck!" Andrew and Jess both called out to them as they picked up their backpacks and slid on jackets as they headed for the door.

"You're going to be late for work if you don't hurry," Rini admonished Darien as they passed him and Serena in the hallway while they were in the middle of a prolonged goodbye.

Darien jerked back and looked frantically at his watch. "Oh shit! You're right. I better run. I'll see everyone tonight."

Serena pouted as she watched her fiancé hurry toward the elevator. "Thanks a lot, Rini."

Rini grinned at her future mother. "You'll get over it. Now we are off to learn lots of interesting things."

Serena's expression lightened. "All right, you guys have a great day. And don't forget about the training session with Nebula this afternoon."

DJ, Katie, and Alex all groaned. The day before, during the meeting, Amy had confirmed that the scout's old training area was still secured from any outside interference. Nebula had been present for the meeting also, and she had jumped at the chance to be in charge of their training.

"Great! No matter what, we can't get away from psycho cat," DJ moaned.

The twins nodded in agreement. They had been thrilled to find out that there was a place for them to practice, but they had hoped to go at it alone, not under the watchful eyes of an insane feline that could put most drill sergeants to shame.

They trudged after Rini, off to start their first day of what they had dubbed as being a normal teenage life.

* * *

"Okay class," the advanced biology teacher called out over the noise of the class after the bell rang. "Don't forget that we have a test tomorrow. So make sure to review chapters 16 and 17 tonight to prepare for it. Except for you Mr. Shields. I wouldn't expect you to take this test since you are new to the class."

DJ looked up in surprise. "That's not necessary ma'am. I've already covered the subjects that will be on the test and I feel pretty confident that the test won't be a problem for me."

It was true enough. Thanks to the teachings of Amy and Zoicite, he had been pleased to find that he was at the same level as the other students and not behind as he had feared. In some cases he found that he was actually ahead of them.

He stuffed his books into his backpack and left the room for his last class of the day, Calculus. His afternoon classes were devoted to his two favorite subjects, science and math.

Alex had fallen over when he had seen what classes he was taking. "Dude, you're already taking Trig and Chemistry in the morning. Why would you purposefully take more? Are you crazy?"

Alex's afternoon was spent in the computer lab where he could indulge in his passion for all things electronic. He claimed that the technology here in the past was sadly lacking, but he was fascinated by it just the same.

Katie's afternoon classes were scheduled with Michelle, who was the music teacher here. Hopefully those classes would be good for her and help her regain her interest in music again.

"DJ!" he heard a female voice call his name. He turned to find Michelle hurrying toward him. He noticed she looked extremely worried.

"What's wrong, Michelle?" he asked as she reached him.

She shook her head. "Thank goodness. I was hoping to find either you or Alex. Have you seen Katie anywhere?"

DJ felt like the bottom had fallen out of his stomach. "Not since lunch. I thought she was with you. Isn't she supposed to be in your class all afternoon?"

Michelle chewed her lip nervously. "Yes. She was there, but I think I may have upset her somehow. I asked her to play the piano for me so that I could get a feeling for where she was at. She seemed to be really nervous, so I told her that there was no pressure and to take her time. Well she finally sat down, but she didn't play more than a few measures before she suddenly got up and ran from the room. I haven't seen her since, and that was about a half an hour ago."

'_Damn! I thought she was doing better,' _DJ thought to himself. Then out loud he said, "Don't worry about it, Michelle. I don't think it has anything to do with you personally. I don't know how much of the story you've heard, but Kat has some issues that she's trying to work through."

The aqua haired woman nodded. "I heard some of it, and I understand. I want to help her through this if I can. Music can be very therapeutic, and from the little bit I heard before she ran I can tell she has a wonderful talent."

"I"ll find her," DJ told her. "She probably went and holed herself up somewhere to think."

Michelle handed him a couple of slips of paper. "Here's a pass to excuse you from class. There's one for Alex too if you feel like you need to pull him out to help you look for her."

He pocketed the passes. "Thanks," he said quickly before hurrying away. He was heading for the computer lab to grab Alex when a thought hit him.

"I don't need his help," he muttered to himself. "I can handle finding her on my own. How hard can it be to track down one lone teenage girl?"

He had a feeling that she wouldn't have hung around the school, so he quickly made his way off the campus. Once he was outside on the sidewalk, he turned in the direction of the apartment. That seemed to be the logical place for her to be.

He hadn't taken more than five steps when he felt something, almost like a giant magnet, pulling him in the opposite direction. He paused, looking around to see if he could locate the source for this unusual feeling. He didn't see anything.

Shrugging, he ignored it and started walking away again, but for some reason he felt a ball of unease form in the pit of his stomach, and the feeling grew stronger with every step he took. Frustrated, he stopped again; this time closing his eyes to try and feel out with his other senses the way Raye had tried to teach him to.

The sounds of the city faded away as he tried to concentrate on the feelings of the auras of the people who were rushing around, going about their business. Most of the auras were a calm blue or green, some of them faintly tinged with a little red on the outside from stress, but nothing that would cause this feeling.

Then he felt it, a tiny, dim silver spark. He focused harder on it and almost fell over as the emotions from it hit him like a freight train. Anger, pain, and sorrow slammed into him. His eyes popped open and he scurried off in the direction that he sensed this turmoil. He knew that somehow he had brushed his aura against Katie's, and he latched onto it. He followed it as easily as following a rope.

It led him closer to the middle of the city and into a quiet area filled with large homes. Suddenly realizing what part of town he was in, he hurried down a street that was vaguely familiar until he reached a corner.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting on a low stone wall as she stared at the house across the street. It wasn't exactly the same as it would appear a thousand years in the future, but it was undeniably the same house that she had grown up in.

DJ approached her slowly before quietly taking a seat next to her. She kept her gaze focused straight ahead, not acknowledging his presence at all.

Then…"How did you find me?" she asked. "It felt really weird, like I could feel you coming before you ever got here. What did you do?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I followed your aura. I guess Raye's training finally paid off. I've never been able to do it before, but for some reason I was able to locate you fairly easily."

She glanced quickly at him. "Oh," she mumbled.

He studied her intently. By the feeling of the emotions he had felt running through her, he had been afraid that he would find her a crying, hysterical mess. But he should have known better. This new Katie didn't let out her feelings like that. She kept everything locked up inside until the only way she deal with it was to lash out in anger. That was a big part of her problem, she needed release.

He knew he was going to have to tread carefully. "So do you wanna talk about it?"

She laughed a horribly hollow laugh. "What is there to talk about, DJ? I told Trista that I didn't want to take Michelle's class, but she didn't listen to me. I can't play like that anymore, I just can't!"

She felt the tears burning in her eyes and looked away. How could she explain to anybody how she felt when she sat down at that piano? The moment her fingers had touched the keys, a hundred different memories had flooded her mind. A mint green dress, a white rose, her first kiss, DJ's smile, performing in the palace ballroom, pain, blood, darkness, fear, and doubt had all swirled together in her mind until it felt like she was drowning in that icy water of the bay once again.

DJ watched her profile, seeing the emotions that flitted across her face. Finally he said quietly, "That's a shame. I miss hearing you play. I always enjoyed listening to you."

She turned incredulous eyes on him. "You're jerking me around, right? You always teased me about my music."

"No I didn't," he contradicted her. "I didn't on that last night you played at my parent's anniversary party. I told you how great I thought you were, and I meant every word of it. You seemed so happy when you played, like you were off in your own world where nothing could touch you. I just want to see you happy like that again."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you being so nice? You don't even like me. We're mortal enemies, remember? Why would you care about how I feel?"

His cheeks flushed a little. "I do care, a lot. And maybe I don't want to be enemies anymore. We've been through a bunch of shit together, Kat, and it sounds like there is a whole lot more waiting for us. I don't want to keep fighting with you. I…I…"

'_You idiot! Go on and tell her that you love her!'_ his mind screamed at him.

"I want us to be friends," he said instead, chickening out at the last moment.

Katie sighed. "We're not ten years old anymore, DJ. This is different than calling a truce between us so that we don't get stuck with extra training sessions because we we're fighting."

"I know that," he told her, reaching for one of her tightly clenched hands. "And I want this to be more than just a simple truce. I'm offering a full surrender. I really want us to be friends. I want to be there for you."

He could see the tears brimming in her eyes, about to spill over, before she took him by surprise and threw her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He felt the scalding tears on his skin as he put his arms around her shuddering body and held her as she cried.

They stayed that way for several minutes before Katie reluctantly pulled away. Her cheeks and nose were red and her eyes were still a little glassy looking, but she gave him a big smile before she leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly.

DJ's face went brick red and he felt like his heart was literally going to burst out of his chest at the feel of her smooth lips. But it was over quickly, like the soft fluttering of a butterfly's wings.

Katie giggled, a truly happy sound that warmed his insides. "You know what I wanna do now?" she asked.

He had several ideas about what he would like to do, but none of them were appropriate. "What?"

She jumped up from where she was sitting. "I think I wanna go knock Miss Michelle Kaioh's socks off. What do you say, friend?" she held her hand out to him.

He grinned at her and took the offered hand. "I say go for it."

They walked back to the school in companionable silence, fingers entwined the entire way.

* * *

Alex sighed as the last bell of the day rang and he powered down the computer that he had been working at. Granted, the computers in this time were sadly lacking in technology, but having the chance to study the mechanics of the 21st century was fascinating. Now he was ready to find the others and see how they had fared.

DJ he wasn't too worried about. He was always happy as long as he had his science and numbers around him. But he was a little concerned about his sister. She had isolated herself from the music world for months now, and he wasn't sure how she was going to react after being thrown back into it. He had felt some feelings of unease from her earlier, and even some panic, but it had seemed to settle down since then.

He grabbed his backpack and left the computer lab, swiftly making his way through the crowds of students as he hurried down the halls toward where the music room was. He ran into Rini as she was leaving the Home Ec room.

"Hey! How was the rest of your day?" she asked as she fell into step beside him.

He grinned at the princess. "It was great. How about yours?"

She held up a plastic container. "Pretty good. We made fudge today, and I think mine turned out rather well. Of course I'll have to hide it from Serena, Darien too for that matter, they both have a weak spot for chocolate."

Alex batted his eyes at her. "But you wouldn't deny me, would you? Come on, Rini. You spare me just a little bit, can't you?"

Rini laughed and opened the container to offer him a piece. "Of course you can have some. You're one of the few people I know that doesn't inhale food like a black hole."

"Ah, you're the best," Alex told her as he selected a piece and popped it in his mouth. "This is really good," he complimented her after he had swallowed.

They were nearing the music room, and the sound of piano music drifted to them.

"Wow!" Alex said. "Sounds like Kat may have some competition if she ever starts playing again. Whoever that is sounds awesome."

A group of students were huddled around the classroom door, wide eyed and talking excitedly in hushed whispers. The entrance to the room was completely blocked, but thanks to his height, Alex was able to see over them.

"I don't believe it!" he whispered in shock when he saw who was sitting at the piano.

"What? What is it?" Rini asked, hopping up and down, trying to see.

Alex grabbed her arm and pushed his way through the crowd until he and Rini were inside the room. Both of their jaws fell open when they saw they complete scene.

Michelle was sitting on a stool, listening intently as Katie played. The shocker was the fact that DJ was there as well, leaning up against the wall with a big smile on his face as he watched Katie.

Rini arched a brow at Alex. "What the hell?"

Alex shrugged. "Beats me. Do you think something finally happened between the two of them?"

"I sure hope so," Rini replied. "I'm so sick of watching them beat around the bush with each other."

Alex nodded emphatically as the last notes of the song faded away.

"Bravo!" Michelle announced, jumping up from her seat. "That was absolutely stunning! How long did you say it has been since you last played?"

Katie's cheeks flushed pink. "A little over four months. I haven't played since the end of September."

"Well I couldn't tell. You are a natural," Michelle told her.

Alex let out a whoop and ran to congratulate his sister, but before he reached her she was snatched up into someone else's arms.

"I told you that you could do it!" DJ exclaimed as he spun her around.

Katie squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "I'm not dreaming, am I? Did I really do it?"

DJ set her on her feet. "Nope, it's not a dream."

Alex cleared his throat. "Uh, excuse me. Just who are you two, and what have you done to my sister and my best friend?"

Katie twirled with a laugh and flung herself at her brother. "Oh, Alex! Did you hear that?"

He returned her hug. "I sure did, sis. Sounds like you're making a comeback." Over her shoulder he looked questioningly at DJ, but his dark haired friend just stood there grinning like a brainless idiot.

"I think they've been abducted by aliens," Rini muttered. "That's the only thing I can think of to describe why they are acting so out of character."

"Alien abduction? Is that the best you can come up with? Please!" DJ scoffed then lowered his voice where the eavesdroppers in the hall couldn't hear him. "If the guardians and sentinels haven't gotten us yet, what makes you think some little green men from a distant galaxy would have a chance? I'm insulted. We just decided that we were much more suited as friends rather than enemies. Right Kat?"

"Right!" Katie beamed. "I think we better hurry though. We're supposed to be meeting Nebula for a torture session."

DJ smacked himself on the forehead "Oh crap! I forgot! Yeah, we better get moving before she decides to use us as scratching posts." He offered his arm to Katie. "Shall we, milady?"

She giggled and tucked her arm through his. "I would be honored, your highness."

Rini and Alex trudged along after their siblings, trying vainly to figure out exactly what they had missed between DJ and Katie to cause such a change in their relationship.

* * *

It was almost 2:00 am when Darien unlocked the door to the apartment and slipped inside. What had supposed to have been a twelve-hour shift had gone on much longer than that when the victims of a multi car wreck had been brought into the emergency room.

Car wrecks always struck a nerve with him since he had lost his parents to one when he had been six, and this one really hit home tonight. When he was informed that four of the victims were teenagers wearing Azabu High School uniforms, two boys and two girls, that had been cut out of a mangled Mitsubishi Eclipse, he had gone nuts for a moment. Serena owned a silver Eclipse, and he feared that she might have let the kids borrow the car to go out.

He had rushed to check on the four teens, but they weren't the ones that he had feared them to be. Getting over his shock, he threw himself into the fray. Luckily no one was seriously injured. There were a few broken bones, lots of cuts and scrapes, and one possible concussion, but no life threatening injuries. He had stayed until he was sure that everyone was stabilized and settled into rooms for observation.

He crept quietly into the kitchen where he found a note on the refrigerator.

_Hey sweetie - I hope the rest of your night went okay. Rini made a pretty good stir fry tonight, and I saved you some. It's in the fridge if you are hungry. I love you. – Sere_

He smiled a tired smile at the little hearts that she had doodled all over the paper. No matter how much Serena had grown and matured over the years, she still managed to retain that childlike innocence that had drawn him to her in the first place. Even though she was almost twenty-one years old, she could still light up a room with her presence the way she did when he first saw her at fourteen.

He opened the fridge, but bypassed the stir-fry for a bottle of water. He wasn't very hungry. He downed the water in just a few gulps and then went in search of his bed. He walked into the room that he shared with Serena to find it flooded in moonlight.

He preferred for it to be dark when he slept. But the nights that he worked late, Serena would open the curtains wide to let in the light of her old home. She claimed that it comforted her when he wasn't there to hold her.

He snuck around to his side of the bed and reached for where he had a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt on a nearby chair. When he turned around, he misjudged the distance and stubbed his toe on the nightstand.

He hissed out a sharp breath as a thousand expletives ran through his mind. As he stood there with his teeth clenched to keep from yelling, Serena rolled over in the bed.

"Dare, is that you?" she mumbled sleepily.

He quickly forgot his pain and sat down on the side of the bed. "Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep." He smoothed some of her hair from her face.

She yawned and sat up. "No, it's okay. I was having trouble sleeping anyway."

He frowned a little. "That's not like you. The only time I've ever known you to miss out on any sleep is when you're stressed about something. Is everything going okay with your classes?"

She laughed lightly. "Leave it to you to think about school. No, my classes are going fine. One of my professors even told me that a local preschool is looking for a student teacher to help out a couple of afternoons a week and that it would count as class credit. I'm thinking of applying for it."

Darien pulled off his tie and began unbuttoning his shirt. "If that's what you want to do, sweetheart, then go for it. It might be good for you to get some hands on experience."

"Yeah, maybe," he heard her say dejectedly as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "But sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing."

"What do you mean?" he asked her. "I thought you wanted to become a teacher."

She sighed. "That's just it, Darien. I'm not going to become a teacher, am I? Instead of spending my days teaching little kids their ABC's and 123's, I'm going to be busy being a queen. So why am I bothering getting up everyday and going to class? It's not going to do any good anyhow. So why am I doing it?"

Darien eyed his fiancé thoughtfully. "I thought we had agreed to not think about our futures so much and live our lives how we want to. Whatever happens to us in the future has nothing to do with the present."

"Until it walks up and smacks you in the face," she muttered.

Darien finished changing his clothes and then climbed into bed to sit next to her. "Okay, spill. What's got you so worried about the future all of a sudden? We've known about it for years now and it's never bothered you before. Is it because DJ's here?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. I mean, it does, but not because of him directly. I guess knowing about Rini for so long helped me accept the fact that I'm going to be a mother of two fairly easily. But that's an entirely different subject. I think it's more of the fact that today I finally realized the amount of responsibility that's going to be on me in the future, and it scared me."

Darien yawned. "I think you're putting too much thought into this, Sere. What caused you to have such a revelation about the future?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Maybe it's just a combination of everything that's happened the last few days. I guess it just got me to thinking that I should be focusing on what I need to know to be a good queen that will be capable of protecting her kingdom."

"I still think you're overreacting," Darien sighed as he lay back on his pillow. "We've got time before all of this happens, and it's not like everything's going to be on you when the time comes. You'll have me and all of our friends right beside you."

"But how much time do we actually have?" Serena asked. "Think about it. We're getting married this fall. From what we learned from your future self, we know that I become queen when I'm twenty-two and that Rini is born not long after that. I'm going to be twenty one in less than five months. The clock is ticking."

"Shh," Darien shushed as he pulled her down and into the circle of his arms. "Whatever happens, happens. You're not Neo Queen Serenity yet, and you shouldn't have to worry about that right now. You are Serena Tsukino, and no one else. Just concentrate on what you want in life at this moment."

Serena blew out a nerve steadying breath. "You're right." Then she giggled. "That's why I need you so much, you always find a way to bring me down when I start flipping out."

He kissed the top of her head. "That's what I'm here for. Now get some sleep. Don't you have a test later today?"

She poked him in the ribs. "Once a geek, always a geek. Don't you ever think of anything besides books and school?"

Darien let out a low growl and rolled over so that he had her pinned under him. "A geek am I? Excuse me for valuing a good education. How else could I have become one of the youngest doctors ever at Tokyo General?"

Serena's eyes turned tender and she reached up to stroke his jaw. "I take it back. You're definitely not a geek. You're too damn good looking and ripped to ever be a member of the nerd club."

"That's more like it," he said with an evil grin before he swooped down to capture her lips in a kiss that made her head spin.

She pulled back breathlessly several seconds later. "I thought you were tired."

His dark blue eyes sparkled. "I'm never too tired for you. Don't you know that by now?"

Serena sighed dramatically. "A thousand years later, and I'm still a victim of your overactive libido. I must be crazy to even be thinking about marrying you again in this life."

He smiled her favorite little crooked smile. "I never hear any complaints out of you. In fact…" he leaned down to nuzzle her neck, "I was under the impression that you rather enjoyed my attentions."

She turned her face toward his and whispered, "You are so bad."

"Yeah, but you love me for it."

**A/N **Yay! They saved the past, for now, and Katie's playing her music again. Damn that DJ! He's such a chicken! Well at least he and Katie are on friendly terms at the moment, but that could change at any time depending on my muse. I felt like making this an angst free chapter. And we had a few awww moments with Sere and Dare too. But who, where, and when will Discord strike next? And will our three young heroes come through it unscathed? Hmmm…I'm not entirely sure. I've used up everything that I had pretyped, so I'm kinda making it up as I go now. I'm at the mercy of the muse goddess. Let me know what you guys think, leave me a review. And if there's anything that you would like to see happen, let me know and I'll try to work it in. Enough gabbing! See ya next update!

~Sere~


	8. Confrontations and Confessions

**A/N **Hey guys! I can't believe I got another update together already. The muse goddess has been good to me this week. Yay! Anyhow, I'm glad everyone was pleased with the development between DJ and Katie. I was pretty happy with it too. I felt like they needed a change. Now will they stay that way? Hmm…we'll see. I think the DJ / Katie fans will be pleased with this chapter. And I had a few people who thought it was creepy that Sasha kissed Jack. Remember, they are not actually related. They are just close friends that were raised together. Okay on to hug time. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atems Sister Atea**

**Seredhiel05**

**UchihaYukiLuna**

**amaramichelle**

**KageNoNeko**

**Silvermoonlight9**

**GoldenDragon326**

**tiny2008**

**Chichiforever**

**anime-lover10**

**sunbeam07**

**Luthien Morgon**

**LBricker88**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**nileena**

**ange de l'aube**

**My Veggie Burger**

Thanks for all of your great reviews. I have to admit that some of them made me blush because they were full of so much praise. I try my best to tell a story, so I'm glad you all seem to be liking it. Speaking of which, I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 7

Confrontations and Confessions

"Ace high flush!" Andrew crowed triumphantly as he laid his cards on the table. The others around him groaned in defeat.

"Oh man, I thought I had it for sure!" Jadeite exclaimed as lay out his own king high flush. "Are you sure you're not cheating?"

Kunzite patted his friend on the shoulder. "Let it go, Jed. He just had a better hand than you. It's the luck of the draw."

Zoicite pushed back from the table. "Well I'm done. I don't think my self esteem or my wallet can take any more hits tonight."

"I'm out too," Nephrite agreed. "I think we can safely declare Andrew the winner tonight."

"Not necessarily," Darien said, eying the stack of money in front of him. "I think I may have won just as much as Drew did."

Kunzite shook his head. "Well that's come to be expected. In over a thousand years, none of us have been able to beat you at poker."

"Except me," Andrew said smugly as he tipped his chair back and rested his feet on the table.

Darien snorted into his drink. "That's only because I taught you all of my tricks back in high school. We made quite a team back then, hustling all the football jocks out of their money. I was a nice little supplement to our income."

Andrew sighed. "Yeah. Good times. We'd take all of their allowance and then get the added pleasure of kicking their asses later when they'd try to jump us to get it back. Those were the days."

"Well I'm going to knock you back into those days if you don't get your feet off my table!" Raye screeched at him. "You never saw me put my feet up on your precious counter in the arcade, did you? Now I expect you to return the favor."

"Yes ma'am!" Andrew squeaked hastily as he returned his feet to the floor.

"Cool down just a little, Pyro." Jadeite tried to sooth his simmering girlfriend. "He didn't mean any harm by it. And anyway, it's just a table."

Violet eyes flashed with scorching fury. "Just a table! Just a table!" she shrieked, gesturing around the large room. "They're all just tables! But I paid a hell of a lot for each and every one of them. And I didn't buy them just so you overblown cavemen could come in and put your gargantuan feet up on them."

It was Friday night, and the large group of friends had gathered together in what was sure to soon become the hottest nightspot in town. When the generals and Andrew had first proposed their idea for the new multi-entertainment complex, Raye had jumped at the chance to finally realize one of her dreams of owning a successful nightclub.

She called it _Blaze_. And thanks to Jess's design ideas it definitely lived up to its name. Though there was a lot of black, as was to be expected in a club, it also sported smoldering flame accents in fiery reds and oranges that would pop under the black lights.

She wasn't the only one to take advantage of the opportunity. Lita was opening up an elegant restaurant that embraced the beauty of nature. Being inside _La Foret _was definitely like walking into a tropical rainforest. It had a calm, quiet atmosphere. And with Lita running the show you could be assured that the food would be sinful.

After wandering around for six months after graduation, wondering what in the world she wanted to do with her life, Mina had enrolled in a beauty school and became a cosmetologist. Modeling, however, had been her first passion, but she didn't want to spend so much time away from Kunzite and her friends. So when plans for the building were being drawn, Kunzite had made sure to include a salon and boutique just for her. The bubbly blonde had for once been struck speechless when he told her of it.

But back to the moment at hand…

"Cool down! Did you just have the balls to tell me to cool down?" Raye was screaming at Jadeite.

Amy quickly approached her friend, hoping that her cooling presence would help calm the raven-haired woman. "Come on, Raye. Why don't we just go over and talk with the other girls?"

Raye's head snapped around. "Stay out of this, Frosty! He's been acting moody for days and has had this coming to him."

Zoicite was usually slow to anger, but he was fiercely protective of Amy. And at the sight of her stricken face he jumped in. "Yo Flamethrower, you don't have to be such a bitch and jump down her throat like that. She was just trying to help."

With those words, the battle was on.

"Don't call her a bitch!" Lita snarled.

Nephrite sighed. "Lita, please don't get involved."

Mina, a little red faced from the drinks she had consumed, poked him in the chest. "She doesn't have to listen to you, you big bully!"

Kunzite tried to lead his slightly intoxicated girlfriend away. "Okay, Min, that's enough. Let's let them work it out on their own."

"Don't put your hands on me like that! I'm not your bitch that you can just lead around like a dog!" Mina shrieked as she jerked away from him.

"Whoo hoo! You tell him V-babe!" Lita, Raye, and Amy cheered.

Darien and Andrew came crawling out from in between the battling couples on their hands and knees and quickly made their way over to the booth where two blonde women were sitting, calmly sipping wine and acting like there wasn't a battle royal happening twenty feet away from them.

"They're insane!" Darien panted as he dropped into a seat next to Serena.

She clucked her tongue at him. "Poor baby! You didn't get trampled in the stampede, did you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny. I don't know why I agreed to come here. I could have just spent a quiet evening at home without all of this drama."

"Ah, com'on, Dare," Jess chirped very tipsily. "Ya gotta 'mit thatcha wouldn't find this much 'tainment on pay per view."

Andrew sighed and took the wine glass from his fiancé's fingers. "Okay, I think that's enough for you for tonight. And don't try that pouting on me, it's not going to work this time."

Her sapphire blue eyes filled with tears and she sniffled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why d'ya a'ways haveta ruin my fun? S'not fair!"

Andrew wiped the tears from her cheeks. "And you'll be thanking me for it when you don't wake up tomorrow morning with a massive headache and puking your guts out."

Her expression changed from teary to happy. "Aww, that's so sweet. You're always looking out for me." She hugged his arm and cuddled up next to his side.

Andrew shook his head affectionately. "Somebody has to. God only knows what trouble you'd get into if nobody kept an eye on you."

She blew a raspberry at him. "I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby. Besides, maybe I like to have a big, strong, handsome man to look out for me. I'd starve if I had to live on my cooking."

"Amen!" a voice spoke up as Alex's head popped up from the booth behind them. "It's sad, but true, if it doesn't come frozen or in a can you're completely hopeless in the kitchen."

Katie's blonde head appeared next to her brother's. "Yeah, thank goodness dad knows how to cook or we would've been raised on Campbell's and Chef Boyardee."

Jess groaned and laid her head on the table. "Just great! As if I didn't have enough critics in my life. Now I've got my own kids being judgmental too."

Serena reached over and patted the dark blonde head. "Don't worry sweetie, you'll get used to it."

Jess raised her head and growled. "If I don't strangle the little snots first. What are they back there doing anyway? They've been too quiet." She turned around in her seat and got up on her knees so that she could look over the back of the booth.

Three heads were pressed together over the table, one midnight black, one light golden brown, and one pale blonde. They were whispering like conspirators, so Jess leaned in closer to hear.

"Okay, so we're all in," DJ said quietly. "Who do you think will break first? I'm going with Mars."

"No way man!" Alex snorted. "Definitely Jupiter."

After a silent moment Katie whispered, "Mercury."

Both boys laughed at her answer.

"No chance in hell, sis," Alex declared. "You stand a better chance going with Venus than you do Mercury. She's a pushover."

Katie just smiled sweetly. "We'll see."

Jess ignored the feeling of Andrew's hand tugging on her shirt trying to get her to sit back down and leaned in a little further. The three teens didn't notice her since they were engrossed in the escalating battle between the scouts and generals. She saw a small pile of money sitting on the table and suddenly their words made sense.

"Holy crap! Are you guys gambling?" she demanded loudly.

"SHHH!" all three shushed her quickly.

Suddenly the entire club cooled off by several degrees and fell completely silent. Of the eight people that had been fighting, seven of them slapped a hand over their mouths in an attempt to melt the fine layer of ice that had appeared over their lips while glaring at Amy.

The blue haired woman calmly dusted her hands together. "That's much better than listening to all this needless squabbling. My work here is done."

"YES!" Katie screeched, snatching up the money off the table before vaulting over it to stand there looking smugly at her brother and her friend. "I told you guys she'd be the one, didn't I. Thank you Amy. You are a doll!"

Amy looked utterly confused. "Uh…you're welcome?"

"Hey no fair!" Alex complained as he jumped up from his seat. "I was going to buy some manga with that money. Do you know how much I get for that if I take it back to Crystal Tokyo in pristine condition? I could make a fortune."

Katie gave him a superior smirk. "You should never gamble what you can't stand to lose bro. Maybe that will teach you a lesson."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Puh-lease. Like you could teach me anything. I'm older than you, remember."

Katie snickered. "Yeah, by a whole seven minutes. Face it, you lost fair and square."

"You cheated. I know you did," DJ growled as he stood up.

"I did not!" Katie insisted. "How could I cheat at that, hmmm?"

DJ looked taken by surprise. "I…I don't know. But you did."

Katie sauntered forward until she was close enough to him to lean down and whisper in his ear. "You're not the only one that has learned how to sense auras. And if you had bothered to use that particular talent you would have sensed the irritation coming from Amy was stronger than the others."

DJ shivered as he felt her breath brush against his ear but pulled back to point at her accusingly. "Ah ha! You did cheat!"

"Nope. I just had better insight than you," she said playfully before skipping away.

Both boys stared after her for a minute giving chase and yelling, "Kat! Give us our money back!"

"Well, sounds like the three of them have adapted well to life here," Amy said as she joined Serena and the others.

Serena nodded. "Yeah. It's been kinda nice having them around, at least when Rini and DJ aren't fighting over the TV or the last can of soda in the fridge. I thought Sammy and I bickered a lot when we were growing up, but those two make us look like saints."

"Speaking of Sammy, how's he doing?" Amy asked politely.

Serena shrugged. "Honestly? I rarely ever see him anymore. He never seems to be at home when I stop by. Mom thinks he's got a secret girlfriend or something. But I guess he's doing okay. The little parasite is graduating this spring and he's already been accepted into Tokyo U, so he must be doing something right."

Amy made a small sound of agreement. "And how about you? How have you been feeling?"

Serena knew that her friend was referring to the scare that she'd had the weekend before when Discord had targeted her past self. The scouts and generals that hadn't been let in on the secret had been steamed when they found out about it after the fact.

She smiled reassuringly at Amy. "I'm doing fine. I know Discord is still attacking the past, but I haven't felt anything from it, and neither have the others."

It was true enough. Twice in the past week, Trista had shown up to whisk DJ, Katie, and Alex off to another time to stop an attack in the past. And luckily the time guardian had been able to see the events early enough to put a stop to them before the effects could trickle down the timeline and be felt here.

"Are you about ready, Ames?" Zoicite asked, coming up and sliding an arm around Amy's waist. "It's been a long day and I could use some sleep."

"I know I could," Raye said as she rubbed her lips that were reddened from the ice that had frosted them shut. "I think I've done all I can do around here for tonight." She turned to Kunzite. "So everything's still set to open next Saturday, right?"

The silver haired man nodded. "Everything's on track. Grand opening is Valentine's Day."

Lita clasped her hands together with a starry look in her eyes. "I can't wait! The restaurant is already booked solid for that night."

"The appointment book for the salon is filled that day too," Mina gushed. "The new stylists I hired almost fell over when I told them. And I'm hoping that the boutique will do a bumping business that day too. I just got in a new shipment of Vera Wang designs that are to die for!"

Andrew elbowed Jess. "You know, we still have that empty space if you want to put some of your stuff in there. There's still time."

"Ah, no," Jess hedged. "I think I'd rather be a spectator. Anyway, if Natasha found out I was selling my paintings here after she's been begging me to do another showing at her gallery, she liable to murder me. And that woman is beyond scary."

Andrew shrugged. "It was just a thought." He stood and offered his hand to her to help her up. "Let's go round up the rugrats and head home. It's late."

She let him pull her up. "Sounds good," she said with a yawn. "I can already hear my pillow calling my name. Now where did those little sneaks…" She broke off suddenly as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell forward into Andrew's arms.

* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," DJ said in an eerily crooning voice that sounded like it should be in a horror movie. "I know you're around here somewhere, and I'm going to find you."

He and Alex had chased Katie when she had run from the club, down the wide corridors and past the closed shops that were waiting for opening day. They had lost sight of her when they reached the center atrium where there was a large fountain and the escalators that led up to the second floor.

DJ reached out with the bond that he had discovered he had with her and felt her silver energy coming from upstairs. Glancing at Alex, he could tell that his friend sensed her up there as well. He tilted his head, indicating to Alex that he would take the stairs to the right. Alex grinned and went to go up the stairs to the left.

Reaching the upper level, the dark haired prince zeroed in on her shimmering aura hiding behind a column. He snuck over stealthily in the semi darkness, ready to pounce.

"Gotcha!" he cried, throwing himself around the column to grab the girl.

But Katie had been ready for him, and danced quickly out of the way, her laughter ringing like bells. She sidestepped her brother, who also tried to ambush her, and leapt nimbly up onto the railing that looked down to the first floor.

"You boys are going to have to do better than that if you want to catch me," she told them smugly.

DJ smirked at her. "That's what you think. You've got yourself cornered now with nowhere to go. You can't jump from there without using your powers, and that's a no-no."

"Shit!" she muttered when she realized he was right. If it wasn't for the power restriction Pluto had put them on, she easily could have called on a little of her scout powers to jump down to the first level without hurting herself. She looked around quickly, trying to figure out an alternative.

Alex chuckled. "We've got you this time. There's no escape."

"I say we grab her on three," DJ said.

Katie's eyes snapped up to meet his, and suddenly her vision went blurry. She blinked hard to try to clear it, but all that did was make DJ split so that she saw two of him. A wave of dizziness hit her hard, and she felt her feet slipping from the rail. Fuzzily, she heard his voice counting.

"1…2…" that was as far as he got before Alex slumped to his knees beside him. He saw the hazy look in Katie's eyes and sprang forward to grab her only milliseconds before she would have fallen to the hard tile floor thirty feet below.

DJ scooped her up in his arms bridal style and felt her arms creep up around his neck. She was shaking and her forehead felt clammy where it pressed against his neck.

"I feel sick," she whispered softly. "Alex…"

DJ hurried over and knelt down next to his friend, still holding on tight to Katie. "Lex, man, are you okay?"

Alex raised his bowed head. "Damn that sucked! I guess Discord is on the attack again. And from the looks of it, he's attacking one of our parents this time."

Over the past six days, Discord had targeted Serena again in approximately the same time as before and had gone after Darien and Andrew together when they were still in high school. The fights had been child's play. Pluto had plenty of advanced warning and the guardians and sentinels that had been sent had been easily disposed of without any notice from anyone in the past. It had been all too easy.

"I guess the bastard's upping the game," DJ growled. "He's probably tired of us killing off his lackeys."

Alex pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. "We better get back to the others and see what's going on. I'm sure Pluto will be showing up soon."

DJ stood, still holding Katie, and she struggled weakly in his arms. "Let me down. I can walk."

He wanted to argue with her, but figured it wasn't worth the effort. He lowered her feet to the floor, but kept an arm around her waist. The trio made their way slowly down the stairs. DJ kept an eye on Alex too; ready to grab his friend if he showed any signs of falling. He remembered the feeling he'd had when Serena's past self had been in danger, and he knew it wasn't pleasant.

They heard the loud voices before they even reached the doors to the club. And Jess's was the loudest of all.

"Damn it! Would everybody quit making such a big deal over this? I'm fine," she said angrily. "Now move out of my way so I can go find my kids and make sure they're okay."

"We're fine," Alex said as they walked in. "A little woozy, but fine."

"Oh, thank heavens!" Jess screeched as she pushed past Andrew and Darien, who were trying to make her sit down. In the blink of an eye, she had both twins in a suffocating stranglehold. "I was so worried about you two!"

"Can't…breathe…" Alex gasped out.

"Mom…let…go…" Katie seconded.

She released both of them quickly. "Sorry! I'm sure you both know that I have a tendency to overreact."

"That's the understatement of the millennium," Katie grumbled, rubbing her neck.

"So where's Pluto at?" DJ asked. "Isn't this about the time she usually pulls her peek-a-boo routine and pops in to drag us off to beat the crap out of a sentinel or guardian?"

"Yeah, that's strange. I've been expecting her to put in an appearance from the moment Jess passed out," Serena commented, pulling out her cell phone. "She may not even be in this time right now."

She paged down through the list of numbers until she found the one she needed and hit the call button. After several moments she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Selene you're in this time! What's going on?"

Everyone waited in silence while Serena listened to whatever the time guardian was telling her on the other end. A look of confusion came over her face. "I'm telling you, Trista, things are not fine right now. Jess just passed out for a moment and Alex and Katie look like they've been put through a wringer. Something's going on and…hello?"

Serena stared at her phone in disbelief. "I can't believe it. She hung up on me."

"Sorry about that," Sailor Pluto said as she stepped out from her usual burst of smoke. "I didn't mean to be rude. I thought it would be better to talk about this in person. I have seen nothing of Discord's movements in my garnet orb recently, so this unexpected situation is troubling."

"Are you saying you have no idea where or when he's striking?" Darien asked.

Pluto bowed her head. "I'm afraid so. He must be expending a massive amount of energy to be able to cloud my vision like this. I've had no insight into this. I could try to enter back through the time gate to see if I can find out anything."

Serena shook her head. "No, Trista, that would be far too dangerous. I don't want to put you in that kind of situation. But there has to be a way to figure this out."

Pluto's eyes brightened. "Maybe there is. Jess, think hard. Was there any event in your life that you found to be odd or strange?"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Uh, hellooo…Remember who you're talking to. I'm the poster child for weirdness, remember? You're talking to the person who made their eighth birthday cake blow up because it was raining outside. Of course I figured it out years later that I was also the one that made it rain because I threw a temper tantrum over a gift I got. So nope, nothing strange there."

Pluto pinched the bridge of her nose. "Nice sarcasm, but I meant anything just really out of the ordinary. Like a chance encounter with someone that you couldn't explain later."

Jess nose scrunched up as she thought. "No, not that that I remember. I've met a lot of creeps in my life, but nothing that…" She trailed off as her eyes widened. "Unless…no, that couldn't be it."

"What? What couldn't be it?" several people demanded at once.

She waved a hand. "Okay. When I was seven I went to the mall with my dad the day before Christmas Eve to pick up my mom's gift that he had dropped off to have engraved." She reached up to run a finger over the locket she was wearing that had belonged to her mother.

"Anyway," she continued. "I was getting bored standing around waiting, so I slipped away to look in the toy store across the way."

"Typical you," Serena snickered.

Jess glared at her. "Am I telling this story or not? So I spent a few minutes looking at the display in the window, and when I turned back my dad was gone. I went running all over the place looking for him. I was scared that he had left me, so I went outside to look for our car. I was in the parking lot when this strange woman came up to me and asked me if I was lost. I don't know what it was, but I got a really funny feeling about her. So I didn't say anything and went to run back inside. All I remember was that she grabbed me by the arm. After that, the next thing I knew my dad was picking me up from a chair in the food court. I had no idea how I got there and he thought I had just wandered off and fell asleep there. Over time I told myself that I must have dreamed it."

Pluto snapped her fingers. "That's got to be it! Now we have a destination. Are you three ready?"

Katie, DJ, and Alex all nodded seriously and joined her. Just before they disappeared in a burst of pink light, they heard the scouts and generals all call, "Good luck!" But it was the sound of their past parents telling them to "Be careful!" that made them all smile.

* * *

"So. What exactly do you have planned this time?" Jack asked as he and Sasha joined Discord. "I don't see what attacking Jessica Furuhata in the past is going to accomplish. It'll just turn out the way it has every other time. Pluto will find out about it and grab Katie, Alex, and DJ and bring them there in time to stop us like always. We're fighting a losing battle with this. We'd be better off going back to looking for them like we were before."

"Now Jack, be nice," Sasha purred as she placed a hand on his arm. "I'm sure grandpa has a perfectly good reason for doing this. Don't you, grandpa?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"I do indeed, my sweet," Discord answered with a tight grin. "I have effectively come up with a way to block that annoying Sailor Pluto from being able to see our moves, but it requires a lot of my energy to do it, so I saved it until now. I want to see if they will still show up this time. If they do, it will prove a theory of mine correct."

"And what would that theory be?" Sasha asked, her green eyes gleaming.

Discord's thin lips turned up in a smirk. "If they manage to still figure out where we will strike, then I think it will be safe to assume that they are hiding in a time where they are in close contact with their parent's past selves. That would be the only way I can see that they would be able to pinpoint which person is being targeted and possibly when it would happen. If this happens to be the case, we can narrow our search for them down to the few years between my previous defeat in the 21st century and when the Earth froze over and entered stasis. If they don't show up and we kill the girl, well, that wouldn't be so bad either."

"So this is just a test?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"More or less," Discord replied.

"Excellent," Jack said with a grin. "This should be interesting."

Discord turned away from them with a grin of his own. The poor little fools were so devoted to his cause that they never stopped to think about what this meddling in the past could do to their own lives. If by some slim chance the young heroes didn't show up this time and that meddlesome princess's reincarnation was killed, then he would never be defeated by her and the others in the 21st century. His past self would destroy the planet like he had always wanted to and history would be rewritten. Crystal Tokyo and the Trinity bearers would never exist, and neither would Jack or Sasha.

'_So trusting and naïve,'_ Discord chuckled as he thought to himself. They thought of him as a saint, a fatherly figure that had taken them in as children when they were all alone. If they only knew that it had been a scheme from the very beginning. He had needed someone that would be able to get him inside information on his enemies, and they had been the perfect pawns. They were headed for death the same as the rest of the Earth's population, they just didn't know it yet.

* * *

The four figures materialized near a deserted service entrance of a mall in a suburb of Los Angeles. Three of the figures wobbled slightly upon landing, but none fell.

"Hey, I guess we're getting better at this," Alex said with a laugh.

"Seems that way," Katie said as she looked around. "At least it's warmer here than in Tokyo. That's the one thing I always liked about visiting mom's old stomping ground, it never gets really cold here."

"So I guess this is where you leave us like always?" DJ asked Pluto.

"Of course," she said as she detransformed. "What would the three of you learn if I took care of the problem myself? Besides, I haven't been to southern California in a while. Maybe I'll head to the beach. The sun's setting and that is always a spectacular show. Now you three get to work."

The trio walked around the building until they found an entrance and went inside. Since it was the day before Christmas Eve, the place was packed with holiday shoppers running around trying to find all of those last minute gifts.

"Oh man, trying to find mom in all of this is going to be a nightmare," Katie moaned.

"Maybe not," DJ said, walking over to a map of the mall. "Remember what Jess told us, her dad was picking up her mom's gift that he had engraved and the toy store was right across from it. There's a toy store here," he pointed to a spot on the map. "But I don't see anything but clothing shops across from it."

"What about this one?" Alex asked, pointing to another toy store on the map. "There's a gift shop across from it. I bet they do engravings."

"That's gotta be it," Katie said, quickly. "Let's go. This crowd is getting on my nerves."

They melded unobtrusively into the throng of shoppers and made their way as quickly as they could toward the spot they had pointed out on the map. They located the toy store and the gift shop and began scanning the area for any sign of the one they were seeking.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Alex asked his sister.

She shook her head. "Not yet. But there's so many people here, this could be hopeless."

"Just keep looking," DJ told them. "We know that at some point she'll show up."

"Right," Katie muttered as she kept looking around. It was much easier to spot a blonde in Japan than it was here. Fifty percent of the people here seemed to be some shade of blonde, and from looking at their roots most of them were bleach jobs.

She was keeping up the frantic search when she spotted a man with hair as light as hers in the crowd. It was a man that she had only ever seen pictures of, but she knew who he was on sight. He was looking down and seemed to be talking to somebody much smaller than him.

"You guys, I think I found them," she called out to the others.

Alex jerked around and followed her gaze to where she was looking. "Oh wow! Is that really our grandfather? He looks just like the pictures mom has of him."

There was a break in the crowd, and then they could see the little girl beside him. She was dressed in a red t-shirt that said, "I've been a good girl, Santa" and a pair of blue jeans and tennis shoes. Her curly, golden blonde hair was swept back into a messy ponytail. The trio moved in closer.

"Now you stay right here with me, Jessie," they heard Josh Alexander tell his daughter as they approached the gift shop. "The mall is really crowded and I don't want you to get lost."

"Okay," Jess chirped as she held onto her father's hand.

The two walked into the gift shop and Josh went to the counter to talk to one of the sales people. Jess looked around at some of the knick-knacks and figurines for a few minutes, but she soon started showing the signs of a child that was suffering from boredom. She sighed and shuffled her feet restlessly. She looked over toward her father and rolled her eyes as the man continued an in depth conversation with the salesman.

"That's mom for you," Alex chuckled from where they were watching near the entrance. "She never can stay still for long."

"Yeah, but this is one time I wish she would," Katie muttered.

They watched as her dark blue eyes landed on the toy store across the way where a large group of children were gathered around the display window, squealing in delight as they looked at all of the latest toys. She glanced one more time at her father before marching out of the store and rushing over to the toy store window to see what had all of the other children so excited.

A few minutes later, Josh concluded his business and turned around, "Jess, are you ready to go, peanut? Jess? Jessie! Damn it! I knew she would pull something like this."

The three teenage spies watched as he rushed from the shop, he spotted the toy store and headed in that direction. But the crowd was so thick that he never saw Jess heading back toward the gift shop to find him.

The little girl was distraught when she returned to the gift shop and found her father gone. She ran back out into the crowded corridor. "Daddy! Daddy, where are you?" Her eyes were swiftly filling with tears.

Nobody paid any attention to the girl as she did not run through the crowds calling out for her father, nor did they notice the three teens that were closely following her. She reached the exit and dashed out into the parking lot that was overflowing with cars. There were a few people walking to or from their vehicles, but not many.

"Are people blind, or do they just not care?" Katie growled. "No wonder there used to be so many child abductions. How can you see an obviously lost little girl and not try to help?"

"The world was a different place back in this time," DJ said as they ducked down between cars to stay hidden from sight. "I know my parents wouldn't tolerate it."

That was true enough. If anyone had the nerve to kidnap a child in the future, they could be assured of a harsh punishment. Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion had little tolerance for scum like that.

Staying close to the ground and out of sight, the three weaved through the cars following Jess. The little girl finally spotted a black Lexus and ran over to it. She jerked on the door handles, but it was locked. She stomped a tiny foot in agitation.

At that moment, a brown haired woman popped up from beside the car next to her. She was obviously one of Discord's guardians. The glowing red eyes gave her away.

"Are you lost, little girl?" she drawled in an ominous sounding voice.

Jess took a step back, her blonde head whipping back and forth in a silent no. She spun on her heel and was preparing to book it back toward the building when the woman jumped over the car to land in front of her.

She reached down with a long nailed hand and grabbed Jess tightly by the arm. "You're not going anywhere, little one!"

"Oh hell no! That bitch did not just put her hands on my mother!" Katie hissed.

Alex growled next to her. "That bitch is so dead!"

They were preparing to leap out from their hiding spot when Jess let out a blood curdling shriek. The ground beneath them trembled and there was a flash of bright blue light. When it faded, both Jess and the guardian were on the ground.

"Well that explains why she didn't remember what happened," DJ said as they jumped up and ran to the scene of the attack.

Jess was unconscious, but the guardian was stirring. It snarled viciously as it started to get up.

Consumed by rage, Katie ran over and kicked the guardian hard in the ribs, slamming her back to the ground. "How dare you attack my mom when she's just a little girl! Pick on somebody your own size, you piece of shit!"

"You've got that right, sis!" Alex said as he delivered a punishing kick of his own. "Let's show this bitch that nobody screws with the Furuhata's and gets away with it."

"Together?" Katie asked with an evil grin.

"Together," Alex confirmed with a nod.

Without even bothering to transform, the two shot a blast of energy at the fallen guardian. She let out a short scream as the combined silver and bronze power slammed into her, and then exploded into dust.

"Looks like you two didn't even need me to tag along this time," DJ said jokingly from behind them. "Talk about pent up aggression."

The siblings turned to see that their friend had picked up Jess from the ground and was holding her in his arms.

"Is she okay?" Katie asked anxiously as she rushed over and swept some loose hair away from the girl's face.

"She's fine," DJ reassured her. "But think we better split while we can. I'm sure we attracted some attention with the light show and we need to get her inside so her dad can find her."

The others agreed, and after handing Jess off to Alex, they went back inside and made a beeline for the food court.

DJ saw the troubled look on Katie's face and grabbed her hand. "Hey! Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm all right. I guess I'm just, well…pissed I guess, and scared. If we hadn't figured this out and been here, she would have died. She wouldn't have grown up and married dad and I would have never existed. It's a scary thought."

DJ tugged on her arm to bring her closer to his side and put a protective arm around her shoulders as they walked. "I know it's scary, but we stopped it and you're still here. I'm going to try my best to not let anything happen to you."

She smiled shyly up at him. "Thanks DJ. I feel the same way about you. We all have to watch each other's backs. I've got a feeling that this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

DJ shuddered a little as he remembered the nightmare that had plagued him for so many years; the gaping hole that opened up and swallowed Katie and Alex right in front of him and the look of terror in her hazel eyes as she fell. He would do everything in his power to make sure that never became a reality.

They reached the food court and Alex set Jess at a secluded table in a corner. The three conspirators barely had time to duck behind some fake trees before Josh Alexander stormed into the food court with a thunderous look on his face. His features softened as his gaze landed on his sleeping daughter.

He rushed over and plucked the sleeping girl up into his arms. She mumbled a bit before opening her eyes.

"Daddy!" she squealed as she threw her little arms around his neck. "Where were you? I couldn't find you anywhere."

Josh tried his best to look stern. "Where was I? Where were you young lady? I've been searching everywhere for you. Didn't I tell you to stay right with me?"

Jess looked down and her lower lip trembled. "I'm sorry, daddy."

Josh sighed and hugged her close. "I'm just glad you're okay, peanut."

"I'm sleepy, daddy," Jess whispered as she laid her head on her father's shoulder.

He chuckled lightly. "Then let's get you home and into bed, princess."

"Bye, mom. See you in about twelve years," Katie said quietly as she watched her grandfather that she would never get to meet walk away with the tiny version of her mother locked safely in his arms.

Alex cleared his throat and looked at her expectantly.

"What?" she asked him bewilderedly.

"Is there something you two want to tell me?" he asked in an amused tone as he pointed to her waist where DJ's arms were wrapped around her. Somehow, unconsciously, she had backed into him and he had put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

They both rolled their eyes and answered "No" at the same time, but neither moved to break the contact either.

Luckily for them, Trista interrupted before any more could be said. "I take it the mission was successful?"

"Yep," DJ answered quickly, avoiding his best friend's gaze. "One lost little girl saved from the evil guardian and delivered safely back to her father."

Katie nodded eagerly. "It's all taken care of. Can we go back now? I'm bushed."

Alex just shook his head and grinned as he followed them into an empty service hall so that they could make the time jump. There was definitely something brewing between his sister and his best friend, but they were both too idiotic to figure it out. He decided to drop it for now.

As soon as Trista was sure that there was no one around, she transformed and used her staff to transport them back to the time they were calling home for now. The appeared back inside Raye's club, and surprisingly, given the late hour, everyone was still there. Even Rini, who had been on a date with Helios earlier in the evening and had missed all of the excitement, had come in while they were gone.

"Oh my gosh, you're back!" Serena squealed excitedly as she rushed over to engulf DJ in a giant hug, unintentionally pushing Katie over to the side in the process. It seemed from her demeanor that the future queen might have enjoyed a couple of more glasses of wine while they had been gone.

Jess jumped up from where she was sitting and ran toward the twins, but she skidded to a stop when her future daughter held up a warning hand.

Katie was shaking with emotion as she walked up and poked a finger into the chest of the older version of the little girl she had just saved. "You have got to be the biggest idiot that has ever been born in the history of the world!" she screamed at her. "Are the words 'stay put' so hard to understand?"

Jess seemed to shrink back from the fury in her future daughter's voice for a moment, but then her infamous temper kicked in and her blazing sapphire eyes clashed with infuriated hazel.

"Hey!" she snapped. "I was only seven years old and it was Christmas. Of course the toy store distracted me. What kid wouldn't be? For crying out loud, I didn't know dad and I would get separated that easily."

Katie glared at her; they were almost nose-to-nose now. "You were this close," she held up a hand with her forefinger and thumb almost touching, "to becoming nothing more than a bloody smear in that parking lot. Did it ever cross that little pea-brained head of yours that your dad told you not to wander off for a reason? If we hadn't gotten there in time you would have been just another statistic in the morning news. You would have been dead! D-E-A-D dead! Do you get that? Goodbye life! Goodbye future!"

Jess's mouth snapped open to let loose her own volley of scathing retorts, but she stopped herself when she got a good look into Katie's eyes. Underneath the anger were several other emotions, fear and worry the most predominate ones.

So instead of laying into the other girl, she said softly, "You were worried about me."

Katie blew out a ragged sigh as a few tears leaked from her eyes. "Of course I was worried about you, you stupid woman! You're the only mother I've got!"

Suddenly Jess laughed and pulled Katie into her arms to give a hug. "You are so definitely my daughter. I bet home life between us is never boring."

Katie pulled back from her with a grin. "You taught me well. We've been known to go toe to toe a few times."

"Yeah, and that's when I know to go and hide. Is it safe to come out now?" Alex asked from where he had actually hidden behind Darien, Andrew, and DJ. "I just want to make sure the estrogen levels have dropped before I expose myself to possible bodily harm."

Katie shook her head. "I don't see how we could possibly be related, much less twins. You can be such a wuss sometimes."

Alex stuck his nose up indignantly. "I am not. I'm smart. I know what it's like when both of you lose your temper. And I would rather face Discord and his entire army alone than be stuck in the middle of you two battling it out."

Katie giggled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bruise your manly ego." Then she yawned. "Can we please go home now? I'm completely wiped out."

Andrew pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her. "Here. Why don't you go wait in the car while we say goodbye? We'll be out in a minute."

DJ bent down in front of her with his back to her. "Climb on. I'll give you a ride."

Katie backed up. "Uh uh! Not happening. Last time I took you up on that offer you dropped me in a mud puddle, on purpose too."

DJ rolled his eyes. "That was six years ago, Tink. I wouldn't do that to you now. I promise, I won't drop you. Now get on my back, unless you're too chicken."

He knew she never backed down from a challenge, and he grinned when she stomped over and leaned over his back to wrap her arms around his neck. When he straightened up, she automatically put her legs around his waist and he hooked his hands under her thighs.

"Hold on tight, but don't strangle me," he told her.

She growled in his ear. "I won't strangle you unless you try to drop me. Then all bets are off. Now take me to the car. I'm tired and I'm getting cranky."

DJ chuckled. "Whatever you say, Tinkerbell."

She pulled a piece of his hair, making him yelp. "I have been asking you for nine years to stop calling me that. Do I look like a four inch tall fairy to you?"

"Not anymore," DJ muttered as he walked out of the club with her on his back, leaving behind a very shell-shocked group of people.

Rini was the first to break the silence. She stalked over to Alex and yanked him by the ear.

"Ouch! What the hell, Rini?" Alex roared, rubbing his offended ear.

Rini stood with her hands on her hips. "You know what. Just what the hell is going on with the two of them? They have spent the last sixteen years either ignoring each other or trying to kill one another. Now they spend a little time in the past and suddenly they're bosom buddies? There's something going on there. I still think they were abducted by aliens. They've gone all Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and it's wigging me out. You're around them more than anyone, now spill!"

"I promise, I don't know anything!" Alex hastily said. "I tried asking them again when they got a little touchy feely while we were in the past earlier, but they both claim it's nothing."

Mina giggled, making all eyes shift to her. "Oh come on people! This isn't rocket science. Can't any of you recognize young love when you see it?"

"Duh, Mina," Rini said with a shake of her head. "Alex and I figured that out a few years ago. But the two of them are both so stubborn that they always fought against it. So for them to suddenly start being friendly to each other is totally out of character."

"I had a feeling about those two," Serena mused.

"Me too," Jess said with a grin.

"So did I," Darien added.

"What!" Andrew squeaked. "Are you saying her…and him…Oh no! No boy is going near my little girl until she's at least eighteen. Longer than that if I can help it." He started for the door.

Jess blocked his way. "You leave them alone, Drew! They are both sixteen, and it's perfectly natural for kids that age to have crushes. Don't you remember when you were that age?"

Mina giggled again. "There's more to it than that. I can sense these things you know. They are soul mates, bonded together just as tightly as any of us here. They are meant to be."

"Not on my watch!" Andrew growled. "Get out of my way, Jess! I know how teenage boys think, and I just let one walk off with my only daughter with the keys to my car. They could be making out in the back seat right now!"

Jess didn't budge. "You _will _leave them alone, or I promise, you _will _be sleeping alone on the couch from now on. Got that?"

"But…but…" he stammered.

She held up a silencing hand. "No buts. I swear if you do anything to come between the two of them I will spill every embarrassing thing I know about you."

"Hah!" Andrew retorted. "You don't have anything on me! There's nothing that you could blackmail me with."

"I didn't say it was from this lifetime," her eyes glittered dangerously. "Motoki."

Everyone gasped. Jess only played the Silver Millennium card when she had something really juicy to share. She had embarrassed Serena and Darien on more than one occasion with the tales of things that she saw between Serenity and Endymion in their past life.

Andrew paled. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

An evil grin appeared on Jess's face. "Oh! Then I guess you won't mind if I tell everyone about that time you snuck into my room and…"

Andrew lunged forward and put a hand over her mouth. "Okay, okay! I'll leave them alone. I promise."

"You snuck into her room," Lita growled, cracking her knuckles.

"You…you pervert!" Raye sputtered angrily.

"You see!" Andrew yelled. "I knew this would happen if you said that. Did you have to make it sound so…so _dirty?_ I was only eight years old, not some hormonal teenage boy like the one that's outside with my daughter in my car, _right now_."

Jess patted his cheek. "Aww sweetie, you're so cute when go into overprotective father mode. Okay, let's go so you can make sure that Katie's virtue is still intact."

Alex clapped his hands over his ears. "That's enough! You guys are giving me some seriously disturbing mental images that I could've gone the rest of my life not thinking about. Thanks a lot!"

So amid chuckles the group said good-bye and split up. Once outside, Rini and Alex rushed over to where two red cars, Darien's BMW and Andrew's Mustang, were parked. The peeked into the Mustang and grinned at each other before pulling out their camera phones and snapping pictures.

"What are you two doing?" Serena asked them.

Rini smirked. "Blackmail material. I bet my darling brother will think twice about picking on me if I threaten to show this picture to all of our friends."

She turned the phone so that Serena could see the picture. In it DJ was slouched down in the seat, head back, eyes closed, and his mouth slightly open. Next to him Katie had her head on his shoulder with her eyes buttoned up as she snuggled up to his side. They had fallen asleep holding hands, and their fingers were still entwined together.

* * *

The next week passed quietly with no signs of activity from Discord. Rather than put their minds at ease, it had everyone on high alert. Past experiences had taught them that when the enemy lay low, they were usually planning something big.

Darien thought about this as he walked down one of the many hallways of the hospital on the way to his office. He had just finished his last rounds for the day and he was looking forward to what he hoped was going to be a nice quiet evening at home. The next day was Valentine's Day, and he had luckily gotten the day off. He and Serena planned to attend the grand opening of the Crown multiplex, including dinner at Lita's restaurant and dancing the night away at _Blaze_, but tonight he just wanted peace and quiet.

"Any messages for me, Nora?" he asked the receptionist that took his calls.

The slightly graying, middle-aged woman pushed her overly large glasses up the bridge of her nose. "No Dr. Shields, it's been a fairly quiet afternoon so you're getting off easy today. Now Miss Tsukino did call me a little while ago and asked if it looked like you were going to get of here on time for a change. She said something about planning dinner."

Darien groaned. "I hope she means ordering it from somewhere and not cooking it herself. I love the woman, but she could literally burn water."

Nora chuckled. "I was the same way at her age. I shudder now when I think about all of the horrible meals my poor Howard suffered through when we first got married. Luckily my skills improved by the time the kids came along so they were spared the agony."

Darien laughed. "Speaking of your husband and kids, why don't you go ahead and get home to them. It's almost five."

The older lady beamed a smile at him and stood to gather her purse and coat. "I think I'll take you up on that offer. I'll see you on Monday. And I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day with that little fiancé of yours. She's such an angel."

Darien grinned. "That she is. I'm a lucky man. Goodnight, Nora."

He was turning toward his office when Nora suddenly smacked herself on the forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. You have a visitor waiting for you in your office. He said he was your cousin. I must say that I can see the family resemblance; he looks more like your twin than just a cousin. I thought he was you for a moment when he first walked in. He said he needed to talk to you, so I thought it would be okay to let him wait in your office. I hope that was all right."

"That's just fine," Darien reassured her. "I guess I better go see what he's up to"

He hurried to his office, concerned about why DJ would come and seek him out at work. He pushed open the door to find his future son sitting at his desk with his dark head bent over one of his many textbooks as he worked diligently on a school assignment.

"Lot of weekend homework? That sounds just like teachers to bog you down with work on a holiday weekend," Darien said as he walked into the room.

DJ looked up with a grin. "It's not too bad, just some Trig and this write up I have to do for Biology. I'll probably have it all knocked out by tonight so I'll have the rest of the weekend free."

Darien chuckled and shook his head a little. There were little things about his future son that continued to surprise him. In the beginning he had thought the boy was more like his mother with his light hearted and easy going personality, but over time he was starting to see some of his own traits appearing in him. Like his study habits, DJ had thrown himself into school with the same intensity that Darien himself had always had. Not that Serena was a bad student, she had made a turn around in high school and was doing well in college, she just didn't have that same drive for education that he had.

Darien had also been secretly thrilled when he saw the classes that his son was taking. Math and science had always been his favorite subjects as well, and he had doubled up on them just like DJ had done. He had asked the younger boy why he took so many of those classes, and had swelled up with a little pride when he had muttered that he would like to go to medical school.

Since then they'd had several conversations on the subject and had discovered that they shared the same love of the medical field and burning passion to want to help people. But then the young prince had turned melancholy and said that medical school was probably out of the question. He seemed pretty sure that his parents were expecting him to study political science or something of that nature. He may not be heir to the throne, but he was a member of the royal family and he felt that there were certain expectations expected from him.

It had been pretty humorous when he suddenly remembered that he was talking to his father's past self. He had hastily assured Darien that he was cool with helping to run the kingdom. Darien had just grinned and filed his future son's aspirations away in his mind until a more appropriate time to act on them.

"So what brings you down here this evening?" Darien asked him. "And alone at that. I thought you agreed to not go roaming around by yourself."

DJ rolled his eyes at Darien's attempt to sound stern. "I wasn't alone. Alex and Kat walked here with me after school and then they went home. I just wanted to talk to you alone, and that's almost impossible at the apartment. There's always someone around."

Darien nodded his head. That was true enough. With the two of them sharing an apartment with Serena and Rini and Andrew, Jess, and the twins right next door, it was hard to get some alone time.

He shrugged out of his white lab jacket and removed the stethoscope from around his neck. "So what's on your mind?"

DJ ran his hand over the back of his neck in a nervous gesture and Darien hid a grin at the sight of another one of his habits coming out in him. Damn that boy was just like him in some ways.

"Well…" DJ started slowly. "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and there's…there's this girl."

Darien's eyes twinkled. "Anybody I know?"

DJ slammed his book closed with a groan. "I don't know why I'm bothering to hide it, you already know. All of you have been making snide comments about it all week. It's Katie, okay! Happy now!"

Darien choked back a laugh at the irritated look on his face. "Okay. So you're saying that you're interested in her in a way that's more than just friends?"

DJ let his head hit the desk with an audible thump. "I don't know. I feel so mixed up. I think I'm in love with her, I mean really in love with her. But I don't know if it's real or not. We have done nothing but fight all of our lives. But two years ago when the timeline got messed up and Jess disappeared, Katie and Alex both vanished too. I couldn't believe how hard that hit me. I was sad about Alex and Jess, but when I thought about never seeing her again, it physically hurt. And when she came back it was like everything was suddenly all better. But for some reason I couldn't stop the picking and the fighting. I didn't know how else to act around her. I was trying to make it better between us, but then Discord struck and she changed. I'm seeing the old her coming back and it's got me all twisted up inside."

Darien propped a hip against the edge of the desk and chuckled as he patted the boy on the shoulder. "That sounds like love to me. Nothing is ever simple about it and you don't know if you're coming or going. So are you trying to figure out the best way to tell her?"

DJ raised his head up to look at him with those same frustrated blue eyes that he had seen in Serena's face a thousand times. "I don't know. We've only recently become friends, and I'm scared to rock the boat. But I want to do something for her for Valentine's Day. Do you think flowers and candy is too cliché?"

Darien thought about it for a minute. "No, it's not cliché at all. Women usually like that stuff and it's always worked for Serena. Of course I've always had the advantage over other guys when it comes to flowers." He flicked his wrist and a beautiful, blood red rose appeared in his fingers.

DJ smirked at him. "Not any more." With a twist of his own wrist he produced a snowy, long stemmed white rose.

Darien grinned. "Ooo, competition. Well I think you'll be safe enough to give her flowers and candy, just as a friendly gesture. And who knows, you may be surprised by her response."

DJ heaved a huge sigh of relief. He wasn't usually one to share his feelings, but he had to admit that he felt much better after having this talk. "Thanks for listening."

"Anytime," Darien said, grabbing his coat. "Now let's get out of here. My receptionist said something about Serena making dinner plans and I want to make sure the apartment building hasn't burned to the ground."

* * *

Alex frowned down at his computer screen as he listened to the chatter going on around him. Serena and Jess were busy discussing all of their plans for the next day. Darien and Andrew were having guy talk as they each sipped a beer. DJ was sitting on the floor next to Katie trying to help her with the Trig homework.

"So Katie, are you going to come with us in the morning to Mina's salon?" Jess asked her future daughter.

Katie's head came up from the paper she had been writing on. "Uh yeah, sure. I could use a trim. The split ends are starting to get pretty bad and if my bangs get any longer I won't be able to see."

DJ tugged gently on a piece of the pale blonde hair. "Time for primping later. Right now you need to finish this assignment. Miss Haruna will boil your head in oil if you don't have it done Monday."

"Ha-Haruna!" Serena sputtered. "You mean that dragon lady is teaching at Azabu now? Oh you poor things! That woman followed me like the plague. I had her all during middle school, and then when I went to Juuban High she ended up transferring there, so I got stuck with her for another four years. I half expected her to show up at the college as a teacher just to keep torturing me."

Darien laughed. "You just didn't like her because she always gave you detention for being late."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "It was more than that, Darien. The woman is an absolute terror!"

"Would you people keep it down? You sound like a pack of laughing hyenas!" Rini's voice screamed down the hall. Then her door slammed loudly.

"Geez! What's up with bubble gum brains?" DJ muttered.

Katie shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think she and Helios had some kind of an argument. I heard her talking to Hotaru earlier and she sounded pissed. It was quite a colorful conversation. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now. Whatever he did, he's in the doghouse for sure. Or maybe I should say stable since he turns into a Pegasus."

"Ha ha," DJ said dryly. "Get back to work."

Alex tuned out the conversation after that and turned his attention back to his computer. With just a few clicks he pulled up a picture. Soft, dove gray eyes stared out at him from a face framed by long, silky, golden hair. The lips were tilted up in a slightly mischievous smile.

He ran his fingers over the screen, wishing that he could touch her for real. It had been so long since he had last seen her, and he was missing her like crazy.

Jess had gotten up to go into the kitchen, and on her way back she passed behind the chair Alex was sitting in. She saw the picture on the screen and paused. "Who is that? She's pretty."

Alex snapped the computer closed with a sharp click. "Nobody," he said shortly before getting up and stomping out the sliding doors to the balcony.

"What did I say?" Jess asked in bewilderment. "All I asked was who was the blonde girl in the picture."

Katie slapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh no! I didn't think about that. I bet he's really missing her, especially with tomorrow being Valentine's Day."

Comprehension clicked in Jess's eyes. "So that was his girlfriend?"

Katie nodded. "They've been together for a year now. I never stopped to think about how hard this must be on him. He's used to seeing her everyday. And counting the time that we spent in Elysian before coming here, it's been over two months since he's seen her."

"That's so sad," Serena said softly. "I hate it when evil circumstances stand in the way of love. If it wasn't for Discord, he would be with her right now."

Andrew looked out the doors where he could see Alex standing at the rail with his shoulders hunched. He shared a look with Jess before getting up and walking out the door to join him.

Alex stood staring out at the night sky. His fingers gripped the railing so tight that his knuckles turned white. His throat was burning and he felt tears stinging his eyes.

"I miss you, Em," he whispered as a tear broke free and rolled down his cheek. He wondered what she was doing right now. Were the attacks still happening? Was she still fighting? Was she safe? And then the more troubling thoughts rolled in. What if she got tired of waiting for him and moved on to someone else? He didn't believe that she would, but she was a fiercely passionate person. She may not want to wait for him when his own future was so uncertain.

He heard the door slide open and he quickly wiped the tear away. He turned his head to see who it was, figuring it was Jess or Katie, or perhaps even DJ, but was surprised to find Andrew standing there.

"Are you okay?" Andrew asked gently.

Alex nodded, not trusting his voice to work well at the moment.

Andrew came to stand next to him. "So you have a girlfriend. That's one little detail that you haven't mentioned up until now. But it also explains why Lizzy said that she's seen you turn down five girls that worked up the nerve to approach you in the arcade this week. Most guys would be all over that."

"I would never do that to her," Alex growled. "I made a promise to her before I left that I was going to come back to her, and she told me that she would wait for me. But what if she doesn't? I've been gone from home for a while now. I wouldn't blame her if she found someone else."

Andrew watched him with knowing eyes. "Long distance relationships are hard, I know. Did you ever know that I was engaged to someone else before I met your mom?"

Alex's eyes grew wide and he shook his head. He had never dreamed of his parents ever being with anyone other than each other.

Andrew sighed. "Her name was Rita, and we dated back in high school. We were together for two years before I proposed to her on graduation night. We both planned on staying here and attending college, but then she got an offer to study geology over in Africa for a year. I knew it would be hard, but I let her go and promised to be here when she got back. She came back a year later and dropped the bomb on me. She was going to finish her schooling there, and she had also found someone else to love. I was crushed. I didn't date for a long time after that. Darien left for Harvard for two years right after that, and I watched Serena closely to see if they would drift apart like Rita and I had. But they didn't, and my faith in love was restored. I had just hired this new girl at the arcade, and I found myself falling for her, so I finally took a big step and asked her out."

Alex was pretty sure he knew where this story was going, but he asked anyway, "And what happened?"

Andrew grinned. "Almost two years later I'm engaged to her and I find out that we have two kids together. So I guess I can say that it worked out great. All I'm saying is that if you truly love this girl, and she loves you just as much in return, things will work out."

Alex felt a sense of relief sweep through him. "Thanks dad. I feel better now."

Andrew ruffled his shaggy hair. "Good. Now let's get back inside. It's freezing out here."

They had just walked in when a shrill beeping filled the room. Serena and Jess both jumped and looked at the communicators on their wrists. After sharing a wide-eyed glance, they flipped them open.

"Moon here."

"This is Shadow."

Amy's frantic voice came over the line. "You guys aren't going to believe this, but there are a couple of beast looking things attacking the park. I think you better get down here right away."

All movement in the room stopped. It was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop.

Alex and DJ both cursed under their breath and Katie whispered through pale lips, "Oh no! They found us!"

**A/N **Oh no, a cliffhanger! (Evil Laugh) I have to sneak one in every now and then. The plot bunnies are running rampant in my head and I have no idea where things are going to end up. The battle has come to present day Tokyo, and now Sailor Moon and the others are about to get pulled into the fight. Should be interesting. Coming up next, the heroes get their first taste of Discord's forces and then it's Valentine's Day. There should be some aww moments between our fave couples and there might even be a little surprise waiting for lonely Alex. DJ and Katie will have a moment too. How will that go? Will they finally get together, or will their new friendship fall apart? Stay tuned to find out. Catch you guys next update! Don't forget to review! Lots of love to everyone!

~Sere~


	9. Cupid Goes to Bat

**A/N **Yay! Chapter 8 is here. Okay, it's Valentine's Day in this story, so lots of fluff here. I'm not really going to say a whole lot, because I don't want to give anything away. So let me move on with my hugs so you can move on with reading. BIG HUGS TO:

**Charmed Serenity3**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**tiny2008**

**Luthien Morgon**

**sunbeam07**

**amaramichelle**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**KageNoNeko**

**Seredhiel05**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**GoldenDragon326**

**anime-lover10**

**S dot Serenity**

**nileena**

**ange de l'aube**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

Thanks bunches and bunches you guys! My muse goddess has been giving me little rest lately, and my poor fingers are feeling it. While this story is my number one priority right now, I hope to soon start posting the prequel to What If, right now called Rekindled soon, I'm also working on Redeemable Sin and Kingdom of the Silver Sun. So I have a lot on my plate. I always try to not have too many projects going at once, and I always fail…lol. Anyway on with the show. This may be my longest chapter ever!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 8

Cupid Goes to Bat

"What is it with us and trees lately?" Katie hissed. "It seems like every time I turn around we're hiding in one."

"It's because these assholes can't come up with a more original place to attack than the park," DJ grumbled next to her.

"Well they're not exactly known for their brains, are they?" Alex retorted. "What sucks is that we're stuck up here while all the action is going on down there."

As if to punctuate his words a cry came from below, "Silver Moon! Crystal Power Kiss!" and the night lit up with bright silver light. The sentinel the attack was launched at saw it coming and jumped out of the way.

"I missed? How could I miss? It was right in front of me!" Sailor Moon screeched.

"It's called being out of practice, Meatball Head! But I would think that you would be used to that by now," Sailor Mars said as her flaming bow appeared in her hand and she aimed at the sentinel. "Mars Flame Sniper!"

Sailor Moon snickered as the sentinel easily dodged the fiery arrow. "What was that you were saying about being out of practice, Pyro? Mercury, any idea what these things are or where they came from?"

They knew exactly what they were up against and who had sent them thanks to the information DJ, Alex, and Katie had given them, but for the sake of protecting the teens' location they had to act like they didn't know anything.

Mercury typed swiftly on her computer. "They seem to be some kind of a wolf hybrid that's been infused with a dark energy of some kind. My scans are showing that the spikes on their body and their teeth are highly venomous, so try not to touch them or get bitten."

"Right," Sailor Moon said, repressing the urge to roll her eyes at the facts she already knew. "Any idea how much longer until the others can get here?"

Mercury shook her head. "I'm not sure, but it take some time, they weren't exactly close by."

"Great," Sailor Moon muttered sarcastically. They were down six scouts and had no generals. Lita and Mina, along with the four generals, had gone to the airport to pick up some final shipments of things that had come in for the boutique and the restaurant. That was way across the city, and Tokyo wasn't exactly a small place. Michelle had a performance in Kyoto, and Amara and Hotaru had accompanied her. They weren't due back until morning. Trista was nearby, very near in fact, but she was with DJ, Alex, and Katie. None of them would show themselves unless it was absolutely necessary.

So it was up to Sailors Moon, Mars, Mercury, Crescent Moon, and Shadow, along with Tuxedo Mask and Andrew, to see what damage they could do.

Sailor Shadow ducked as one of the two sentinels they were facing leapt at her. "Oh man, you suck! Why don't you try this on for size?" Her hands glowed blue as she gathered energy together to shoot a blast at it. She whooped in glee as it impacted the wolf with a boom and a flash of light.

Her mouth fell open in shock a moment later when the light faded to show the beast still standing there. It looked a little banged up, but it was still on its feet, and it snarled in anger.

"No way!" she shrieked, stomping her foot in anger. "There's no way in hell that overgrown lapdog survived that! It was a direct hit!"

The others were stunned as well. There weren't too many things that could stand up to an attack from the Celestial Crystal. Discord must have done his homework this time. These were nothing like the youma he had sent to fight them in the past.

"I can't believe it," Katie whispered. "I've seen mom and the others take out sentinels fairly easily back home. Why are they having such a hard time?"

Pluto shook her head. "They're not as powerful now as they are in the future. The scouts don't power up to their eternal forms until Serenity creates Crystal Tokyo. And it takes a lot of energy for Serena, Darien, Jess, and Andrew to hold their ultimate forms, so they only call upon those transformations in cases of extreme emergency."

"I keep forgetting that here they are only a few years older than us," DJ murmured. "I guess they still have some growing left to do too."

"Yeah, but it's weird watching this," he winced as he Tuxedo Mask barely miss getting skewered by one of the wolves spikes as he snatched Crescent Moon out of its path. "They're going to get hammered if this keeps up. Can't we go help them?"

Pluto was studying her garnet orb. "Not yet. We need to wait a little longer and see what happens. If you do have to get involved in this fight we have to make it appear that I brought you here from another time. I only got a few minutes warning of this attack, so I'm pretty sure this is just a random strike to try to pull you out of hiding. I don't think they know for sure that you're here. If you put in an appearance to early it will look suspicious. Don't worry about the others, they can handle themselves."

A howl came from below, and they looked down to see one of the wolves writhing on the ground with a red rose that was glowing with golden energy lodged in one of its shoulders.

Tuxedo Mask turned to Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon. "Would you ladies like to do the honors? Try attacking it together."

Sailor Moon brought her moon tier up in front of her at the same time Crescent Moon readied her wand.

"Silver Moon! Crystal Power Kiss!"

"Moonlight Serenade!"

The two swirling silver attacks combined together and slammed into the wolf. It let out one last shriek before dissolving into dust.

"So that's how they want to play," Mars muttered as flames began snapping at her fingertips. "Let's see him get out of this. Mars Celestial Fire Surround!" she called out, using an attack that she hadn't used in a long time. It didn't impact the sentinel, but she hadn't been aiming for it.

The beast growled as it found itself trapped inside a blazing circle of fire with no way out. Sailor Mercury grinned as a harp appeared in her hands. "A little help?" she asked Sailor Shadow.

Sailor Shadow returned the grin. "Ready when you are."

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

The darker blue of Sailor Shadow's attack joined the tendrils of light blue energy. The combined energies flew through Mars's fire, and in seconds the sentinel was no more.

"Aw man, I didn't get to do anything," Andrew grumbled. "I may as well have just stayed home."

Sailor Shadow patted his cheek. "I'm sorry sweetie. Next time I'll save a shot for you. But it is nice to see you transformed again. I almost forgot what a bad boy you look like in that black leather and sunglasses."

Up in the tree, Alex was agreeing with Andrew. "That's it? It's over? I should've just stayed at the apartment."

"This isn't over," Pluto said tersely. "I sense a temporal rift opening."

The words were barely out of her mouth before there was a flash of light from below and a swirling portal opened. Two figures stepped out from it.

The taller one inclined his head to Crescent Moon. "Good evening, Rini. Fancy finding you in this time. I knew you were gallivanting around in the past again, but this is just a sheer stroke of luck coming across you like this."

"Jack and Sasha," Crescent Moon sneered. "I can't say I'm all that surprised to see you here. My parents had their suspicions about you."

"Is that so?" Sasha replied in a cold voice. "Well it doesn't matter. You know who we're looking for and I think you know where they are. So why don't we do this the easy way and you just tell us."

"Uh, Rini. Who is she and what is she talking about?" Sailor Moon asked, playing along with the charade.

Crescent Moon shrugged. "They're nobody important, just a couple of pain in the asses that are after some people I know. They're really nothing more than pathetic lackeys."

Sasha's green eyes were cold and calculating. "Be careful what you say, _Princess._ You know who we're working for and what he's capable of. Now I'm going to ask you again. Where are they?"

Crescent Moon glared back at the strawberry blonde. "I don't know. All I know is that Sailor Pluto has hidden them someplace safe to keep them away from you. Now why don't you go back and cry to your boss like the losers you are."

"Why you little…" Sasha snarled as she took a threatening step forward.

Jack grabbed her by the arm. "Patience, darlin'," he drawled. "All may not be lost yet. We know that they have been making time jumps whenever there is trouble, and I'm sure this time will be no exception. So let's ramp things up and see if they put in an appearance."

He gestured to the portal, and four guardians, two male and two female, accompanied by four more sentinels, this time wildcat ones, stepped through.

He chuckled darkly as the assembled heroes took fighting stances. "Let's see how you fair against these warriors. If my theory is correct, the ones I'm seeking will show. After all, they don't want any of you to go dying and changing the future on them."

Before any of them could blink, the guardians and sentinels had blurred into motion and had them surrounded.

"Damn, they're fast!" Sailor Moon grumbled.

"Yes they are," Jack said smugly. "They are among some of the most perfectly engineered fighting machines ever created, and I believe they are more than enough to take you out." He looked around at the surrounding trees and called out in a loud voice. "Do you hear that Phantom, Phoenix, and Eclipse? You can't hide forever. I have your entire future right here in the palm of my hand. Are you really willing to risk it in a pathetic attempt to save yourselves."

Sailor Moon and the others held their breath, knowing that DJ, Alex, and Katie were close by, but not knowing how they would react. Pluto had a plan in place to protect their location, but she had been hoping to keep them out of this fight if possible.

Up in the tree, all three teens were cursing.

"That son of a bitch!" Katie hissed. "How I would love to rip him limb from limb!"

"You've gotta let us go down there now, Pluto," DJ demanded. "There's no way that they can go up against four guardians and four sentinels by themselves. They'll get creamed!"

Alex didn't say anything, but his head nodded emphatically in agreement.

Pluto sighed. "Very well. But all of you be extremely careful. This is exactly what Discord wants you to do. We're walking right into his trap, but we can't risk Serena and the others."

She waved her staff and teleported them to the ground about fifty yards away from the fight to simulate a time jump, pretty sure Discord was looking for that. The moment their feet hit the ground, the three younger ones took off running toward the battle.

They pulled up short when Pluto coughed slightly. "Don't you think it would be wise to transform before rushing into a fight?"

The three looked sheepishly at one another before activating their transformations and hurrying away once more. Pluto just shook her head in bemusement before following them.

Back at the scene of the fight…

"This is really starting to piss me off," Sailor Shadow snarled as she eyed the guardian closest to her. "I say if they wanna dance, we give it to them." She sprang at the voluptuous blonde with glowing red eyes, fists flying.

"Damn it, Jess!" Andrew yelled, jumping after his hot-tempered fiancé. He knocked her to the ground barely a second before the guardian shot an unexpected energy blast at her. The woman growled in irritation as she manifested a pair of sais in her hands and began to close in quickly on the winded couple.

It seemed that the other enemies had grown tired of waiting as well, and lunged at the remaining heroes. The scouts and Tuxedo Mask began powering up quickly in hopes of getting a shot at a close attack, but they were moving too fast.

Suddenly everything seemed to go into slow motion. Tuxedo Mask jumped in front of Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon as they, along with Mars and Mercury, braced for impact. Andrew rolled over, covering as much of Sailor Shadow's body as he could with his own.

Then it literally felt like all hell broke loose. A wall of blazing red-orange flames shot up between the heroes and the advancing enemies on one side. One of the guardians screamed shrilly as she impacted the wall before she could stop and was turned to ashes.

On the other side of the group, a barrier of swirling bright gold appeared, catching a snarling leopard looking sentinel by surprise as it disappeared in a poof of dust.

"Dead Scream!" was called out before a glowing fuchsia ball of energy sped through, taking out another sentinel that looked like a cougar.

Andrew's head snapped up when the expected blow never came and he heard the commotion. He and Sailor Shadow both looked in surprise at the guardian that was barely three feet from them, twisted and tied up in ropes of silver energy. The ropes flashed bright silver before the woman screamed and turned to smoke.

"Ah ha!" Jack cried as the energies faded. He looked around in anticipation. "I knew it! I knew that you would show up! Where are you?"

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked, asshole! We're right here!" a female voice answered.

Everyone turned toward the voice to see the four figures standing in the shadows of the trees. One tall slender one was standing over to the side while the other three leaned casually against a tree trunk.

Jack grinned. "Well, well, if it isn't little Miss Mental Disorder herself. How ya doin, sweetheart? Have you been thinking about our last little…encounter? I know I have."

"That tears it, you bastard!" the slightly shorter person in the center of the three snarled and ran forward, followed by the others.

Sailor Moon and the others knew that they had to act surprised at the appearance of the three newcomers, and it wasn't hard to do. Gasps left them all as they got their first look at the teens from the future in their transformed states.

Sailor Eclipse was prepared to lunge at the grinning Jack when Phantom and Phoenix each grabbed one of her arms to hold her back.

"Let it go, Kat. He's not worth it. Stay focused," Phantom leaned down to whisper in her ear. He was relieved when she took a deep breath and relaxed her stance.

Sasha eyed them jealously. She had no interest in the prince personally, but it still angered her that DJ had thrown her over for that raving schitzo. She smiled coyly at him and batted her lashes. "Looking good there, stud. How about you give me a hello kiss? It's been a while."

"Back off, Sasha," Phantom growled at her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She painted a hurt look on her face. "Why looking for you of course. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'd rather be face to face with a pit viper than a lying, backstabbing bitch like you!" he sneered.

Her face went red with fury. "How dare you talk to me like that! We'll see who laughs last. You think you can just kick me aside like a homeless puppy! I'll dance around your rotting corpse, you son of a bitch!"

"Ya wanna try!" Eclipse said, shoving her way in front of Phantom. "If you're feeling froggy enough then leap. I'm down for a good old-fashioned bitch fight! Bring it on!"

Phantom and Jack had their hands full for a moment pulling the two snarling girls away from each other. During the lull, Pluto walked over and joined the others.

"Pluto, what's going on? Who are these people?" Tuxedo Mask asked, keeping up the ruse of not knowing the teens.

"I'm so sorry this disturbed you, your highness," Pluto replied, bowing her head. "It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with. It's just a little disagreement that doesn't belong in this time. We will be moving on in just a few minutes."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Jack snarled. "My orders are to kill you on sight, and that's what I'm going to do." He snapped his fingers and the remaining guardians and sentinels stood at attention.

Phantom, Phoenix, and Eclipse all fell into defensive stances, back to back so that none of them were open to a cheap shot. Sailor Moon and the others looked like they were about to jump in as well, but stopped when Pluto held up a restraining hand.

Things looked like they were about to get ugly when the night suddenly lit up green and orange.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Venus Love and Beauty Shock!"

The combination of razor sharp oak leaves and flying golden hearts slammed into one of the guardians and he crumbled into dust.

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus raced into sight, followed closely by the four earth generals.

"Well this just keeps getting better and better," Jack said in amusement. "The more people that show up, the more leverage we have against you." The portal reappeared behind him. "Maybe I should call in a few more reinforcements and see how they fair against them."

"No!" Phantom, Phoenix, and Eclipse all yelled together, fear for their parent's past selves and their friends evident in their eyes.

Then a booming voice came from the portal. "Fall back you two!"

"No way!" Jack protested.

Sasha agreed. "But we've got them right here. Why should we give up?"

"Are you two questioning me?" the voice demanded. "I gave you an order and I expect you to follow it!"

The two teens hung their heads. "Yes sir."

They disappeared through the portal along with their remaining forces.

"Well I guess we better be going," Pluto stated as she saw how hard it was for the two groups to keep from rushing to each other. She hurried over to the three teens and quickly flashed them back in time a few years. They appeared in a dark alley behind a building.

"You three did good tonight," she told them. "Serena and the others may have been seriously hurt tonight if you hadn't stepped in. You should be proud of yourselves. Now why don't you detransform and I'll take you back. I'm sure they're anxious to see you after tonight's events."

The three nodded silently and returned to their civilian forms before stepping close to Pluto again and allowing her to transport them back to Serena and Darien's apartment. After a few parting words, she left them alone in the silent, empty apartment.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Katie said as she sat down on the couch and put her face in her hands. "Maybe we shouldn't be here after all. We're putting everyone in danger."

"I was just thinking the same thing," Alex grumbled as he took a seat next to her.

DJ sat on her other side. "Me too. Maybe we should ask Pluto to take us to another time where we don't have to worry about the others getting caught in the crossfire."

"I hate this!" Katie whispered furiously. "I was really starting to like it here, and now it gets all screwed up!"

The three of them sat in silence for several minutes, thinking about their predicament and what should be done about it. They had all grown extremely fond of their parent's past selves and those of the people they had always looked at as being their family, and they didn't want to see anyone get hurt.

They jumped up when they heard the front door flung open and the pounding of running footsteps. They had barely made it to their feet when Serena and Jess burst into the room followed closely by Darien and Andrew. Rini brought up the rear at a more leisurely pace. The future mothers wasted no time in pouncing on their children.

"Omigosh, you guys were amazing!" Serena gushed as enveloped DJ in a tight hug.

Katie and Alex were trying to avoid strangulation as Jess latched on to both of them. "I never thought I would be so happy to see anyone that made my fighting look wimpy. You guys rock! I think I may have to start training with you."

Darien and Andrew had stood back some and noticed that none of the teens looked particularly happy at the moment.

"Hey, what with you three? You look like you've lost your best friend or something," Darien said jokingly.

"Yeah, you should be proud of yourselves. You kicked some major ass and pulled us out of a rut," Andrew agreed.

"That's the problem," Alex muttered.

"What do you mean?" Serena demanded.

DJ sighed, "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but we've been doing some thinking. And we think we should ask Pluto to take us to another time."

Serena looked at him in astonishment. "But why? Did we do something wrong?"

Katie shook her head. "No. None of you have done anything wrong. We just don't want anyone to get hurt because we're here. This is our fight, and you shouldn't be dragged into the middle of it until it's time for you to be."

"Oh please! Spare me the martyrism!" Rini groaned with a roll of her maroon eyes. "Do you honestly think that our parents would have allowed you to come here if it wasn't the right place and time for you to be? And if things weren't going according to how the timeline should Pluto would be howling her head off right about now. Believe me, I know. Now I am tired and going to bed. Good night!" She stomped down the hall to her room and closed the door firmly behind her.

"Wow! Helios must have screwed up big time," DJ said barely above a whisper. "I haven't seen her this uptight since he missed that ball last summer and she thought he was sneaking around with someone else."

"Putting Rini's love life drama aside," Jess interjected. "Let's get back to you three. She was right about one thing; you are here for a reason. You're not dragging any of us into anything against our will. If I remember correctly, we volunteered to help you. So I don't want to hear any more crap about you going and hiding in another time. Did I make myself clear?"

All three hung their heads sheepishly. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

It was a couple of hours before dawn. It was also the darkest part of the night. Even if anyone had been looking, they probably wouldn't have seen the dark figure that walked out onto the balcony of the apartment twenty stories up or seen the same figure jump the ten feet through the air to the neighboring balcony.

This person accomplished it easily enough, and he slipped as silently as a thief through the sliding doors of the dark apartment. He snuck silently through the living room, using his memory of where the furniture was located to keep from running into anything, before treading lightly down the hall to the door he was seeking.

He gently turned the knob and eased the door open just a tiny bit. Luck was with him and the curtains were open a little, just enough to allow enough moonlight to illuminate the two people inside the room, two people that were blissfully unaware of his presence.

Ignoring the boy snoring away on the futon, he tiptoed across the room until he was standing by the bed. His sky blue eyes brightened as he took in the sight of the sleeping girl before him. She was curled on her side; he knew that was her preferred way to sleep, with one hand tucked under her chin. Her long, light hair was splayed out across the pillow with a few loose pieces lying on her sleep-flushed cheek.

He smiled a little as gently brushed the silky strands back from her face. Giving into temptation, he leaned down and placed the softest of kisses on her cheek.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my little fairy," he breathed softly. "I promise I'm going to make this a day that you'll never forget."

He left a package on the table next to her bed and slipped back out as silently as he had come.

* * *

"Dare," Serena whispered. "The water's getting cold, and I still need to rinse the conditioner out of my hair."

"I don't want to move," he mumbled from where he had his face buried in the crook of her neck. "You've drained me woman."

She giggled and pushed lightly at his shoulder. "You're such a drama king sometimes. Now I'm serious, I've got to finish my hair."

He groaned, but pushed away from the wall where he had her trapped, freeing her so that she could dart up under the showerhead.

She squealed as the cooling water hit her. "Cold! Cold! Cold! I knew I should have finished what I was doing before I let you distract me."

"I didn't hear any complaints out of you," he said smugly, his voice a little garbled. Thank goodness the shower had two showerheads.

Serena finished as quickly as she could and turned off the water. She stepped out onto the rug and grabbed a towel from the rack. She dried off quickly and wrapped the towel around her body before winding a second one around her long wet hair. She went to the one of the double sinks and pulled out her make up bag to start applying some light cosmetics for the day.

She heard the second showerhead turn off. In the reflection in the mirror she could see Darien emerge from the shower, but she purposefully kept her eyes averted and focused on the task at hand…at least until she felt his arms come around her from behind.

She looked up to meet his mischievous eyes in the mirror. "I thought you said I drained you," she said impishly.

He nipped at her earlobe. "I recovered."

Serena shivered at the sensations running through her, but got control of herself enough to turn and put a restraining hand on his chest as he leaned in to kiss her. "Down boy! Haven't you had enough excitement for one morning? We have a busy day ahead of us, and I have an appointment with Mina in…" she picked up her watch from the bathroom counter, "an hour. Save some of that energy for later tonight. You're going to need it."

She gave him a peck on the cheek and slipped around him to walk out of the bathroom with a saucy sway of her hips.

"You're asking for it!" Darien growled and lunged for her.

Serena squealed and ran across the bedroom. Darien chased her around the bed and caught her as she tried to climb across it to escape him. He flipped her over so that she was pinned under him.

"Darien I, mphh…" Serena began laughingly, but was cut off as a pair of soft lips covered hers. She sighed and melted into the kiss like she always did. She never could win against him when he played like this.

At least until he pulled away from her so they could catch their breath and her eyes landed on the clock on the nightstand. "Oh my god! I'm going to be late if I don't get moving," she said frantically, calling on an extra burst of strength to push the larger, heavier man off of her.

"Serena," Darien groaned as he rolled onto his back and watched her as she flew to the closet and began rummaging through her clothes.

She quickly grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater before running to the dresser and pulling open drawers. "I'm sorry, honey! But I promised Mina I would be her first client for the opening of the salon, and I know she has a busy day planned. I don't want to throw off her schedule by showing up late. You're a doctor; you know what it's like when one patient is late for an appointment. You run behind for the rest of the day after that."

Darien begrudgingly pushed his lust filled thoughts aside. He could respect her logic and her eagerness to not disappoint a friend. He got up off the bed and began gathering his own clothes together. Serena gave a silent sigh of relief when she saw him bypass the dreaded green jacket in favor for one of black leather instead.

In minutes Serena was ready and she hurried to the kitchen to grab a quick cup of coffee before she left. She walked into the room to find Rini sitting at the table with a steaming mug of cocoa in front of her with a scowl on her face.

"Good morning, sweetie," she greeted her cautiously, not sure of what kind of reception she would get. And rightfully so.

"What's so good about it?" Rini snorted into her cup. "It's Valentine's Day. La Ti Freakin' Da! Who cares?"

"Okay, what gives?" Serena asked, taking her cup and sitting down across from her. "You've been in a pissy mood since yesterday. I thought you were looking forward to today. What's going on? Did you and Helios have a fight?"

Rini shoved back from the table. "I don't want to talk about it! Oh, and by the way, I wish and Darien would have the consideration to remember that while there are two bathrooms in this apartment, they do share a wall. Do you know how disgusting it is to hear to supposedly grown people going at it first thing in the morning like a couple of horny teenagers? It about made me physically ill!"

"Rini, honey," Serena begged. "I can tell you're upset. Please talk to me. I want to help."

Rini sighed. "It's not that big of a deal. I'll get over it. It's just personal, okay. Can we just leave it at that?"

Not wanting to push it, Serena agreed. "Sure. You're still coming with me to Mina's shop aren't you? She's expecting us."

Another sigh. "Yeah. I'll be ready in a few minutes." With that, the pink haired princess walked dejectedly out of the kitchen.

"Good morning, pumpkin," Serena heard Darien greet Rini in the hall. "How are you this morning?"

"Grr…men!" she heard her future daughter growl and then the sound of stomping feet before a door slam.

A very confused Darien walked into the kitchen a moment later. "What did I do? Rini just ran from me like I had a contagious disease or something."

Serena tried to look sympathetic. "I don't think you did anything. She's just got some girl things going on right now, and…" she flushed a little. "I think we might have been a little vocal while we were in the shower."

Darien's face went brick red. "Oh!" was all he could say.

They were saved from more personal embarrassment by a frantic knocking on the front door. Darien made a quick escape to answer it. He swung it open, expecting to find a bubbling Jess there, but was surprised to find Katie practically bouncing up and down.

"Morning Uncle Dare!" she chirped happily. "Is DJ up yet?"

"Uhh," Darien stuttered. "I don't know. I haven't seen him come out of his room yet."

"Okay," she said as she breezed by him. She was down the hall in a flash and knocking on the door to the spare room DJ was currently occupying.

Darien shook his head in amusement as he went back to the kitchen for his caffeine fix.

Katie rapped on the door lightly and waited to get a response. When she didn't hear anything, she tested the knob. Finding it unlocked, she pushed the door open. Her eyes went immediately to the blanket-covered lump in the middle of the bed.

She bounced over to the bed and plopped down on the edge before poking the lump. "Wakey, wakey sleepyhead!"

The lump grumbled and rolled over, making her giggle. She pulled the covers back to find herself confronted by a pair of sleepy looking, light blue eyes.

"Tinkerbell?" he mumbled still half asleep. He was wide awake a moment later when he felt her throw herself across his chest and hug him tight.

"Thank you so much!" she whispered. "I can't believe you remembered that strawberry cream dark chocolate truffles are my favorite."

DJ grinned to himself. So she had found his gift, but he kept his face calm. "What are you talking about? I didn't get you truffles. It must have been Alex."

She pulled back with a look of mock irritation and smacked him lightly on the arm. "You can't fool me. I don't know how you managed to get them in there, but it was so sweet. On top of that, I don't know anyone else that would have left one of these with the candy," she showed him the white rose she held in her hand.

He grinned crookedly at her. "I guess I'm busted. I just wanted you to have a little something to brighten your day."

"Well I loved it," she whispered, sinking back against him unconsciously. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied back quietly, focusing on her lips that were only inches from his. He was contemplating closing the distance between them when he heard someone clearing their throat.

"What going on in here?" Rini asked from the open door.

Katie jumped up. "Nothing! I just wanted to make sure lazy bones here got up on time.

"Riigghht," Rini drawled. "Are you ready to go, Katie? Mina's expecting us."

Katie blushed a faint pink. "Yeah! I just need to grab my jacket." She rushed to the door and then turned to give DJ a shy smile. "I'll see you later."

In the meantime, Serena had wandered down the hall to Andrew and Jess's apartment to see if her friend was ready to leave. Knowing Katie was at her place, she pushed the door open, knowing it would be unlocked. She knew Andrew would have left by now, and after not finding Jess in the kitchen or living room, she headed for the master bedroom.

"Jess, are you up?" she called out, knocking lightly on the door. She heard a small crash, followed by a muttered "Damn it!" before the door was wrenched open.

Jess was dressed and was obviously in the middle of restraining her long, curly, dark blonde hair in its customary french braid. Her eyes were wide and panicked. "I know I'm running late. I'm almost ready, just give me a minute."

Serena chuckled as she followed her into the bathroom where she finished her hair quickly. "Slow down. We have a few minutes to spare. And you might want to put on some make up."

Jess frowned. "I already did. You know I don't wear much; just some mascara and lip gloss."

Serena smirked and gestured to her friend's neck. "I didn't mean on your face. Mina would have a field day with that."

Jess turned back to the mirror and pulled on the neckline of her sweater. Her eyes widened as she was confronted with what was obviously a hickey on her neck. She blushed brightly and grabbed the concealer from her make up bag and began dabbing it on, cursing under her breath about Andrew and his dirty tricks.

A minute later she appeared satisfied with the results and turned to Serena. "Okay, now I'm presentable enough to greet the love goddess without enduring her interrogation. Let's get the girls and go."

* * *

"Ohh, Serena! I knew that dress would be perfect on you from the moment I saw it," Mina declared as her princess stepped out from the dressing room of the boutique. "That's why I kept it over to the side for you. Darien will burst a blood vessel when he sees you!"

Serena couldn't deny it, the dress was perfect. It was a beautiful silver and had two inch wide straps and a low neckline. The skirt was fairly tight fitting, but was loose enough to allow free movement; it fell to right above her knees.

"It's beautiful, Mina," Serena sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. "You are a genius!"

Mina beamed at the praise as the door of the next dressing room opened and Jess stepped out in a dress with the same wide straps as Serena's, only in dark blue color with a wider, swishier skirt that had a strip of silver and one of gold around the hem that brushed her knees.

Tears sparkled in her ocean blue eyes. "Mina. This dress is…omigosh!"

Mina waved it off. "I'm glad you like it. I knew it would suit you."

Rini came running out from the next room her eyes flashing with more enthusiasm than they had in the past couple of days. "I agree with Serena. You are a genius! This is exactly what I would have picked for myself."

Her dress was a pale pearly pink. The skirt was a few inches shorter than Serena's and Jess's with a fairly modest neckline and short capped sleeves.

Mina smiled widely. "And where's our last little model?"

Katie came hesitantly out of her changing room. Since she hadn't been around when Mina had ordered the stock for her boutique, she had scanned through the racks until she found something that caught her eye. Mina had shown her a spaghetti strapped dress that had made her shudder. Not only had it been the same mint green as the dress from that night months ago, but the lack of sleeves would have shown her scars from her former, tortuous experience to all.

Instead she stepped out in a dress that was short like Rini's, only it was pitch black. It was still spaghetti strapped, but was paired with a long sleeved jacket that was lined with glittering rhinestones. It showed off her slender body without drawing attention to her imperfections.

Jess was aware of her concerns, and was quick to reassure her. "You look wonderful, sweetheart. The boys at the club tonight will go gaga."

Katie blushed at the compliments. Over the last several days she had turned away quite a few wannbe suitors. Her brain had started beginning to invision old dreams that she had used to think about a certain someone, and he was the only one on her mind right now.

"So I really look okay?" she asked uncertainly.

Serena laughed. "Are you kidding? We're going to have to probably sedate Andrew to keep him from snapping at any boy that comes near you."

Katie turned to her reflection. Did she really look that good? Did she dare hope that she possibly have a chance at her old dream of claiming her Prince Charming for herself?

Just then Trista stepped into the dressing area. "Katie, can I talk to you for a moment?"

* * *

"So what have you got planned for the rest of the day?" Alex asked his best friend lifelessly as he looked around the crowded arcade.

DJ shrugged. "Nothing much, I guess. I'm looking forward to the opening of Raye's club. It might be fun."

"Yeah, maybe," Alex muttered. "I'd rather be back home. There we know that it will be a party worth going to."

"It could be interesting here too," DJ told him. "Who knows what might happen."

"Not interested," Alex grumbled to himself, but he lightened up a moment later when he saw his sister walk in. She didn't look a lot different than usual. Her hair was maybe an inch or two shorter than usual, and her bangs barely brushed her eyebrows, but there was a glow around her that grabbed his attention.

There was a girl beside her that had long brown hair and large, chocolate brown eyes. Alex tried to ignore her, but something about her caught his attention. Before he knew it, the two girls were standing next to the table the two boys were sitting at.

"What's up guys?" Katie asked innocently.

"Nothing much," DJ answered. "Just hanging out."

"That's cool," she said, swiping a few fries off the plate in front of DJ.

"Hey!" he protested, but she just grinned at him and popped the fries in her mouth.

"So who's your friend?" Alex asked, gesturing to the girl beside her.

"Oh, just someone Trista introduced me to," Katie replied casually. "She's new around here we thought it would be fun to just chill together."

The girl next to her giggled and then turned the full force of her eyes on Alex. "You don't mind, do you, Cupcake?" She flashed him a peace sign.

Alex almost choked on the sip of soda he had just taken and his dark blue eyes grew so wide that almost looked like they were going to pop out of his head. He was out of his seat in a flash and had the girl by the arm, ushering her toward the back exit of the arcade.

The brunette girl turned and gave Katie a thumbs up with a sly grin.

DJ had a look of shock on his face. "Was that…Was that really…"

Katie put a couple of fingers against his lips. "Yes it was. Now take a deep breath, you're stuttering."

Alex had reached the door leading to the alley and hurried through it. Once outside he pushed the girl gently against the wall and pinned her in with a hand on each side of her head. There were the beginning of tears sparkling in his eyes and his voice shook as he whispered, "Em?"

She smiled at him and pulled a pink pen from her pocket. A flash of light later, and his blonde haired, gray-eyed girlfriend had taken the place of the brunette.

"Surprise!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "Happy Valentine's Day, baby! Aunt Serena loaned me the Luna Pen so I could come and see you without tipping anyone off about my identity."

"I can't believe you're actually here," he sighed as he held her close. "I'm scared I'm going to wake up and find out that this is all just a dream."

She pulled back a little so she could look at him. "I promise it's not a dream. I'm really here. I've missed you so much, Alex."

He pulled her tighter against his chest. "I've missed you too." And then he kissed her with all of the pent up emotions that had been bottled up inside of him since the last time he had seen her, and she responded just as eagerly.

* * *

Discord grinned as he looked at a scene in the river of time. He watched as the prince of Crystal Tokyo laughed and joked with the girl across the table from him. His suspicions from the night before were now confirmed. There had been no mistake about the anxiety that had been pouring off of Serenity and the others. They may have acted like they didn't know the brats, but he hadn't believed that they would have been quite as concerned if they had been strangers.

"So my little lost lambs _are_ hiding with their parents after all. This could prove to be beneficial," he mused to himself. "Emotional blackmail does have its uses from time to time."

His gaze fixated on the blonde girl. "Hmm, it seems my little pet has regained some happiness in her life. That just won't do at all. I think it's time to remind her how precarious life can be."

"Sasha, my dear," he called out gently.

The strawberry blonde was at his side in an instant. She scowled at the vision before her before turning to Discord with a smile. "Yes, grandpa?"

He contemplated her for a moment. "My darling girl, I have a plan that I believe you can help me with. How would you like to play a little game with the prince and that fragile little girl?"

Her green eyes gleamed in delight at the thought of taking some revenge on those two. "I would love to."

* * *

Darien looked at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. "Sere! Aren't you girls ready yet? Lita's going to give our table to someone else if you don't come on."

"Almost ready," her voice came from the master bedroom where she had been closed up with Rini, Jess, Katie, and Emma for over two hours getting ready for the evening. Emma had reassumed her disguise, but everyone there had been told that she was Alex's girlfriend that was visiting from Crystal Tokyo. Jess was the only one to know that she was in disguise since she had seen the picture on the computer, but she didn't question why the disguise was needed.

"Are they still primping?" DJ asked as he came out of his room. "They're going to waste the whole night in there if they don't hurry up."

"Tell me about it," Darien groaned as he went to go answer a knock at the door. "Oh, good evening, Helios."

The priest shuffled his feet nervously. "Your highness. Is Rini here?"

Darien waved him inside. "Come on in and join the party. We're waiting on the women to get ready." He was closing the door when Andrew and Alex showed up, so he swung it wide again to let them in.

"Serena!" he called down the hall again. He became a little incensed when he didn't receive an answer this time. "Serenity! It's getting late! Are we going or not?"

The bedroom door slammed open. "Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me, Endymion! I've been in here slaving away, doing all I can so I can look my best for you. And this is the thanks I get?"

Darien stared in awe at the vision she presented in the silver dress she had gotten from Mina. Her long golden hair had been left loose to curl and wave gently down her back. Strappy silver heels and expertly applied make up completed the look.

"You look stunning!" he said reverently.

The anger melted from her face. "Thank you. You're looking pretty dashing yourself," she told him, taking in the black slacks and red button down shirt he was wearing.

"Serena move it! Your big butt is blocking the door," Jess complained from behind her as she pushed by. She rushed to the living room where she twirled in front of Andrew to show off her new dress. She had foregone her usual braid and had gathered her curls back in a gold clip. "What do you think?"

He snagged her around the waist and pulled her close. "Gorgeous, as always. I'm not going to be able to let you out of my sight tonight. The men will be all over you."

She waggled her left hand with the sapphire engagement ring in his face. "They'll be fighting a losing battle then. I'm all yours." She eyed his khaki trousers and sage green button down appreciatively. "I may have to scratch a few women's eyes out tonight myself."

"Hey, keep it PG, there are minors present," Rini grumbled as she and the two other younger teens came out of the bedroom. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Helios there. "What are _you_ doing here?"

The Elysian priest hurried over to her with pleading eyes. "Rini, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I tried to tell you last night, but you shut me out of your dreams."

Rini lifted her head haughtily and looked away. "You have some nerve to show your face around here after you insulted my intelligence the way you did yesterday. I am not a child that needs to be babied. I am almost eighteen years old, damn it! You need to get over yourself."

"Ooo, this is going to be good," Katie whispered gleefully as she and Emma slid unobtrusively across the room to join DJ and Alex.

Emma's head bobbed eagerly. "I wish you guys could see what I see. The sparks that are flying off of those two are better than fireworks."

"Hah!" Katie retorted. "He deserves whatever she dishes out to him. That's what he gets for being a jackass."

Alex perked up at this. "So she told you guys what happened between them?"

"Oh yeah," Katie replied. "It seems our normally mild mannered Helios got bitten by the green eyed jealousy bug. While he and Rini were at the mall yesterday a couple of boys from school approached her and invited her to a party that someone is giving tonight. She turned them down of course, but Helios flipped. He started criticizing her pretty harshly, saying that she shouldn't always be so friendly to people and wear such short skirts."

Emma giggled. "Then he practically committed relationship suicide when he told her that she was a princess, not some commoner, and she needed to remember her station and act accordingly."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Idiot! No wonder she's been so pissed. He should have known better than to say something like that to her. But it is kinda fun to watch him grovel."

The two girls nodded in agreement, but DJ was focused on the girl at his side. His sister's love life took a back burner when compared to the delicate beauty beside him.

He cleared his throat nervously. "You look really nice, Kat."

She looked at him in surprise. "Oh, thank you. Mina helped me pick out the dress. You look pretty sharp yourself. Are you and Alex trying to be the twins for a change?" She smiled as she took in the fact that both boys were dressed in jeans and black button down shirts. But where Alex's was tucked in with only the top button undone, DJ looked casually rumpled. His shirt was left untucked with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows and he had left the top couple of buttons loose.

"Uh, thanks," he muttered, trying his best to keep from blushing. "Looks like Rini and Helios are working things out, so I guess we're getting ready to leave."

The four teens watched jealously as Serena handed Rini the keys to her car with the instructions to be very careful while the rest of them were stuck either riding with the adults or walking. Since it was a mild night, they were seriously considering the walking option, at least until Darien and Andrew turned to them.

"Both of you boys said that you have motorcycles back home, right?" Andrew asked.

Alex and DJ nodded uncertainly, not sure where this was going, but their faces brightened when each of the men pulled a key from their pocket.

"If we let you borrow our bikes for the evening," Darien began seriously. "I want you guys to promise me that you will be very cautious. There will be no showing off or hot rodding. And if either one of you comes back with a ticket of there is a scratch on either one of those bikes, you will not be allowed this privilege again. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" both boys responded eagerly.

Alex snatched the key from Andrew's hand and raced from the apartment, pulling a squealing Emma behind him.

Katie looked down dejectedly. Here she was the odd one out. She'd be stuck riding with her parents like a little girl while the others were off having fun. Unless some miracle happened, she knew her chances were about a million to one that Jess would let her borrow her car just to save her embarrassment. Then an outstretched hand appeared in her line of sight.

"Are you ready?" DJ asked softly.

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?" She was floored. It wasn't like she was his date or anything, so she hadn't been expecting this. They were just friends.

He gave her a crooked grin. "Sure. Unless you want to ride with the old people."

"Oh, hell no!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the door. "We are so out of here."

The sound of the adult's laughter followed them down the hall to the elevator. Once they were inside and the door closed, an awkward silence fell.

"Uh," Katie murmured, trying to break the ice. "Thanks for offering me the ride. You didn't have to."

He shrugged. "I figured it made sense since you and I are the only two that are going stag tonight. Us single people have got to stick together, and I was pretty sure you didn't want to be a third wheel. Anyway, you can be my armor for the night."

"What do you mean?" she asked, not sure if she liked the sound of that.

He held up his hands placatingly. "I didn't mean that in a bad way, I promise. It's just that the girls here are just as pushy as the ones back home, and I don't want to deal with that tonight. So maybe if you and I stick together, they'll think I'm with you and leave me alone."

She arched a brow at him. "Are you asking me to _pretend _to be your date?"

"Yes…no…wait a minute, that didn't come out right," he sputtered. He took a deep breath and dove in. "I'm asking you to be my date for the evening. I want you to have dinner with me and maybe later we can do a little dancing at Raye's club. What do you say?"

She swallowed hard and tried to control her pounding heart. She couldn't believe it. DJ Shields had just asked her on a date. Finally! She tried to answer casually. "Sure. I'll be your date tonight. We don't need your fan club getting any bigger and inflating your ego even more. You may float away if it gets any larger. I'll protect you from the squealing masses."

She expected a witty comeback from him, but instead he smiled. "Great! Thanks Tink. Now let's go have some fun!"

The elevator dinged and they stepped out into the parking garage just in time to see Alex roaring out into the street on Andrew's black motorcycle with Emma behind him, the skirt of her peach colored dress flapping in the wind.

DJ took her hand and they walked over to where Darien's blue bike was park next to his car. He handed her one of the helmets hanging from the handlebars and strapped his on. He straddled the bike and started it, then he patted the seat behind him to tell her to get on.

Katie swung a leg over the seat and adjusted her skirt so it wouldn't fly up. Then finally, just like she had always dreamed of, she wrapped her arms around DJ's waist and laid her head against his back.

DJ grinned at the feel of her behind him as he gunned the bike out of the garage and into the Tokyo night.

* * *

"So was everything okay?" Lita asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Do you even have to ask?" Serena replied. "This dinner was everything I've come to expect from you, and then some. You outdid yourself."

"It was phenomenal," Darien agreed. "I hope the chefs you have in the kitchen are prepared to work hard, because I see this place staying packed."

Lita beamed. "Thanks guys. Now I guess I better go check in with everyone else and see if they were impressed as well."

She walked away, weaving through the tables as she stopped occasionally to check with her customers to ensure that they were pleased with their food and their service. She looked very muck like a successful restaurant owner in her white chef's jacket and black slacks. Of course right now, a good portion of her customers were her friends.

Even though everyone was there together, Lita had scattered all of the couples around so that they could have a little privacy on this romantic night. The only ones missing were the outer scouts. They had dined at an earlier time and had left to browse some of the shops before they closed for the night. Everyone had been surprised when they heard that Hotaru had brought a date with her. Lita seemed greatly amused by this, and told the others that they would just have to wait and see for themselves.

Serena looked around at all of the happy couples, glad that her and Darien's table was situated in the corner so that she could see the entire restaurant.

Amy and Zoicite were the closest to them, and the two of them were speaking quietly together as they leisurely finished their meal.

A little further away, Raye was pressuring Jadeite to hurry up so that they could get back to the club and make one last check that things were ready before they opened the doors.

Nephrite, like Lita, was making a circuit of the restaurant to make sure things were running smoothly, but the couple kept exchanges smiles and glances with each other.

Since Mina always loved to be the center of attention, her and Kunzite were seated in the middle of the room. The energetic blonde was jabbering away about something while the quiet general watched her indulgently.

Rini and Helios had seemed to patch up their disagreement, and the pink haired teen seemed to be back to normal, laughing with her soon to be betrothed.

DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma were supposed to all be seated together at one of the larger tables, but Serena had seen the wink and smile that had been shared between Mina and Lita when they had arrived. The end result was that the two young couples were seated at neighboring tables instead of together. Alex and Emma were completely entranced by each other, while DJ and Katie seemed to be content just being together.

Darien reached across the table and covered Serena's hand with his. "What are you thinking about, my love?"

She turned a brilliant smile on him. "Just how happy I am right now. My life is about as close to perfect as it can get right now. I have you, and all of our friends are doing well. Everything is just wonderful."

Darien chuckled and reached into his pocket to pull out a small wrapped box. "I was going to wait until later to give this to you, but this just seems like the right time." He handed her the gift.

Serena eyed him curiously as she took it. "What have you done now?"

"Open it and find out," he said with a smile.

She carefully removed the paper to find a small, black velvet jewelry box. She opened the lid and caught her breath as tears sprang to her eyes. "Darien…this is…"

"Do you like it?" he asked anxiously.

"Like it? I love it!" she declared. "Where in the world did you find this?"

"I had it made," he told her. "I knew what I wanted, and Jess helped me out by drawing the design. I took it to Molly's mother, Mrs. Osaka, and she made it for me."

"It's so beautiful," Serena whispered in awe as she gently touched the necklace. It was a finely crafted crescent moon made out of white gold with a rose wrapped closely around it. The stem of the rose was comprised of what appeared to be many tiny emeralds, while to bloom was made from a sparkling ruby that had been cut into a flower shape

"I can't believe you did this," she said softly, then she giggled. "But don't you think it makes a bit of an obvious statement? You may as well tattoo that we're Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask across our foreheads."

He plucked the box from her fingers and removed the necklace from it. "Nah, it's actually more common than you think. I've seen lots of things besides just jewelry with moons and roses on them. I think we may have sparked a trend."

She looked him over her shoulder as he moved behind her and swept her hair to the side. He unclasped the gold rose necklace that he had given her years ago before securing the new one around her slender neck.

He moved back around in front of her and whispered, "Beautiful," before leaning in to kiss her.

Serena moaned softly at the feel of his warm lips against hers. Not caring that they were in a public place, she wrapped her arms around his neck and plunged her fingers into his silky midnight hair. When his tongue swept against her bottom lip, she opened up to his invasion.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't realize that they had an audience until Lita hissed near them. "Do you two mind? I'm trying to run a family establishment here. Besides, you're missing the show."

"Huh, what?" Serena murmured as she reluctantly parted her lips from Darien's. She glared at her tall friend. "Thanks a lot, Lita!"

Lita waved her off. "I just didn't want you to miss this," she squealed, pointing to the center of the room.

Serena and Darien both turned to see what had Lita acting like a fangirl, and both of their jaws dropped open in shock. Kunzite had risen from his seat and was now knelt down in front of Mina with what could only be a ring box in his hand. The former Venusian princess could only stare at him with shocked, tear filled eyes.

"Mina, my only love," Kunzite said in his smooth voice. "I know our relationship has hit a lot of bumps in the road, and I know it's not perfect, but I wouldn't change anything about what we share together. So I want to ask you something that I should have asked you a long time ago. Will you marry me?"

Everyone that knew them braced themselves for the earsplitting screech from Mina that they knew was coming, but were surprised when the blonde simply nodded and whispered, "Yes," while tears fell silently down her cheeks.

Kunzite grinned like a boy as he slipped a gorgeous topaz ring onto her finger and then let out a rarely heard laugh as he stood and swooped his new, still slightly shocked fiancé into his arms and proceeded to kiss her silly.

Now Serena had joined Lita in the squealing, and she was bouncing on her feet, barely able to contain her excitement. Even Amy had stars in her eyes as she watched one her closest friends experience a defining moment in her life. Raye shot Jadeite a dirty look before a large, sincere smile appeared on her lips.

Luckily all eyes were focused on the happy couple, so no one noticed Alex trying to calm down Emma. The poor girl was practically hyperventilating at the sight of her father proposing to her mother. Of course there were very few people in the room who knew of her relationship with them.

"So the stuffy general finally worked up enough balls to pop the question. It's about damn time," a voice growled near Serena's ear.

She turned and smiled at the tall blonde next to her. "Hey Amara. I was wondering where you guys were. How are you, Michelle?"

Michelle smiled in her calming way. "I'm well, Serena. We decided to take a stroll to walk off some of the wonderful dinner we had, and Hotaru and her date wanted to look through some of the shops."

Serena looked over to where Hotaru stood a few feet away next to a sandy haired blonde boy and felt a thrill for the younger girl. She had never known Hotaru to date anyone before, and she was glad that she seemed to have found someone to spend time with.

She rushed over to the black haired girl and hugged her. "I'm so glad to see you tonight sweetie. Why don't you introduce me to your date."

The boy chuckled. "I don't think introductions are needed. After all, you've known me my whole life." He raised his head to look at her with cobalt blue eyes she knew well.

Serena took a step back in shock. "Sammy!"

* * *

The opening of _Blaze _could be considered a rousing success. The club was filled to capacity with a line of people that were hoping to get inside the newest club lining the block. Luckily Raye had found some excellent bouncers willing to work for her, and they kept the masses at bay to keep the club from becoming overrun.

Chad, who was still working for Raye's grandfather at the temple, had accepted Raye's offer for a job as a weekend deejay, and he had done an excellent job of keeping the music going all night in a wonderful mix of hard pounding fast dance beats and slow numbers that tugged at the heartstrings.

"Okay, we're going to slow it down a bit," Chad said into the microphone as the lights dimmed. "I want to see couples only on the dance floor. So girls and guys, grab your significant other and come on out because this one's for all the lovebirds."

"Come on, Em," Alex said, grabbing his girlfriend's hand and leading her out onto the dance floor as the first soft strains of music came through the speakers.

Katie shook her head in amusement at them and then watched in contentment as Andrew walked over and offered his hand to Jess before they joined the other swaying couples.

In a scene that he had seen hundreds of times before in his life, DJ saw Darien make his way over to Serena where he bent down to whisper in her ear. Her face brightened instantly with a smile as she allowed him to take her hand and help her up before they too joined in on the dancing. His dad was such a smooth operator.

DJ eyed the girl across from him and wondered if he could pull a move like that on her. They had spent a pleasant evening together so far with no bickering, only light teasing between them. Dinner had been a little shocking when they found themselves sitting together alone at a table for two, but it had been nice. They had spent the time talking about school and some of their hopes for the future. Katie was beginning to dream about pursuing her music again, and DJ had told her about his wishes to attend medical school.

"It's kind of nostalgic, isn't it?" Katie said wistfully as she watched the couples move around the floor. "I mean, it's almost like being back home again when I see them all together like this. My parents, your parents, the scouts and generals, even Rini and Helios; it almost makes me feel a little homesick."

She looked over to DJ to find him watching her intently and blushed. "I guess I sound pretty silly, huh?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I miss being home too. But I have to admit that the freedom we have here is kinda nice. We can be normal people instead of being known as members of the royal family or the court."

"Hmm," she mused. "That's true, it is nice to feel ordinary for once." She fell quiet and closed her eyes, swaying in her seat to the music.

DJ swallowed the lump in his throat and decided to throw caution to the wind. He stood up and rounded the table until he was beside her. Her tapped her shoulder to get her attention and smiled when she blinked her eyes open to look at him.

In a gallant move that would have rivaled any that his father could have made, he bowed slightly to her and asked softly, "Would you honor me with a dance?" And then he held a hand out for her to take.

Her eyes widened for a moment and her breath caught. Several emotions ran quickly across her face before she smiled and placed her hand gently in his and whispered, "I would love to."

Hand in hand, they walked out onto the dance floor and then turned to face one another. He put his arms around her waist and drew her body close to his as her arms came up to encircle his neck.

It was if they had danced together a thousand times before. They didn't even have to think about as they moved together, stepping lightly to the beat of the music. Blue eyes locked with hazel, and they were lost in their own little world. They didn't even notice when the song ended and another began, they just continued dancing, unaware of several sets of eyes watching them.

"Well it's about time," Alex muttered. "Looks like the two idiots are finally starting to figure it out."

Emma tapped him lightly on the arm. "Be nice! But they do look good together, don't they?"

"Yeah," Alex conceded. "But he better not hurt her. I don't care if he is my best friend. If he breaks my sister's heart, I'll break him."

Emma smiled up at him. "That's one of the things I love about you. You have such a caring heart."

He placed a quick kiss on her lips. "Let's get out of here for a while. I want to go somewhere where you can drop that disguise so I can see the real you."

She gave him a coy look. "Well then, let's go."

Serena and Darien were also watching the young couple with interest.

"Oh Darien, isn't it sweet, our little boy is in love!" Serena gushed in a low voice.

Darien couldn't help but chuckle at her. "Yeah, but don't get too worked up, they're still young."

"Hmph," Serena huffed. "They're not that young. DJ's almost the same age you were when I met you and Katie's the same age I was when we, well…you know."

Darien stopped dead in his tracks on the dance floor, his eyes going wide. "Oh shit! You're right. Maybe Andrew was right when he said he wanted to keep them apart. They are only teenagers after all. Things could get messy."

Serena laid silencing fingers on his lips. "Don't worry about it. They're good kids. DJ is so much like you. And even though she has her mother's temper, Katie's got Andrew's level head too. They'll be fine."

Darien grinned at her. "I guess you're right. They're not children and they have the right to make their own decisions about what they want in life. I just hope neither one of them gets hurt. Love can be complicated sometimes."

Serena smiled wickedly at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes it can, but it's completely worth it. I love you, Darien."

He pulled her tightly against him. "I love you too, Serena."

Another conversation was happening not to far away, but this one was much more heated.

"Drew, would you stop glaring at them? They're not doing anything wrong. I don't you staring daggers at Alex, and he's with a girl," Jess hissed furiously.

Andrew growled low in his throat. "That's different. He's a boy. Girls are much more fragile when it comes to emotional entanglements."

Jess grabbed him by the front of his shirt and jerked him toward her until they were nose to nose. "Don't give me that bullshit!" she spat. "Who's the one that had a nervous breakdown and had to be forced to leave my side to get rest when I was comatose for eight days, hmm? It has nothing to do with if you're male or female."

Andrew gave her a frustrated look. "I'm just scared he's going to break her heart, and then I'll have to kill him."

Jess loosened the grip on his shirt and reached up to frame his face between her hands. "All relationships have their ups and downs. I'm sure they will both probably break each other's hearts several times. But if they love each other it will all work out.."

Andrew smirked at her. "I may have lost it when I thought you were going to die, but at least I didn't almost blow up the planet like you did."

Her eyes glittered and her cheeks flushed. "You're evil to bring that up. But I didn't destroy the planet, did I? I got control of myself in time. I couldn't bring myself to wipe out the place where we'd had so many happy times."

"I know," he said, pressing his forehead to hers. "You are an amazing woman." His eyes strayed over her shoulder to where Katie and DJ had been dancing moments before, only to find them gone.

"Oh man! Where did they go?" his head jerked up.

To get his mind off of other things, Jess pulled his head down and covered his lips with hers in a hot intense kiss. She nibbled on his bottom lip to get him to open for her.

All thought of budding teenage relationships flew out of his head as heat roared through his veins at the feel of her tongue sweeping against his. He pulled her closer until her body was flush with his.

After a minute, Jess pulled back a little. "Better?" she whispered breathlessly.

"Minx!" Andrew groaned, never relaxing his hold on her. "No I'm not better. But ask me again tomorrow morning. Maybe I will be by then."

* * *

"Okay, when I said I needed some air, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Katie said as she walked down the path in the park next to DJ. "Haven't you seen enough of this place lately."

DJ shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. But I thought a walk would be nice after being in that stuffy club. After all, it's a mild night for February. You don't mind do you?"

She shook her head. "I guess not. It was getting stifling hot in there, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," he replied. "Why don't you take that jacket off if you're hot?"

She subconsciously crossed her arms as she thought about the spaghetti strapped dress she was wearing under it. "Uh, no, that's okay. I'm fine."

DJ grabbed her hand and pulled her to a halt. "Kat, it's all right. I know what you're hiding underneath. I saw the wounds first hand when I pulled you out of the water that night, so I know what to expect. What I never understood was why you didn't allow my dad to heal you."

She pulled her hand from his and walked away a few steps. "I guess it's kinda stupid now that I think about it," she said in a shaky voice. "I thought I needed to keep the scars as a reminder of those three days, of why I needed to become a stronger fighter. But the memories that I have in my head are more than enough of a reminder. Now I'm repulsed at the sight of myself."

He heard the tears choking up her voice and put a hand on her shoulder to turn her toward him. He slid his hands down her arms, gently uncrossing them until they hung at her sides. Then he slid them back up to her shoulders where he pushed the jacket off of them and skimmed it down her arms.

Katie kept her head down in shame when he remained silent. She had never wanted anyone to see what had become of her. She had never been vain about her body, but she had never thought that she looked bad either, until now. She felt the sobs welling up inside her and was about to turn and run when she felt a hand under her chin forcing her head up. Her heart skipped a beat when she met caring, cerulean eyes.

"Kat," DJ whispered. "Do you honestly think that this," he trailed his fingers down the largest scar on her left upper arm, "would change what I think about you? What you look like doesn't make you who you are. It's the person inside that matters. And you are a beautiful person, both inside and out."

Tears began to trickle down her cheeks as she heard the sincerity of his words. "Do you really think so?" she hiccupped.

He grinned at her. "I don't just think so, I know so. Come here." He led her over beneath a large tree. "Do you know where we are?"

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "Duh, we're in the park, silly."

He chuckled. "I know that. But don't you recognize it?"

She looked around. They were under a tree, near the lake. She thought hard before a memory popped into her head. "Hey, didn't we picnic here one time?"

"Sure did," DJ told her. "Rini, Alex, and I were sitting right here when you came dropping out of the tree holding that raggedy notebook of yours. You were so happy and bubbly, and then I had to go and screw it up like always by picking a fight."

Katie giggled. "I remember that. I had been trying to be your friend and then you turned nasty. I tried to tell myself to hate you after that day, but I couldn't. So I stayed away from you instead. You really hurt my feelings that day you know."

He sighed. "I know I did, and right after you stomped away I had a chance to think about why I acted like that, and when I figured it out I came after you to tell you something. But I chickened out."

Her curiosity was piqued. "What were you going to tell me?"

DJ held up a hand. "Before we get to that, there's something I want to give you first." He dug into the pocket of his jeans. His fist was clenched when he pulled it back out. "This belongs to you," he said quietly as he opened his hand.

"My lucky bracelet! Where did you find it?" Katie squealed when she saw her silver charm bracelet in his hand.

He gave her a crooked grin. "The first time I found it was in a little shop in Crystal Tokyo, the second time was snagged on a blanket in your room the night you went missing."

"Oh," she murmured, and then her eyes went wide. "Oh! Are you telling me that you were the mystery person that gave me this? I never could figure out who it was."

He blushed a little. "Yeah, it was me. I thought of you immediately when I saw it. I knew it would be perfect for you."

She looked confused. "But why? We were barely even on speaking terms. Why would you have gotten me this?"

He released a pent up breath. It was now or never. "For the same reason I went looking for you that day of the picnic. I love you, Kat."

She froze, staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. "What did you say?" she whispered.

He stepped closer to her. "I said I love you."

Several heartbeats passed while Katie waged an internal debate with herself. She had finally heard the words that she had always wanted to hear from her prince, but should she confess her own feelings to him? She finally made a decision.

"I love you too," she barely breathed, taking the final step to close the distance between them.

DJ's heart was pounding like a drum in his chest. "I think I may kiss you," he said softly as his head began to descend.

Katie licked her lips nervously. "I think I may kiss you back," she whispered as she rose up on her tiptoes.

Their lips met in the softest of kisses and they both moaned at the contact. Her lips parted under his and he was quick to take advantage of it. His tongue delved inside her mouth as he reveled in the taste that was uniquely hers.

Katie felt like a fire had consumed her as wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and threaded her fingers through the glorious silk of his hair. She let out a whimper of protest when he removed his lips from hers, but sighed in satisfaction when she felt his mouth against her ear.

"I love you so much, Kat," he breathed raggedly as kissed her right below her ear. "I wanted to tell you for so long now. I can't believe this is really happening."

Her heart nearly burst at his declaration. "I love you too, DJ. More than you could ever know."

Somehow she had backed up into the tree and he pressed fully up against her front. He raised his head to look at her, emotion shining in his eyes before he dipped back in for another kiss.

Their lips had just touched when there was a loud boom and the sound of screams.

**A/N** There I go with the evil cliffhangers again. Well this thing was just getting too damn long, so I thought I'd end it there before we get into another fight. So DJ and Katie are together, for now anyway. Don't forget, Discord's cooking up something with Sasha, so it may mean something bad for our newly united couple. Lots of fluff in this chapter, but it was Valentine's Day. Anyhow, I'm going right now to work on chapter 9. My muse has really been kicking lately. Hope you all enjoyed, and don't forget, reviews make me smile! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	10. Cupid Strikes Back

**A/N **I hope you guys aren't too pissed at me for not updating. All I can say is that I've had a wild couple of weeks. Long story made short, I've just about lost my mind between a new baby in the family and animals. I haven't slept in my own bed or seen my husband in over a week because I had to go out of town, and my grandmother's pull out couch is killing my back. But I am dedicating this chapter to my new niece, Samantha, and to my Beagle that I have had for over fifteen years, Copper, he had a little health scare but is doing fine now, and to my grandmother'sPekinese that has now gone to doggy heaven, Winston.

Okay, now that the mushy stuff is out of the way. This chapter is only slightly shorter than what I usually post, but still pretty long. I just haven't had time to write. I'm also writing this on a different computer than usual, and the word processor is different than the one I use at home, so I hope the editing isn't too bad.

Moving on! I want to thank all of my wonderful reviewers. You guys keep me inspired and I adore you all. Time for me to give you your hugs! BIG HUGS TO:

**James Birdsong**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Serandi82**

**anime-lover10**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**tiny2008**

**sumbeam07**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**amaramichelle**

**Luthien Morgon**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**KageNoNeko**

**My Veggie Burger**

**applenica**

**.lyingtonguesareclumsy.**

**S dot Serenity**

**ElisabethBoleyn**

**GoldenDragon326**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**LBricker88**

**Seredhiel05**

**Lulubelle09**

**nilenna**

**ange de l'aube**

**saveme57**

**JmacKarla**

Thank you so much guys! I love reading what you have to say. I can't wait to get home so I can get serious about my writing again. I hope this gives you a little something to chew on for now.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 9

Cupid Strikes Back

Serena looked around the club with a certain amount of pride. She was so happy that it seemed that her friends were enjoying some success in their normal lives. Raye, Lita, and Mina had all had phenomenal openings of their own businesses. Amy had doubled up on her college courses and was scheduled to start medical school in the fall. Trista, of course, was busy keeping an eye on time. Amara had her racing and Michelle her music. And Hotaru was finishing her first year of college.

The reincarnated moon princess watched carefully as the youngest of her scouts was escorted to a table by her brother and he leaned down to kiss her cheek before heading off in the direction of the bar.

Serena had discovered from a conversation with Amara and Michelle that Sammy and Hotaru had been seeing each other for almost a year now, but they had both kept it quiet because they weren't sure how she would react.

She had been surprised to hear that. Sure, she and Sammy hadn't always seen eye to eye while they were growing up, that was just the nature of sibling rivalry. But she had always held a place in her heart for both him and Hotaru, and if they had feelings for one another she wouldn't stand in their way.

After a quick word to Darien, Serena made her way over to the scout of silence. Hotaru looked up, wide eyed, at her approach. "Princess," she greeted as she inclined her head.

Serena laughed lightly. "Hotaru, I have always told you to not be so formal with me. Besides, with you dating my brother that makes us almost family."

The dark haired girl blushed furiously. "You mean you don't mind? I had met Sammy a couple of times before, but when I saw him at your last birthday party we got to talking and everything seemed to click. But I don't want to do anything to offend you."

"Hotaru," Serena comforted the younger girl. "You and Sammy are both special to me. If the two of you are happy together, then I have no problem with it. But I know how my brother can be, so don't take any crap off of him."

Hotaru actually giggled at that. "I think I have him under control. But I hope you know, Serena, I would never let anything happen to your brother while I'm around."

Serena laid a comforting hand over Hotaru's. "I know that. And I can't tell you how much that actually comforts me. I have been concerned about my family's safety every since I became Sailor Moon, but knowing that you are keeping an eye on them along with me helps me feel better."

"We broke the news to your parents tonight," Hotaru said softly. "Your mom squealed a lot and your dad actually started crying, so I guess they were okay with it."

Serena grinned. "That sounds like them. Mom acted like that when she found out that Darienand I were dating, but luckily you won't have to go through what Darien did when it comes to my dad. Mom had to hide dad's shotgun because we feared for Darien's life. But I think he's finally coming to terms with it. The last time I was at the house he actually said that he couldn't wait for the wedding so that Darien could finally make an honest woman out of me and then give him some grandchildren. I asked mom if she had spiked his tea. She claims that she didn't, but I'm not entirely sure."

Hotaru laughed lightly as she looked over to where Rini and Helios were sitting with their heads pressed close together as they talked. "I wonder how your dad would react if he found out that he has actually known his granddaughter for years."

Serena laughed as well. "He'd probably have a heart attack or an aneurysm. Then he would live out his worst nightmare when he woke up in the hospital and found out Darien was his doctor." Then she sobered some. "So how much does Sammy know about, well…us?"

Suddenly the young man in question stuck his head between them. "You mean do I know that my sister is the hero of love and justice, Sailor Moon, and has been running around Tokyo fighting monsters for the last six years in a skirt that is short enough to give our dad a stroke? Yep, I know that much."

Serena jerked back in surprise. "Sammy!"

He chuckled and set a glass in front of Hotaru before taking a seat next to her. "Don't blow a gasket, Serena. It's not news to me. I've known your little secret for years."

"Ye…years?" Serena stammered.

He rolled his cobalt blue eyes. "Yes, Spaz Queen, years. It really wasn't all that hard to figure out once I thought about it. Everyone else always thought that you were just a big Sailor Moon fan because of the hairstyle, but you had been wearing your hair in meatballs for years before the sailor scouts showed up. And then I started watching for signs. Every time there was an attack, you would disappear. Then there were your injuries. You were always covered in bruises and scrapes. Now I knew you were a klutz, but that was a bit much, and I also noticed that you recovered from them really quick. So like I said, it was fairly easy to put two and two together. Once I had that, the identities of the other scouts was a cinch to figure out."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Serena asked quietly.

Sammy howled with laughter. "Are you kidding? If I had told you that I knew who you were it would have ruined all my fun. I would have never been able to get away with picking on you all those years if you thought you could sic Sailor Moon on me."

Serena shook her head and chuckled. "Unbelieveable! I never would have guessed a little parasite like you had it all figured out."

He smirked at her. "I always told you I was smarter than you gave me credit for. Now beat it, Meatball Head, I'm in the middle of a date with my girlfriend."

She scrunched up her nose at him. "You better watch it Samuel Shingo Tsukino, you may be almost grown, but I'm still your older sister and I'm not above pounding the snot out of you."

Sammy snorted into his drink. "Whatever you say, your highness."

Serena rounded on Hotaru with wide eyes. "Geez Hotaru! What all did you tell him?"

The younger girl tossed her dark hair behind her shoulder, her amethyst eyes meeting those of her princess without wavering. "I told him everything. We have no secrets between us. I cleared it with Trista first and she said it was fine and that he needed to know. It's not like it's going to be a secret forever."

Serena rubbed her temples. "Is the whole world going crazy? Maybe I'll wake up in my bed and discover that all of this is just a dream. Anyway, you two enjoy the rest of your night."

She stood and was making her way back to where Darien sat talking with Jadeite and the newly engaged Kunzite when suddenly the ground shook beneath her feet and a loud boom could be heard over the music.

Chad scrambled quickly to kill the music, and when he did terrifying screams were heard from outside. One of the bouncers stationed at the door ran in and yelled, "Somebody call emergency services! The café across the street just went up in flames."

There was a mad dash for the door as people began spilling out of the club and into the street to see what all of the commotion was. The building across the street that had once housed a small café and pastry shop was indeed engulfed in crackling fire and thick, black smoke. Soot covered café patrons were rushing out the door, coughing as they gulped in deep breaths of fresh air.

Darien, Zoicite, and Amy wasted no time. They began making their way through the people to see if anyone was seriously injured and in need of immediate help. The café's owner was among the victims.

"I don't know what happened," he told Darien. "It sounded like something blew up back in the kitchen, but that's impossible. All of the ovens were turned off for the night."

"Did everyone get out?" Darien asked him as he held a napkin to a cut on the man's head.

"I don't know," the man said in a hysterical voice. "It's late so we weren't very busy, but we did have some customers. But the smoke was so thick in there that I couldn't see if there was anyone left behind."

Darien stood and looked toward the burning building and then a neighboring dark alley. He had only taken one step toward the alley when he was stopped by a hand on his arm. He looked down into his fiancé's big blue eyes.

"No way, Darien!" she snapped. "You are not running off to play the hero tonight. Raye and Jed have already felt it. That fire is out of control and the whole building is about to come down. You can't go in there."

"But Serena…" he began in a stubborn voice.

"No buts!" she fired back. "We can't save everyone from everything, Darien. No matter how much we want to."

At her words there was a loud crash as part of the building's roof fell in. Then a loud scream from inside the building pierced the night. "Ahh! Somebody please, help me!"

Darien flung off Serena's hand. "I have to try!" He began running toward the building, seeing his generals rushing to join him. They all pulled up short when another scream split the air.

"DJ! Stop! Come back!" Katie cried from the front of the crowd. Everyone looked to see a dark haired young man ducking into the building.

"What the hell is that boy thinking?" Darien growled as he lunged after Katie, cutting her off when she attempted to follow DJ. He grabbed her by the arm and thrust her toward Jess and Andrew, who were standing nearby. "Don't let her follow us!" he ordered as he turned back to the fire.

Just then, the whole front of the building exploded.

* * *

DJ's stomach felt like it was full of butterflies as he looked down at the girl he had pinned between himself and a tree. Strands of her pale hair brushed her delicately flushed cheeks and her eyes had taken on a mossy green luminescence as she gazed up at him. He couldn't believe that this was finally happening. He had thought for sure that she would shoot him down when he worked up the nerve to tell her how he felt about her, but by some miracle she returned his feelings.

Her lips were cherry red and slightly parted, just begging for him to kiss them again, so he did. He dipped his head down and brushed his lips softly against her. He heard a ragged whimper come from deep in her throat and smiled to himself as he increased the pressure of the kiss.

Then a loud explosion, accompanied with screams rocketed through the night.

"What the hell was that?" Katie exclaimed as she jerked back in his arms, her hand going automatically to her transformation pendant.

DJ put a comforting hand over hers. "Calm down, Kat. I don't think we're under attack. But it sounds like something's going on."

They both looked and saw an orange glow that was lighting up the night sky.

"DJ," she whispered. "That's the same direction as the Crown."

He heard the concern in her voice and he immediately thought of his family and friends. They were all together at the club right now, and he seriously hoped that the fire wasn't coming from there. "Let's go!" he said tersely, taking Katie's hand and running through the park.

'_Please don't let it be the club,' _they both were pleading as their footsteps pounded down the path toward the park's exit. They paused for a moment in a mixture of relief and horror when they made it out to the street to find the Crown untouched but the building across the way ablaze.

"Oh my god," Katie hissed under her breath. "What happened?"

"I don't know. Let's see what we can find out," he answered, grabbing her hand and leading her toward where he could see Darien and Serena standing and talking.

Before they could reach them there was a loud crash as part of the building fell in and a blood curdling scream came from inside. Reacting purely on instinct, DJ dropped Katie's hand and ran toward the burning building. He heard her scream after him, but he was running too high on adrenaline to stop. The urge to protect people ran strong and hot in his blood and pounded through his veins. He was the son of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, after all.

He ran through the door, dodging the flames as he held the sleeve of his shirt over his mouth and nose so he could breath. His eyes stung and teared up from the thick smoke swirling in the air as he looked around for any signs of life. Tables and chairs lay on their sides and broken dishes and spilled food littered the floor, but there was no sign of any people.

He felt a change in the air and heard a whooshing sound. He dropped to the floor just seconds before a solid sheet of fire raced across the ceiling. A loud explosion rang out as the windows shattered and part of the front wall blew away.

Above the roar of the fire and the crash of glass, DJ heard a sharp scream that broke off into a pained gasped. His head snapped up and whipped around. "Hello! Is anyone in here? Where are you?"

He heard coughing somewhere to his right. And then a raspy voice choked, "Here! I'm over here. Help me, please!"

DJ crawled across the rubble in the direction of the voice. He had gone about twenty feet when he finally came across the owner of the voice. It was a girl that looked to be about his age, dressed in an Azabu High uniform. She was pinned to the floor by a section of wall that had fallen on her. The parts of her that were visible were covered in soot, but he could clearly see the light blonde hair and the pain filled, soft green eyes that stared back at him.

DJ paused for a moment. Through the haze of smoke and heat, he almost thought that it was Katie lying on the floor before him. But his brain quickly told him how idiotic that was. Katie had been with him when he heard the first scream, and he was pretty sure that she was safe and sound outside with the others. At least she better be.

"Please! Help me!" the girl wheezed in a soft voice.

He snapped back to attention. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here," he told her gently. He eyed the pile of sheetrock and wood that laid on top of her before grabbing part of it and lifting. His muscles bulged with the effort, and he was suddenly thankful for all of the hours of strength training that he had been made to endure over the years.

It took quite a bit out of him, but he was able to move the debris off of her. She sighed in relief before breaking into a fresh round of coughing from the smoke.

He stooped down next to her. "Are you okay? Is anything broken?"

The blonde head shook back and forth. "I don't think so. I'm banged and bruised, but I think I'm okay."

He grinned at her, a flash of white teeth against his soot blackened face. "Good! Then let's get out of here before the whole place falls in on us. Can you walk?"

The girl let out a pained moan as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I think so. Just give me a minute."

Another section of the ceiling fell in. "We don't have time for that," DJ told her as he gathered her up in his arms. "Just hold on and I'll have us out of this in a minute."

She sighed and looped her arms around his neck as he picked her up bridal style. "Thank you."

He felt a rush of protectiveness as he held her and began looking for the best way to get out. Fire had completely consumed the front of the building, so going back out the way he came in was not an option. He peered through the thick smoke, looking for another way and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a side entrance that would go out to an alley. He hurried to the door and flung it open. They were almost home free.

Then the burning roof fell in.

* * *

"Let go of me! Let go of me! DJ!" Katie screamed as she struggled against the iron grip of Andrew's arms around her. Her escape attempts were futile because there was no way she could break his hold in her hysterical state.

She felt hands grip her face and found her blurry, tear filled eyes staring into the concerned sapphire gaze of her future mother.

"Katie, sweetheart," Jess said in an even voice. "Try to calm down some. Getting yourself all worked up isn't going to help the situation. Everything will be fine."

"What's going on?" Alex asked as he appeared with Emma at his side. "Kat, I could hear you screaming a block away." He looked around slowly. "Where's DJ?"

At the mention of his friend's name, Katie sagged in Andrew's arms as her knees gave out and her body began to shake uncontrollably as sobs tore from her throat. Alex was at her side in a heartbeat, pulling her from their future father and into his embrace.

"What has that stupid son of a bitch done now?" he muttered. He knew that this had something to do with his friend by Katie's reaction and the looks of concern he saw on everyone's faces as he looked around. Serena looked just as distraught as his sister and it appeared that Darien's arms were the only thing keeping her from crumpling to the ground. Rini had her head buried in Helios's chest. The scouts and generals looked extremely concerned well.

He felt his sister's hot, wet face against his neck and heard her mumble. "The idiot gave into that hero complex of his. We heard somebody scream from inside the building and he ran in after them. Darien and the other guys tried to follow, but the building started falling apart. I'm scared for him, Alex. I don't know if he'll be able to make it back out."

"Shh," he shushed her quietly as he gently rubbed her back. "You're not thinking clearly. If you calm your mind you might be able to sense his aura and tell if he's okay."

Her head snapped up. "Omigosh! You're right! But I've never tried to search for his life force before. I may not be able to do it."

Alex shook his head. He and Emma had discovered the bond that they shared together not long after they started dating, and he knew from listening to his girlfriend's enthusiastic ramblings earlier that the same kind of bond existed between his sister and his best friend. He had suspected as much when DJ had let it slip one day that he felt Katie coming to join them in the cafeteria for lunch two minutes before she actually got there. So if DJ was able to sense her so easily, Katie should be able to pick up on his presence in return.

"You can do it," he told her as he led her slightly away from the others.

She sat down on the curb and clamped her hands over her ears to block out all the sound and screwed her eyes shut as she tried to clear her mind.

"What is she doing?" Jess asked as she walked over with a supporting arm around Serena.

Mina was on the blonde's other side, holding her up as well. "Good grief! Has she gone catatonic too?"

Emma snorted from nearby. "I figured you, above anyone else, would be able to recognize when someone is reaching out with a soul bond. But this is the first time that she's done this, so it may take her a minute to locate him."

Mina eyed the brunette speculatively. "You seem to know a lot about how soul bonds work."

Emma's lips twitched like she was fighting back a smile. "Let's just say that I'm not ignorant about them and leave it at that."

During this exchange, Katie had been focused on nothing but locating that glimmer of aura that would let her know that DJ was still alive. She reached out with her mind, sorting through the shimmers of the other auras all around her, looking desperately for the one that she had felt brush hers a few times before.

She could feel the energy from the people nearest her and the other scouts that were further away in the crowd, each one glowing with their planet's respective color. She sensed her father and the generals where they were circling the block, trying to find another way into the building. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught a flash of gold, but she quickly determined that it was Darien she felt, not DJ.

She was about to give up, certain that DJ must be dead, when the strangest sensation came over her. Golden energy reached out to entwine with her silver, and then she felt the heat. She felt like she was choking as the smell of smoke filled her nose. Then, as quick as it happened, she felt a rush of cooler air as a loud crashing sound filled her ears.

Her eyes popped open just in time to see the roof of the burning building cave in, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She was focused completely on that sparkling golden aura, and nothing else mattered.

She jumped to her feet, crying softly, "He's okay!" before running through the crowd. She reached the front just as the first fire trucks and ambulances pulled up. She felt his presence growing closer, and she looked around wildly, searching for her dark prince.

Then, like a slap in the face, his aura slammed into hers full force. It may have been her imagination, but she could have sworn she heard his voice in her head. _"Chill out, Tinkerbell. No sense getting your back up. I'm fine."_

Then she saw him, covered in soot, but gloriously alive as he came out from the smoke filled alley beside the building. As a matter of fact, it felt like his aura had been shoved up her nose, but there he was.

Katie almost fell to her knees. He was rumpled and covered in soot and ashes, but she had never seen a more wonderful sight. When he walked over to an ambulance and placed something on a waiting gurney, she realized that he had been carrying someone in his arms.

She ducked past two firefighters that tried to stop her and ran to him, barely remembering to not call upon the added speed of her alter ego. It would look suspicious if she moved so fast that she blurred out of sight.

"DJ!" she cried as she drew near him, and he turned just in time to catch her in his arms as she flung herself at him. "You big, dumb, stupid…jerk! What the hell were you thinking?"

She heard him heave a deep sigh in her ear as he held her tight against his chest. "I'm all right, Kat."

She reared back to glare at him furiously. "You and your stupid hero complex! Only an idiot would run into a burning building like that! I could strangle you for being such a dumb ass!" New tears began to stream down her cheeks.

DJ saw the fear and hurt on her face and felt a flash of guilt for worrying her the way he had. He hugged her close again. "I'm sorry."

There was a choked laugh from next to them that broke off into a cough, and they both turned to the gurney beside them to find the girl that DJ had rescued watching them with a smile on her black streaked face. "Girlfriend?" she asked in amusement.

DJ felt his face flush warm and he rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Uh, yeah. I'm DJ by the way, DJ Shields, and this is my girlfriend Katie Fu…Morgan. Are you okay?"

She grinned and nodded. "I am now, thanks to you. I would have been charbroiled if you hadn't been brave enough to come in after me. I'm Susan Wellington, and I knew who you were the moment I saw you. We have Advanced Biology and Calculus together every afternoon."

"Really?" DJ said, thinking hard to try to place her face. "I'm sorry. I thought I was familiar with everyone in my classes. I guess I haven't paid as much attention as I thought."

She laughed lightly. "I'm not surprised. You haven't been at Azabu all that long, and you always sit up at the front of the classroom. I usually stay in the back."

"Oh," DJ mumbled, but he was cut off as he was hit by a flying blur of gold and pink as Serena and Rini tackled him. Katie stumbled back a few feet to avoid getting trampled.

"You are in so much trouble!" Serena scolded her future son in a shaky voice. "If you weren't almost seventeen years old I would be tempted to bend you over my knee! As it is, I am tempted to ground you for the rest of your life."

DJ winced. As the son of Neo Queen Serenity, he had been blessed by the power of the Silver Crystal just like everyone else in the future. Therefore he had a lifespan that bordered on immortality and would never age past his early to mid twenties. That was a long time to spend under house arrest.

Luckily Darien chose that moment to arrive and he decided to intervene. "Leave him alone, Serena. He was only doing what he thought was best."

Serena huffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Of course you would agree with him. You two are so much alike. You would have run in there right along with him if the front of the building hadn't blown up."

Darien rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying that I'm happy that he put himself in danger, but it all worked out." He turned a professional eye on Susan. "Besides, he saved this young lady from dying. You can't be mad at him for that."

"Well I can!" Rini growled as she grabbed her brother by the collar and gave him a shake. "You have done some stupid things before, but this one ranks right up there with that time when you were twelve and you…mph!"

DJ quickly covered her mouth. "Ix-nay on the uture-fay!" he hissed.

Rini's eyes went wide. "Oops!"

"Well you're a lucky girl," said the nearby paramedic that everyone had forgotten was there. "You have a few bumps and scrapes, but other than that you seem to be okay. I don't think you even need to go to the hospital, unless you feel the need to see a doctor."

Susan shook her head and jumped up from the gurney. "No, I'm fine. As a matter of fact, I better get going. My parents were taking a carriage ride in the park and they knew I was here. They're probably freaking out right now. Thanks for everything DJ! I'll see you at school!"

"Wow! And people used to say I was hyper," Katie said as she watched her schoolmate disappear quickly into the crowd.

* * *

"Whew! What a night!" Jess said as she walked out of the bathroom and threw herself across the bed. "I haven't seen this much drama and action outside of a movie in a long time."

Andrew chuckled from where he sat with his back against the headboard. "Yeah, it was wild night. But it was a good one too. The part about the fire sucked, but the dinner and dancing was nice."

"Mm hmmm," Jess purred as she snuggled up with her head on his lap. "I think everyone had a good time, and I'm glad DJ didn't get hurt when he pulled that idiotic stunt. Serena would have had a meltdown if something had happened to him."

Andrew snorted. "Right! And everybody knows that a Serena fit is almost as bad as one of yours. I'm glad we were all spared that."

Dark blue eyes glared at him as Jess sat up. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

He patted her on the head. "Nothing honey. I was just simply pointing out that you are kinda known for your over the top dramatics. And let's not even get started on the subject of your temper."

_WHAP!_

He shook his head and blinked as he looked over at his fiancé. She sat there holding a pillow on her lap with an innocent expression on her face.

"Did you seriously just whack me with a pillow?" he growled.

Her lips twitched. "Who…me?"

Hazel eyes narrowed. "Yes…you."

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" she asked, not quite able to smother the laughter in her voice.

_WHAP!_

Now it was her turn to blink. "Oh no! You did not just hit me with pillow."

Andrew snickered, holding his own ammunition in his hands. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it princess?"

Jess's cheeks flushed pink. "Ooo, those are fighting words, sun boy! Prepare to eat feathers!" She launched herself at him.

"Ha!" he crowed when he successfully dodged her. "Too slow! Maybe you do need to start training again."

She smirked. "That's what you think." She moved so fast that she blurred. On second she was sitting, and the next she was on his back shoving a pillow in his face. "Whatcha gonna do now, hmm?"

"I'm sure I can think of something," came his muffled reply. He somehow reached behind him until his fingers came into contact with her ribs.

The response was instantaneous. Jess shrieked and let go of him to flop back onto the bed. "No, please! Not the tickling! That's playing dirty. You know how ticklish I am."

Andrew grinned devilishly as he turned until he was hovering over her prone form with his face only inches from hers. "No, it's called being smart and knowing your enemies weaknesses so that you can use them to your advantage."

Her blue eyes twinkled in merriment. "So that means that I can exploit your weaknesses as well." She raised up slightly and began applying kisses to his neck, making her way up to his ear. "Do you surrender?" she breathed softly.

He pulled back a little to look down at her. Her face was flushed and her eyes swirled with passion. Her breathing was already affected as well and escaped her lips in rapid little puffs. His own elevated respiration gave testament to the fact that he was in a similar state.

"Marry me," he whispered to her.

She smiled at him. "I think you already asked me this before and I said yes. I have the ring on my finger to prove it."

His hazel eyes darkened. "No. I mean marry me now."

Jess sighed. "Drew, I…"

"Look, I know you said you wanted to wait until after you finished school. But I don't see any reason to keep putting it off," he broke in. "I love you and you love me. We're already living together. So why wait? You already said that you don't want a big wedding, so we'll keep it quiet. We'll elope if that's what you want. I don't care as long as you become my wife."

She began to look a little irritated. "Why do you have to keep pushing this? Yes, I love you, and I will marry you. I think the two kids down the hall are proof enough of that. But we don't have to rush this. Things are so hectic right now. I have graduation coming up in a few months. You are in the middle of a rapidly expanding business. We have this deal with the kids going on. And we have Serena and Darien's wedding that we are both involved in. Don't you think we have enough on our plate?"

Andrew wouldn't be dissuaded. "All the more reason to do something for ourselves. We can just go somewhere quiet and say our vows. There's nothing I want more than to officially make you Mrs. Furuhata. That way I know that you are mine and nobody else will have claims on you."

She reached up and caressed his cheek. "I am yours, and nothing will ever change that. I do want to become your wife. If it will make you feel better, I promise to think about us getting married sooner than I planned. Okay?"

He grinned. At least he was making progress. Usually she stood firm by her decision to wait. First it had been until the summer. Then she moved the date back to the fall, after Serena and Darien's September wedding. She said that she didn't want to overshadow their special time by having people focusing on them for being newlyweds. This was the first time she had considered his idea.

"Okay," he agreed happily. "I won't say any more about it. You think about it and let me know. I'm ready whenever you are."

Jess giggled. "Fine. Now stop talking so much and give me a kiss."

Andrew's head lowered. "As you wish, my love."

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Darien whispered softly as he trailed his fingers lightly up and down Serena's bare back.

"Mmm," she mumbled into his chest as she snuggled closer. "All kinds of things, I guess. How much I love you, how I would still like to take DJ over my knee for being reckless, school, Sammy and Hotaru, Mina and Kunzite, and last but not least, how to keep from strangling my mother over wedding plans."

Darien chuckled. "That's a lot of things to have running through your head at once."

"Tell me about it," Serena moaned. "And that's really only a small part. I have so many thoughts going through my brain that sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode."

"You take too much on yourself," Darien told her as he combed his fingers through her long silky hair. "You always worry so much about everyone else and never about yourself. You need to concentrate on yourself. Let everyone else take care of their own relationships. And as far as your mother goes, well, you are her only daughter and she only gets one shot at helping you plan our wedding."

She raised her head off his chest. "But that's just it, she's not helping me plan anything. She's completely taking over. Every time I pick out something she contradicts me."

"_Oh no, dear, you don't want a chocolate wedding cake. White is traditional to have," _Serena said in a perfect imitation of Ilene Tsukino's voice. _"No, the bridesmaids can't have different color dresses. They all have to match. Not red roses, white or pink would be much more suitable. Actually, carnations may be more appropriate."_

Darien laid a hand over his heart and gasped, "No! She dismissed my sacred roses so easily. How dare she!"

Serena swatted at his arm. "Don't be a smartass! I'm being serious. I've dreamed for years how my wedding would be, and she's destroying every bit of it. You should have seen us when we were looking at dresses. She made me try on this horrible thing with five miles of ruffles and a skirt at least ten feet wide. It was absolutely hideous! Then she stood there with a big smile and told me that I looked just like a princess. I had to just about bite my tongue off to keep from telling her that I never wore anything that horrendous even when I actually was a princess."

Darien wrapped his arms around her. "Honey, you're overreacting. She's just trying to help. I'm sure if you told her how you feel she'll be more than happy to help you put together the wedding that you want."

She pushed away from him and sat up. "I tried that already and she just brushed me off. She even told me that I didn't have to worry about any of the details and that she would take care of it. All I have to do is show up at the right time and place. She's even roped Andrew's mom into helping her now, and they're completely taking over. She won't listen to anything I say. Can you see me walking down the aisle in a big poofy dress with white and pink carnations all around and all of the girls in pink dresses? It will be a disaster!"

Darien thought for a moment. "Well, there is one thing you can do. Have you tried talking to your dad? I'm sure he could make her back off."

Serena shuddered. "No. I don't want to drag him into this. He gets uptight every time the wedding is even mentioned and I don't want to cause problems between him and mom. Maybe we should just elope. That would solve everything."

The ebony head shook back and forth. "No Serena. You always said that you wanted a big wedding with all of your friends and family there. So that's what we're going to do. It will be a day that we'll remember for the rest of our lives, and we're going to do it like you want it. I don't care if you want to recite our vows in jeans and t-shirts, as long as you are happy."

Serena sighed and lay back down in his arms. "I'm tired of thinking about it tonight. I'll figure out something tomorrow."

"I'm sure you will," Darien murmured as he rested his cheek against the top of her head.

In minutes they were both asleep.

* * *

Discord fixed a fake smile on his face as Sasha stepped through the portal and into the time plane. "So how did it go?"

A feline smile curled her lips. "Like a dream. The first phase of the plan has been set in motion. Those idiots will have no idea what hit them. By the time I'm done they will be ready to rip one another to shreds. Instead of attacking them from the outside, they will be slowly destroyed from the inside. Then they will be easy pickings."

Nearby Jack snorted. "What makes you think this will work? This isn't a whole lot different from what we tried before, and that backfired on us. So why are you so sure this plan will succeed?"

Sasha tossed her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder. "Because they were already fractured when we moved in before, so there wasn't a lot of damage we could do. But now the three of them have grown impossibly close. I felt it earlier, they have formed a bond between them so strong that they practically sense each other's locations and feelings. They may even already be able to communicate telepathically."

"So why have we stopped the attacks?" Jack snarled. "The longer we wait, the stronger they become. And the stronger they come, the closer they come to claiming the power of the gods."

"Tsk tsk," Discord admonished his young protégé. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase _'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'_? I believe that fits most appropriately here."

Sasha giggled. "Except maybe it should be _'The stronger they are, the more they will shatter when they fall apart'_. It will be amusing to watch them crumble. I don't particularly have anything against Alex, but I want to see DJ and Katie suffer. I want them to pay for thinking they are so much better than everybody else. The supposed hatred they felt for one another in the past will seem tame compared to the raging emotions they will feel by the time I get through with them. We may not even have to kill them ourselves. They just might succeed in killing each other."

Jack's brown eyes gleamed. "Sounds good. Do you need any help?"

Sasha eyed him speculatively. "Maybe. I'll let you know. I'm going to take this one slow and easy. I don't want to jump the gun."

* * *

Alex looked at his girlfriend through slightly bleary eyes, an evil grin turned up the corners of his lips.

Emma looked back at him warily. "Uh oh! What are you thinking, Alex? I don't trust that look."

The grin spread. "I dare you to take off your shirt."

Katie almost spit out the drink she had just taken a sip of. "Are you kidding, Alex? God, I never knew that you were such a perv."

The brunette boy knocked back a shot of rum. "Hey, I thought we said anything goes."

"Nice," DJ drawled as he tossed his own shot into his mouth.

The four teens had congregated on the roof of the apartment building after coming home from the club. Emma had blatantly misused the power of the Luna Pen to turn herself older and go into a liquor store to buy the rum they were drinking. It wasn't anything they hadn't done before. As a matter of fact, it felt a little bit like old times, just without as many people. Skye, Lita and Nephrite's daughter, always seemed to be able get a hold of booze when they were having a party. No one ever asked her how she did it, she was kind of intimidating.

"I'm not doing it," Emma said with a shake of her head. "I'm not into public nudity, and it's not exactly summer out here."

DJ snorted a laugh. "It's a good thing Jayden isn't here. He'd dare you to strip butt naked and dance in the street."

"Oh please," Katie retorted. "That boy is a mental case. The last time we let him hang out with us he almost set himself on fire after only one drink."

Jayden, Raye and Jadeite's fourteen year old son, was one of the youngest members of their group that hung out. They normally didn't allow him or Amy and Zoicite's daughter, Hannah, to drink alcohol. But the last time they had been together as a group the little punk had snuck some. It must have hit him pretty hard because he had somehow managed to set his pant leg on fire with his powers.

"Well the point is he's not here and I'm the one that made the dare," Alex with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So what's the verdict, Em? Either do the deed or pay the price."

Emma grimaced as she drank down the large double shot of rum that was before her. "Yuck! I don't see how you guys drink that stuff straight. It's worse than battery acid."

"Here! Chase it down," Katie told her, handing her a glass of cola.

"Thanks," the golden blonde replied, guzzling half the glass in less than two seconds. "That was disgusting!"

"Tell me about it," Katie agreed as she took a sip from her own rum and coke. "It's much better when it's mixed."

"But you catch a buzz quicker by drinking it straight," Alex protested. "Mixing it just drags it out. Anyhow, Emma didn't complete her dare, so it's my turn again."

His dark blue eyes pinned Katie, and she felt a shiver run down her spine at the mischievous look in them. This was not going to be good.

"I dare you, sis," he began slowly. "To kiss DJ."

She shook her head in confusion. That was it? " Okay. That's simple enough." She leaned toward her new boyfriend.

"Uh, uh, uh, just a second there," Alex interrupted. "I mean a real kiss. I'm talking fully involved and lasting at least thirty seconds." A wide grin spread across his face as Emma leaned over and whispered in his ear. "While sitting on his lap."

Katie flushed brick red at his words, but the gauntlet had been thrown. She had two choices, make out with DJ in front of her brother and his girlfriend for thirty seconds, or drink that disgusting glass of booze. She was already feeling a little tipsy from what she had drank, and really didn't want to press her luck. Andrew, Jess, Serena, and Darien would all hit the roof if they were hung over tomorrow.

She looked over at DJ and saw that he looked mildly embarrassed as well. "Oh what the hell," she muttered as she slid into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling his head down to engage his lips in a scorching kiss.

DJ's mind went completely blank for a moment as he was taken by surprise at the feel of her mouth on his, but he quickly regained his thoughts enough to respond back just as eagerly as she was. He felt her tongue swiping against his lower lip, and he quickly opened to allow her access. He felt the vibration as she moaned softly into the kiss.

Katie forgot that they had an audience as she reveled in the feelings she was experiencing. This was what she had dreamed of for the last couple of years, only more. Much, much more.

"Uh, guys," Alex's voice piped up. "Your thirty seconds are up. You can stop now."

'_Go away!' _DJ growled in his head.

'_I am going to peel his skin off if he doesn't leave us alone!' _Katie thought violently.

Alex started as he heard both his sister and his best friend's voices cursing him inside his head. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "How the hell did you guys do that?"

The smooching couple reluctantly withdrew from each other.

"What are you talking about?" Katie demanded crossly.

Alex opened and closed his mouth several times before his voice would work. "Would you really skin me alive, sis?"

Katie looked confused. "Huh? Are you drunk? I didn't say anything."

Alex shook his head. "I heard you. You said you were going to peel my skin off if I didn't leave you alone." His eyes shifted to DJ. "And you growled at me to go away, just like a grumpy old grizzly."

The still embracing pair's mouths fell open at this proclamation. "But I only thought that!" they exclaimed at the same time. Then they looked at each other. "Jinx!" they cried together.

"Wait a minute, I want to try something," Alex said closing his eyes. A few seconds later, Katie and DJ both clearly heard his voice saying, _'You two kiss like you're sucking lemons.'_

"Holy shit!" the pair shouted at the same time.

Alex's eyes popped open. "Do you guys know what this means?"

All three of them spoke together, "We can speak telepathically!"

* * *

Zeus, the king of the gods, paced back and forth in front of the three he had assembled. "I hope you three know what you are doing by choosing these…kids to grant these powers to. It didn't work out so well last time."

"I said the same thing," Apollo said nonchalantly. "They are total train wrecks. At least two of them are. I have a certain amount of confidence in my choice. He seems like a pretty well grounded boy."

"Oh, you did not just go there!" Gaia shouted as she sprang to her feet. "I think my choice shows just as much promise as yours does. After all, he has the royal blood of the noble house of Terra running through his veins, even if his father is a reincarnation."

"Would both of you hotheads pipe down for a second!" Selene snapped uncharacteristically. "I understand what Zeus is trying to say. I have faith in Katie the same as both of you have in DJ and Alex, but this could get ugly before the end."

Apollo waved a dismissive hand. "I'm sure they still have some trials to overcome, but I think they are coming along great, better than I thought they would the first time we came across them in that cave when they were bickering among themselves."

"You have to admit he has a point," Gaia inputted. "The three of them are closer now than they have ever been. Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward never achieved this level of solidarity."

Zeus rolled his eyes. "At least one of you seems to understand the volatile situation that could be brewing. Have either one of you other idiots actually thought about the ramifications of the choices you've made? This whole thing could blow up in your faces. You got lucky that the first three you picked were able to seal Discord away with their own powers."

Apollo sat up straighter. "What do mean? I just had to wait until someone that was a descendant of Jonathan and blessed with solar power was born. How could that backfire?"

Gaia tossed her mahogany hair back. "Right! I would have chosen the young Princess Serenity if she hadn't inherited the power of the moon from her mother instead of her father's power. I still don't understand why Selene didn't claim her."

"I had my reasons," Selene retorted, making a show out of studying her nails. "She wouldn't have been as compatible with the other two. But have the two of you thought about how all three of our little chosen ones share similar bloodlines? They may each control their own little slice of the galaxy, but they are all very much the same."

Apollo paled under his everlasting tan while Gaia's mouth fell open.

"I never thought of that," the Earth goddess whispered. "This could be intense."

"That's right," Zeus confirmed. "While your little pets may individually control the power of the Earth, Moon, and Sun, they are also a mix of all three bloodlines through their parent's reincarnations. That means that there is a possibility that the power you intend to bestow on them could be distributed between the three of them. If they aren't properly prepared this could have disastrous results."

Apollo shook his head. "Crap, we're screwed! I can't believe we never thought of that. If we don't grant them the power of the Trinity, Discord will destroy everything. And if we do they may self destruct and not even survive to face him."

Zeus's almost colorless eyes narrowed in thought. "I wouldn't jump to conclusions. They have the makings of being a strong united force. But the three of you must be completely sure they are ready for the power before you give it to them. As long as any doubt resides in their hearts, they are doomed to failure. Such is the burden we gods share when we decide to tamper with the fate of mortals. But without them we have no reason for existing."

* * *

"Dad, I need to talk to you," Serena said as she sat down on the couch in her childhood home.

"What is it, pumpkin?" Ken Tsukino asked as he lowered the newspaper that he had been reading while lounging in his armchair. His brows pulled together in consternation. "Darien didn't do anything to hurt you, did he? Do I need to pull out my shotgun?"

"No, no! Nothing like that!" Serena quickly reassured him. She had thought long and hard about Darien's advice before deciding to ask for her father's help in reining in her rambunctious mother. "It's just…well, I have a problem."

Ken jumped up from the chair, steam pouring from his ears. "Oh my god! You're pregnant, aren't you? I'll kill him! I don't care if he is a well respected doctor! I'll see him six feet under for daring to dishonor my little girl!"

Serena quickly stood. "No dad! I'm not pregnant! I have something else I need to talk to you about."

Ken visibly deflated and sat back down in his chair. "Okay sweetheart, what is it?"

"Well," she hedged. "It's about mom."

He perked up. "What about your mother?"

Serena finally broke. "I don't know what to do, daddy! I want to plan my dream wedding, and mom keeps railroading me. Nothing is turning out the way I want it. So far she has shot down every idea that I've had. This is my wedding and supposed to be my day, but mom is taking over. I don't want to hurt her feelings, but we have totally different tastes. I hate the dresses she picked out and the flowers are hideous. What about what I want? It's my wedding! If I want chocolate cake, then I should have chocolate cake!"

The eyes behind the man's glasses misted over as he looked at his distraught daughter. "Oh honey, I was afraid that something like this was going to happen. You know how your mother has a tendency to take control of things like this. Would you like me to talk to her?"

Serena beamed a trembling smile. "Would you, daddy?" She flew across the room to hug him tightly. "Thank you so much! You don't think I'm a bad person for not wanting to do things the way she wants, do you?"

Ken opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped by a feminine voice from the doorway.

"No. You're not a bad person, sweetheart. I guess I have been overbearing and not considerate of what you want," Ilene said from the doorway.

Serena jumped at the sound. "Mom! I thought you were out shopping."

Ilene smiled at her. "Well I'm done now. And I guess it's good thing too. I suppose I'm in the need of a reality check."

"You mean you're not mad at me?" Serena asked tremulously.

"Not at all," Ilene reassured her. "Every girl dreams of her wedding from an early age. I guess I never thought of that. We'll start over from scratch. And I promise that we'll do things the way you want it."

Serena flew across the room and embraced her mother. "I love you mom!"

Ilene hugged her back. "I love you too, darling. Now! Would you like to stay for lunch?"

Serena glanced at her watch and shrieked when she saw the time. "Oh no! I'm supposed to meet Darien for lunch in five minutes! I've gotta run! Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" She dashed out the door, slamming it behind her.

Ken chuckled. "I guess some things never change."

* * *

"I don't want to go," Emma said tearfully as she held tight to Alex.

"I don't want you to go either," he told her as he clung just as tight to her. "I'm going to miss you."

Her arms clenched convulsively around his neck. "I'll miss you more. Home's not the same without you there."

Sailor Pluto cleared her throat. "Emma, it's time."

The golden haired girl pulled back and sniffled. "I know."

Alex brushed the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips. "I promise I'll be home as soon as I can. Don't forget about me."

She flung herself back into his arms. "I could never forget you! I love you, Alex. Please be careful so you can come back home to me."

He took her face between his hands. "I love you too."

Katie looked away, tears stinging in her eyes, as her brother leaned down to give his girlfriend a goodbye kiss. She felt an arm around her shoulders and looked up into the face of the one she loved.

Even though she and DJ had officially been a couple for only a little more than twelve hours, she couldn't imagine being separated from him. If she had to go home and leave him here in the past it would tear her apart.

"Let's take a walk and give them some privacy," DJ whispered in her ear.

She nodded slowly and allowed him to take her hand to lead her out of the small grove that Pluto seemed to favor when she was making time jumps.

"It's sad, isn't it?" she said softly when they had walked far enough to be out of hearing range. "I mean, they only had one day and night together after being apart for so long, and now they have to be separated again without knowing when they'll be together again. It sucks!"

"Yeah, it does," DJ agreed, kicking a rock in his path with his toe. "All we can hope for is for this crap with Discord to be over soon so we can all go home where we belong."

She blinked back tears. "Yeah. I really miss mom and dad. Having Jess and Drew around is cool, but it's not the same."

He nodded. "Same here. Serena and Darien are great. It's nice to see the more casual, laid back side of my parents, but I miss the ones that I've known all my life."

Katie sighed and stared up at the sky. "This whole situation pisses me off sometimes. We never asked for any of this. I was happy with my life the way it was. I had my music, my family, my friends and…well, even though we fought, I had you. I just wish I knew exactly what we are supposed to be doing so we can go back to our lives."

DJ grinned in an attempt to lighten the mood. " So when we get back to our wonderful lives, does that mean that we go back to being mortal enemies again?"

She looked at him shyly. "I don't think I could ever see you as an enemy again. Honestly, I wonder if I ever truly considered you an enemy. It was probably just a defense mechanism because I never thought you would look at me twice."

He smirked. "Oh I looked at you all right. I always looked forward to seeing you. And then you would open your mouth and make me feel like strangling you. I guess you could say you brought out the best and the worst in me."

She grimaced a little. "How did you put up with me acting like such a psycho all those months? Most people would have written me off as a lost cause and moved on."

DJ shrugged. "I would be lying if I didn't say the idea never crossed my mind. But my mom has always told me to never lose hope. I knew the real you was still there, buried inside. So I just made up my mind to stand beside you no matter what. I figured sooner or later the true you would resurface."

Katie shuddered at his words. "I'm glad you did, because I didn't. I felt so lost and weak, like I was drifting in an endless abyss of darkness. I pushed myself to train hard, thinking that it would make me feel stronger so the pain and lonliness would go away. I shoved away everyone that I loved, even my brother, my twin, thinking it was for the best. Sometimes I even felt like I was dead, as if I had truly died that night in the bay, and it scared me. The only time I felt alive was when I was fighting with you. When I was with you I could believe I was still living. The darkness and despair is a powerful force, and I hope to never feel that way again."

He pulled her close and held her tight. "I promise," he whispered to her. "You'll never go through that again. I won't let you. I'm going to be here by your side, no matter what."

"Okay! Break it up!" Alex's voice broke into their conversation. "I've got some serious moping to do, and I can't do it if the two of you insist on being so disgustingly lovey dovey in front of me."

The two teens sprang apart and looked at him guiltily. "Oops! Sorry!" they said together.

Alex pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know, I'm used to me and Kat talking at the same time, but hearing the two of you in stereo surround sound is going to take some getting used to. Anyway, I'm depressed. Let's go to the arcade and drown ourselves in milkshakes."

Katie glanced at her watch. "But it's barely ten in the morning."

He shrugged. "It's never too early for sugar therapy. And with the way I feel right now, it's either that or going back to the apartment and finishing off what's left in that bottle from last night."

Katie looped her arm through his. "One chocolate and peanut butter milkshake coming up."

* * *

Discord sat at the time gate alone, watching his prey through the river of time. He growled deep in his chest. His existence was becoming more and more complicated by the day. He had hoped that those troublesome gods would have given up on their grand scheme to dispose of him after the failure of Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward, but it seemed they were determined to get in his way.

Once upon a time he had been the most feared being in the universe. He had conquered galaxies without a second thought and with little fuss, until he had come to this one. He probably should have moved on when he had met with such a strong resistance from this galaxy's protectors, but the amount of power that flowed here only made him more determined to claim it for himself.

A snarl ripped its way up his throat. It was pitiful that he, one of the supreme beings in the universe, felt threatened by mere children. It was an idea that he would have found laughable a few millenia ago.

"Aww, what's the matter?" a soft voice crooned from the mist. "Is the big, bad Discord feeling frustrated?"

"Who's there?" he snapped, looking around warily. Sasha was off planning the next phase of her mission with Jack and his guardians and sentinels were secreted away at his compound outside Crystal Tokyo. He should be alone.

A tall, slim figure stepped into view. Dressed all in black, they wore a long cloak that trailed behind them like a cape and a deep hood that hid their face.

"Looks like you could use some help," the person answered, ignoring his question.

"How did you get here?" he demanded. "No one should be able to get inside the time plane without my permission."

The dark dressed figure chuckled and held up a hand, showing him a glittering time key. "But you're the one that sent me here to help. Well your future self did. In the future I come from you control everything, and I am your right hand. You sent me back in time because without me you will fail."

Discord felt anger course through him at the mention of his possible failure. "How do I know you're telling the truth? This could be a trick of Neo Queen Serenity's to try and defeat me."

He shot a blast of dark energy at the person, only to stare in open mouthed shock as they deflected his attack with a mere flick of their fingers.

"Oh please!" they scoffed. "Just because I work for you in the future doesn't mean you have any power over me. Trust me, I'm not a pushover. And if you don't want my help, that's okay too. I'll just go away and let you fall flat on your ass. Then the future will change. The Trinity will never be fractured and your revenge will not be complete. Your enemies will mow you down like a dog in the street. And believe me, I couldn't give a shit either way."

Discord paused to consider what the cold, sneering voice was saying. Help that had been sent to him by his own future self could be advantageous in this situation. "If I agree to your help, I think I at least deserve to know who I'm relying on."

A dark chuckle came from inside the hood. "I guess you do. Hold on to your socks, oh mighty one, because they're about to be blown off."

A pale hand reached up to push the hood back, and Discord's mouth fell open in shock at the sight of just who his mysterious visitor was.

A wide smile curved full lips. "Surprise! I bet you never thought you'd see me standing here, did you? You have to admit that I can be much more help to you than Jack or Sasha."

An answering smile spread across his face. Now he had a secret weapon. One that his enemies would never see coming. He had no idea how or why this person had come to be in his service in the future, but he wasn't about to pass it up.

His look turned smug. "Welcome to the battle."

**A/N **I hope this wasn't as much of a cliffhanger as what I have been leaving. I'm heading home tomorrow, so I hope to have the next chapter out in a more timely manner. Discord has a new accomplice. Who could it be? Hmm...I'm not telling, at least not yet. I'm sorry again for the delay, and I hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to drop me those reviews. I live for them! Later gators!

~Sere~


	11. Jealousies and Mysteries

**A/N **Hey everybody! I got another update ready for you in a week. Aren't you proud of me? I just want to say thank you to everybody who sent me congrats and condolences after the last chapter. It was sad to say goodbye to a member of my animal family, but he was almost 18, so he led a long life. And my own sweet old dog is still doing well. It was cool to become an aunt again (for the fifth time). This makes baby number 3 for my sister (shudders…I have my hands full with the 1 I have) and this is my younger sister I'm talking about. I guess me being the oldest of four kids made me the smartest one after all.

Anyhow, I loved reading all of your guesses about who my new mystery player is. Some of you were really close if not dead on with your choices, but I'm not telling. At least not yet. I've got a lot of writing on my plate right now with this story and my prequel to What If, Rekindled. To those of you reading that, I hope to have chapter 2 up in a few days. I also have several other projects I'm working on. I want to give a shout out to xo Usako ox, who gave me an excellent story idea. I've already started on it as well and I love it. Thanks for inspiring my already overworked muse…lol. Okay, moving on to the hugs for my fabulous reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**anime-lover10**

**KageNoNeko**

**My Veggie Burger**

**applenica**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**LBricker88**

**tiny2008**

**amaramichelle**

**Luthien Morgon**

**nileena**

**saveme57**

**Serandi82**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**rainbabie**

**S dot Serenity**

**Lulubelle09**

**ange de l'aube**

Thank you guys! You know I love you. Now I'm sure you're tired of hearing me rambling, so I'm going to shut up and let you read.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 10

Jealousies and Mysteries

"Okay, that's enough for today," Nebula called out to her young charges.

"Finally!" the fuku clad girl moaned as she fell back on the ground. She shimmered for a moment as her clothes returned to jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt.

"What's the matter, can't you keep up with me anymore, sis?" said a boy in black as he sat next to her.

She pushed him with her foot. "You wish, Alex! I can hang with you any day. I'm just not feeling it today."

Alex snorted as he let his transformation fade. "What happened to the Sailor Eclipse that spent her every free moment training until she was ready to drop? You're slacking."

Katie scrunched her nose up at him. "I'm not slacking. I've just found better things to do with my time."

Dark blue eyes rolled at her. "Yeah, like making out with my best friend all the time. Do you know how disgusting it is to see the two of you groping each other every time I turn around?"

"Then don't watch us, you voyeur!" she snapped. "I've always respected your privacy when it comes to you and Emma, and I expect the same respect in return. What goes on between DJ and I is between us."

"I know that," the brunette boy growled. "But the two of you don't exactly have the best history together. If he does anything to hurt you I'll have to break his face."

"And I don't need you to take care of me!" she shot back. "I'm a big girl and can take care of myself. Geez, I'm not some fragile little china doll that's going to shatter into a million pieces at any moment. Give me some credit. And besides, DJ has been nothing but a perfect gentleman for the last few weeks."

That much was true. In the three weeks that had passed since Valentine's Day the two of them had gotten along great. Sure, there had been a few spats between them, they wouldn't be them if they didn't bicker some, but they had been minor and short lived.

Alex eyed his sister slyly. "So you don't mind him spending so much time with _her_?"

"Not at all," Katie ground out between clenched teeth.

"Ha!" Alex crowed. "You can't fool me. You're so jealous that you can't see straight."

"I am not!" she protested. "She is his lab partner for biology and they are working on a project together. That's all."

Katie tried to sound like it really didn't bother her, but in reality her brother was right. Ever since DJ had pulled the girl from the burning building, Susan had become a fixture in their lives. It had started out with exchanging friendly words between classes, before they knew it she was sitting with them at lunch. From there she had begun joining them after school to study and now she was working with DJ on a biology project.

She didn't know why she felt so uncomfortable. Susan was a very nice girl and had never given her any reason to dislike her. She spoke with love and devotion about her parents and her long time boyfriend who was away at college right now. The two girls had even gone mall cruising together. And while Katie had to admit that she'd had a good time, there was still something about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way.

"Hey! Wipe that look off your face," Alex said, waving a hand in front of her to get her attention. "I didn't mean to get you all depressed by bringing it up. You're probably right. They're just lab partners. I think you get irritated because you resent the fact that she's so much like you."

Katie's head snapped up. "What do you mean she's like me?"

Alex plucked a blade of newly grown grass and twirled it between his fingers. "Look at the facts, Kat. Susan has almost the same color hair and eyes as you. She's even the same height. And the two of you have a lot of the same interests and similar personalities. So of course you would be leery of your boyfriend spending so much time with her. It's only natural that you would see her as a rival."

Katie pushed the disturbing images of DJ and Susan together out of her mind. "It's all just coincidence. What it all boils down to is that I trust DJ and Susan doesn't seem to be all that bad. But if the bitch decides to make a move on my man she'll become closely acquainted with my fist."

Alex lay back with a chuckle. "You're always so blood thirsty. Sometimes I wonder how dad and I have survived for so long living in the same house with you and mom. One of you alone is bad enough, but when the two of you are together it's scary."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up! It's not like you wouldn't stomp the shit out of any guy that dared to try something on Emma."

He thought about it for a moment. "Touché."

Katie pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Hey Alex. Why do you think it's been so quiet the last few weeks? There haven't been any attacks since that night in the park when Jack and Sasha showed up and it's beginning to bother me. Do you think they figured out that we've been staying here?"

Alex stared up at the sky. "I don't know why they haven't acted, but it does seem strange that they just suddenly stopped. And I wouldn't think that they know for sure that we're here. I pretty certain they would have come after us if they did."

"And that's why you need to be in top form," Nebula said as she jumped down from where she had been perched in a nearby tree. "The enemy could strike at any time, so you must be prepared to fight at a moment's notice. You did well today, but I believe you can do better. You need to focus your energy on training right now, not worrying about your relationships. Now I want you back here tomorrow at the same time, and you better bring DJ with you. I don't care if you have to hogtie and drag him here. I understand that schoolwork is important, but he must not neglect his training. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll see the two of you at home."

"Psychotic animal," Katie mumbled as she watched the rust colored cat walk away. "She's treating us like rookies. I guess the fact that her future self has been riding our asses like a freaking drill sergeant since we could walk doesn't impress her. I nailed every move she gave me to do today and it still wasn't good enough for her. Would it kill her to compliment us on a job well done for once?"

"Okay, you need a change of scenery," Alex said as he pushed up from the ground and then reached down to pull her up next to him. "I say we go drag DJ away from his boring books and then head for the Crown. Maybe we'll do some ice skating or something."

A wolfish grin appeared on Katie's lips. "You mean let's drag him away from Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. She's had him all morning, and I'll be damned if I let her monopolize his entire Saturday."

* * *

"Okay, I'm here," Serena grumbled around a yawn as she walked into Mina's boutique. "Now what was so important that you had to call and get me out of bed for? I was planning on sleeping in and catching up on the rest I've missed. It's been a hell of a week."

"Oh stop being such a grouch!" Mina scolded her lightly. "I promise that the trip down here will be totally worth it. Now come with me."

Serena rolled her eyes at her friend's enthusiasm, but followed her without any more complaints as she was led through a door and down a hall to a large workroom where Mina worked at designing her own line of clothing. It was usually a mess with bolts of cloth and hastily sketched designs everywhere, but today it was immaculate. A long curtain draped off one end of the room.

"Am I finally going to get to see what has made you such a recluse the past few weeks?" Serena asked curiously. "The other girls and I were beginning to think that Kunzite was keeping you tied to the bed."

"Oh please!" Mina scoffed. "I'm the only one that does any tying up in our bedroom. Let's just say that the strength of my Love Chain has been tested on many occasions and hasn't failed me yet."

Serena slapped a hand over her eyes, trying to block the disturbing images that were now racing through her head. "That was way too much information, Mina. Thanks a lot!"

The goddess of love waved a dismissive hand. "Whatever! Now let's get to the good stuff. And please feel free to tell me if I'm overstepping the line here. After your mom agreed to turn the decision making about your wedding back over to you she came to see me. She figured that I would be in the know about what kinds of dresses you would want your wedding party to wear. So I threw together some things, and I want your honest opinion on them. If you don't like them you can go somewhere else and not hurt my feelings. I promise."

She swept the curtain aside to reveal five dresses. "This is all I have so far. I didn't have time to finish any of the outers or Rini's yet, but I already have my ideas sketched out."

Serena's eyes filled with tears as she looked at the dresses that Mina had come up with for the four bridesmaids and the maid of honor. It was just like she had always pictured them. They were all floor length, but each one had been tailored to fit the wearer's individual style.

Amy's was ice blue with a modest neckline and short sleeves while Raye's was strapless and bright red. Lita's was forest green with wide shoulder straps and Mina had made her own in a warm orange with spaghetti straps. After many hours of bickering that one of the others should be the maid of honor, Jess had finally agreed to do it. Mina had made her dress in a rich royal blue in an off the shoulder design.

Mina watched her princess's reaction carefully. "You don't like them, do you? That's okay, I'm sure we can find something you like somewhere else. I was just playing around with these. I'll scrap them."

"Don't you dare," Serena whispered softly. "They are absolutely perfect. I should have known that you of all people would know exactly what I would want my closest friends to wear for my wedding."

Mina's face brightened. "So you like them?"

Serena shook her head slowly. "Like is to tame a word to describe what I'm feeling right now. I adore them! Now who do I have to kill to get you to make one for me?"

Mina's face turned sheepish. "Well actually, I've already made yours. I just wanted to see how you reacted to these before I showed it to you."

"Well where is it?" Serena demanded. "I want to see my dress!"

Mina pushed the curtain the rest of the way open to reveal a dress more elegant than anything Serena could have come up with in her wildest dreams. It was a brilliant white that could rival a new fallen snow with a skirt that was full without being too wide. It was simple in its design with a slim fitting bodice and inch wide shoulder straps. But the most amazing thing of all was the string of red roses that had been embroidered around the hem of the skirt.

Serena couldn't help herself. She broke into tears as she hugged Mina tightly. "Thank you, Mina. You have made my dream wedding seem like more of a reality. I would be proud to wear one of your designs when I stand up to take my vows."

Mina pulled back, blinking rapidly. "Don't you dare make me cry and ruin my mascara, Serena! I have an image to uphold. Now get a hold of yourself before we both start blubbering like the blondes we are."

Serena wiped her eyes carefully. "I can't believe you did this. They are everything I could have wished for and more. So what else do you have planned?"

Mina rushed to a table to grab a sketchbook that she flipped open. "Rini's and Hotaru's have the same design with short poofed sleeves. Rini's will be pink, of course, while Hotaru's will be purple."

Serena looked over the drawing with approval shining in her eyes. Rini and Helios would be acting as ring bearers and Hotaru was the flower girl. "What about Amara? She would rather die than be caught wearing a fancy dress."

Mina turned the page. "I thought about that. But since she will be accompanying Michelle's violin on the piano I knew she would still need something dazzling to wear, so I decided this might work for her. It's a pantsuit in butter yellow with wide flowing legs. I think it will make her look amazing without cramping her less feminine style. And Michelle's dress will be a Grecian style in aquamarine. Now Trista is the one I'm stumped on. I know she said that she didn't want to be part of the wedding party, and we don't even know if she will be at the ceremony, but I would still like to make something for her."

Serena was thoughtfully silent for a moment as she thought about the quiet and mysterious time guardian. "I say keep it simple. That's just Trista's style. But whatever you come up with, do it in wine red to match her eyes. I don't care if she isn't going to be actually standing up with me, she's still a part of our family and I won't exclude her."

"I figured you'd say that," Mina said with a grin. "One thing's for sure, you're going to have one of the most colorful weddings that anyone has ever seen. But you don't think that we're going to be too obvious by wearing our planetary colors, do you? I can't help but think that we may as well all wear signs around our necks announcing that we are the sailor scouts."

The reincarnated princess sighed. "I really don't think it makes a whole lot of difference anymore, Mina. The future is coming up on us faster than we think. When we went to Crystal Tokyo during the fight against Wiseman, King Endymion said that I became queen at the age of twenty-two. That's only a little over a year away. I can't help but think that things will soon begin changing. We don't know exactly what happens to cause the Earth to freeze over, but I don't think it happens overnight. The future we caught a glimpse of all those years ago is almost here, so I don't think that secret identities are all that important anymore."

Mina laughed nervously. "Wow! That's deep coming from you. So what if our grand future is on the way. That's no reason to not live for the moment. Your wedding is going to be the biggest event of the millennium. No sneaking off to have secret ceremony in Elysian for you two this time. We are going to have a party that will put those stuffy old balls we had on the moon to shame."

Serena giggled. "It is going to be great, isn't it? Now if I could just get Lita to make my cake for me that will be one less thing for me to worry about."

"It's funny you should mention that," Mina drawled. "The other part of your surprise for the day is that Lita wants you to come down to the restaurant to sample some cakes. I never knew that there were so many different kinds of chocolate cake, but she had at least ten that she was baking when I was down there earlier. She wants you to choose which one you want for the wedding."

"Are you serious?" Serena screeched. "What are we sitting here for? Let's go!" She grabbed Mina by the hand and dragged her from the room.

* * *

"Hey man, you look dead on your feet. What gives?" Andrew said as he set a cup of coffee in front of Darien.

A pair of tired, bloodshot blue eyes looked up at him in surprise. "What are you doing working behind the counter? Isn't that a waste of your college degree?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Ha ha! Very funny! We were short handed today, so I decided to fill in. There's a nasty flu bug going around and Lizzy and a few other waitresses have come down with it."

"I know what you mean," the ebony haired doctor said as he rubbed his bleary eyes. "I saw at least five cases of it last night in the emergency room. Three of them had to be admitted for dehydration."

"What were you doing working last night?" Andrew asked. "I thought you were on the day shift yesterday."

Darien yawned widely. "I was, but I pulled a double. This virus has taken its toll on the hospital staff too and we have several doctors and nurses that are out of commission right now."

The sandy blonde head shook back and forth. "Are you saying that you were on duty for twenty four hours?"

A shrug. "Pretty much. I think it ended up being something like twenty-six hours. The chief of staff finally told me to go home and get some sleep. I tried to catch a few naps in my office, but we were swamped."

Andrew watched his friend in amazement as he guzzled down the steaming coffee. "I don't see how you do it. I can't function without at least six hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. Jess says I sleep like the dead. Of course she's up and down all night. I don't think she'll ever get used to being able to sleep normally. I guess that's from having nightmares for so many years. She'd sit up in her studio all night if I didn't force her to get some rest."

"Speaking of her, where is she? Aren't you two usually attached at the hip?" Darien said as he held his cup out for a refill.

Andrew topped it off. "She went to some extra credit lecture on art history or something. Like she needs the extra credit. The woman practically has a perfect GPA. She could skive off for the rest of the semester and probably still graduate at the top of her class. I don't see how she can be so fine and smart at the same time."

Darien snorted into his cup. "Perhaps it's just good genes."

"Rigghht," Andrew drawled. "Well I guess all the credit would go to her parents then, because you certainly can't claim any of it in this lifetime. No genetic bond, remember."

Darien shrugged it off. "That may be true, but she hasn't really changed all that much from the Silver Millennium. So what if she's older. She was still the sharpest child I have ever seen back then, and I don't think she inherited all those brains from Serenity."

"Well excuse me Mr. Valedictorian," Andrew said with a smirk. "You better not ever let Serena hear you say that. From some of the things I've heard her say since DJ's arrival I think she is convinced that she is single handedly responsible for the way every one of her kids, including Melody, has turned out."

Darien really didn't feel like getting pulled into this conversation. He knew that anything he said would eventually get back to Serena, and sound ten times worse than what it actually was. So he looked around for a change of subject and found it as he looked out one of the large windows of the arcade.

"Speaking of your genius fiancé, here she comes," he said nonchalantly before a frown appeared on his face. "Who's that guy she's with?"

Andrew's expression turned dark as he followed his friend's gaze. He saw Jess walking toward the arcade with a tall, brunette man at her side. The man seemed to be closer to her than was necessary and their sleeves brushed as they walked.

"Chance Donovan," Andrew snarled. "He's a classmate of hers that transferred here from America. He's from San Francisco. When he found out that Jess had grown up in Los Angeles, he felt that opened the door to become her new best friend. She claims that he's gay, but I think the little prick just uses that as an excuse to get close to women. Jess thinks I'm overreacting, but I really believe he's trying to make a move on her."

A growl rumbled in his chest as he saw Jess give Chance a quick hug as she said goodbye to him outside, and he was still glowering as she came in to sit next to Darien at the counter.

"Hey guys! What's up?" she chirped cheerfully.

Darien remained silent, staring down into his coffee cup. He wasn't about to get pulled into whatever was about to blow up between his best friend and his past daughter's reincarnation.

"The sky!" Andrew ground out in a nasty tone as he turned his back to her and began preparing a fresh pot of coffee.

Jess turned to look at Darien with wide, ocean blue eyes that were burning with questions. He just shrugged.

She turned her gaze back to Andrew, or at least his back. "Drew? Baby, is something wrong?"

He shot a quick glance over his shoulder, a bitter smile on his face. "Wrong? Nope! Nothing's wrong. How was your lecture?"

"It was fine," she answered in a hesitant tone.

"Oh good, good," Andrew said coolly as he turned back around. "Did you and Chance have a good time?"

"On no! Not this again!" Jess moaned in exasperation. "How many times do I have to tell you that it's not like that? Chance doesn't think about me that way. You're more his type than I am."

"That's just what he wants you to think," Andrew retorted. "It wouldn't be the first time a man pretended to be gay just to worm his way into a woman's affections. I don't trust him. I saw how close he was walking to you. The bastard was using every opportunity to touch you. I bet he's plotting in his head the right moment to make his move."

"Hey!" Serena said as she entered the arcade and joined them, missing out on the tension that hung thick in the air. "What's going on?" Darien quickly pulled her to his side and out of the line of fire. He silenced her with a couple of fingers against his lips.

Jess ignored her. She stood up from her stool and slammed her hands down on the counter as she leaned across it to glare at Andrew. "Let's get something straight right now! Chance is gay. G-A-Y! Got that? I have met his partner and I've seen how devoted they are to one another. And even if he didn't swing that way, I would think that you would have enough trust in me to know that nothing would happen."

Andrew leaned against his side of the counter, visibly deflating. "You've met his partner? You mean he really is…"

"Yes!" she shrieked. "I tried to tell you that weeks ago, but you swell up like a puffer fish every time I even mention his name so I figured it was just best to avoid the subject."

"Whoa, whoa! What's going on here?" a strong, feminine voice broke into the middle of the heated conversation. "Andrew Furuhata! Are you giving that sweet girl a hard time? I raised you better than that."

Andrew paled beneath his tan as he turned to the owner of the voice. "Mom! What are you doing here?"

Kathleen Furuhata eyed her son critically. "I came in to help out. With your sister and half the staff out with the flu I figured you could use another set of hands."

"But I've got everything under control," Andrew protested.

Kathleen pulled herself up to her full height that was still several inches shorter than her fully grown son. But with her fiery red hair and snapping hazel eyes, she proved to be a commanding presence.

"Don't you try to pull that crap over on me, my boy," she snapped. "I was working this arcade before you were ever even thought of. I may not be as young and hip as I once was, but I can guarantee you that I can still make the meanest milkshake in Tokyo."

Jess giggled and sat back down, snatching up the glass that Andrew, even in a pissed off mood, had automatically set in front of her. "I always knew I liked your mom."

Kathleen smiled and patted her hand. "You go right ahead and stand up to him, honey. I always knew my Drew would need a strong woman to keep him in line. He's just like his father. Just don't let him run you off before you've had a chance to marry him and give me a couple of grandkids."

Jess choked on her drink and began coughing while Andrew looked like he was about to pass out. "Mom!"

"What?" Kathleen asked innocently as she rubbed Jess's back to help her catch her breath. "I just want some grandchildren to spoil while I'm still young enough to do it. If I have to wait on your sister to do it I'll be waiting a long time. I don't know if that girl will ever settle down into a steady relationship. So it's up to you two to humor this old lady."

Andrew smiled fondly at his mother, who looked many years younger than her actual age. "You're hardly old, mom. I'm sure there's plenty of people out there that have mistaken us for brother and sister instead of mother and son."

Kathleen beamed a smile. "That's my boy, always a charmer. Now pass me an apron and I'll make a sweep through the tables. It may have been a while since I've done this, but I'm sure that the dramas of teenage life haven't changed all that much. As a matter of fact, I think I see my first victims walking in right now."

The automatic doors slid open to admit a stomping, infuriated looking Katie. DJ followed closely behind her with a confused look on his face. Alex brought up the rear, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Katie made her way to the counter where she slammed herself down on the stool next to Jess. She fixed her angry eyes on Andrew. "I'll have an iced caramel latte with four shots of espresso. And don't try to hold out on me!"

DJ leaned up against the counter next to her with an irritated frown on his face. "So are you going to tell me what I did this time? I'm tired of playing guessing games. Just tell me what's got you so ticked off."

She hissed out a furious breath as her eyes flared. "You know exactly why I'm pissed! And if I have to spell it out for you, then you're a bigger idiot than I thought. Now if you value your life I would suggest that you back off until I have a chance to cool down before you find my foot planted squarely in your ass!"

His blue eyes blazed in anger. "Fine! Be that way! I've got other things I could be doing instead of playing twenty questions with you. Let me know when you're ready to rejoin reality." He turned toward the door.

Katie spun on her stool. "That's right! Go running back to your little _lab partner_. Don't think I don't know what that conniving little snot has planned. You better tell that bitch to back off or she's going to get introduced to two of my close personal friends! This is friend number one," she held up one fist. "And this is friend number two," she clenched the other tightly.

"You're being irrational!" DJ shot back as he paused to look at her.

She jumped up from her seat. "I am not being irrational! I can see right through that innocent façade of hers. She's trying to get her hooks into you and you're completely oblivious."

He finally lost the last bit of control over his temper. "Drop it, Tinkerbell! I'm not in the mood to deal with a flippin, overemotional fairy."

Her face flamed red. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, you stupid egomaniac?"

"Okay," Alex said, finally intervening and stepping between the two combatants. "I think it's time for both of you to chill out before you say something you may regret later."

"Stay out of it!" DJ and Katie yelled at him in unison. Then they glared at one another. "Jinx!" Another glare. "Stop that!" Then grins appeared on both of their faces.

"What are we fighting about again?" DJ chuckled.

Katie answered with a giggle. "That damn hussy that keeps eying you like a piece of meat."

The ebony haired prince walked back to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry about her. I've got you, and that's more than enough for me. Now didn't you say that you wanted to go ice skating?"

The pale blonde head nodded eagerly. "You bet! Never mind the latte, Drew! I have other plans."

"Well I stand corrected. It seems my advice wasn't needed after all," Kathleen said as she walked away toward the tables full of high school and college students.

"Idiots!" Alex grumbled as he took Katie's abandoned seat. "I don't know which way I prefer them, when they're kissing each other or trying to kill each other. I'm just glad my relationship isn't that complicated."

"What happened this time?" Jess asked curiously.

A goofy grin appeared on his face. "It was actually quite funny. I wish I'd had a video camera with me. I might have won ten thousand dollars if I had. DJ skipped practice this morning to work with Susan on their project. After Kat and I got done with Nebula we decided to go get him and drag him here for some fun. When we got to the apartment we found poor, clueless DJ studying his heart out while Susan was trying to be sneaky and hang all over him without being obvious. I thought the top of Kat's head was going to blow off, but she kept her cool and didn't say anything. But then DJ screwed up big time. Susan got excited when we mentioned ice-skating, and the moron invited her along. Luckily the bimbo had enough sense to say no when my dear sister sent her a look that would blister paint."

Serena let out a laugh. "It looks like the green eyed jealousy bug has gone on a rampage today. I'm just glad I don't have anything to worry about."

Darien tugged on her ponytail. "I wouldn't be so sure about that, Sere. There is this one nurse at the hospital that I've been getting weird vibes from. I think she spends a lot of time staring at my ass."

"What!" Serena shrieked. "Who is she? What's her name? I'll rip every piece of hair from her head. I'll have Raye broil her and Lita sizzle her skin off. And then I'll…"

Darien silenced her with a quick kiss. Then he chuckled. "I was just joking, love. But I couldn't resist it. You're so cute when you're angry. It reminds me of the good old days."

"Yeah, the good old days," Serena muttered darkly. "And you're still the world's biggest jerk sometimes, Darien Shields. I thought you might have finally matured enough to stop picking on me."

His eyes, though tired, gleamed mischievously. "Now why would I want to give up my favorite pastime, Meatball Head?"

She planted her hands on her hips. "So you want to relive the past? That's fine with me. Andrew, pass me that can of whipped cream, please."

Darien scrambled off his stool with a horrified look on his face. "You wouldn't dare!"

Andrew clutched the can in question to his chest tightly. "No way! I'm not cleaning up after you two again!"

Jess and Alex fell off their seats, howling with laughter.

* * *

**Crystal Tokyo – Fifteen years in the future from Rini, DJ, Katie, and Alex's time**

A portal opened in what had once been the grand courtyard of the Crystal Palace and a dark cloaked figure stepped through. The hooded head swept around taking in the abandoned city. The buildings had begun to crumble from neglect and the long years of fighting.

A sigh came from the depths of the hood as their feet began moving in the direction of a small area that was fenced in with black wrought iron. A pale hand reached out to pull open the gate, and they walked in to sit next to a stone marker.

"I miss you," a soft voice whispered to the stone. "More so than I would have ever thought humanly possible. My life is so empty now without you."

A hand passed over the dry, barren ground. And under the touch fresh emerald grass sprang to life along with a shower of wildflowers in every color imaginable. It was a beautiful sight that seemed sadly out of place in such gloomy surroundings.

"What are you doing here?" a quiet voice asked in the darkening gloom.

The hooded head snapped up. "Emma?"

The golden blonde woman was leaning against the fence. "You know you shouldn't be here. He will kill you if he finds you."

A cold voice sneered. "He can try. In fifteen years of fighting he has been unable to touch me, nor I him. We are too evenly matched. And if by some chance he did manage to kill me, it would be no less than I deserved."

Emma shook her head. "I just wish that there was some way for me to understand why you've done what you've done. What happened in the past wasn't your fault, it was Discord's. And yet you joined him and have been fighting at his side all of these years."

"I have my reasons," the black-cloaked figure answered as it stood and hopped over the fence easily. They paused when they felt a hand on their arm.

"Look at me!" Emma demanded, reaching up to sweep the hood back. She flinched from the sight of angry, swirling, pain filled eyes, but she stood her ground. "We all lost a piece of ourselves that day, but you were never to blame. I know you, and you are not evil. I also know that you probably have some grand master plan ticking away in that head of yours, but you don't have to do it alone. Come back home. We all miss you."

Lips twisted up in a smirk. "You mean all except _him_. He would rather see me bleeding to death at his feet than listen to anything I have to say. And I feel the same way about him. So I'm flying solo on this one. I've put too much time and energy into this to give up on it now. I have one chance at righting the wrongs of the past, and nobody is going to stop me."

Emma found her hand clenched around nothing but air as the person she was holding teleported away in a puff of smoke. She turned her china blue eyes to the gray sky and whispered, "Good luck". But there was no one to hear her except the cold stone now covered in a riotous display of flowers.

The black clad figure reappeared on the front lawn of Discord's compound far outside the city. They heaved a defeated sounding sigh before straightening their shoulders and pulling the hood back in place.

A large, striped, tiger like sentinel growled as they approached the door.

"Pipe down hairball, before I turn you into a fur rug!"

A large, muscularly built guardian blocked the entrance. "The master doesn't wish to be disturbed at this time."

The cloaked person swung a hand out, and the guardian gasped as he found himself slammed into a wall and held there, dangling several feet off the floor. "Are you questioning my right to be here, you sniveling sap?"

"N..no. N..not at all. Pl..please continue." He fell to the floor with a crash.

"That's what I thought."

Discord looked up as the large double doors to his sanctuary were flung open with an echoing boom to admit the only protégé that he had ever had that actually succeeded in helping him in his quest. He had never put up with this kind of blatant disregard from any of his other subordinates, but this one was special.

"Well I see you have returned," he began. "Were you successful in your assignment?"

"Of course! What do you take me for, an imbecile?"

His eyes narrowed as he watched his prized possession throw themself casually across an armchair. "No. Never an imbecile. I had complete faith in you. Now tell me what has you so on edge. You visited Crystal Tokyo again, didn't you?"

"It was just a quick stop. It helps me to keep my priorities in order to revisit the pain of the past from time to time."

Discord templed his fingers. "And yet you return to me without a scratch. You must have been denied the presence of your _friend _this time. You usually come back with a few souvenirs after daring to venture into enemy territory"

A hollow laugh rang out. "No. I didn't see him today. Not that it would have been that big of a deal. I've dealt him a few blows over the years as well."

"Yes you have," Discord agreed. "But moving on to business. So you made contact with my past self. Are you prepared for your ultimate mission? It won't be easy on you trying to maintain your strength while there are two of you in the same time, but I'm sure you can handle it. Your presence there is crucial to our goal."

"Don't worry. You can count on me."

"I sure hope you are right. If you attempt to betray me I will gut you like a pig. Remember what happened to the others that sought to turn on me." He waved a hand toward two skeletons that hung on the wall. Strips of old, moth eaten cloth barely covered the bones and only a few strands of long black and reddish blonde hair remained clinging to the skulls. This was all that was left of Jack and Sasha.

He swept from the room, leaving his right hand behind. So he didn't see the eyes that began glowing under the hood or hear them mutter. "We'll just see about that, old man. The Trinity may be gone in this time, but you still have me to reckon with. I don't care if it costs me my life, I will see you sent to hell where you belong."

* * *

Katie shoved the folder containing her sheet music into her bag as the last bell of the day rang. It had been a great day. For some reason none of the teachers had given out any homework for the weekend and Nebula hadn't scheduled any training sessions for them either. Spring had finally come to stay, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. There had still been no attacks, so that bothered her some, but other than that life was great.

DJ and Susan had presented their project a few days before and the other blonde girl had been hanging around less since then. Katie was thrilled to not have to suffer through the presence of her rival as much as before. Things had gone almost back to normal. Sure, Susan had still joined then for lunch a couple of times and she had come by the apartment to get some help from DJ on a Calculus assignment, but Katie had made sure to stay close by her boyfriend's side the entire time. She wasn't going to give the bitch a chance to make a move on him.

"Katie, can I speak to you for a minute?" Michelle asked as she gathered her own belongings together.

"Sure," Katie replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Not at all," Michelle hastily reassured her. "I was just wondering, are you going to the hospital fundraiser gala tomorrow night?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah. Darien got all of us tickets to go to it. Mom…damn, I mean Jess, I've really got to break that habit. Anyway, she donated a few paintings for the auction. I heard that you were performing also. I can't wait to hear it."

Michelle smiled gently at her. "Thank you, but that brings me back to what I wanted to ask you. I've found myself in a little bit of a predicament, and I was wondering if you might help me out a bit."

"Of course," Katie agreed hastily. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well you see, it's like this," Michelle began slowly. "I do several pieces that are for the violin alone, but I have a couple that are meant to be accompanied by the piano. Amara always plays with me at these functions, but she's going to be away at a race this weekend and will be unavailable. I was wondering if you could fill in for her."

"Me!" Katie squeaked in surprise. "Why me? I'm sure you could find someone else that could do it better than I could."

Michelle shook her head. "I might be able to. But with you I know that I would be getting a sure thing. You have an amazing talent, and what's more you already know the songs. You listed them in your repertoire when we first met. I know this is short notice, but I could really use your help on this. I'm only asking for ten minutes of your time."

Katie's head spun as she thought back to her one and only other public performance she had given and the immense anxiety she had suffered from leading up to it and wanted to turn down the offer. But playing her music professionally was her lifelong dream, and she was going to have to get over the stage fright at some point if she wanted to succeed. Not to mention that Michelle had been her teacher and her idol her entire life, and she couldn't find it in her to turn her down.

"Okay. I'll do it," she said quietly.

"Wonderful!" Michelle cried, clasping her hands together. "Why don't you come out to the house tonight and we'll practice a little? As a matter of fact, I'll call Serena and see if she, Darien, Jess, and Andrew want to join us. We'll do dinner and then they can visit with Amara and keep her entertained while we practice. The boys are invited too, of course. And don't forget to bring a swimsuit. I don't have an Olympic sized indoor pool for nothing, you know."

"Sure," Katie replied automatically. "I'll see you later."

She left the room and walked robotically down the halls and outside into the courtyard. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she passed right by DJ, who was leaning up against a tree waiting for her, without even seeing him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, reaching out to touch her arm. He grew concerned when she turned anxiety-ridden eyes on him. "What's the matter?"

She thought quickly about what the upcoming night and the performance the next night might entail, and she made a quick decision. "I need your help," she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him swiftly behind her.

"Where are we going?" he asked as he trotted along after her.

"You'll see," she said over her shoulder.

It took about ten minutes, but she finally stopped when she reached the secured clearing that they used for training.

"What are we doing here?" DJ asked. "We're not scheduled to train today."

"I know that," she answered. "But this is the only safe spot for what I have planned." Then she filled him in on her and Michelle's conversation.

His eyes lit up. "So you're going to perform? That's great! And we get to go to dinner at the outer's house? Sweet! For all of her brash ways, Amara's a great cook. And swimming too? It's going to be a great weekend! But that still doesn't explain why you dragged me here."

"Because I have a favor to ask you," Katie said in a quietly desperate voice.

"Hey! Whatever it is, I'll do it. You know that," he reassured her quickly. But he almost passed out a few seconds later when she threw her bag to the ground and pulled her shirt off over her head. He sighed in relief when saw that she wore a camisole underneath.

She held her arms out in front of her. "I want these to go away. I don't want the reminders anymore and I sure as hell am not going to go parading around in a bathing suit where everybody can gawk at how hideous I am. Not to mention the fact that the weather in turning warm and I'm tired of bundling myself up like it's still the middle of winter."

DJ eyed the scars that ran up and down her arms and the few that crisscrossed her chest. "Kat, I don't know if I can do it. I've never been able to heal anyone before. I only started being able to heal myself in the last year. You should probably get my dad…"

"I don't want Darien to do it!" she interrupted. "You are the only one I have ever trusted to see what I really look like. I don't want anyone else to look at how disfigured I am and see the pity in their eyes. I know you say that my scars don't matter to you, but they matter to me. I want to be me again, and you're the only one I can trust to do it. So please try, for me. If it doesn't work then I'll go to your dad."

He sighed in defeat. "Okay. I'll try." He took off his school blazer and laid it on the ground. "Lie down."

She smiled brightly at him and lay down on the jacket. He sat next to her and held his hands so that they hovered a few inches above her skin.

"This may get a little warm," he warned her as his hands began to glow a light gold.

Katie closed her eyes and held her breath as a not unpleasant warming sensation began to wash over her. After a minute of this she heard DJ's breathing turn harsh and she squinted her eyes open to look at him. He was panting and sweat had popped out across his forehead. His eyes were clenched shut in concentration.

"DJ! Stop!" she cried in alarm. She hadn't realized what a strain this would be on him when she asked.

He just shook his head and continued pouring the healing energy from his crystal over her in soothing waves. After about another twenty seconds, the power finally faded and he fell forward on his hands so that he was draped over her.

"DJ, are you okay?" Katie asked frantically as she reached up to push his sweaty bangs out of his eyes.

"I'm fine," he answered, opening his eyes to look down at her and grin. "And you look great."

She studied the arm in front of her that was still raised toward his face. All traces of the scars had disappeared, leaving nothing but lightly tanned skin behind. She ran her fingers down her upper left arm, but instead of feeling the raised, jagged scar that was usually there she felt smooth, unblemished skin.

"You did it!" she shrieked, throwing both arms around his neck and hugging him. "I knew you could! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He chuckled. "You're welcome. Even though I thought you were fine the way you were. But if this makes you happy, I'm more than willing to oblige."

She bumped her forehead with his. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you. I love you."

"I love you too," he replied before leaning down and kissing her. Suddenly realizing that she was lying beneath him and very scantily clothed, the kiss quickly heated up. He decided to take a chance and be more bold than usual. He slid his hand up her leg and under her skirt to her thigh and was elated when he felt her moan into his mouth. His other hand was inching down her collarbone toward her chest when a voice suddenly broke through the haze they were in.

"Well, well, what are you naughty little children doing? Don't you think you are a little young to be indulging in such…adult pleasures?" a rather rough, yet amused sounding voice asked.

Both heads snapped up and they stared in disbelief at the hooded, black-cloaked form that was leaning casually against a tree. DJ scrambled off of Katie and jumped to his feet, pulling her up beside him. No one other than themselves and their friends were supposed to be able to pass through the barrier that Amy had set up.

"Who the hell are you and how did you find this place?" DJ demanded.

A dark chuckle echoed from the hood. "Who I am is unimportant at the moment. Call me whatever you want. I haven't answered to any particular name in a long time."

"Oh yeah! How about we call you psycho, because you seem nuts to me," Katie snapped.

Their mystery visitor seemed unfazed by the malice in her voice. "Cool your jets, hothead. I'm not here as a threat, at least not yet. I'm here to give you some much needed advice. You can take it, or leave it. I would suggest you take it. Trust me. I've seen you're future and it isn't pretty."

"How would you know what our future is like?" DJ retorted. "Sailor Pluto is the only one who can authorize time travel, and judging by your sorry attitude I seriously doubt she sent you here."

"Use your brain, you stupid boy!" the voice sneered. "Is Pluto the one in charge of the time gate right now? I think not. Fifteen years in your future the world is in total upheaval. Crystal Tokyo has become nothing more than a ghost town while Discord has run rampant over the rest of the Earth. The only reason why the planet hasn't been totally obliterated is because the Crystal Palace was never breached. A resistance was built against him that thwarts his every attempt."

"So you're from our future?" Katie asked quietly. "Does that mean that we failed; that we never measured up to the god's standards to receive the power we needed to defeat Discord? We must have if we are still fighting him fifteen years from now. Are we destined for failure?"

"Look, a lot of stuff went down that I can't tell you about," their guest said, but in a softer tone than before. "I'm not here as your friend, but to tell you that you better get your shit together. If you don't the world is bound for the future that I have lived. Beware of deceit and betrayal. It can come from you at any angle; even from those that you thought you could trust. There are those that would seek to drive a wedge between you and open a void so wide that it will never be able to be closed again. If that happens, there will be pain and suffering the likes that neither one of you could ever imagine. I wish Alex were here as well so that I could tell him this too. In my time the Trinity was never fulfilled. It was fractured through loss…and death. Don't make the same mistakes that were made in my past."

"How do we know we can trust you? For all we know you may be one of the people out to sabotage us." DJ pointed out.

"True enough. But can you really afford to not at least think about what I've told you? And a word to the wise, if you see me again run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. I made this little trip here on my own, but Discord will soon send me after you."

"You're working for him!" Katie exploded, her hand reaching for her transformation pendant.

An eerie laugh rang out. "Please! You are an infant compared to me. You don't stand a chance. But make no mistake, Discord likes to think that he's the one that pulls my strings, but I became the puppet master long ago. I'm offering you the chance to change the future, but I have my own agenda. Whether or not he is destroyed by my hand or yours remains to be seen."

There was a strong gust of wind that kicked up a cloud of dust that caused DJ and Katie to cover their eyes. When it died down the mysterious figure in black was gone.

* * *

"So you're leaving early in the morning, Amara?" Serena asked as she accepted the cocktail offered to her and took a sip.

"Yep!" the shorthaired blonde answered as she took a seat in one of the lounge chairs next to the pool. "I already sent the car ahead, but I want to get down there in time to make a few practice runs and fine tune it. Are you sure you don't want to come with me, Kitten? We could have some fun."

Serena laughed at her flirtatious friend. "I'm sure we could. But I'm afraid that I already have a prior engagement."

The tall scout of wind scowled at her prince. "I think I liked it better when you were gone to school in America. She was always available when I called and asked her if she wanted to do something. Now she's turning all prim and proper."

Darien held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's all her. I don't have anything to do with it. But if you were the one that had to try and boot her lazybones out of bed every morning you may change your mind."

Amara took a pull from the bottle of beer she was drinking. "Ah, but that's where you and I differ. I know there's no better place for a beautiful woman to be than in bed."

"Amara, behave!" Michelle admonished her lightly. "Remember that we have young ears present."

Amara glanced over to where the group of teenagers were and shrugged. "They're not paying any attention. And even if they were, I'm sure it's not anything they haven't heard before. Kids learn early nowadays."

"Especially if they grow up around you. Remind me to keep my two away from you during their formative years," Jess said cheekily.

Amara wagged a finger at her. "You won't have control if the two of them are anything like you, missy. I seem to remember a certain little girl in the Silver Millennium that was as curious as a chipmunk. I never knew what question would come popping out of your mouth."

"She has a point," Andrew agreed. "Do you know how many lectures I got from my parents back then about how I shouldn't aid and abet you and your indecent behavior? I was grounded for two weeks after that little stunt when you decided that it would be funny to swap all the salt and sugar in the castle around."

Dark blue eyes glared at him. "That wasn't my idea! It was yours! And I didn't exactly come out of that stunt unscathed either."

Serena laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes. "I remember that! By the time I found you hiding in a closet I was so mad all I could do was pull you across my lap and spank you. That was the only time I ever used physical punishment on you, but you had pushed me past my limits at that point."

Jess crossed her arms in a huff. "I'm glad you find it so amusing now. My ass still stings when I think about it."

"You spanked her?" Darien asked in shock. "You actually spanked her? I never heard about that. How could you have spanked her?"

"At least somebody's on my side," Jess grumbled.

"You would have too if you had been there," Serena retorted. "Of all the days to pull an evil trick like that, those two hellions decide to do on the day of a council meeting when all of the kings and queens from the other planets were there. The entire dinner was ruined."

"Yeah, but the looks on everyone's faces was priceless. A total Kodak moment," Jess sighed. Then she let out a startled squeak as her past mother pinned her with reproving blue eyes. She grabbed Andrew's arm and dragged him out of his chair. "Come on, sweetie. I feel like taking a dip in the pool."

Amara chuckled at the reaction. "You are plumb evil when you want to be, Kitten. But spankings aren't always a bad thing. Especially given in the right time and place."

"Amara!" Michelle hissed. "What did I tell you? Keep it PG. There are children present."

"Children my ass!" Amara snorted. "They are almost adults. I bet there's not a single virgin among them. Well I'm on the fence about two of them. But I saw Alex when his girlfriend was visiting, and they seemed really close if you know what I mean. And don't even get me started on Hotaru and Sammy."

"No! Let's not go there," Serena hastily agreed. The last thing she wanted to hear about was her little brother's possible sex life. That was just too much for her to take in.

Darien saw Serena's face turn slightly green and decided to intervene. "Let's go for a swim, Sere. I see Michelle has a volleyball net. Maybe we can get a game started."

Serena sighed in relief and quickly followed him to the pool. She saw that Andrew and Jess had joined Rini, Hotaru, and Sammy in the water, but her gaze lingered on the three sitting on the edge of the pool.

DJ and Alex had their legs dangling into the water while Katie sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. They all had their heads close together and seemed to be conversing in hushed tones.

"So you have no idea who this person was?" Alex asked incredulously.

"Not a clue," DJ answered. "I'm not even sure if it was a man or a woman. The clothes made it hard to tell and their voice kept changing like they were trying to disguise it."

"I think it was a woman," Katie said quietly. "I don't know why, but I just do. And she seemed familiar for some reason."

"And she was inside the training barrier? How can that be?" Alex wondered.

DJ shrugged. "Beats me! But she walked right in like she owned the place and began talking to us. At first I thought she was on something, but she actually made sense. It was kinda creepy."

"Creepy my ass!" Katie fired off. "That bitch was just plain crazy!"

"So you're convinced it's a woman?" Alex muttered.

DJ thought about it for a moment before saying. "Oh yeah! I'd bet my motorcycle on it."

Alex's eyes widened. "Wow! You must be pretty sure if you're willing to stake your ride on it. That thing is your baby. So are you going to tell Serena and the others about this new development?"

"What good would it do?" DJ asked. "They already know that Discord's gunning for us. For all we know this could have just been a trick of his to try and confuse us. I don't want to worry them any more than we have to. But all three of us need to be on high alert. This proves that he hasn't given up and he definitely knows where we are."

"Right," Alex agreed with a nod. "But you guys never got around to telling me what you were doing at the clearing in the first place. Did you two get into another fight and decide to pound each other's faces in."

DJ's cheeks flushed red and he looked away while Katie grinned impishly at her brother. "Don't you notice anything different about me?"

Alex studied her, taking in her hair that was pulled back in her usual ponytail before trailing his eyes over the rest of her. All she wore was a black, one-piece bathing suit. "Not really, unless you count the fact that you're showing an awful lot of skin while sitting next to a boy. Dad would burst a blood vessel if he were here. And…"

He paused as a shock registered on his face. "Wait a minute. You're fixed. I mean you're better. You don't have any scars. But, but…" he stammered to a stop.

Katie patted the top of his head. "Take deep, even breaths before you start hyperventilating, Lex."

"But how?" he choked out.

Katie rolled her hazel eyes. "Duh. Prince of Earth with a magic crystal that has healing powers. Hello! How did you think it happened?"

Alex's eyes froze over until they resembled cold, blue steel as he glared at his friend. "Did you see my sister without her shirt on?"

DJ let out a startled yelp and jumped to his feet, Katie right beside him. She met her brother's glare with one of her own. "It wasn't like that, Alex. I had a camisole on underneath. And it covered more than what this bathing suit does. Get over it!"

Alex surged to his feet. "I don't care how much was covered. Those camisoles are practically see through." But his voice was beginning to lose its edge and the anger in his eyes shifted to humor.

To DJ, that was scarier looking than the fury that had been on his friend's face only moments before. He backed up a few steps. "Uh, hey. Lex, man I…"

"Prepare to get wet, Shields," Alex said as he sprang at him.

There was a scuffle and then a huge splash that showered both boys with water. Their blue eyes widened as they stared at the waves and ripples that danced across the surface of the pool where Katie had just fell in when she had gotten caught between them.

Several long, agonizing seconds passed before her blonde head came back up. She swiped the water from her eyes before turning a murderous look on the two responsible for her unexpected dunking.

From the look on her face they knew that they should be fearing for their lives right then. But she looked liked such a drowned rat with long pieces of straggling hair clinging to her wet cheeks that they couldn't help themselves. They doubled over as they burst into gut wrenching laughter.

Katie swam back over to the edge where she propped her arms on the side of the pool in an attempt to catch her breath. She had experienced a moment of panic when she had felt the water close in over her head. All of the events from that night she had almost died in the cold waters of the bay had come rushing forward in her mind and had paralyzed her for a moment.

She was proud of herself though. When her common sense had kicked in and told her that this situation was completely different her arms and legs had responded immediately and she was able to swim back to the surface. She had avoided anything that had to do with water, other than bathing, since her near death experience. Maybe now she could put that fear behind her. She had to admit, the water felt soothing. But she wasn't going to let them off easy.

She kept the furious look on her face. "Are you two quite done laughing at me? I wouldn't be in this position if you hadn't decided to act like a couple of kindergartners bickering over a ball on the playground. And now you have the nerve to stand there and find it funny that I'm the one suffering from your juvenile behavior? You guys suck!"

Her chastisement was enough to wipe the grins from their faces. "Sorry," they mumbled together before each reached down a hand to help her out.

She grasped the waiting hands and put her feet against the wall of the pool before smirking at them. "You better take a deep breath boys." She pushed away from the side of the pool with her legs while she pulled hard with her arms. DJ and Alex teetered unsteadily on the edge for a moment before they both fell into the water.

Katie let out a peal of giggles, and was still laughing when the two boy's heads popped up a few seconds later. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?"

"I'll show you payback." DJ growled as he began moving toward her.

She let out a squeak and headed to the right, only to find her path blocked by Alex.

"You are so getting dunked for that," he told her menacingly.

"Nooo!" she wailed as she dove to the left and began swimming for all she was worth toward the other end of the pool where the others had been watching their little spectacle. She was a fast swimmer, but they were faster. She could outrun both of them in a race on land, but they possessed an upper body strength that she could never hope to achieve no matter how much she trained. And that gave them the advantage in the water.

She saw Andrew several yards away and had the childish thought that her daddy would protect her, so she made a beeline for him. She was only fifteen feet from her goal when she felt fingers grab her ankle and she was pulled backward through the water.

A pair of arms clamped around her and a low voice whispered, "Are you ready for your punishment?"

"No DJ, please don't dunk me again," she pleaded. "I'll do anything you want. I'll be your slave for the day. Anything!" She might have made a giant step in conquering her fear of the water, but she didn't know if she would ever feel comfortable with her head under water again. And once tonight had been enough.

DJ looked down into her slightly fearful eyes and felt her shiver as he cursed himself for being an idiot for not remembering her near drowning before. Of course she was probably scared shitless of the water, and he had stood there and laughed at her when she fell in.

"Okay," he said softly. "No more dunking. Do you want to get out?"

Relief flooded her face, but she shook her head. "Not yet. I just don't want to go under anymore."

"Hey, you okay?" Alex asked as he touched her arm lightly. He had also remembered her ordeal when he had sensed a brief panic in her aura a minute before.

"I'm fine," she reassured them both.

"Hey guys!" Serena called out to them. "Come join the game! We'll have six people on each side if you do. We're doing the Shields/Tsukino clan vs. the Furuhatas. We're adopting Hotaru for our side while the other side can have Amara and Michelle as honorary members of the family."

"Well this will be an easy game," Alex said with a grin. "I know Darien, DJ, and Sammy can play, but Serena, Rini, and Hotaru are hopeless. Plus we have Amara on our side. Time for the Furuhata's to kick some ass!"

* * *

**Crystal Tokyo – The Far Future**

Emma's heels clacked on the crystal floor as she strode quickly down the hall. She had thought long and hard about whether or not to say anything about her encounter in the courtyard the other day before deciding that it would be wise to pass on her suspicions.

She paused in front of a door and had just raised her hand to knock when it opened and Skye stepped out.

"How is he this evening?" she asked the tall, auburn haired woman.

Skye shrugged. "Same as always, brooding and quiet. I just brought him some of the dinner that mom made since he didn't come down to the dining room. He didn't say a word. I know he's messed up inside, but fifteen years is an awful long time to mourn. The only time he shows any sign of life anymore is when he's fighting."

"Let me talk to him," Emma said, patting her friend's arm.

Skye shook her head. "Maybe you can get through to him. You seem to be the only person he'll even attempt to listen to." She walked away dejectedly.

Emma pushed the door open without knocking and stepped into the darkness before closing it behind her. She stood there for a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. It wasn't long before she could make out the dark shapes of furniture, and the figure of the man that was slumped over the desk.

She made her way carefully across the room and reached for a small lamp that sat on the corner of the desk. She wasn't surprised when she felt strong fingers clamp around her wrist.

"Leave it off," a gruff voice demanded.

She pulled gently on his grasp and he let her go. "And I've told you before that I prefer to see you when we talk. So either you let me turn on the lamp or I'll open the curtains. There's a beautiful full moon out tonight."

She heard a snarl building in his throat and clicked the lamp on. "That's what I thought." She sat down in a chair and looked at the man she could now see. His hair was disheveled and he looked as if he hadn't shaved in days.

He blinked his eyes against the soft glow of the lamp before pining her with a hard look. "So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit to?"

She snorted back a laugh. "You had to have known that I would come looking for you when you didn't show up for dinner tonight. Bad day?"

"When is it ever a good day anymore?" he asked sullenly as he reached for the bottle of amber liquid nearby.

Emma looked mildly repulsed. "How much of that crap do you drink a day now?"

He knocked back a healthy slug of his drink before saying harshly. "What the hell does it matter? If you came here to lecture me again you can march your prissy little ass right back out that door. I don't want to hear it. "

She watched him through narrowed eyes before deciding to take the plunge and tell him what had been burning inside of her. "I saw her."

The glass hit the desk with a resounding thud. "When?"

She shivered a little at his tone. "A few days ago."

"And you're just now telling me?" he growled. "What were you doing outside the palace grounds? You could have been in danger."

She swallowed convulsively. "I wasn't outside the grounds. She came here. I found her in the courtyard. I…I talked to her."

He clenched the glass in his hand so hard that it cracked. "What could you possibly have to talk to her about? She chose her side when she decided to betray us all and run off to join Discord. If she hadn't done that we might have had a chance at the bastard. Instead we find ourselves in the same position all these years later. She is nothing but a traitor, and one day she'll get what's coming to her."

"Do you ever stop and listen to yourself?" Emma snapped. "You used to be caring and compassionate. But now I don't even know you anymore. You have become cold and unfeeling. You lock yourself away for days on end, drinking your whiskey and plotting death. There has been enough killing and it's time for it to stop! You are not the one that died that night, and you need to stop acting like it. Wake up and rejoin the living!"

"Are you quite done?" he asked in a cold tone.

Her cheeks flushed red with anger as she jumped up and slammed her hands on the desk. "As a matter of fact I'm not! I have suspected for a while that there was more to her leaving than meets the eye. I was certain that she had something planned and I confronted her about it. She didn't deny it when I asked her. She could probably use some help, but you're too bitter about past events to do anything. I'm sorry I even came here tonight."

She spun on her heel and stomped to the door, wanting to make a grand exit, but was stopped when she heard the voice behind her ask quietly, "What do you think she's planning to do?"

She looked back over her shoulder at him. "I think she's going to try to change the past. And if she is, and Discord finds out, he'll kill her."

**A/N **Ooo…and the plot thickens once again. Now we have not one mystery player, but two. Who could they be? You'll find out soon enough. The woman in the black cloak seems to have a serious conflict of interest, doesn't she? I'd say she needs a heavy dose of Xanax. No one can be sure which side she's playing for. Well that's all I have for now. Don't forget to tell me what you think. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I go gaga for reviews! I'll see ya guys next update! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	12. The Party Never Stops

**A/N **Okay, here we go, next chapter. I really debated long and hard over this one. I've written and rewritten it a few times, but it still leaves me a little disappointed. So I apologize in advance if this one isn't quite up to par. I want to give a quick thank you to Atem's Sister Atea for pointing out a glaring mistake that I have made concerning Emma. She has Mina's blonde hair and Kunzite's gray eyes. I know I have slipped up and said that she has blue, and that was just carelessness on my part. I guess I keep confusing her with Mina in my mind. So just disregard what I said about blue eyes. Emma's are gray.

All right, moving on. I've gotten so many wonderful reviews from all of you, and I wish I could hug you all in person. But since I can't I'll have to do it this way. BIG HUGS TO:

**applenica**

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**nileena**

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**KageNoNeko**

**LBricker88**

**ailzzzz**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**MeganLeBlanc**

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**tiny2008**

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As always you humble me with your words of praise. I love hearing from each and every one of you guys. Well I'm going to let you move on now.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 11

The Party Never Stops

**Crystal Tokyo – The Far Future**

The once beautiful city no longer resembled the grand place it had once been. The streets that had once been filled with people and the sounds of them hurrying about their daily lives now stood as silent as tombs. The survivors of Discord's rampage had fled years ago, fearing that it made them too much of a target to stay in the city. Small villages and communities had popped up all over the countryside and in the mountains, and to people's relief the powerful entity had never come after them.

Instead he had targeted the large cities around the globe; decimating them and breaking down society, sending the people of Earth back a couple of thousand years in the way they lived.

He had been met with resistance. His enemies had even attempted to seal him away once again, but with his prized pupil at his side they hadn't stood a chance. He had originally planned to reduce the planet to a cloud of dust and rubble, but had been thwarted every time. So for know he just sat back and enjoyed surveying the destruction of what had once been a great and powerful planet.

War raged between his forces and the inhabitants of the Crystal Palace. He had expanded his army of guardians and sentinels over the years, but it was his little pet who had proven to be his biggest asset in the battle. She fought with a ruthlessness and anger that could outshine a whole platoon of his most powerful warriors. His warped, twisted being always beamed with pride when he saw her pitted against those that had once been her friends and loved ones. After all, he wasn't called Discord for nothing.

But for now the woman in question lay inside the confines of a small clearing that had been protected by Sailor Mercury over a thousand years before. It was one of the few secrets that she had kept from Discord when she had begun working for him, and it had become her sanctuary over the years. His power had been unable to touch this place since he wasn't aware of its existence, and it remained much as it had before. Green grass stretched out across the ground and the trees stood tall and leafy.

A small fissure distorted the air as a man appeared. He looked around until he spotted the woman lying in the grass, his face twisted in anger as he stomped toward her.

Her head lifted when she heard his steps, and in a snap she was on her feet, the sword that had been lying at her side in her hand. "What the hell are you doing here?"

A smirk twisted his lips. "Contrary to what you and your _boss _think, this is still a free planet. I can go wherever I damn well feel like. But to answer your question, I came to find you."

She snorted. "What's wrong, do you feel the need to have your ass kicked? I came here for a little peace and quiet, but I'm game if you are."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Would you just shut up a damn minute and listen to me? You had to have known that Emma would tell me about your little trip onto the palace grounds the other day, and she came to some interesting conclusions about you."

She groaned. "Emma! I should have known! That girl has always had the biggest mouth on the planet."

He looked her over as she grumbled. Gone was the girl he remembered. The hair that had once spilled down her back now hung to just below her shoulders. She wore a pair of tight fitting jeans and a mid drift revealing black tank top that showed off her slim, lightly muscled body. A pair of dark sunglasses shielded her eyes even though night was beginning to set in.

She studied him in return. This was the first time in fifteen years that they had been in each other's presence for more than five seconds without going for one another's throats. His hair was longer than he used to wear it and was shaggier than ever. His jeans and black button down shirt hugged his broad, muscular frame. His haggard face was in desperate need of a shave and he also wore a pair of opaque sunglasses.

He raked a hand through his hair. "Look, I didn't come here to fight. I just want to know, are you planning something? Emma came up with some crack pot idea that you were going to try to change the past."

She countered with a question of her own. "I don't see how you are here at all. How did you find me? It's not like you can sense where I am anymore."

"You're changing the subject," he growled. "I may not be able to sense you anymore, but don't forget that I know you. I probably know you better than you know yourself. I've known for years that this place was still here and that you come here often. And now it makes sense. Discord can't see inside the barrier, so it's the perfect spot for you to hide if you are plotting something against him. Now tell me what you're up to!"

Her face flushed red. "It's none of your business! Maybe I'm not planning anything. Emma tends to have an overactive imagination. I've been known as the crazy one for the last fifteen years, so why would anyone believe that I'm hatching some grand scheme? I work for the enemy, remember?"

He shook his head. "I never thought you were crazy. I just couldn't understand why you turned your back on all of us the way you did. It didn't make any sense for you to go crawling to Discord after everything that he did to us. He ripped our lives apart, and then you betrayed us all by joining him. I've never been able to accept that. So if this has really been part of some plan, please tell me."

Her hand began to tremble and she dropped the sword to the ground. "I'm going to save him. I'm going to give him the chance to live. I will erase this time, and I hope that it will be better. It was my fault that he died, so I'm going to set it right. Our lives will turn out differently."

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't kill him," he protested. "Hey, I miss him too, every single day. But you can't go playing around with the timeline like this. Sure, things may turn out better, but they could also be a lot worse. The whole planet could be destroyed!"

She could feel his eyes on hers through both pairs of dark lenses. "I may not have physically killed him, but it was my actions that led to the events of that night. I will not allow it to happen again. I already have my orders from Discord to kill our past selves. I think he got a kick out of giving me a suicide mission. He told me to be sure to kill myself last so that I don't disappear before the job is done. Sick bastard!"

"So don't do it!" he snapped. "Don't go to the past. Come back home and we'll come up with a way to defeat him. We may not be able to change the past, but we can save the future."

She shook her head. "You don't get it! He owns my soul now. When he gives an order I have to follow it or I will die! That is the only thing that has made me do the things that I have done over the years. I had to bide my time until we reached this point so that I would have the chance to go into the past and change history. So I'll go and rough our past selves up a bit to keep him happy and wait until I have the chance to strike. The moment I betray him I will die. But it doesn't matter because time will reset itself and I'll be alive again, just hopefully with a different future."

He gaped at her. "What do you mean he owns your soul? How could he have that much control over you?"

She fingered the tattoo on her right shoulder. "He wasn't stupid enough to blindly accept me into his service. I had to pay my dues in order to get into the position I'm in today. He was leery of me in the beginning, and rightly so. So I had to pledge my ultimate loyalty to him by turning the control of my life over to him. If I ever betray him or not follow an order that he gives me, my life is over. The first order that he ever gave me was to kill you on sight. That's why I attack every time I see you. But here he can't see, and that's the only reason why we are even having this conversation."

He took a step toward her. "Kat…"

She jumped back, shaking her head. "Don't! I knew what I was doing when I started this. I'm not afraid to die. Sometimes I think I'm more afraid of living, especially with only half my heart. Half of it died with him that night, the other half belongs to you. So this is my chance to put it back together again."

He pulled his sunglasses off to reveal irises that swirled with a mixture gold, silver, and red-orange. "Kat, look at me, please."

She sighed and removed her own sunglasses. Her eyes matched his perfectly.

"Let me help you," he whispered.

She smiled sadly. "You can't. The moment we leave here I'll have to try to kill you or die. It's the tragic story of my life nowadays. But hopefully that will all soon change."

He stalked forward and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself like this! We've already suffered through enough loss and death. Don't add to it."

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry. You won't even know I'm gone. The future will be rewritten, and if the fates allow it we will be together again, all of us. Now, will you do me one favor?"

He sighed and laid his head on her shoulder. "Anything."

She pulled back, breaking the embrace so that she could look at him. "Tell mom and dad that I love them and miss them. And tell them not to worry about me. I don't want any of you to worry about me. I'll be fine."

His multicolored eyes blazed brightly before he let out a fierce snarl and teleported away.

Her shaking knees gave out and she slumped to the ground as tears began to fall from her own swirling eyes. "Alex, DJ, everyone, I'm sorry. I'm going to try and make it right. I promise."

* * *

DJ sighed and put a hand over the two that were twisting in the fabric of the black skirt. "Would you stop that! You're going to rip a hole in it."

Startled hazel eyes flew to meet his. "I can't help it! I'm just so nervous! I just know that I'm going to screw this up somehow."

From her other side Alex chuckled. "Yeah right, Kat! You haven't missed a single note since you were like ten."

"Shows what you know," she retorted in a quivering voice. "You never sat in on my lessons with Michelle. You only heard me play when I was playing for fun. Trust me, I've made my share of mistakes."

"Everybody makes mistakes sometimes," DJ told her soothingly. "And even if you were to miss a note, I don't think anyone would hold it against you."

"Hey! What's with the long face?" Andrew asked as he walked up with Jess on his arm. "You're not worried about the performance, are you sweetie? I just know that you're going to be brilliant."

Katie blanched white at his upbeat words. "Oh god! I think I'm going to be sick!" She jumped from her seat and took off in the direction of the nearest ladies room.

"What did I say?" Andrew asked, bewilderedly.

Jess patted his arm. "Don't worry about it. I'm on it. It seems she inherited my nervous stomach. I'll go calm her down."

"What a spaz!" Alex said with a grin. "I hope Jess catches her before she locks herself in a stall or she'll never get her out of there."

DJ wandered off, leaving Andrew and Alex to laugh about Jess and Katie and their wacky antics. He saw Serena over by a refreshment table talking to the scouts. It was funny how they always ended up together. Lita had catered the food tonight. Mina and Raye had come because the general's company had donated a nice sum toward the building of the new children's wing of the hospital. Amy had been attending these functions for years since her mother was on staff at the hospital. Michelle was there, of course, to play her violin.

The only ones missing were Amara, who was gone to a race and Rini and Hotaru, who said that they had other plans. As for Trista, well, she was around earlier, but no one ever knew when or where she would pop up or disappear.

Not wanting to get caught up in the women's conversation, he made sure to make a wide circle around them. He saw Darien talking to couple of doctors that he had been introduced to earlier and recognized them as being the chief of staff and the head of emergency medicine for Tokyo General.

He inched closer, hoping to hear some interesting medical things. He may not ever get to become a doctor himself, but he would always be fascinated by it.

"So Darien," said the older, portly gentleman that was in charge of the hospital. "Have you thought any more about my proposal for you to head the pediatrics emergency center when we get the new wing opened later this year?"

Darien took a sip of his wine. "I have, Conner, and I'm honored that you offered it to me. But I'm sure there are older, more qualified doctors for the job."

"Nonsense, my boy!" the other man protested. "You're just the man for the job. I was just telling Eric the other day how lucky we were to have you. You went to Harvard for crying out loud! Some American hospital could have convinced you to stay there and work for them. Didn't I say that, Eric?"

The third man nodded. "Yes, you did. I must admit I was a little apprehensive about you in the beginning because of your age, but after the first few shifts I worked with you I was convinced. How old are you now?"

"I'll be twenty four in August," Darien answered.

"Amazing!" Conner exclaimed. "Most people your age are only halfway through medical school. And you're getting married at the end of the summer too! What does your lovely fiancé do?"

A smile lit up Darien's face. "Serena is studying to become a teacher."

Eric snickered. "A doctor and a teacher, huh? Well you two will be quite the couple."

DJ couldn't contain a snort of laughter. A doctor and a teacher indeed! More like a future king and queen.

Three heads swiveled in his direction. "DJ, what are you doing?" Darien asked him.

"Oh yes! This is your cousin that you introduced me to earlier, isn't it?" Conner asked in a booming voice. "Come join us young man."

DJ shuffled over to stand next to Darien, seeing both doctor's eyes widen as they took in the resemblance between them.

"So do you have any interest in medicine, DJ?" the older man asked.

DJ's face brightened. "As a matter of fact I do. I've taken just about every form of math and science course available in hopes of going pre-med when I start college in the fall."

Eric nodded. "So you're graduating this year. And how old are you?"

"I'll be seventeen in May," he stated proudly.

Conner chuckled. "Another early graduate in your family, huh Darien? You must have some good genes being passed down."

Darien shared a conspiratorial wink with DJ. "You could say that."

"Well there's someone I think you ought to meet. Now where did they go?" Conner mused. "Oh there they are. Joseph, come over here for a minute and bring that darling daughter of yours with you."

A tall, brown haired man walked over and Conner introduced them. "Joseph Wellington, meet Dr. Darien Shields and his cousin DJ. And the young lady hiding behind him is…"

"Susan?" DJ said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

A light blonde head peeked out from behind Mr. Wellington. "Oh! Hi DJ. I didn't know you were coming tonight."

"How wonderful! You two already know each other," Conner cackled in glee. Just then some music started playing. "DJ, why don't you take Susan out for a spin on the dance floor. You young prodigies have to stick together you know."

"O…oh, but…" Susan stammered.

"Susan!" Joseph Wellington snapped. He eyed her coldly and cocked his head toward where other couples were beginning to dance.

Susan bowed her head. "Yes daddy. Come on, DJ," she muttered, grabbing his hand and pulling him after her. But instead of dragging him to the dance floor she led him through a set of glass doors and onto a terrace.

"I'm so sorry about that," she apologized profusely once they were out in the warm night. "My dad can be a little overbearing sometimes. My mom usually comes to these kinds of functions with him, but she's out of town on a business trip. He made me come with him because he thinks it's good for me to get out and mingle."

DJ felt a rush of sympathy for her as he thought about all of the long boring events he had suffered through being a prince. "Hey! I understand completely. We'll just hang out here for a few minutes until the heat passes."

"Thanks DJ! You're the best!" Susan cried, throwing her arms around him and pressing her lips to his.

DJ flew back into the railing that surrounded the terrace. He automatically wrapped his arms around Susan to keep them both from tumbling to the floor. When he had them both steady on their feet he ripped his mouth from hers. He was about to lay into the girl when he looked up and felt his blood freeze in his veins.

A pair of eyes pinned him in place. The hazel green gaze made his heart stutter for a moment as they stared at him with heartbreak before blazing into anger. Then the fury cooled to an icy glare that he had hoped to never see on her face ever again.

He pushed Susan away with perhaps a little more force than necessary. "Kat, wait! It's not what you think!"

"Oh really," she drawled in a cold tone. "I didn't just see another girl in your arms and you kissing her? Hmm, maybe I should go get my eyes checked because that's exactly what it looked like to me."

"K…Katie, really, i…it wasn't like that," Susan stuttered hesitantly. She broke off into a startled squeak as Katie swung her eyes to her.

"I had you pegged from day one, you little slut!" Katie growled. "The only reason I'm not ripping the flesh from your bones right now is because I would never embarrass my family and friends by causing a scene at such an important event. But you better hope I never come across your skinny little ass in a dark alley somewhere, because I can't guarantee that you will live to regret it."

She took a deep breath and turned back to DJ, about to say the words that would sever their relationship forever, but a voice began screaming at her in the back of her mind, telling her that if she did this she would be making one of the worst mistakes of her life.

She looked into his blue eyes and saw the conflicting emotions there. Fear was the most predominant; fear that he was going to lose her. She sighed deeply. "Look, DJ. I can't keep doing this ping pong thing. Either you're with me, or we go our separate ways. The choice is yours."

Relief flooded his face as he hurried to her side. "I'm yours, you know that. I don't want anyone else."

But Katie wasn't giving in quite that easily. "We'll see. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a performance to get ready for." She spun on her heel and stomped away, DJ trailing silently after her.

Susan stood there fuming. "That little bitch! She was supposed to kick his ass to the curb, not give him another chance. She was done with him. I saw it in her eyes. Why did she change her mind like that?"

"Maybe she's not as big of an idiot as you think she is," an amused sounding voice said.

"Who's there?" Susan squeaked, looking around the dark terrace. She gasped as a tall, slender woman in a black tank top and jeans stepped out from the shadows. Her hair was hidden by a black cap and she wore sunglasses even though it was night. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm either your best friend or your worst nightmare, whichever one I end up being is entirely up to you, Sasha," the person said in a voice that sounded eerily familiar.

Susan rolled her eyes. "You must have me confused with someone else, lady. My name is Susan.

The woman chuckled, a cold sound that sent shivers down the younger girl's spine. "You may be able to fool others, but not me. I know all there is to know about you, little girl." She snapped her fingers and the concealment spell around the teen shattered, revealing strawberry blonde hair and jade green eyes.

"How did you…" Sasha began weakly.

The woman tapped her chin with a long finger. "I told you, I know everything. And I'm here to tell you that if you don't want to die a long, tortuous, agonizing death you'll go inside and drag Jack out of there. Pull him out by his hair if you have to, I don't care. And then the two of you should run as far and as fast as you can. If you don't, I can't guarantee what will happen to you."

Sasha stalked over to the woman and pulled herself up as straight as she could, but she was still a few inches shorter than her adversary. "Do you think you can scare me? You say you know everything, so you have to know who I'm working for."

A smirk twisted the woman's lips. "Of course I know who your boss is. And I also know that he doesn't have any plans for you to be in his future, except as a gruesome Halloween decoration tacked to his wall, so I'm offering you a chance to save yourself and Jack. As for scaring you, well I can do that too." She pulled her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose.

Sasha jumped back with a screech at the sight of those swirling, multicolored eyes. "Holy shit! What the hell are you?"

The woman regarded her coolly. "I am Discord's Harbinger of Death, and your replacement. Now get the hell out of here while you can." With another snap of her fingers the concealment spell was replaced.

Sasha gave her a wide-eyed stare of fright before turning and running as fast as she could.

The future Katie sighed and rubbed her temples before saying softly, "You may as well come on out, Pluto. I know you're there."

Trista stepped out from the shadows and appraised the younger woman cautiously. "I was wondering when you would show up. I've been expecting you."

Katie gave her a wry smile. "I'm sure you have. Discord may have blocked you from the time gate, but he can't keep everything from you. So I'm assuming you know why I'm here."

Trista nodded. "I do. And while I don't condone the manipulation of time, I understand why you're doing it. I just hope that it works out in our favor. The timeline is already beginning to blur just by the few small things you've done already. In just a few short minutes you have already started altering the future."

"Well I couldn't have my past self make the same mistake I did," Katie grumbled. "I still kick myself in the ass when I think about how I broke it off with him right here in this spot all those years ago without ever giving him a chance to explain. I just made her stop and think for a minute. But that's not enough, things could still turn out wrong."

"That's true," Trista agreed. "One small, seemingly insignificant event can change everything. All you may have done is prolong the inevitable. That fight could still happen. The same mistakes could still be made. And he still may die."

Katie shuddered. "I know. That's why I'm begging for your help, Trista. You know what I need you to do."

Trista sighed. "Yes I do. And I'll do it only because I want to see the future put back the way it's supposed to be."

"Thank you," Katie said softly. "There's one more thing that I want to ask you. If this turns out badly, could you make sure he gets this?" She handed Trista a small box tied with a silver ribbon.

Trista eyed it for a moment before nodding gently. "I will deliver it to him personally."

* * *

**Crystal Tokyo – Rini, DJ, Katie, and Alex's current time**

"Good grief girl, I wish you would quit moping. You'll have your man back with you soon enough," Skye said as she flung herself down in a chair sideways with her legs hanging over the arm.

Emma blinked her gray eyes and turned her attention to her friend. "Sorry, it just gets kinda hard sometimes. Here it is Saturday night, and my boyfriend's a thousand years away. This sucks!"

"Well we could always go out and hit a club," Skye suggested. "It might do you some good to have a change of scenery."

"Ooo, is that an invite? I'll go with you lovely ladies and keep you company," said a curly haired blonde boy with bright blue eyes.

Skye snorted. "In your dreams, Jayden. You're not even old enough to get into a club. You're only fourteen."

He wasn't perturbed by her rejection. "I know, but everyone says that I can pass for sixteen. That's why I have this." He whipped something small and plastic from his pocket.

Hannah, who had been quietly reading a book, looked up, appalled at what she saw. "Where did you get a fake ID?"

Jayden smirked at the dark blue haired, green eyed girl. "I've got friends in low places. So what do you say ladies, should we go shake up the town?"

Emma shook her head. "Thanks, but no thanks. A club is no fun unless you're dancing, and I'm not dancing with anyone but Alex."

"But we need to do something," Skye complained. "It's no fun sitting around with the adults and the little kids."

Everyone was assembled in the large entertainment room of the palace that was bigger than some people's houses. Nick and Kyle were currently bashing each other on some video game while six-year-old Corey cheered them on and Ryssa sat nearby trying to appear bored but was unable to keep the interest from her eyes as they followed the characters on screen.

Serenity, Jess, Mina, Raye, and Lita were all teary eyed as they watched some romantic comedy on one of the large screen televisions. Endymion and Andrew were shooting pool. Amy and Zoicite were wrapped up in a game of chess. And Kunzite, Jadeite, and Nephrite were playing cards.

The four bored teens looked around dispassionately, thinking about the old days when DJ and Katie would have kept them entertained with their constant bickering and Alex would have them rolling with laughter as he desperately tried to break them up. It just wasn't the same without them.

"Come on! Let's go to the park or something," Emma said, standing up. "I need some fresh air."

"Sweet!" Jayden exclaimed as he jumped from his seat. "I'll be the envy of Crystal Tokyo walking around the park with three hot chicks!"

"Call us chicks again and you'll be talking to my fist," Skye growled. "Put that book down, Hannah and join us."

The four left the room. The younger kids were oblivious to their absence, but the adults watched them with small knowing smiles twitching their lips.

* * *

Serena applauded ecstatically as the last notes from Michelle's violin faded away. The hotel ballroom that had been rented out for this fundraiser had wonderful acoustics, and the music that had swelled from the strings had filled every corner of the room.

Darien chuckled and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Michelle's playing always did have this kind of effect on you."

She smiled up at him. "I can't help it. It's almost like I can feel the waves of the ocean when she plays. It's very emotional."

The applause faded as Michelle began speaking into the microphone. "Thank you so very much. My next two pieces are a collaboration for both the violin and the piano. My usual accompanist, Amara Tenou, was unavailable this evening, so I've asked one of my students from Azabu High to assist me. Please help me welcome Miss Katie Morgan." There was another round of applause.

Next to Serena, Jess was chanting, "Please don't pass out," over and over under her breath. She had her fingers crossed on both hands as she watched her future daughter make her way toward the stage.

Andrew squeezed her gently. "She'll be fine. Stop worrying so much."

Serena frowned as she saw DJ attempt to touch Katie's arm to help her up the steps and saw the girl jerk away from him with a glare like he had burned her. "Uh oh, did the two of them have another fight?"

Serena and Jess both turned to Alex, who was nearby. He held his hands up in front of him. "Don't look at me! I haven't seen either one of them since Kat had her meltdown earlier."

They turned their attention back to the stage where Katie had taken her place at the piano and held her fingers poised over the keys. Michelle gave her a worried look, but at the sharp nod she received from the girl she situated her violin and raised her bow.

It started slowly with the notes from the piano tinkling softly in the background while the violin took the lead. But as time went on the piano became more forceful, weaving in and out of the violin's melody as if challenging it for dominance. The next song was even more compelling as the two instruments mocked each other in what sounded like eerie echoes.

Silence hung heavy in the air once the last of the music died away, and then the crowd went wild. The clapping and cheering grew louder as Michelle and Katie both bowed and walked off stage.

DJ stood at the bottom of the steps and held a hand out as Katie reached the bottom. Knowing there was no way to refuse him without causing a scene, she placed her hand carefully in his. Once her feet were securely on the floor she tried to pull away, but he held fast.

"Let go of me!" she hissed at him.

"Not on your life!" he growled back. "I think we need to have a talk."

She glared at him. "I'm too mad to talk to you right now. Maybe later."

He switched his hold from her hand to her arm. "Tough shit, because I've got some things to say to you."

"I don't care!" she whispered furiously. "Do you know how hard it was for me to sit up there on that stage and smile and play while I had images of you kissing another girl running through my head? This is the second time you've done this too me."

He blinked in confusion. "What do you mean the second time?"

Her mouthed opened, but she was saved from answering as they found themselves surrounded by the others. The stood there with their eyes locked on each other in a silent battle while everyone jabbered around them, neither of them moving a muscle.

At least not until Alex went to hug his sister. He tried to pull her away from DJ, but the dark haired prince refused to let go of her arm. A tug of war ensued between them with Katie trapped in the middle.

She finally snapped. "Would you two stop it! I'm not a rope! DJ, let go of me, now!"

"Not until you stop being so damn stubborn and listen to me!" he fired back heatedly.

He saw silver flash in her eyes a split second before he felt a stinging in his hand that had him jerking it back from her arm. Tiny silver sparks danced over her skin where his hand had been.

His face flamed red and his eyes turned gold for the briefest moment. "Fine! Let me know when you get a life!" He turned and stomped away.

"Don't hold your breath!" she called after him, jerking away from Alex and striding off in the opposite direction.

Alex stood there for a moment, his head swiveling back and forth between their retreating forms before he threw his hands in the air. "That's it! I give up on them! I can't take any more of their drama!"

Then he stalked off as well, leaving a group of shell shocked adults behind. They all looked at each other in astonishment for a minute before glancing around to make sure no one had witnessed the little power play that had just taken place. But the crowd was still mingling around, oblivious.

"Whatever it is, they'll work it out," Darien finally said.

Jess chewed on her lower lip. "I don't know. Maybe I ought to go after Katie and make sure she's okay. She seemed really upset."

Andrew put his arm around her shoulders. "Just give her some time to cool down. She probably just wants to be alone right now and think. Kinda like someone else I know."

Serena, like Jess, was debating whether or not to follow DJ to make sure he was okay. Then her gaze landed on Mina, and she grew concerned at the glazed look in her friend's eyes. "Mina, what's wrong?"

The blonde woman shook her head with a little laugh. "Oh, nothing. I just thought I felt something strange there for a minute. Probably because those two knuckleheads are bickering. It's no big deal."

"If you say so," Serena said doubtfully, shivering a little as a sudden burst of surprisingly cold wind blew through the room from the open terrace doors. She felt uneasy, like something big was about to happen. It was the same feeling she always got right before there was an attack. She looked out a nearby window toward the moon, but it seemed dimmer tonight than usual and didn't give her the comfort that it normally did. She felt Darien pull her closer to his side and she looked up to see a concerned look on his face.

Darien frowned as he felt an unexpected surge in the Earth's crust. As the reincarnated prince of Earth, he was in tune with his planet. Usually the energy was a comforting hum under his feet, but something had disturbed it.

He shot a glance at Jess and found her staring at him and Serena with the same look of concern on her face. With her power being born of the moon and the earth, she could sense when either were disrupted.

"Are the kids doing this?" she whispered.

"Doing what?" Andrew asked hurriedly. "What's going on? You look like you're about to pass out."

Raye was standing nearby. "Something's brewing. I don't think DJ or Katie is responsible for this. Someone else is manipulating the power of the earth and the moon."

"That's impossible!" Lita scoffed. "Jess is the only one capable of controlling both, and from the looks of her I think it's safe to say she's not doing it."

Shrill screams split the air and several people ran in from the terrace yelling, "Monsters outside!" One lady in particular was going on about how it looked like a zoo break with all of the large cats and wolves while another said something about creepy people with glowing red eyes.

Panic reigned supreme as people began rushing toward the exit that would lead them into the hotel and away from the threat outside. Serena, Darien, and their friends stayed put until they saw the last of the people push their way out the doors and leave the ballroom deserted. Then they ran for the glass doors to get a feel for the situation. It looked like Discord had finally made another move, they were just grateful that DJ, Katie, and Alex had left the scene. Perhaps the three of them would be safe.

They had just reached the doors when they felt a surge of energy surround them as an icy wind slammed all of the doors shut.

"Well that was easy," a voice said softly. "Did you know that the group of you move like a school of fish? You're always together. That makes it easy for me. Now all I have to do is sit and wait for the guests of honor to make an appearance."

They spun at the sound of the voice to find a blonde woman in a black tank top and jeans on the stage sitting cross-legged on the piano bench. A small pair of dark sunglasses were perched on her nose and a black baseball cap covered her hair.

"Great, is Discord getting so desperate that he's sending blind people after us now?" Lita snickered sarcastically.

The lady in question let out a throaty laugh. "I assure you, Sailor Jupiter, my vision is perfect. But my eyes tend to make others…uneasy."

"But you don't deny that Discord sent you here?" Raye sneered. "I can feel his dark power all over you."

"Please!" she scoffed. "Like I need that old fart's power. You're supposed to be the great psychic, Mars. I know you felt me a few minutes ago when I was summoning a few guardians and sentinels to scare everyone away so that we could have some privacy. I prefer to not have an audience when I work."

"You did that?" Jess growled. "Thanks for the unexpected little double whammy. I thought my head was about to spin off my shoulders. A little warning would be nice next time."

The mystery woman smirked at her. "Aww, what's the matter? Not feeling quite so special anymore? It's really not that big of a deal."

Jess took a threatening step forward before Andrew stopped her by grabbing her arm. "You're a real bitch, aren't you!"

The woman shrugged. "Bitch is probably one of the tamest words to describe me. I've been called a lot worse over the years. Now where did my three favorite little people in the world go? I'm anxious to see them."

Now it was Serena's turn to let out an angry snarl. "You're not going anywhere near those kids, you circus freak! Everyone, let's transform and teach her not to mess with us."

A bubble of energy sprang up around them before they could activate their transformations. It snapped and crackled ominously around them.

The woman on the stage sighed and put a hand to her temple. "I see we're going to have to do this the hard way. Contrary to what you think you know about me, I hate violence. I have no grudge against any of you. I'm just here to do my job and get it over with. Now why don't we just wait patiently, the ones I'm seeking will join us soon. The energy of that shield blocks transformation powers, so don't even bother trying to transform."

She uncrossed her legs and turned on the bench until she was facing the piano. She placed her fingers on the keys and began playing an eerie, haunting melody.

* * *

Discord let out a howl of outrage as the time stream flashed and several other alternate timelines erupted like spider legs, branching off from the original river. Some of them still showed him taking control of the earth, while some revealed an empty void in space where the planet once was. But what caused him the most concern were the timelines that showed Crystal Tokyo bustling as always, Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion still standing proudly as the rulers.

"What happened to cause such changes?" he growled under his breath. "Who is the one that would dare to try and sabotage my plans.

A quick look into the past showed his newest protégé with Serenity and her court all neatly restrained inside an energy shield. Obviously she was carrying out her part of the mission with very little effort, and that pleased him to no extent. So why the changes in the future?

"Jack! Sasha!" he snapped. There was a flash of light, and then the couple appeared before him. They were locked in a heated argument and oblivious to the change in their surroundings.

"Why would you believe anything that comes from a stranger?" Jack said exasperatedly. "For all you know she could have just been some psycho. Or better yet, she may be in league with Katie, DJ, and Alex."

Sasha shook her head. "I don't think so. She knew entirely too much. She saw right through my disguise and knew that you were posing as my father. If she was working with the others I think she would have told them that."

Jack threw his hands up. "Who the hell knows? She may have just been some nut job off the streets. I'm not putting a lot of stock in what she had to say."

"It was more than that, you imbecile!" Sasha screeched. "Her eyes were like something straight out of a horror movie. I think that she could have snapped me in two like a toothpick if she wanted to. She scared the living shit out of me!"

Discord decided to intervene. "So I see you've met my new associate, Sasha. Yes, she is quite intimidating, isn't she? But she is no concern of yours. Now tell me, how goes your mission?"

Both heads snapped around, surprised to find themselves at the time gate and in Discord's presence.

Sasha quickly pasted a smile on her face. "Everything has gone according to plan. Katie caught DJ and I together in a rather compromising situation earlier and about blew her stack. It's only a matter of time before she and DJ are ready to rip one another's heads off. Alex is always so overprotective of her that I'm sure he'll get dragged into it as well. They'll be so busy fighting among each other that the god's will never give them the Trinity. They'll be so weakened that they'll be easy to pick off."

"Good, good," Discord mumbled. "You have done well. Now I think you both have earned a little vacation. How about you return home and let my newest acquisition take over for a while?"

Jack snorted. "So Sasha was right! This freak that showed up told her that she was our replacement. Was it the truth?"

Discord's red eyes glittered dangerously in the wrinkled face of the human body he inhabited. "I'm sure that I can find a suitable place for both of you, but for now I believe my new pet is better equipped to handle the situation. You have both done well and will be rewarded. Now leave me so that I may concentrate on the task at hand."

The two bowed their heads. "Yes sir," they said quietly and stepped through the portal that opened behind them. They had barely landed on the lawn of the house they had grown up in before Sasha took off at a run toward the house.

Jack ran after her, following her to her room. He watched with interest as she threw a couple of suitcases on the bed and began piling the contents of her dresser and closet into them. "Sasha, what are you doing?"

She gave him a wild-eyed stare. "I'm not taking any chances. If what that woman said is true, I'm not going to sit around here and wait to die. I have my own car, money, and a good education, so I'm out of here. I think we made the wrong choice when we decided to stay here with him. We should have gone on to Crystal Tokyo like we originally planned. He's been using us all this time in a sick little game and I don't want to play anymore!"

Jack sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Give me a minute to pack my stuff before you go running out of here, okay?"

She spun around, clutching a shirt to her chest. "You're coming with me?"

He gave her a cocky grin. "Of course I am. You can't expect me to let you go gallivanting around by yourself. There's no telling what kind of trouble you'd get yourself into. Besides, we made a pact to always stay together. So wherever you go, I go."

Sasha squealed before leaping into his arms and peppering his face with tiny kisses. "Thank you! I knew I could count on you!"

Jack chuckled before placing a lingering kiss on her lips. "Well that's settled. Now finish packing while I get my stuff so we can blow this place."

In less than twenty minutes Sasha was speeding away from the compound in her loaded down, emerald green car. She smiled as she glanced in the rearview mirror at the boy on the black motorcycle behind her. She reached a main highway and turned her car in the direction of the safest place that she could think of for them to go, Crystal Tokyo.

Back at the time gate, Discord snarled as yet another timeline sprang to life. He had thought about it and had come up with the only possible conclusion for why this was happening.

Sailor Pluto was the only person capable of moving through time without passing through the time gate, thanks to her garnet orb. That was how she had managed to hide those miserable little brats from him as long as she had. She could travel from time to time almost without his knowledge. He could only locate the small space-time distortions when he was actually looking for them. And now that he looked, he could see that she had made a couple of time jumps this night.

The stupid, meddlesome woman! He had never believed that she would willingly tamper with the time that she held so sacred. It went against everything that she stood for. Even when the Silver Millennium had fallen and her precious queen had died, she had not turned back time or interfered in any way to try to prevent the events of that day. It would have gone against the laws of Chronos. Instead she had borne her grief for a thousand years and had waited until her allies had been reborn. So what was she up to now?

* * *

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" DJ cursed himself under his breath. How could he have just walked away from her like that? Okay, so she had a right to be mad and upset right now. He would have been too if he had come across her in another man's arms and kissing him, but would it have killed her to at least listen to him.

'_But you know how Kat is when she loses her temper. You're lucky all she did was freeze you out and glare at you. She could have kicked your ass,' _his brain told him rationally.

That was true enough. He loved the girl with all his heart, but she was freakishly scary when she was mad. He could only hope that she calmed down soon so that he could talk to her. But she was so stubborn. It could be a cold day in hell before she would talk to him again.

He began pacing back and forth. After he had stomped off from his girlfriend in anger he had found himself in front of the hotel, itching to just take off into the night and find a quiet place to think. But he knew it wouldn't be a good idea to wander too far away.

He felt anger bubble up inside him. He had caught on to what Susan had been up to fairly early in the game, but had turned a blind eye to it thinking that the girl would get the hint that he wasn't interested in her that way. He had thought it was working until tonight. Of all the times for her to throw herself at him, she had to pick right when Katie came across them.

His temper snapped and he sent his fist slamming into the brick wall that surrounded the hotel, grimacing as he unintentionally called on his alter ego's powers. He felt pain as a few bones in his hand crunched and a couple of bricks tumbled to the ground.

He looked around to make sure nobody had been witness to his little tantrum, and then he shrugged before using his crystal's power to heal his hand. The enemy already knew where they were, so why bother hiding his power?

Then the screams started. He looked up to find people pouring from the hotel, screaming about monsters as they ran for their cars to get away as quickly as they could.

'_Great! This is just what we need right now!' _he thought as he pushed his way through the crowd to head back inside.

* * *

'_What a couple of absolute morons!'_ Alex moaned to himself as he threw himself down in one of the chairs in the hotel lobby. Every time he thought the two of them had their shit together, they had to go and pull a stunt like this. The idiots we're madly in love with one another. So why couldn't they just get along?

He ran an agitated hand through his hair, thanking the fates or whoever once again for delivering Emma into his life. His relationship with her was for the most part uncomplicated. Sure, they'd had a few spats, just like every other couple. He was his father's son after all, and even levelheaded Andrew had been known to lose his temper on occasion. And as much as Emma resembled her mother as far as personality went, she had a streak of her father's seriousness in her. But most of their arguments were short lived and were over something stupid like where to go have dinner.

Yeah, he preferred that any day over the explosive combination of his sister and best friend. He was trying his hardest to respect Katie's wishes and not interfere with her life, but he had seen the shattered look that had been hiding beneath all of the anger burning in her eyes. And then when the two of them had unintentionally called on their powers he had been afraid that they were literally about to go for each others throats, and it had scared the crap out of him.

Whatever had gone down between the two of them was serious this time, and it took all of his self control to not run after DJ and deliver on his promise to rearrange his face for daring to hurt his sister.

The smell of something burning wafted past his nose and he looked down in surprise where his hand was gripping the arm of the chair. It was glowing a fiery red orange and tendrils of smoke were beginning to rise. He jerked his hand away to reveal a scorch mark in the material that was larger than his palm.

"Great! Now they have me spazzing out too," he grumbled. "Why is this happening now? We are supposed to be a team, but now it feels like we're falling apart."

Screams erupted from the nearby ballroom and people began stampeding through the doors like a herd of frightened cattle. He jumped to his feet and moved out of the way as the hysterical people ran out the front exit, screaming about monsters.

He scanned the crowd, but saw no signs of his parents or friends anywhere. Of course if there were an attack they would stay to fight and not escape with the rest of the people. He edged his way toward the doors as the last of the stragglers darted through. Just as he was about to slip inside, a strong gust of wind blew the heavy doors shut with a bang.

He tried the knobs, but found the doors to be locked tight. He spun for the exit, intending to run around the building to the terrace doors to see if he could get in that way. Just as he reached the door, he collided with another body and went sprawling out across the marble floor of the lobby.

He looked up and glared at the other person who was in a similar situation in the doorway. "Shit DJ! Why don't you watch where the hell you're going?"

DJ shook his head and returned the glare with one of his own. "You've got a lot of room to talk, dumb ass! When did you turn into a human battering ram?"

"Can it asshole!" Alex fired back. "I would really love to drag you off somewhere and beat the shit out of you for whatever you did to hurt Kat so much, but right now we have bigger fish to fry. Something's going on. My senses are tingling all over."

DJ stood and dusted himself off. "Mine too. I heard some of the people talking about wild cats and zombies, so I'm assuming there must be some sentinels and guardians lurking around somewhere."

"Neither my parents nor yours or any of the others came out of the ballroom," Alex told him. "I tried to get in, but the door closed and locked before I could. I was about to go around to the back and see if I could get in another way."

DJ nodded grimly. "Then let's go. Kat's not in there too, is she?"

Alex's blue eyes flashed red orange for a second. "Would it matter to you if she was?"

"Of course it matters!" DJ yelled. "Look, I know she's pissed at me right now, but it's for all the wrong reasons. I thought that perhaps you at least would give me the benefit of the doubt."

His friend eyed him dubiously. "We'll talk about it later. Right now let's see what the hell is going on."

* * *

Katie's eyes were clouded with tears as she flew across the wide expanse of grass behind the hotel. She had kicked off her high heels at some point and her bare feet barely made contact with the ground before they were lifted again.

She knew that she was moving too fast, that she was using her scout power to give her added speed and would appear as a blur if anyone saw her, but she didn't care. She had to get away somewhere completely by herself before she exploded. She could feel it bubbling up inside her, trying to break free.

She finally reached her destination, a wooded area a short distance away from the hotel, but she didn't slow as she barreled through the trees, weaving through the maze of trunks until she was several yards in where nobody would be able to see her.

Gasping and sobbing, she fell to her knees. She held her glowing silver hands in front of her and stared at them for a moment before letting out a broken scream and falling forward to slam her hands into the ground where she harmlessly released the energy into the earth.

She sat back up, gulping in breaths of air in an attempt to bring herself under control. She knew that she was probably overreacting to the whole ordeal; she refused to believe that DJ would betray her so callously. But the sight of him locked in an intimate embrace with Susan kept replaying in her head like a bad dream.

To make matters worse, it conjured up the older images of him in a similar situation with Sasha the night of his parent's anniversary party. She had never told him that she had witnessed that moment between him and the strawberry blonde, but it had always haunted her that he had fallen so easily into the other girl's arms after kissing her only a short time before. Okay, it had really only been a brief meeting of their lips, but it was still a kiss, and it had been her first.

"I am so stupid!" she moaned. She should have known that just because DJ had professed his love for her that it wouldn't erase his playboy reputation. Even if he was just plain old DJ Shields here instead of Prince Darien James of Crystal Tokyo, he still had the looks and the magnetic personality that drew girls to him like a moth to a flame.

How could she ever compete with that? Sure he said he loved her now, but what about next week, next month, or next year? He had girls from affluent families all over the world throwing themselves at him. It was only a matter of time before he decided that one of them were better suited for him, and then she would be tossed aside. Perhaps it was best if she broke it off with him now so that she could begin to mend her broken heart instead of waiting for him to rip it to shreds later.

"I don't know what to do," she muttered, kneading the heel of her hand against her forehead.

Then an inner voice, the same one that had stopped her earlier when she had almost laid into DJ, popped up. _'Well I'll tell you what you should do. Get up off the ground and carry your skinny little ass back up to the hotel. Don't you feel the change in the air?'_

Then she felt it, the shiver that always ran down her spine whenever a guardian or sentinel was nearby. Great! That's just what she needed right now. She jumped up and began making her way back the way she came. She paused at the edge of the tree line and stared in horror at the sight of a large number of Discord's little flunkies milling around. People were screaming in the distance, and she could see them scrambling back inside the hotel.

None of the enemies made a move to attack, and she found that odd. It seemed that they were there as more of a scare factor than anything. She knew that she had to find a way to get back inside and find the others, there were too many of these guys for her to try to take on by herself, and running away wasn't in her.

"Crap!" she whispered harshly. "How the hell am I supposed to get past these goons?" She looked at the space of several hundred yards that separated her from the terrace that sat just off the ballroom. The moon was dim tonight so it was pretty dark, but not dark enough to hide her if she tried to make a run for it. Those guys would be on her in a heartbeat if they spotted her.

Then an idea dawned on her as she studied the large clumps of tall bushes that were situated about every fifteen feet apart between her and her goal. They cast long shadows across the ground. Katie's power as Sailor Eclipse came from the moon, but she had discovered when she was younger that, like her mother, she could use shadows to conceal and camouflage herself. It was a power that had been a specialty of Queen Althea of Earth during the Silver Millennium, and it had been passed down to her granddaughter. Katie just hated using it because she was so afraid of the dark.

"Might as well bite the bullet on this fear too," she grumbled as she concentrated on the shadows nearest her, calling them in to swirl around her. She panicked for a moment as her vision went almost completely black, but soon discovered that if she squinted hard enough she could see.

She dashed out from the trees as silent as a ghost, and made a beeline for the nearest stand of bushes. She reached it with no problem. Great! One down, fifty gazillion more to go. She kept darting from bush to bush, having a few close encounters with the enemies along the way, but thanks the power of the shadows none of them saw her.

It took quite a few minutes, but she finally reached the stairs leading up to the terrace. She dashed up the steps as fast as her feet could take her, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she was still in the clear. She wasn't watching where she was going, so she completely taken off guard when she crashed into someone and they both fell to the ground.

"Oof," she felt a breath whoosh past her ear as she landed on a firmly muscled chest. Then a voice growled, "What is it tonight with you Furuhata's knocking me on my ass? Geez, Tinkerbell, that hurt!"

"Sorry!" she gasped as she realized exactly whom she had collided with, and she scrambled off of him without making eye contact. She was still confused about what to do about their relationship, and she knew that seeing him would just muddle her brain more.

"It's okay," DJ grouched as he sat up. "I don't think anything's broken. But you should really watch where you're going."

"I said I was sorry! What more do you want?" she snapped, still refusing to look at him. "I was trying to make sure that I wasn't about to be attacked from behind. In case you haven't noticed, there's a small army of guardians and sentinels out there."

"Yeah, we saw them," Alex interjected before anything else could be said. He reached down and helped her up. "We think mom, dad, and the others are still inside, but the other doors are locked so we snuck back here to see what was going on."

"Then what are we standing here jabbering about? Let's go!" Katie demanded.

The three of them tiptoed across the wide expanse of flagstones until they reached the glass doors that led into the ballroom they had been in earlier. Muted piano music drifted through the glass and out to them.

Katie shivered at the sound. "Moonlight Sonata. That has got to be my least favorite song I have ever learned to play. It always gives me the creeps."

They snuck a peek around the edge of the doorframe, all three let out a string of curses so vile that their mothers would have washed their mouths out with soap if they had been there to hear them.

Serena, Darien, and the others were trapped inside an energy shield, untransformed and obviously unable to escape since the men were all pounding against it with no effect whatsoever. An unknown woman sat at the piano on the stage, playing the haunting tune.

A burst of wind suddenly blew the doors open and the woman called out to them without looking up, "You may as well come in since you decided to not heed the warning I gave you before about running if you ever saw me again."

Katie's startled gaze met DJ's for a second before swinging to Alex's. The three of them shared a look of understanding before nodding and stepping into the room.

"So you're the mystery lady from yesterday?" DJ said cockily. "Nice to see you lost the druid look. I think cloaks and hoods went out quite a few centuries ago."

Her head turned toward them. Dark lenses covered her eyes, but a smirk turned up her lips. "Always the smartass, aren't you? Yes, I suppose that look is rather…dated, but it does come in handy from time to time when you don't want to reveal all of yourself to someone. I should have known it would be only too easy for a genius such as yourself to figure out that I was a woman."

DJ shrugged nonchalantly. "Actually, Katie was the one that convinced me that you were female. The way you kept changing the tone of your voice had me undecided for a while."

Katie felt goose bumps rise up on her arms, almost as if she could feel the eyes behind the glasses pass over her. She even felt a little light headed for a second before the woman seemed to turn her attention to Alex.

"And Alex, it's nice to see you this time since I missed out on the opportunity last time I dropped in," she said as if welcoming him to a party.

"Whoa, you weren't kidding, sis. She's a total whack job," Alex said in a loud stage whisper to Katie who nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes, ha ha," the woman said, never breaking stride in her piano playing. "But I'm afraid the time for jokes is over. Discord's little pets haven't seen any action for a while, so I thought I'd let them give you a warm up before I have a go. I'm sure you won't mind. And please make sure you're on your guard, because as you can see, your back up is a little…preoccupied."

The guardians and sentinels that had been outside began pouring in the doors, snarling and snapping, clearly ready for a good fight.

"Shit! What do we do now?" Katie growled.

"Well Pluto told us not to transform unless it was life or death. I think this would qualify as that," DJ said with a grin, already glowing as his transformation started.

"Sounds good to me," Alex agreed as he also began transforming.

"Hey wait up for me!" Katie complained. "I want a piece of these assholes too!" She grabbed the diamond at her throat. "Eclipse Power!"

She sighed in relief as the silver ribbons shot out around her and their energy helped chase away the nausea that had been churning in her stomach since she set foot inside the room. In a burst of silver sparks, Sailor Eclipse emerged to take her place between Phantom and Phoenix.

"So what's the plan boys?" she asked in a casual voice as she eyed the pretty substantial number of enemies they were facing.

"I say we pull an A19 on them," Phoenix said with a smirk, bringing up memories for all three of them of when they were younger and suffering through their long training sessions.

Phantom rolled his eyes. "What are we, twelve years old again?"

Eclipse had to agree. "For real bro, I thought we stopped naming our strategies over two years ago. You play too many video games"

Phoenix pouted at them. "You two are no fun anymore. In any case, I think that's the move we should pull on them."

Inside the energy shield, Serena was gaping at them in shock. "What are they doing? They're treating this like it's a video game at the arcade instead of something serious."

Next to her, Jess was practically twitching. "Whatever they're going to do I wish they'd get on with it. I just hope there are a few of those dirt bags left when I get out of here. I'm itching for a fight."

"Amen sister!" Lita agreed. "I wouldn't mind getting my hands on queen bitch up there either. She seriously irritates me."

"I'm a lover more than I am a fighter, but I could be down for a little rough and tumble myself," Mina said in a low voice. It wasn't often that she lost her cheerful demeanor, but she wasn't the leader of Princess Serenity's scouts for nothing. When push came to shove, Venus was as lethal as any of the others.

Michelle clucked her tongue. "It's a shame Amara isn't here. Then you could all stand around and trade your bloodthirsty little comments together."

"Whatever! Somebody just better get us out of this soon!" Raye snapped from where she was standing with an arm closely wrapped around Jadeite. The poor general's face was ashen and he was close to hyperventilating. He suffered from claustrophobia, and being closed up in this small, cramped space was starting to mess with him.

"Any ideas?" Darien murmured to Kunzite.

The silver haired general nodded. "Yes, several, and each one is more useless than the one before. We may not be able to transform, but we could try using our powers on the shield. But more than likely we'd just end up with the attacks bouncing right back at us."

Zoicite nodded. "Probably. This barrier is the same as the ones Talon used against us when we were fighting him a year and a half ago. So until she," a waved a hand carelessly toward the woman on the stage, "decides to let us go, we're stuck."

Nephrite cracked his knuckles. "So we're trapped like rats. That sucks!"

* * *

The future Katie watched her prey carefully as her fingers continued to dance across the keys of the piano like they had a mind of their own. She snickered to herself as the three of them pressed their heads together, talking animatedly. How she remembered those days. But she was on unfamiliar territory now because in her past this particular confrontation never took place. Instead it had been the beginning of the end of her life as she had known it.

She shook her head minutely. She couldn't afford to dwell on those thoughts at the moment. She had to concentrate on the mission at hand. The changes had already been put into motion, and it would take careful orchestration to see that things went the way she hoped they would.

She gave a nod to the guardian closest to her, signaling that they could attack at will, and the fight started. The guardians and sentinels sprang forward, converging on the teens that stood poised and ready.

Eclipse tried to control her rapid breathing as she vaulted over the head of the red-eyed man that rushed her, twisting and flipping in midair to land behind him. She spun and kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling on the floor before silver sparks shot from her fingers to surround him and he disappeared with a poof.

Phoenix sidestepped a charging wolf, grabbing it by the tail as it passed him. His hands flared with solar power before the mutated animal let out a piercing howl as it was incinerated by blazing flames and crumbled into ashes.

Phantom was a blur of black as he engaged a guardian that was wielding a sword. He had pulled his own blade out and met him blow for blow until he was able to slip under his opponent's defenses and send his sword plunging into his stomach. It glowed gold as he sent a burst of energy rushing through it, making the guardian vanish in a puff of smoke.

Katie watched in amusement as they slowly worked their way through half her forces. Then she felt it, the sign she had been waiting for.

"Enough!" she cried, banging the cover down over the keys of the piano with a thud as she stood. "Obviously your reputations as excellently trained fighters are well deserved. But warm up time is over. It's time to proceed to the main event."

All activity stopped at her words. The remaining enemies backed away, leaving the three panting, tired looking teen heroes to stare at her warily. Before any of them could blink, silver ropes had shot from her hands to wrap around both Phantom and Phoenix.

Eclipse was floored by the sight of someone else using one of her signature attacks against them. "Hey lady! That's my move! How the hell are you able to do that?"

"You'd be surprised at what I can do, little girl," she sneered. "Now let's you and I have a little chat. Here's the way I see it. On one hand I have your brother, your twin, the one that has been with you since the moment of conception. On the other hand I have your boyfriend, the prince that you've been fantasizing about most of your teenage life. I could kill them both with a mere flick of my wrist, but instead I'm offering you a choice. I'll give you the chance to save one of them, but you must decide which one is more important to you."

Sailor Eclipse's eyes widened in shock. "You can't ask me that! There is no way I could ever make a choice between them. I'll tell you what I'd like to do though. I'd love to beat the shit out of you right now. So what do you say you let them go and we take this little discussion outside, or are you too much of a chicken to take me on."

Her opponent shook her head. "If you only knew. You still have a lot to learn." Then an unexpected smile graced her lips.

The room suddenly lit up in a flurry of multicolored light as a golden arrow pierced the rope holding Phoenix and a snake of flame severed the hold on Phantom. A hailstorm of crackling stars and icicles rained down, destroying the remaining enemy forces.

Serena and the others gasped as the barrier around them faded and they were free. None of them wasted any time before transforming.

Eclipse scrambled to the two boys that had fallen to the floor. "Are you guys okay?"

They both groaned, but assured her that they were fine. "But where did those attacks come from?" they asked together.

"Thought you guys could use a little help," a voice said from the still open glass doors. Everyone turned to see three sailor scouts and a boy dressed in a red uniform standing there.

"Who are they?" Sailor Moon asked as she and the others rushed to join Phantom, Phoenix, and Eclipse.

Phoenix let out a whoop of glee as he ran to the blonde scout in a peach colored fuku and picked her up to spin her around. "What in the world are you doing here?"

She shrieked with laughter and flung her arms around his neck. "Pluto came and got us. She said you guys were getting in above your heads and might need some help."

Eclipse grinned for a moment at the sight of her brother being reunited with his girlfriend, but then turned her attention back to where that devil woman had been, only to find her gone. Her head whipped around until she caught sight of a shadowy figure slipping through the doors to the lobby.

"Get back here, you bitch! I'm not done with you yet!" she screamed, taking off after her at full speed. She heard the others yelling at her to stop, but the anger pounding through her was too great. She had a score to settle with this psycho for threatening two of the most important people in her life.

Some of her friends had nicknamed her Cheetah back when they were younger, and for good reason. The only to people that could hold a candle to her when she was running were her mother and Sailor Uranus. But as she chased the fleeing woman through the hotel lobby and out the front entrance, she realized that she might have found some healthy competition.

She pushed her legs to go faster as she hit the street, keeping the woman in her sights. She saw her duck into an alley and quickly followed her without thinking.

She gasped as she felt a hand wrap around her throat and her back slam into a brick wall. Stars exploded behind her eyes as her head snapped back with a hard thud. Her hands scrabbled to claw at the hand that was choking the breath from her. She opened her eyes and would have screamed if she could as she met a pair of swirling multicolored eyes.

Blue light erupted from the end of the alley as Sailor Shadow appeared and shot an energy blast at her attacker, but it bounced harmlessly off a wall that sprang up between them.

"Now you listen, and listen well," the woman rasped harshly in Eclipse's ear. "The time is coming that will change your life forever. You are the only one that can control what happens. So either you grow up, or someone you love is going to die. If that happens, you will suffer from a lifetime of agony unlike any you could possibly fathom. The darkness will consume you and you will become a creature just like me. I promise you that."

And then she was gone. Eclipse fell to the ground, gulping in breaths of air as she lay there. She heard Sailor Shadow speaking to her and the voices of the others as they arrived. Arms were holding her, but she didn't know whose. All she could think of were those parting words.

Someone she loved could die. And if they did it would be all her fault.

**A/N **So yes, now we know that Katie is the one that turned traitor, but she didn't really because she has an ulterior motive to try and change the past in order to save the future. One of the boys has died while the other one lives. I will be revealing which one is which very soon. Emma and Company arrived in time to save the day! Yay! Things are about to get crazy for our scouts and generals. If anyone is confused about whose child is who, there is a list of them in my notes at the end of chapter 2. Sasha and Jack finally wised up and took off, but they may appear again before this is all over. Future Katie has confronted her past self and scared the living daylights out of her. Okay, I hope that you guys enjoyed this, it was a pain to write for some reason, but I'm ready to move on. Anyhow, don't forget to tell me what you think. Reviews are the breath of life to me. Lots of love to you!

~Sere~


	13. A Letter From My Heart and a Preview of

A Letter From My Heart and a Preview of What Will Come

Hey everybody, I wanted to take a few minutes to let all of you know what is going on with this particular story. I've have always encouraged each and every one of my readers to be honest with their opinions about what I write, and you all have been absolutely wonderful with your responses. I treasure every single one of you and feel like we are almost family in a way. You guys are the absolute best, and I wouldn't trade any of you for the world. You have lifted my spirits when I was down and have encouraged me when I felt like giving up.

I have a group of my fellow fanfic fanatics that I am in constant contact with through e-mail (you guys know who you are) . When I started receiving some really critical reviews from some people via PM's (I guess they weren't comfortable leaving their comments the traditional way), I stopped to take a really good look at this story and where I was heading with it. For this reason I have decided to put The Galactic Trinity on hiatus for a little while. After conversing with several people and having a heart to heart with my good friend Mina-chan, I've come to the conclusion that I need to reevaluate exactly what I want to develop from this storyline.

I want all of my dedicated readers to know that I am not giving up on this. Lunar Princess and now GT are stories born from my heart and mind, and Jess, DJ, Katie, and Alex, along with the rest of the kids from Crystal Tokyo, are like my children, and I adore them all and will not leave their story untold. I just think I need time to focus to make this become a story that I can be proud of.

In the meantime I am still writing. Rekindled is still going strong and I will try to update on that as often as I can. I'm in the middle of getting my son ready to go back to school, so I've been busy. But I have several other stories in the works, including a collaboration with Mina-chan, that I hope to begin posting in the near future. And GT will continue. This may only be a week long break, or maybe longer depending on how quick my muse can get me situated back on a clear path. I hope it won't take long because while every one of my stories is precious to me, this one is the closest to my heart right now. Perhaps because Katie and DJ's relationship so closely resembles mine and my husband's when we first got together. :p

But I do feel confident enough to give you a sneak peek into what Chapter 12 will bring, so here is a small sample. I'm sorry if I have disappointed any of you with this turn of events, I just feel that it is for the best for now. Lots of love to you all!

Christi (aka ~Sere~)

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 12

Uh…Surprise!

She was running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, her heart pounding in her chest until it felt like it was going to explode. Sobs tore up her throat and choked the breath from her as tears blurred her vision and poured down her cheeks in wet rivers, but she pressed on, knowing that she couldn't stop now.

'_I've got to stop them!'_ the thought repeated over and over through her head.

Flashes of light from the streets below told her that the others were battling the onslaught of enemies that had suddenly invaded Tokyo in full force, but she was fixated on the two pinpoints of energy coming from the roof of a tall building a couple of blocks away. The bright gold and red orange energy were her beacon, guiding her to where she was needed most.

She was almost there, only two buildings away, when a wolf looking sentinel sprang at her from the shadows. She ducked with a shriek and spun to face it, her hands already beginning to glow silver as she confronted her attacker.

A hand grabbed her arm, jerking her out of the line of fire, and she looked up to find the dark, shadowy figure of a man standing between her and the mutated wolf.

"Go!" a deep voice growled at her. "I'll take care of this. You've got to get to that rooftop. You're the only one that can stop the past from repeating itself."

For some reason his voice galvanized her into action, and she left him behind as she continued on her quest. In two leaps, she found herself on the large roof of one of the tallest buildings in downtown Tokyo, and confronted with a scene straight from hell.

Two teenage boys, both swathed in black, were facing off against one another. They were glowing with barely suppressed energy as they yelled at each other in anger. They were so consumed in their argument that they didn't realize that they had drawn an audience.

The large form of a tiger sentinel was bounding toward the two, and they were completely oblivious to it. She screamed a warning at them, but they couldn't hear her over their own yells and the rushing sounds of their swirling energy.

She began running toward them, frantic to save them from the danger that was heading their way, and found her way blocked by a tall, blonde woman with swirling silver, gold, and red orange eyes.

"You will not interfere with my plans!" the woman snarled at her.

"I'm not afraid of you!" she screeched as she rushed her, knocking her out of the way. She heard the woman scream in outrage and then the sounds of a scuffle. She glanced quickly over her shoulder and saw the same dark man that had saved her from the wolf pinning the woman to the ground.

She never slowed momentum. She flung herself into the path of the tiger that was about to attack the two boys and flung out her power in a desperate attempt to protect them. Silver erupted at the same time gold and red orange exploded from behind her. The three energies slammed together, creating an explosion that rocked the entire building beneath them.

The sentinel was vaporized by the blast, and she turned to face the other two, somehow knowing what was about to happen next. She lunged forward and grabbed one of the boys by his black sleeve, flinging him away from the edge as the roof began to crumble beneath him.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw him land safely several feet away. And then the bottom fell out from underneath her, plunging her into darkness…


	14. Uh Surprise!

**A/N **It's back! After some reevaluating and restructuring I am happy to say that I have decided that I'm ready to continue with this story. I'm very happy with the way things have turned out so far, and I hope you will be too. To thank all of you for your patience and kindness I have a nice long update for you. Now before I go any further I want to give out my hugs to my wonderful supporters. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

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Thank you guys so much! You are definitely an inspiration to me. So anyway, when we left off the future Katie had attacked our heroes while at a hospital fundraiser. DJ and Katie were having a little tiff over the fact that Susan (who we know was really Sasha in disguise) had thrown herself at DJ and kissed him. Jack and Sasha were scared that Discord was going to kill them, so they ran away. Serena, Darien, and the others were trapped inside an energy barrier while the trio faced off against future Katie, who managed to capture DJ and Alex. She told her past self that she had to choose which one to save or she would kill them both. Luckily help from the future showed up just in time as the oldest children of the scouts and generals appeared on the scene. Future Katie tried to slip away, but her past self chased her down and they ended up in an alley where future Katie almost killed Sailor Eclipse before leaving her with an ominous warning that someone close to her may die.

So things are about to take a wacky turn. The scouts and generals are about to find out some things about their own futures and we have a bunch a crazy teens running around. Sounds like fun to me. And there's a little surprise at the end that I hope you'll like. Okay, enough out of me!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 12

Uh…Surprise!

Sailor Pluto landed on the roof of an apartment building as silently as a cat. She took a deep breath to steady her slightly rattled nerves. It had been a long, eventful night, and it was far from being over. She definitely wasn't looking forward to the upcoming confrontation.

"Might as well get it over with," she muttered as she headed for the edge of the roof. She froze a moment later as a shiver ran down her spine. She wasn't alone.

She reached out with her senses to see if she could identify the person she felt watching her. She may not walk the spiritual plane like Raye, be able to since disturbances like Hotaru, have a magic mirror to look into like Michelle, or even be able to consult the stars the way Nephrite could, but she wasn't completely ignorant when it came to reading auras. And this one hit her like a slap to the face.

She turned to face the shadows behind her. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be in this time."

"Hello to you too, Trista," a deep voice replied as a man dressed in black stepped out of the darkness. "I should have known that you would be able to sense my presence."

She heaved a sigh. "I'm going to have a stroke yet from all of this stress. You can't be here. I'm already using my garnet orb to protect Katie from feeling the effects of having her future self present in this time. It would stretch my powers too thin to have to cover your past self as well."

"Don't worry about it so much," he told her. "I'm not planning on staying here long enough to cause any problems. I just felt the need to check up on her and make sure she's okay."

"Really?" Pluto drawled. "It wasn't too terribly long ago that you attempted to turn her into shish kabob with your sword. Why the sudden change of heart?"

He ran agitated fingers through his hair. "I don't feel like playing this game with you. I just want some answers. You knew all along what was going to happen when you brought us here to this time, didn't you? You knew that he would die and that the Trinity would be left incomplete, leaving Crystal Tokyo wide open for Discord to run rampant over the globe while we were all caught up in grief and anger."

Pluto's head jerked up to glare at the man in front of her, her garnet eyes glowing in indignation. "I did not. The events that happened that night were spawned from an alternate timeline. I knew that such a path existed, but I never dreamed that it would be followed. The life that you have led since then isn't the one that existed in the future that I saw for you. And it all happened because of one moment of hesitation."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "What do you mean one moment of hesitation?"

The time guardian shook her head sadly. "Why do you think Katie is risking her life by plotting to double cross Discord in order to change the past? She was tied to him as tightly as she once was to you and would do anything to get him back. When she first defected to Discord's side I thought that she had gone insane just like everyone else did. I suppose I'm really to blame for that. She overheard me talking to Hotaru the night after the funeral and that spurred her to make the choices she did."

His arms dropped to his side. "And what could you have possibly said that would have made her team up with our greatest enemy? She sold her very life to him. If she makes one wrong move he will rip her soul from her body. What did she overhear that would cause her to walk away from everyone like we didn't even exist?"

Pluto arched a brow at him. "Are you sure you want to know?"

He growled in frustration, pulling his dark glasses from his face before pressing the heels of his hands to his swirling, multicolored eyes. "Of course I want to know! I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Pluto's shoulders slumped. "Fine. But I warn you that the truth may be hard for you to hear. The night that Discord launched that mass attack here in the Tokyo of this time and you two boys got into that heated argument, one tiny thing went wrong that sent the timeline spiraling down the path that it has taken. Katie rushed to try and break you two up and found the two of you about to blast one another into oblivion. A sentinel had also found you as well, and it attacked while you were distracted by your fight. This is where the change happened. Katie could have stopped the sentinel, but she hesitated and decided at the last minute to throw herself between you two just as you released your attacks. She discharged her own energy in defense. The result of your three energies clashing together paralyzed the three of you for a moment and the sentinel took advantage of that and attacked. You know how the rest of that played out."

"Of course I do!" the man snapped. "I was there. I lived it. I still dream about it every damn time I close my eyes. But I'm still trying to get your point. Are you saying that Katie messed up by getting between us instead of going after the sentinel?"

Pluto nodded. "That one little event changed the entire fabric of time. If she had chosen to destroy the sentinel all three of you would have walked away from that rooftop that night. Eventually the Trinity would have been bestowed on you and you would have faced Discord. Life would have been very different for you then. That's why Katie has always felt that she was to blame for his death. She heard me tell this to Hotaru and came up with a plan of her own to try to set things right."

He began pacing. "What she's planning is suicide! She can't possibly take Discord on by herself. Her powers are unstable just like mine are as result of that night. I know as well as she does how hard it is to control the energy of the earth, moon, and sun at the same time. If she had her full moon power intact she might have a chance, but not the way she is now."

"She's fully aware of that," the time guardian said evenly. "She has no intentions of confronting Discord herself. If she succeeds in changing history it will be up to your past selves to deal with Discord. Even if he kills her for her betrayal it won't matter because time will be rewritten. Everyone's existences will be changed."

He stopped his pacing, a hopeful look appearing on his face for the first time in fifteen years. "Do you think she can pull it off?"

Pluto smiled gently. "What do you think?"

A grin curved up the corners of his lips. "You know what? She's probably stubborn and hard headed enough to do this. She never knows when to give up."

"No she doesn't," Pluto said softly. "Now get out of here and back to your own time. If you pass out because there are two of you in this time I'm not lugging you back home."

He gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am!" And he leapt away. He was going home all right, but he had one more stop to make before making his time jump.

Pluto shook her head in amusement. "They may get older, but they never grow up."

She dropped from the roof to a balcony below and slid the door open quietly. She had barely stepped into the room when she heard a soft hiss. She dodged to the right and swung out her hand, deftly catching the knife that had been aimed at her head milliseconds before.

"Were you expecting someone besides me?" she asked the darkened room.

"Damn, Trista! How about a little warning next time!" a voice said in exasperation. "I'm just glad you have fast reflexes or I might have skewered you."

There was a click as a lamp turned on, bathing the room in soft light and revealing the other occupant. The blonde woman standing by the table sheathed her sword and sat down on the sofa.

"I wasn't aware that I needed to announce my arrival in my own apartment, Katie," Pluto answered dryly.

The younger woman huffed and rolled her swirling eyes. "Like you didn't know I'd be here. I've got to go back and report in soon, but I had to know what happened after I left."

Pluto let go of her transformation as she walked casually into the kitchen without a word and began making a cup of tea. Katie watched her in disbelief for a moment before scrambling after her,

"Come on, Trista!" she complained. "I've got to know what happened. I can't rely on my memories anymore because things are different now. I need to know if I'm on the right track."

Trista set the kettle on the stove on the stove and turned it on before facing her. "What exactly did you say to your past self tonight? You didn't reveal too much information, did you?"

"Of course not!" she protested. "I just roughed her up a little and told her to get her shit together or that somebody close to her would die. I didn't reveal any names or particulars. Why? Did she take it bad?"

"You should know," Trista replied as she took a cup from a cabinet. "Don't you remember what you were like at sixteen? You were a high-strung bundle of raging emotions. Of course she took it badly. When I left Andrew and Jess's place a little while ago Darien was treating her for a mild case of shock. Luckily Helios showed up and used a sleep spell on her to calm her down. She'll be okay, but you scared the hell out of her."

"That's exactly what I meant to do," Katie retorted. "Maybe if I'd had somebody step up and tell me how bad I was screwing up back then instead of tiptoeing around me like I was an emotional freak things wouldn't have gotten out of control to begin with."

"You can't change everything," Trista told her. "That fight between DJ and Alex will still take place no matter what timeline we're in. You can't stop that, no matter how much you want to. That is something that has to be settled between them. Your past selves are at an awkward age, not quite yet adults, but not children anymore either. They're growing and learning who they are. And conflicts, even between friends and loved ones are to be expected."

"Yeah, but I can change the outcome to make sure that things are different this time," Katie muttered.

Trista tilted her head as she studied the fractured woman in front of her. "That is true, but even the most well laid plans can go wrong. You may save the life of someone you love, but you may also put your own existence in peril."

Katie's jaw tightened in determination. "That's a risk I'm willing to take. But I plan to do everything in my power to make sure all three of us survive. The future will change. I'm staking my life on it."

* * *

She was running, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, her heart pounding in her chest until it felt like it was going to explode. Sobs tore up her throat and choked the breath from her as tears blurred her vision and poured down her cheeks in wet rivers, but she pressed on, knowing that she couldn't stop now.

'_I've got to stop them!'_ the thought repeated over and over through her head.

Flashes of light from the streets below told her that the others were battling the onslaught of enemies that had suddenly invaded Tokyo in full force, but she was fixated on the two pinpoints of energy coming from the roof of a tall building a couple of blocks away. The bright gold and red orange energy were her beacon, guiding her to where she was needed most.

She was almost there, only two buildings away, when a wolf looking sentinel sprang at her from the shadows. She ducked with a shriek and spun to face it, her hands already beginning to glow silver as she confronted her attacker.

A hand grabbed her arm, jerking her out of the line of fire, and she looked up to find the dark, shadowy figure of a man standing between her and the mutated wolf.

"Go!" a deep voice growled at her. "I'll take care of this. You've got to get to that rooftop. You're the only one that can stop the past from repeating itself."

For some reason his voice galvanized her into action, and she left him behind as she continued on her quest. In two leaps, she found herself on the large roof of one of the tallest buildings in downtown Tokyo, and confronted with a scene straight from hell.

Two teenage boys, both swathed in black, were facing off against one another. They were glowing with barely suppressed energy as they yelled at each other in anger. They were so consumed in their argument that they didn't realize that they had drawn an audience.

The large form of a tiger sentinel was bounding toward the two, and they were completely oblivious to it. She screamed a warning at them, but they couldn't hear her over their own yells and the rushing sounds of their swirling energy.

She began running toward them, frantic to save them from the danger that was heading their way, and found her way blocked by a tall, blonde woman with swirling silver, gold, and red orange eyes.

"You will not interfere with my plans!" the woman snarled at her.

"I'm not afraid of you!" she screeched as she rushed her, knocking her out of the way. She heard the woman scream in outrage and then the sounds of a scuffle. She glanced quickly over her shoulder and saw the same dark man that had saved her from the wolf pinning the woman to the ground.

She never slowed momentum. She flung herself into the path of the tiger that was about to attack the two boys and flung out her power in a desperate attempt to protect them. Silver erupted at the same time gold and red orange exploded from behind her. The result of the three energies being released created an explosion that rocked the entire building beneath them.

The sentinel was vaporized by the blast, and she turned to face the other two, somehow knowing what was about to happen next. She lunged forward and grabbed one of the boys by his black sleeve, flinging him away from the edge as the roof began to crumble beneath him.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw him land safely several feet away. And then the bottom fell out from underneath her, plunging her into darkness…

Katie jerked awake, soaked in sweat and biting back the scream that was clawing its way up her throat. She sat up and looked around in wide-eyed panic until she realized that she was in the bedroom that she had been sharing with her brother for over a month.

She flopped back against the pillows and forced herself to take deep, steady breaths as her heart rate returned to normal. What had that dream been about? Why had she seen Alex and DJ going for one another's throats like that? It didn't make any sense.

She pressed a hand to her forehead. What was going on? She didn't even remember going to bed. The last memory she had was being at the hospital fundraiser.

She jerked upright again as the memories began trickling in. She remembered the party, catching Susan in DJ's arms, performing with Michelle, arguing with DJ before stomping away, and then the guardians and sentinels had shown up.

There was something else though, something that was nudging at the back of her brain but was being held back like it didn't want to be remembered. She gasped as a face appeared in her mind.

"That woman," she whispered. It was all coming back to her. That woman who could command the guardians and sentinels had attacked them. She had captured DJ and Alex and threatened to kill both of them if she didn't choose which one was more important to her.

Like that was even possible. Alex was her blood, her twin; and even though she was still a little peeved at DJ, he was her love and that would never change. There wasn't a thing in the world that could make her ever choose between the two of them.

She shivered a little as she felt something inside her. It felt like an aura brushing lightly against hers, one that was warm and familiar, but different. And the strange thing was that it seemed to be coming from right outside.

She got up from the bed and crossed over to the window, pushing it up and sticking her head out. All she could see was the bustling city before her, but she wasn't really expecting to see anyone. After all, she was on the top floor of a twenty-story building. The only way that someone could be lurking outside her bedroom window would be if they could fly. But still, that aura had felt so familiar.

She ducked back inside, never once looking up to the roof level above her. If she had, she may have seen the man up there that had been gazing down at her.

"She's just as I remember," he said softly. He spun around a second later, his hand automatically going for the sword at his side. He relaxed when he saw who had snuck up on him like a ghost.

"Helios," he greeted shortly.

The white haired priest eyed him carefully. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you are here. There are few people that can break through my sleep spell. What I fail to understand is why you did it. She deserves some sleep after what she has been through tonight."

"I know she's messed up right now, but I had to do it," the man replied. "You're a timeless being like Sailor Pluto, so I'm sure you can understand why I did it. Wouldn't you do anything for Rini if it kept her happy and safe?"

Amber eyes narrowed at him. "Of course I would! But I fail to see where giving Katie nightmares is supposed to make her happy. And wouldn't Sailor Pluto be upset to learn that you're showing the girl the events of what needs to happen in order to set the timeline right again?"

He snorted. "What Pluto doesn't know won't hurt her. I'm doing this to save the Katie from my time. If her younger self can manage to set things right without her having to get involved, then Discord won't kill her. I know she and Pluto both say that if she dies it won't matter because time will be rewritten and she'll be alive again. But if something were to go wrong…I can't take that chance. I lost her once when she joined Discord. I can't go through that again. You are the guardian of dreams, Helios. You know better than anyone how our dreams can affect the outcome of real life."

Helios nodded. He had seen firsthand how powerful dreams could be when he had watched his king send nightmares to his past self several years before during the Black Moon invasion. He had thought for a while that Endymion had lost his mind when Serenity had been attacked and placed under that sleep spell, but he had figured out later that the king had done it to strengthen the relationship between his past self and his princess.

"I do understand," the priest said softly. "Those of us that are aware of the ominous future that may lie ahead are now treading in dangerous territory. We have no way of knowing what the outcome may be. Let's just hope that it goes in our favor."

"That's all we can hope for," the man replied. "I guess I better be getting back to my own time now." He jumped away into the night and hurried to the secluded grove that was ideal for making time jumps without the bright pink light that accompanied them being noticed.

He removed a chain from around his neck that held one of Pluto's precious time keys and in moments he disappeared in a flash of light. He reappeared in the barren courtyard of the Crystal Palace of the future.

He heard a tapping sound behind him and turned to find himself face to face with an irate, foot tapping, pink haired princess.

"So you're the one that stole my time key. I figured as much," Rini accused him acidly.

No remorse showed on his face. "Yes. I had some things I needed to check on."

"That was stupid to go through the time plane without Pluto to guide you. You could have been caught by Discord, you idiot!" She held her hand out expectantly. "Give it back."

He looped the chain around his neck and tucked the key away under his shirt. "No can do. I think I'll hold onto it for a while longer. I may need it again."

She growled low in her throat. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere drowning yourself in a bottle of whiskey?"

Instead of getting mad at her words, he grinned at her. "Nope! I gave it up."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You're telling me that you've spent every moment that you haven't been fighting for over a decade in an alcohol induced stupor and you suddenly gave it up?"

"Yep!" he chirped cheerfully as he began walking toward the palace. "Did Lita save me any dinner? I'm starving!"

Rini just watched him walk away, her mouth gaping open in shock. What the hell had happened to cause such a dramatic change in him? He had seemed almost happy, and he had smiled at her. She hadn't seen him smile in fifteen years. And he was asking for food? They usually had to almost force feed him. He wasn't interested in anything unless it was liquid and intoxicating.

She rubbed her temples. "I must be losing my mind."

* * *

_**Present Day**_

"I must be losing my mind," Rini moaned as she looked around at the group of teens in front of her. She had been shocked almost to the point of speechlessness when she had shown up after her date with Helios to be greeted with the sight of the new arrivals. "What are you four doing here?"

"They said that Pluto sent them because she thought we needed help," DJ growled. "I still don't see why she did it. We had everything under control."

"Ha!" Jayden retorted. "Yeah, I could see that you really had it under control, being tied up the way you were and all. You were dangling like a fish on a line. Way to go!"

A snarl ripped out of DJ's throat. "Keep it up, Flamethrower!"

"Oh, both of you pipe down! We don't need the two of you having a pissing contest. The point is Trista asked us to come, so we did," Emma insisted as she walked over and handed Alex a glass of cola before settling herself on his lap. "There you go, Cupcake."

Alex groaned. "Please don't call me that in front of people. It's embarrassing."

Jess was choking on laughter as she watched her future son squirm in discomfort, his eyes flicking toward the stoic Kunzite every few seconds like he expected the man to attack him at any moment.

"Well I'm confused," Mina complained. "It seems like lately we have strange kids from the future popping up everywhere. Dealing with Rini was bad enough, now there's eight of you."

"Well excuse me! I didn't realize that I was such a bother," Rini retorted hotly.

Serena quickly put an arm around her. "Mina didn't mean it like that. Did you, Mina?" She arched a brow reprovingly at her head scout.

"Of course not!" Mina hastily reassured them. "But I'm getting jumpy from all of the strange vibes flying around here." She stared intently at Emma. "You're the same girl that was here to visit Alex on Valentine's Day, aren't you? But you don't look the same."

Emma grinned, clearly enjoying herself. "Yep, I'm one and the same. Last time I came Serena let me borrow the Luna Pen to disguise my appearance."

"Way to go, Meatball Head!" Raye muttered darkly.

"Not me! The future me did it!" Serena squeaked. "And I'm sure I must have had a good reason to do it."

Darien, Andrew, and the generals watched from the relative safety of Andrew's kitchen as Serena and Raye began bickering back and forth.

Zoicite glanced between Darien and Jadeite. "Aren't you going to break them up?"

Jadeite snorted. "Are you kidding? I'm not getting in Raye's way. The last time I tried to stop her from needling Serena she set my ass on fire. I couldn't sit down properly for a week. Thanks, but no thanks."

Darien agreed whole-heartedly. "Just let them get it out of their systems. They'll work through it soon enough."

And it was true. It wasn't long before the two of them ran out of steam and fell silent.

Rini then took over again. " I can understand Puu sending Skye and Emma. But why did she send Jayden and Hannah? They're too young to be dealing with this mess."

The normally quiet Hannah's face turned red with indignation. "I beg your pardon! I seem to remember a certain night when I stopped a guardian that was sneaking up on you without you knowing. So don't go getting all high and mighty on me, _your highness_!"

Jayden looked equally outraged. "You tell her Hannah! We may only be fourteen, but we each have quite a few victories under our belts. Besides, Trista probably thought that she needed to send a real man along to help keep all these lovely ladies safe."

"Real man!" Skye barked. "Puh-lease! I've seen infants that exude more manliness than you do. Get real!"

Jayden waggled his eyebrows at her. "One day you'll see the benefits of having a younger man around. I'm willing to wait. You know I like my women older."

A quiet laugh had everyone spinning around to see Katie standing in the doorway leading to the hall. She still looked tired and worn out, but there was happiness in her eyes as she took in the sight of her friends.

"Katie!" Jayden called out, not missing a beat as he hurried over to the blonde girl and enveloped her in a giant bear hug. "Skye keeps turning down my advances, but you won't turn me away, will you?" He looked at her with playful blue eyes.

She smiled at him as she ruffled his blonde curls. "Of course not, Jay. You know you're my number one guy."

He turned to DJ with a superior smirk. "You better watch out, Tux Boy. You've got some competition."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm really scared!"

He got up from his seat and walked over to where they were to pull Katie into his arms. He felt encouraged when she hugged him back instead of pushing him away. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I woke up," she said simply as she leaned further into the hug. She was still a little upset with him, but right now she needed his comforting touch.

A few seconds later she was ripped from his arms as Alex picked her up and spun her around. She laughed and wrapped her arms tightly around her brother. "Put me down, Lex!"

He set her back on her feet and pulled back to look at her with concerned eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she told him. "I think I just got overwhelmed earlier."

"Overwhelmed my ass!" Jess snapped. "That psycho bitch had you pinned to the wall by your throat. I saw the whole thing. What possessed you to go running after her like that? You could have been killed!"

"She's right." Andrew said as he walked out from the kitchen. "You had no business going after an enemy alone like that. Anything could have happened."

Katie felt thoroughly chastised by her future parents, and she hung her head as tears began to prick her eyes. "I know. It was a stupid move. I'm sorry," she said miserably.

For the fourth time in as many minutes, she found herself caught up in a too tight hug. This time it was Jess squeezing her within an inch of her life. But she didn't complain about it. After the night's events and that horrible nightmare, she took comfort from the closest person she had to her mother.

"I'm making a mental note to myself to ground you in the future the moment you get back from this trip," Jess ground out in a voice that was heavy with suppressed tears.

Katie forced out a giggle as she carefully extracted herself from the confining arms. "Well it wouldn't be the first time, and knowing my luck it won't be the last either."

"Just promise me you won't pull anymore crazy stunts like that," Jess insisted.

"Um hm," Katie mumbled noncommittally as she looked around the room, refusing to meet her future mother's eyes. If she saw that woman again she knew that she would go after her. After what that bitch had done to them tonight she wanted a piece of her.

"Kathleen Kimberly Furuhata!" Jess snapped. "I mean it young lady! You are not to go chasing down or confronting any enemies by yourself or I will personally lock you up somewhere and make sure you don't set foot anywhere near a fight. Do you hear me?"

Katie's eyes jerked to hers, irritated hazel clashing with annoyed blue. "Fine! I promise, okay!"

"Ugh!" Jess groaned as she sat back down on the sofa. "I can't believe I said that. Thanks a lot for making me sound just like my mom. Now I'm having flashbacks of every time she preached to me about something. Don't get me wrong, I loved the woman like crazy, but damn she could nag when she wanted to."

Jess's little tirade eased the tension in the room and allowed everyone to have a good laugh.

Katie took a seat on the floor between DJ and Alex before looking questioningly at Emma, "So where do we stand? Have introductions been made yet, or are you guys here under cover?"

Emma grinned. "Nope! You're just in time for the show. Trista told us to be honest about our identities. We were just thinking about the best way to do it."

"Don't look at me!" Rini declared vehemently. "The last time I did introductions I made a real mess of things. I'm not going there again!"

Emma stood up. "I guess the best thing to do is just get it over with." She took a deep breath. "I'm Emmaline Minako Aino. I just turned seventeen years old, and I'm sure you can guess from the name exactly who my parents are."

She inclined her head to Mina and to Kunzite, who had come to stand behind his fiancé. "I am also known as Sailor Ishtar and I'm the leader of Princess Serenity's scouts in Crystal Tokyo."

Skye got up next. "I'm Skye Makoto Kino. I'm sixteen, almost seventeen years old. I'm the only daughter of Lita and Nephrite. I am Sailor Callisto."

Jayden stood with a goofy grin on his face. "I'm Jayden Jadeite Hino. I'm so close to fifteen that I don't even consider myself to be fourteen anymore. I like my fire hot and my women hotter! Everybody calls me Flame."

Everyone turned to the last teen as she made a gagging sound and muttered, "Oh good grief," under her breath. No introduction was really needed. Her shoulder length blue hair made her parentage pretty obvious.

She gave a short curtsey. "My name is Hannah Ami Mizuno and I'm fourteen. I am Sailor Caloris " she said in a quiet voice.

"And don't let her 'Little Miss Mouse' act fool you," Jayden inserted smoothly. "At first glance she may appear all meek and timid, but she's really a tiger on the inside."

Her green eyes snapped furiously. "I'll show you tiger, you egomaniac!" she screeched at him and threw a snowball that had suddenly appeared in her hand at his head.

The blonde boy merely laughed as he froze the snowball in mid air with a simple flick of his wrist and then vaporized it in a small burst of flames.

"Oh, Great Spirit, there's two of them!" Raye whispered in a mixture of disbelief and horror as her eyes darted back and forth between Jadeite and Jayden. "This so cannot be happening!"

"Tell me about it," Lita moaned next to her as she took a good look at the girl that had just introduced herself as being her daughter. She was almost as tall as she was with a slim, athletic build, curly auburn hair, and slate blue eyes. She shot a glance at Nephrite to find him staring at her with a look of shock that mirrored her own.

Amy cleared her throat nervously. "Well this is surprising, but I can't say that it is completely unexpected. We couldn't assume that Serena and Jess were the only ones to have children in the future. I'm just a little shocked that Pluto would allow this much time travel."

"This is so cool!" Mina squealed exuberantly. "I have always been a little jealous of Serena and Rini, now I get my turn."

Kunzite ran a hand through his platinum hair as he watched the two blondes that were now jumping up and down and hugging at the same time. "I think I need a drink. Somebody please tell me they've got something stout around here."

Darien clasped his shoulder. "Let's head next door to my place. I'm sure I've got something to take the edge off."

They knew that it was a cowardly move on their part, but all of the men slipped out quietly and left the women to deal with the new arrivals. After all, they were the legendary sailor scouts. Surely they could handle a handful of teenagers without any trouble.

* * *

_**One Week Later**_

"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" Raye screamed as the sound of an outraged squeal, followed by a deeper laugh filtered in through the shrine's open doors. "That brat is getting on my last nerve! I'm ready to call Trista and tell her to come get him and drag his ass back to Crystal Tokyo! Or better yet, I'll just make sure that I never quit taking my birth control pills. I've never seen myself as the motherly type anyway."

Lita looked up from where she was scrubbing the wooden floor. "Raye! That's a horrible thing to say. Would you seriously consider erasing the existence of your own child?"

Raye grimaced as she pushed her sweaty bangs away from her forehead. "No. I wouldn't really do that. But Jay is such a pain. It's just that every since he showed up he and Jed have been practically attached at the hip. And when the two of them are together they get into trouble. Do you know what happened the other day when I took them to the mall with me? I stopped into a shop for just a moment to look at something, and when I came back out I found the two of them staking out Victoria's Secret like a couple of perverts. One Jadeite was bad enough! Why couldn't I have gotten a girl like the rest of you?"

"It's not that bad," Mina said breezily as she flitted around with a feather duster. "Serena and Jess both have boys and you don't hear them complaining about it."

"That's because their sons are normal!" Raye snapped.

"Not according to Kunzite," Mina replied. "Every since we found out about Emma he's been threatening to kill Alex. I pointed out to him that they've been a couple for a long time and obviously his future self must be okay with it, but he's convinced that Alex is only after her for one thing."

Lita sat back and wiped an arm across her brow. "I've heard Andrew muttering similar things about DJ. I guess he's trying to protect Katie's virtue. It's kinda sweet. Besides, it's not just the boys that can act badly. I know you guys always thought I was boy crazy back in the day, but I think Skye is ten times worse. If she sees a guy that she thinks is even remotely hot she's on his trail like a bloodhound before you can blink. Both of my busboys disappeared during the dinner shift the other night and I found them with her hanging out in the back alley. She was playing both of them like a flute."

"Jayden! You moron!" a female voice screeched from outside, making the three women sigh and shake their heads.

"Even poor Amy isn't immune," Mina giggled.

Lita nodded. "I don't see how two people as quiet as Amy and Zoicite could possibly have a child that can get as loud as Hannah. At least things have calmed down some since Trista worked her magic and got all of them in school.

Raye groaned as she stood and stretched her back. "I guess we should have left those two back at the apartment, but I promised grandpa that I'd help out with the spring cleaning and I need every pair of hands I can get. I just wish that everybody else would hurry up and get here. If everyone would pitch in we'd have it done in no time."

There was the soft patter of feet and then Amy appeared in the doorway. "I'm so sorry I'm late. My meeting with my professor took longer than I anticipated, but I'm here now. What can I do to help?"

"We're just about done in here," Raye told her. "But then we still have the main part of the shrine and the living area to go. After that we'll probably have to go out and finish the raking and cleaning up outside because those two knuckleheads out there haven't stopped bitching at each other long enough to get anything done."

Amy looked confused. "The outside looks great. I think Hannah and Jayden did an excellent job. I'm pretty sure they cheated and used their powers, but it looks fabulous."

"I don't care what they did as long as it got done," Raye declared.

Lita got up slowly, stretching out her cramped muscles and grabbing her bucket. "I need more hot water."

Amy waved a hand and the bucket filled with water. "Raye, if you would be so kind. If the kids can do it and get away with it, we can too."

The fire priestess grinned and focused her attention on the water. In matter of moments steam began rising from it.

"I know it's a blatant misuse of our powers," the blue haired woman apologized. "But we'll be here all day and night if we don't do something to speed up the process. Where is everyone else?"

Lita snorted. "Our illustrious generals scattered at the first mention of cleaning. Darien's working and Serena got roped into something by her mother."

"Her aunt and uncle from out of town are visiting the Tsukinos," Mina volunteered. "Mama Ilene threatened to sic Papa Ken on Darien by telling him that Serena was knocked up before the wedding if she didn't come over and make an appearance. Andrew had to run over to his parent's place because of some drama with his sister and Jess is sick with that flu that's been going around this season."

Amy nodded. "Okay, that takes care of the over eighteen crowd. But what about the teen brigade? Where are they all hiding?"

Raye rolled her eyes. "Supposedly they have two big tests on Monday in Trig and Chemistry, so they said that they have to study. Sounds like an excuse if I ever heard one. But I couldn't exactly argue with them about it. School is important, and after seeing the way they fight I can't call them lazy."

There had been two attacks in the week since the kids had arrived, and both times the elder heroes had pushed over to the sidelines to watch in shock and pride as the younger ones had dispatched the guardians and sentinels quickly and with little fuss.

"Hey mom, I mean Raye," Jayden called out from the doorway, Hannah standing right beside him. "Hannah and I are all done out here and we were wondering if there was something else we can do so we can hurry up and get this over with instead of spending our entire Saturday here. We want to go hang out at the Crown."

A speculative gleam lit Raye's violet eyes. "Do you think you two can handle cleaning the main room of the shrine?" Both heads nodded. "I don't care how you do it as long as it's clean. Just be careful not to break anything and don't let anybody see you doing anything out of the ordinary."

"Yes ma'am!" they both stated with a salute before they hurried away.

Mina watched them go with a small smile on her lips. They were hardly more than children right now, just barely breaking into the big, wide world. But she was the goddess of love, and she could see things that other people couldn't.

"So the plot thickens," she whispered to herself.

"Did you say something?" Lita asked her curiously.

She shook her head. "Nope! Nothing at all! Now let's get cracking. This place isn't going to clean itself you know!"

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

"So would you like to explain to me exactly what it is that you're doing?" Discord asked in a dangerously soft voice that had every creature around him trembling in fear, all except one that is.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Is that what you called me back here for? I was busy."

He pierced her with his glowing red eyes. "Busy doing what, getting my army killed. I told you to go in and destroy those three brats, something that you should have been able to accomplish in a few short minutes. But instead I find myself standing here a week later with my forces severely decimated and those little bastards are still alive."

"I never claimed to be a miracle worker," she sneered. "I can handle any one of them in a one on one situation, but I'm not stupid enough to take on all three of them at once."

"So split them up!" Discord exploded. "That should be simple enough to do."

"Ha!" Katie barked. "Have you not paid attention to the way they move? They are never alone and their backs are always covered. There's also the little problem of having both the senior and junior guard of Crystal Tokyo there. I can't fight them all by myself and they have four crystals between them that were powerful enough to seal you away for a thousand years. What chance would I have against them? I've been accused of being crazy over the years, but that's too far out there even for me."

She broke off with a gasp and gripped her chest as a powerful burning sensation ripped through her. The tattoo on her shoulder flared as it someone had stuck a hot brand to it. Her knees trembled, but she refused to give in to the urge to fall to the ground. She wouldn't give this bastard the satisfaction of bringing her down.

He chuckled darkly and stepped in front of her to grip her chin and force her eyes up to meet his, much like he had done that night so long ago when she had been nothing more than a scared, wounded teenager in a ruined party dress.

"Don't forget, my pet," he hissed between his teeth. "I hold your life in my hands and I can choose to terminate it at any time. I doesn't matter that it was my future self that placed the bond on you. I'm still the one that's in control. Is that understood?"

She fought back the urge to spit in his face. "Yes!" she gritted out.

He released her and she couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped her as the pain vanished. She wanted so badly to rip this monster apart with her bare hands, but she knew it would a futile effort. She just had to hang in there a while longer and try to buy some more time.

Discord wandered over to the time stream. As he pulled his fingers through it scenes from many different times and places began to swirl together. "Are you familiar with the term Chaos Demons."

Katie blinked, taken off guard by the question. "Y…yes. Sailor Mercury explained it to me in history years ago. Chaos was an entity that was similar to yourself, only not nearly as powerful. It was responsible for spawning several other smaller entities such as Metallia, the Doom Phantom, and Pharaoh 90; all of whom were defeated by Sailor Moon and the Silver Crystal. After all of these lesser creatures were defeated, Chaos himself came to this solar system to attempt to destroy it. He had possessed the body of one of the most powerful sailor scouts ever born, Sailor Galaxia, and he used her in his attempt to conquer this galaxy. He was almost successful, but in the end Sailor Moon banished him."

"Very good. You know your history," Discord said in amusement. "But did anyone ever tell you where Chaos originated from?"

Katie shook her head. "That part is unknown. Some think that he was created at the beginning of time; others say that Chaos was born from the Galaxy Cauldron, but nobody knows for sure."

Discord turned to face her with a sinister grin. "That's not entirely true. I am very much aware of how Chaos came to be. You see, I was spawned by the Galaxy Cauldron at the dawn of the universe. I was created in an attempt to balance out the pure positive energy that was flowing throughout space as the planets and star seeds were born, kind of like yin and yang. I traveled around aimlessly for thousands of years as the universe began to grow. When I would happen along a small civilization I would take great pleasure in annihilating it. But the universe is a vast place and eventually evolution sped up until the galaxies were filled with planets and moons that were teeming with life and positive power. Not satisfied with the progress I was making alone, I manifested my powers to make a copy, or clone, of myself. Thus Chaos was born."

Katie's eyes widened in horror, "You are the one that created Chaos?"

He looked pleased with himself. "Yes, but unfortunately it didn't turn out exactly the way I had planned. Chaos inherited my passion for death and destruction, but sadly something during the copying phase kept all of my powers from being passed on. But Chaos was still plenty strong enough to wreck havoc, so I turned him loose. Eventually Chaos spawned Pharaoh 90, who then created the Doom Phantom, who in turn gave birth to Metallia. Each time the powers were weakened, but they all still held enough power to turn planets into rubble.

But there was one little corner of the universe that called to us more than any other place, the Milky Way galaxy. It had managed to somehow escape my knowledge for a few millennia, and when I found it I thought it was paradise with its nine well-populated and powerful planets along with the sun and the moon. I was determined to destroy it all."

Katie couldn't help but smirk. "But that didn't work out so well, did it? My great grandparents managed to seal you away."

He actually looked a little nostalgic at her words. "Ah yes! The fair Serenity and her golden knight, Jonathan, and that dark prince, Edward, threw a tiny wrench into my plans. I knew that the gods had been perturbed with my actions for quite some time, but they are sworn to not get involved with mortal affairs and god powers are the only thing strong enough to destroy me. The only human who might have ever had a shot at taking me down would be your mother and her Celestial Crystal. But unfortunately for her with its power being half from Earth the planet would explode if she were to ever be able to channel enough fury through it, and she's proved herself to be too much of a bleeding heart to allow that to happen. She came close though the time I killed your father. There for a minute I thought she might actually do it."

He ignored the growl that came from the blonde woman and continued. "I never thought that Apollo, Gaia, and Selene would find a loophole in the law that would allow them to aid the mortals in their battle against me, but they did. They created that damnable Trinity and it was almost the end of me. I guess I got lucky that those fools didn't fully comprehend how to wield the powers of the gods."

"Is there a point to this story? I've heard it all before," Katie snapped in annoyance. "You were sealed away. And then several years later your…descendant I guess you could call her, Metallia, picked up where you left off. She managed to devastate the Earth and destroy the Moon Kingdom before she was sealed away by Queen Serenity with the power of the Silver Crystal. The other planets suffered from this loss and soon their civilizations vanished, with Earth being the only exception. A thousand years later Metallia was destroyed by the reincarnated Princess Serenity. Your other offspring have tried as well to take over the Earth, and they all were destroyed, Blah, blah, blah…I could go on all day. So why the impromptu history lesson?"

A sinister grin unfurled on Discord's lips. "I believe I've found a solution to our little problem of having too many do gooders in our way."

A shiver raced down Katie's spine. This did not sound good. "What are you planning?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You'll find out soon enough. For now I want you to continue with what you were doing. The three brats are your only concern. Leave the rest of them to me."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

King Endymion stepped out of the doors of the palace and looked around. The setting sun was washing over the landscape and bathing it in a sea of contrasting shadows and warm light. A few people were milling around, mostly the groundskeepers that were packing up after a day of work. But there was no sign of the person he was seeking. He felt that she was nearby, but he didn't see her anywhere.

He smirked to himself. He may not be able to see her physically, but he was always able to find her wherever she was thanks to the deep soul connection he shared with her. He allowed the magnetic pull to lead him into the massive gardens of the palace. After twisting and turning through the maze of paths for several minutes, he finally reached his goal.

A small gazebo was nestled into the back corner of the garden. It was quiet and peaceful there. Red roses that he had planted himself grew in abundance around it with a few white ones scattered into the mix, compliments of his son. And there, sitting against one of the cushioned benches with her eyes closed, was the one he had been searching for.

Neo Queen Serenity didn't look any older than her early twenties, despite the fact that she had been ruling over Crystal Tokyo for almost two decades and was the mother of two nearly grown children. Her skin was still just as smooth and flawless as it had ever been and her hair still shown just as bright gold as it ever had.

Her eyes remained closed, but her lips turned up in a small smile as he approached her. "So you finally tracked me down, huh?"

Endymion chuckled as he took a seat next to her. "It's wasn't exactly hard to do. How was your meeting?"

Her nose scrunched up as her clear blue eyes opened. "Long and boring, as usual. I'm just thankful it's over. I'm hoping for a nice quiet evening. Maybe we can curl up with a movie and have a junk food binge-fest."

He tapped the tip of her nose with his finger. "That sounds good to me, but we have to get through this dinner with the visiting delegates first."

She pouted prettily. "Aww, do we have to, Darien? Can't we get somebody to cover for us?"

"I'm afraid not, my love," he said as he laid a quick kiss on her pouting lips. "But I promise you that we'll veg out when it's over. Now buck up and put your queen face on. I know that it will be boring, but Lita's doing the cooking so the food will be good."

"I guess that's something to look forward to," Serenity grumbled as she stood and smoothed out the skirt of her long, white, formal dress.

"Look at it this way," Endymion said cheerfully, trying to lift his wife's spirits. "It won't be much longer until you can start passing some of these responsibilities on to Rini. She's close to graduating and she'll be eighteen soon. Then it will be time for her to start taking on the duties of being crown princess."

"That's true," she sighed as she thought about her almost adult daughter. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. It seemed like yesterday that she had held Rini in her arms for the first time. Now she was a grown woman and practically engaged. She and Helios were just waiting for her birthday to make it official.

Thoughts of Rini naturally led her to thoughts of DJ, her tall, strong, intelligent son. She felt proud of who both of her children had grown to be. But she was still their mother, and she worried about them.

She looked up at a cloud that was drifting lazily across the darkening sky and whispered, "I wonder how my babies are doing."

Endymion put a gentle arm around her. "I'm sure they're fine. We taught them well. And in a way, we are still with them."

Serenity sighed. "That's true. Well come on! Let's go wrap up our royal duties so we can enjoy the rest of our night and be normal."

He laughed and offered his arm to her. "As you wish, my lady."

They backtracked through the gardens and had almost reached the palace when they heard a voice desperately calling, "Serena! Serena, where are you?"

"Mina?" Serenity answered as she caught sight of her distraught friend. "What's the matter?"

Mina shook her head. "Just follow me. You're not going to believe this!"

The king and queen looked questioningly at one another before shrugging and following the scout of love. She led them down the winding halls of the palace until they reached one of the meeting rooms on the ground floor. They went inside to find all of the inner scouts and the generals congregated there, standing in a group in the middle of the room.

"What's going on?" Endymion demanded.

No one spoke, but they parted so that the monarchs could see the other two occupants of the room who had been hidden until now.

"It's Jack and Sasha!" Serenity exclaimed.

Endymion growled next to her. "What the hell are they doing here? Is this another one of Discord's tricks, sending in his little lackeys to try and attack us?"

"Darien, stop!" Serenity snapped. "Raye, do you sense any evil intent from either one of them?"

The priestess shook her head. "No. But that doesn't mean anything. Discord is one sneaky bastard. He could be blocking my senses somehow."

"I seriously doubt he would be able to block you," Serenity said as she stepped toward the teens.

Endymion grabbed her arm. "No way, Sere! You're not going near those two little traitors."

She turned to look at him with calm, serious eyes. "Let me go, Darien. I really don't think they've come here to hurt us. Look at them. They are scared out of their minds."

'They should be!" Endymion snorted. "They have some nerve showing up here after all that they've done."

The door behind them slammed open, and everyone took a step back at the sight of the furious woman standing there.

"So I heard correctly. They are here," Jess hissed in deadly voice.

Serenity jerked her arm out of Endymion's grasp and stepped between her friend and the two that she was glaring at. "Jess, calm down. Let's hear what they have to say before we jump to conclusions."

Hatred and anger burned in Jess's sapphire eyes. "Get out of my way, Serena! Those little bastards helped Discord with his evil plans. Because of them my daughter was kidnapped and tortured. Right now both of my children are in a fight for their very lives and you want me to brush it off like it's nothing? I don't think so! I would have thought that you would feel the same way since Rini and DJ are both involved in this as well. Now step aside!"

With every word she had spoken the level of power around her had increased. Her eyes began shining with a bright blue light and a matching blue glow surrounded her. All the furniture in the room began shaking and pictures fell from the walls.

"She's gonna blow!" Jadeite squeaked as he and the other generals and scouts flattened themselves against the wall, hoping they were far enough out of the way to not get caught up in the attack if Jess chose to strike.

Serenity stood her ground in front of her. She glowed silver for a moment as she called forth the Silver Crystal. "Jess, don't make me use this."

The enraged Jess barked out a harsh laugh. "I can't believe you're protecting those little parasites! They knew what they were doing would hurt people, but they did it anyway. I want them to pay for what they've done."

There was a flash of bronze light, and then Jess found herself pinned to a wall by a heavy weight. She looked up in surprise to find her husband glaring down at her furiously through snapping hazel eyes.

"Are you ever going to learn how to control that damn temper of yours?" he yelled at her. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have hurt someone!"

Everyone sighed in relief as the power surging around the room faded away.

Jess buried her face in Andrew's chest and began crying. "I'm sorry! I was just so angry at the sight of those two. I want this to be over with. I want my kids back home where they belong."

"And they will be soon," Serenity said softly before turning to face the teens. "Why did you come here?"

Sasha stared up at her through teary green eyes. "Please, your majesty! We didn't know where else to go. We are afraid that Discord has decided that he no longer needs us. And when a person in his service has served their purpose, he kills them. We are afraid for our lives!"

"Serves you right!" Jess growled from the circle of Andrew's arms.

"Jess, please!" Serenity beseeched her. "I believe they are telling the truth. In our past when we were fighting them they suddenly disappeared without a trace. This could be the reason why."

"Yeah, but what do we do now? Do we take them in or let them take their chances with Discord?" Lita mused.

Jack stood up and looked Serenity squarely in the eye. "We both know what we've done is wrong. Discord took us in when we were just kids and made us believe that you were the ones that had wronged him. We thought we were repaying him for giving us a place to live after our mothers abandoned us in the middle of nowhere. I won't blame you if you decide to turn us out, but I'm begging you to at least hear what we have to say. We've been with him for a long time and we know the way he operates."

Sasha nodded. "We thought this mission would be simple, but it has been anything but that. Your past selves along with DJ, Alex, and Katie have thwarted our every attempt at fracturing the Trinity, so now Discord has brought in some psycho chick assassin that he's setting loose on the past."

"Hold up just a minute! What assassin?" Endymion interrupted. "I don't remember Discord having any assassin working for him."

Jack shook his head. "We don't know where she came from. She just showed up and took over. I haven't seen her, but Sasha had a run in with her that shook her up pretty bad."

"She's creepy!" Sasha declared with a shudder. "She looks normal enough until you get to her eyes. They're all weird and swirling with different colors."

"That's strange. I don't remember anyone like that. Do any of you?" Mina asked. Heads shook all around.

"Something must have changed," Serenity muttered. "This is when I wish I had a way to contact Pluto. I bet she knows what's going on. But with Discord stationed at the time gate I have no way to reach her. I'll just have to wait for her to get in touch with me. Luna!"

The black feline appeared seconds later. "Yes, my queen."

"Have the maids prepare a couple of rooms for our guests," Serenity informed her.

Both teens were shocked. "You're going to let us stay here?" Sasha asked in disbelief.

"For now," she replied shortly. "I would like to have the chance to talk to you some more. This doesn't mean that I trust you, but I'm not about to toss you out if Discord is looking to kill you. If you are telling the truth you will be safe here. I will have people keeping an eye on you though. One wrong move and I'll let Jess tear you apart instead of stopping her. Is that clear?"

They both bowed their heads. "Yes, your majesty."

Serenity turned to sweep regally from the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an extremely long and boring dinner to go attend."

She stopped when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to find Jess looking at her with wet eyes. "Sere, I just wanted to apologize for losing it earlier. I guess I must have snapped or something."

Serenity smiled brightly at her. "Hey, I understand completely. I'm worried about them too. But we just have to keep having faith."

"I know," Jess sighed. "By the way, you wouldn't have actually used the Silver Crystal against me, would you?"

Serenity's blue eyes twinkled with humor. "I don't know. You wouldn't have actually gone supernova on those kids, would you?"

Jess's mouth fell open. "You knew I was trying to scare them, didn't you?"

Serenity tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Of course I did. I've known you for a long time, and I knew that you would never go that far over a couple of powerless teenagers. If you really wanted to get back at them you would simply kick their asses the old fashioned way. But the dramatic flare was a nice touch."

"I didn't mean for it to go quite that far, but somebody was a little late coming in," Jess rolled her eyes in Andrew's direction.

The blonde man looked offended. "Well if you hadn't run so fast I would have been able to keep up better."

She turned her nose up at him. "It's not my fault you're a slowpoke. And did you have to tackle me into the wall so hard? I bet I end up with a bruise the size of California on my back. Plus you yelled in my face!"

He glared at her. "Excuse me! You were so worked up that it was hard to tell for minute if you were still acting or if you had really blown your stack." Then he grinned at her. "The tears were very convincing."

She wiped away any lingering wetness. "I thought so too. So do you guys think those little snots will actually be able to tell us anything useful?"

"I guess we'll find out later," Serenity said, and then sighed as Endymion tugged on her arm. "I know, I know. Let's go and get this over with."

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'd get us out of it if I could," Endymion told her.

"I know," she replied. "I just hope I don't have to sit next to that woman from France again. She always talks to me like I'm a five year old child or something."

"It's probably because of the meatballs," Endymion said as he patted the buns that were on top of her head. Whenever she had any serious business to take care of she wore her hair in the traditional style of the lunar royal family.

Serenity gasped. "Don't you dare turn into a jerk now, Darien Shields, or I swear I will blow off this dinner by saying I have a headache and leave you holding the bag."

His face paled. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you? Who would rescue me from all of those lecherous women if you weren't there?"

She sniffed daintily. "You should have thought about that before you decided to insult my hair. Really Darien, I thought you had finally outgrown that juvenile habit. I guess I was wrong."

"Wait Serena!" he cried, chasing after her as she marched away. "You're not really going to lay out on me, are you? Serena…" his voice faded down the hall.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

Darien walked into the bedroom, stripping off his jacket and tie before throwing them over a chair in the corner. He began working on the buttons of his shirt, anxious to get into something more comfortable after a long day at the hospital.

A smile touched his lips as he heard a voice humming over the sound of the shower in the next room. He was debating whether or not to join Serena in the shower when he heard the water turn off. He felt a slight pang of disappointment for not getting here a few moments sooner, but he shook it off.

He shrugged off his shirt (drool) and undid his pants before letting them drop to the floor (more drool). He reached for an old, worn out t-shirt and pulled it over his head (damn) and then flopped onto the bed in nothing but that t-shirt and his boxers (fans self…he's so hot for a fictional anime character, isn't he).

He closed his eyes and focused on relaxing for several minutes until he heard the bathroom door open. He opened his eyes and turned his head to smile at his future wife. She looked so adorable with nothing but a towel around her and her long blonde hair streaming damply down her back.

She beamed when she saw him. "I thought I felt you come in. How was your day?"

He rolled over onto his side and propped his head up on a hand. "Fairly busy, but it seems like this flu epidemic is finally dying down, thank goodness. I did have one interesting case in the emergency room though. One of your students came in after a little accident."

Serena's face immediately became worried. She had taken that part time job at the preschool that her professor had told her about. She hadn't been there very long, but in true Serena fashion she had bonded with the children very quickly and become one of the favorites among them.

"Oh no! Who was it?" she asked in concern.

Darien grinned. "An adorable little girl named Samantha. She recognized me from the times that I stopped by to pick you up and immediately informed her parents that I was the man that her favorite teacher was going to marry."

Serena giggled and sat down on the edge of the bed. "That little imp! She is something else isn't she? She kinda reminds me of how I used to be, always getting herself into one scrape or another. So what was it this time? Please don't tell me she jumped off of something again to see if she could fly. I've caught her doing that on the playground more than once."

Darien chuckled. "No, it wasn't anything like that. It was actually a very normal kid injury. She got a new bike for her birthday a couple of weeks ago and was attempting to ride it when she fell off. She was complaining of shoulder pain so her parents brought her in to make sure it wasn't anything serious. Luckily she just jammed it and bruised it up a little bit. She'll be fine."

"Thank goodness!" Serena sighed. "I hate to think of any one of those little sweethearts getting hurt. I'm glad you were there to take care of her."

Darien reached over and pulled on a piece of her hair. "I'm just doing my job. She was a cutie though. So how was your day?"

Serena jerked the strand out of his fingers. "Fine, I guess. I had to go to my parent's and suffer through a few hours of listening to boring recounts of my aunt and uncle's recent trips and hear them brag about how well my cousins are doing. After that I went and helped the girls do some spring cleaning at the shrine for Grandpa Hino. We had Jayden and Hannah with us so we went to the Crown after that to let them have some fun. Then we went over to Lita's restaurant for a late lunch and I came home."

"Sounds like you had a full day," he commented as he sat up. "Perhaps that means you'll be ready to turn in early tonight." He leaned forward and nuzzled the soft skin of her neck.

"You are so bad!" she replied breathlessly before she scrambled away from him. "Hold that thought, mister! I just remembered that I promised Andrew that I'd get you to come over and check on Jess when you came home. So before we get wrapped up in…other activities…we should take care of that first. She really didn't look good when I popped in earlier. She was burning up with fever and had a horrible cough."

Darien's brow furrowed as he went into doctor mode. "A bad cough, huh? That sounds more like she picked up a nasty cold or a possibly a respiratory infection instead of the flu."

"Well let's go check on her," Serena declared as she jumped up from the bed. She ignored the heated looks Darien shot in her direction as she dropped her towel and quickly pulled on her favorite pair of old sweats and a t-shirt that she had stolen from him. She cast a few appreciative glances his way as well as he pulled on a pair of worn, faded jeans.

In just a few minutes they were knocking on the door of the next door apartment. It opened to reveal a pale faced, anxious looking Andrew. His anxiety faded to relief when he saw that Darien was with Serena.

"Thank God!" he exclaimed. "I was hoping you'd get home on time for once. I think she's getting worse and I don't know what else to do for her. She's really starting to scare me. She usually gets snippy when she doesn't feel good and fusses at me about hovering, but she's just lying there sniffling, coughing, and looking pitiful."

"Well let me take a look at her. I'm sure she's just caught a bad cold or something, but let's make sure," Darien said reassuringly as he followed his friend inside with Serena right behind them.

Quiet voices were coming from the living room where six teens were crowded around a large coffee table surrounded by stacks of books and piles of papers.

"Are you guys still studying?" Serena asked in disbelief. "You've been buried in those books and notes all day. It's after eight. Why don't you give it a rest for the night?"

Rini stretched her arms over her head. "She's right, guys. We've been at this for hours. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving. We haven't had anything since lunch."

DJ looked slightly irritated. "But we haven't been over that last section on…"

"Give it a rest!" Katie moaned as she flopped back onto the floor. "My brain has officially shut down. I don't think it can absorb one more thing."

"Mine shut down hours ago," Skye muttered as she laid her head on the table.

"Same here," Emma agreed as she slumped against Alex. "If I have to look at one more book I think I'll pass out."

Alex chuckled. "Well if you do you'll just have to stay here because I'm not carrying you home."

"But…but…" DJ stammered as he stared at his Chemistry book with a forlorn expression.

"Please, DJ," Katie begged as she sat up on her knees with her hands clasped in front of her and giving him her best puppy dog eyes. "We're all tired and hungry. Can't we save that last little bit until tomorrow? Pretty please!"

"Fine!" he finally said in a cool voice, but inside he was jumping for joy. The past week between him and Katie had been extremely awkward. They weren't fighting or anything, but there had been a feeling of distance between them. Seeing her playful side coming out made him feel loads better.

"Even super genius's have to take a break sometimes," Darien chuckled. "Why don't you lot head next door to our place. There's some money on the kitchen counter, so order up some pizza and chill out with a movie or something."

All six teens beamed at the suggestion. Rini and Skye were the first ones out the door. Emma grabbed Alex by the hand to hurry after them, but he held back to address Andrew.

"How's mom feeling?" he asked, not paying attention to his slip up of calling Jess "mom".

Katie paused in gathering up her belongings, concern evident in her eyes. "Yeah, how is she? She sounded horrible when I took her some tea earlier."

"Well I won't lie, she's pretty sick," Andrew told them. "But that's why I asked Darien to come check up on her. I'm sure he'll come up with some ideas for making her feel better. Now you guys scat and don't worry about your mother. She'll be fine."

"Come on, Alex!" Emma cried, pulling on his hand. "You know if we let Rini and Skye order the pizza they won't get anything good and I want at least one with mushrooms and black olives on it."

Katie finished stacking her books and then skipped over to Andrew to place a smacking kiss on his cheek. "Bye daddy! See you later. Tell mom I hope she feels better." Then spun around to fling herself at DJ. "I'm so hungry! Feed me before I faint!"

The three adults laughed as they watched DJ pull her onto his back and piggyback her out of the apartment.

"I guess they finally got over whatever argument they were having," Serena giggled in amusement. "I'm glad. DJ's been moping around all week."

Andrew nodded. "Katie has too. It's nice to see them acting normal again."

The sound of muffled coughing caught their attention and Andrew hurried down the hall to the bedroom. In the middle of the king sized bed was a blanket covered lump that shook in time with the coughs.

"Oh Jess!" Serena cried, running over and sitting on the side of the bed. She gently touched the mound of blankets. "You really did catch something bad, didn't you?"

The covers shifted a little until a face could be seen. Fever bright eyes stared out from above a red, swollen nose. Her skin had lost its light tan so that she looked like a ghost.

"Stay away! I don't want you to catch this," she croaked. A shiver racked her and her teeth clacked together like she had been caught in an ice storm.

"You're definitely running a high fever," Darien concluded from the way she was shaking. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

"Ar..are you ki..kidding. I th..think my aches and p..pains have a..aches and p..pains," she chattered.

Darien nodded. "I'm assuming you have all of the other bothersome symptoms; head and chest congestion, cough, sore throat, and headache."

"Yes," she whispered.

"It's not the flu," Darien stated. "You just happened to pick up a nasty little cold bug. How's your stomach?"

She grimaced. "I don't feel like eating, but I'm not nauseous."

He gave her a gentle smile. "Well that's good. Keep the fluids going. We don't want you getting dehydrated. Other than that all I can say is take Tylenol for the fever and some cold medicine for the congestion."

"I just took some," she told him. "Now I just want some sleep. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Andrew chuckled and tucked the covers around her. "You better be. You've got the kids worried. Most kids think that their mother is invincible."

A soft smile touched her lips as her eyelids drooped. "I'm not today. Maybe I'll turn back into Superwoman tomorrow." She opened her eyes to glare at Serena and Darien. "It's Saturday night, I'm sure you have something better to do than to sit around babysitting me."

"Not really," Serena said as she swept the dark blonde bangs back from Jess's forehead. "We sent the kids to our place to order pizza, so we'll probably just end up hanging with them for a while."

"Sounds like fun," Jess whispered wistfully. "Go with them, Drew. I know you haven't eaten yet. And the last thing I need is you hovering over me like a lost puppy."

"But…" he began.

"Go!" she ordered, coughing a little. "I'm going to get some sleep." She rolled over on her side and curled up into a ball. She was out before anyone could speak.

"I guess her highness has spoken," Andrew muttered sarcastically. He turned sheepish when his stomach growled. "Okay, so I guess I am hungry."

"Come on," Serena giggled, grabbing both men by the hand. "We can't let those little studyholic teenagers hog all the food."

* * *

Discord watched as the power he had been pouring into the shallow stone basin swirled around like a living being. Soon he would see the results of his newest plan. If this worked he would perfect tool for keeping Serenity and the others distracted from those bothersome little Trinity bearers, leaving them open for his apprentice to strike them down.

A sinister grin appeared on his face as there was a flash of light from the basin and a misty figure began to rise from it. "It's been a long time, my old friend. Now tell me, what is it that you desire the most?"

"Revenge!" the mist hissed.

"Then you shall have it," Discord told it. "Now go and forth and wreck your havoc on those which you harbor such hatred."

He smirked as the mist disappeared. Things were about to get very interesting. He turned back to the basin. "Let's see how much more damage I can do," he cackled with glee.

* * *

Serena woke up as a beeping noise penetrated her dream. She sat up and looked around the living room at sleeping teenagers that were sprawled across the floor.

After indulging in pizza everyone had settled in to watch a movie. Judging from the way the main menu of the DVD kept repeating itself; it was safe to say that everyone had given into exhaustion before the movie was finished. Even Andrew was still there, passed out on one sofa while she and Darien occupied the other.

The beeping noise continued to blare and it had her scrambling out of Darien's arms and running for her purse where she pulled her communicator from it. As she hit a button Amy's face filled the screen.

"Serena," she answered, seemingly wide awake considering it was the middle of the night. "There's something going on at the park. My computer's not picking up on any sentinel or guardian activity, but something is definitely happening."

"I'm on it, Amy," Serena said confidently.

"Should I call the others?" the blue haired woman asked.

Serena thought about it for a moment. "How strong is it?"

Clicking sounds came over the communicator as Amy tapped away on her computer. "I'm not getting a strong reading, but there's quite a few of them, eight, maybe ten."

Serena did some quick thinking. She, Darien, and the kids made eight. If Andrew came along they would be nine. "Don't bother anyone else yet. I think we have it covered. There's no since in waking everyone up if it's nothing that's a huge threat."

Amy nodded. "All right. I'll keep my communicator on just in case. If you run into trouble call me and I'll rally the troops."

"Got it!" Serena replied before ending the call. She turned to wake everyone up, but was surprised to find them all awake and alert. "I take it you all heard."

Darien nodded. "Yeah. Let's go check it out. Drew, are you coming with us?"

Andrew paused for a moment to feel Jess through their bond and found her still sleeping soundly. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"Then let's go!" Serena exclaimed as she pulled out her transformation broach. "Moon Eternal Power!"

Bright lights and energy rushed through the room as everybody transformed. A few seconds later they were all leaping from the balcony and speeding toward the park.

Despite the late hour the park was full of people. There had been a music festival that night and it had carried on well into the early morning hours. But what struck the heroes as being odd when they landed in the park was the number of people lying motionlessly on the ground.

Tuxedo Mask bent down to check on one of the victims and was startled at what he found. "They've had their energy sucked out of them!"

Sailor Moon gasped. "What? How can that be? Discord has no use for human energy."

Tuxedo Mask looked grim. "I don't know what's going on, but this definitely looks like a youma attack."

"But we destroyed all of the youma," she argued. "There weren't any left after we sealed Discord away. And besides, his never went after energy."

"I know that!" he snapped back.

"Now, now, you two little lovebirds aren't fighting, are you?" a sickly sweet voice asked from above them. Dark energy swirled around, and when it faded a woman floated in midair. It was one woman that they had thought that they would never see again.

"Endymion, Serenity, how nice to see the two of you again," she drawled. "Isn't this a cozy little reunion? But I don't recognize any of your comrades. What happened, Serenity? Did you decide to trade in your precious scouts for newer models?"

Sailor Moon clenched her teeth and snarled. "And just where the hell did you come from? I defeated you years ago."

A furious hiss escaped the woman. "Yes you did, you impertinent brat! But my dear friend Discord has seen fit to resurrect me. Now I have the opportunity to take my revenge on you like I wanted to all those years ago. And this time I will be the victor!"

Phantom slid over to Tuxedo Mask's side. "I may be missing the obvious here, but who is that?"

Tuxedo Mask balled his fists up at his side, his eyes flashing with anger behind his mask as he glared up at the woman that had caused them so much grief in the past. He sucked in a deep breath before forcing out the name that left a bad taste in his mouth, "Beryl!"

**A/N **Ooo…Beryl's back! The stuff is really going to hit the fan now! Just wait until everybody else hears about this. Coming up next time : Old friends make a reappearance, Jess comes face to face with the woman that killed her a millennium before, the trio discovers the identity of the woman that has been attacking them, and our mystery man from the future will be revealed. I am so psyched to have this story back on track! I will try to update a quickly as possible, but work and home have me super busy right now. But please don't let that stop you from telling me what you think. I'm begging you, review me please! Later gators!

~Sere~


	15. Sometimes the Past Comes Back

**A/N **Hey, hey! It's that time again. I'm not going to bore you with a lot of rambling this time, so I'm going to get straight to the point. ***WARNING*** Lot's of fluff ahead! There's no action really in this chapter, but there is the usual mix of comedy, drama, and tons of awe moments with some of our favorite couples. There's some stuff about the younger generation, but this chappie is centered more around Sere/Dare, Scout/Generals, and Jess/Drew. Okay, nuff said. Huggie time! BIG HUGS TO:

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Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 300+ Reviews! I don't believe it. I don't think even Lunar Princess hit this many reviews this early on. I'm so happy I could…I could…well I don't know exactly what. Let's just say I'm dancing in my seat. Okay, I said I wasn't going to babble. Moving on!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 13

Sometimes the Past Comes Back

"This better be good!" Jadeite growled as he walked into Andrew's office above the arcade. "I can't believe you called me before dawn on a Sunday morning, Darien. I was sleeping good."

Darien turned from the window where he had been watching the early morning sunlight begin to spread over the city. He glowered darkly at the complaining man. "Sit down and shut up, Jadeite!"

Stunned, Jadeite sat quickly in the closest chair he could find. It wasn't often that his prince's reincarnation issued orders. In fact, Darien had treated his generals more as friends rather than subordinates since he had used the Golden Crystal to free their souls from those damn rocks Beryl had locked them up in. But looking at the ebony haired man now, he looked every bit the proud prince of Earth he once was.

The blonde general looked around at the three other men that were sitting and received shrugs from all of them. It seemed that none of them had a clue as to what was troubling Darien any more than he did.

Kunzite was the first to speak up. "Is something troubling you, my prince?"

A slight grin turned up the corners of Darien's mouth. "Don't start with that royalty bullshit, Kunzite! I've asked you here as your friend, not as your past prince or future king."

"But something is wrong. I sensed a change in the stars last night," Nephrite stated.

Jadeite nodded. "Raye sensed something too. She wasn't sure what the fire was trying to tell her, but it disturbed her."

"Does this have anything to do with why Amy was on the phone with Serena at three this morning?" Zoicite inquired. "She seemed upset about something, but she wouldn't say what. Then she practically pushed me out the door to come to this meeting. What's going on?"

The door opened quietly as Andrew slipped in with a pot of coffee and six cups. He began filling them and passing them around.

Darien accepted his cup and then sighed. There was no easy way to break this news. "There was an…altercation at the park last night."

"What kind of altercation? Why weren't we called?" Kunzite demanded.

Darien held up a hand. "Just hear me out on this, okay. Just after midnight last night Serena got a call from Amy. The Mercury computer had picked up on some negative activity at the park. It wasn't very strong so we decided to check it out. Serena, Andrew, and I, along with our kids and Emma and Skye transformed and went to the park. When we got there we found people unconscious on the ground with their energy drained."

"But that would suggest a youma attack!" Zoicite exclaimed. "That's impossible! There aren't any more youma."

"That's right," Nephrite confirmed. "All of Beryl's youma were destroyed when Serena defeated Metallia years ago. And Jess took out all of Discord's youma when we fought him."

"Maybe he started making new ones to help him fight," Jadeite mused.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Kunzite interjected. "His guardians and sentinels are more powerful than mere youma. So if his army is being depleted you would think that he would make more of them. Unless he's using the youma as a distraction. But why would he be stealing energy? What use would he have for it?"

"Discord's not the one behind this, at least not directly," Andrew replied in a cool voice. "We ran into the responsible party and had a nice little chat. Didn't we, Dare? Stop beating around the bush and tell them. They have the right to know."

Darien ran agitated fingers through his hair. "I know! I'm just trying to find the best way to put it."

"Just come right out and say it," Jadeite told him. "Honesty's the best policy, you know. We're all big boys here. We can handle whatever you throw at us. Anyway, it's not like you're going to tell us Beryl's returned from the grave or anything like that."

Darien's face paled at his words, catching the attention of the four men. They stared at him in shock.

"That's not what you're trying to say, is it?" Zoicite asked hoarsely.

"Of course he's not!" Nephrite scoffed. "That bitch died years ago!"

"Darien?" Kunzite asked in concern a he watched a myriad of emotions cross his prince's face. "Is that what you're trying to tell us?"

"I saw her," Darien finally said softly. "That red headed witch stood right in front of me with a grin on her face like she was a kid on Christmas morning. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

"But how is that possible?" Zoicite asked. "She was defeated by the Silver Crystal. Nobody can just come back to life after that."

"Discord did it somehow," Darien told them. "He found some way to revive Metallia and then Metallia resurrected Beryl. Now she has been set loose on the Earth once again and she's bent on revenge."

Jadeite smacked a fist into his palm. "Well we're just going to have to defeat her. It's as simple as that. It shouldn't be too hard to do. After all, she doesn't have us this time and there are a lot more of us than there used to be. Not to mention that you have the Golden Crystal back in your possession and Serena is definitely more powerful than she was the last time you faced her."

Darien shook his head. "I don't think it will be as easy as you think. She's received some kind of power boost from Discord that has made her stronger than ever. Serena and I tried to take her out last night, but she disappeared before we could."

"So we'll gang up on her," Nephrite declared. "She may be more powerful than before, but even she can't take all of us at once."

"I want you guys to sit this one out," Darien said firmly.

This brought a loud round of protests from his guard.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"No way!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Have you lost your mind?"

Darien shut out their arguments as he thought back to the night before.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

"Back off, you witch!" Sailor Moon screamed at Beryl. "I kicked your ass before and I'll do it again!"

Beryl just smirked. "Do you really think so, Serenity? We'll see how tough you talk when you're lying dead at my feet and I cut the Silver Crystal from your corpse. I haven't given up on that yet. That crystal will be mine!"

She had lunged at Sailor Moon so fast that Tuxedo Mask barely had time to react. He grabbed Sailor Moon tightly against him and used his power to throw up a barrier around them.

Beryl jumped back with a snarl. Then a feral grin twisted her lips. "Well, well, Endymion. It seems that you have managed to regain the Golden Crystal since the last time we were together. I'm impressed. Of course I never held that lack of power against you when you were serving me. We had some fun times planning the death of that little moon tramp and her stupid little scouts, didn't we? Things would have turned out nicely if you had just killed her like I told you to instead of protecting her. We could have been a powerful couple and ruled the world together."

"This bitch is plumb crazy!" Sailor Callisto growled. "And that dress is way too revealing for a walking skeleton like her."

Beryl's reddish brown eyes swung to her. "You have a big mouth, girl! You will address me as Queen Beryl and nothing else."

"In your dreams!" Callisto said with a laugh. "Let's see how you do with this. Static Shock!"

A hailstorm of electrically charged stars rained down from the sky. Beryl teleported out of the line of fire and appeared behind the mint green suited scout.

"Callisto! Duck!" Sailor Ishtar yelled as a golden bow and arrow appeared in her hands. She took aim at the red haired witch as Callisto hit the ground. "Cupid's Arrow!" Her aim was true as she shot the arrow.

Beryl teleported again and everyone looked around to see where she went. The sound of laughter above them had them looking up to find her hovering in the sky.

"I'm disappointed," she said in a bored voice. "I had hoped to be greeted with a little more show of force. Instead I'm faced with a group of bumbling teenagers."

Her eyes landed on Phantom and Phoenix, who had yet to make a move, and her lips curled up in a sadistic smile. "Why Endymion, did you find yourself some new generals? I had figured that you would have revived Kunzite, Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite when you reclaimed your crystal. What a pity. I was looking forward to seeing my boys again. I've missed them. I was even hoping that they might be persuaded to return to my service. Or perhaps I'll take you again, dear prince. You know I've always been fond of you."

"The hell you will!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, her moon tier appearing in her hand. "I'll send you back to hell where you belong! Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

A beam of silver light erupted from the tier and Tuxedo Mask charged it with a burst of power from the Golden Crystal. The two energies combined should have been enough to vaporize the demented witch, but she disappeared before the attack could reach her.

"This isn't over. I'll be seeing you again soon," her voice traveled to them on the night air.

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

"So you think Beryl may try to take control of us again? I'm insulted!" Kunzite chastised as Darien finished telling them what had happened the night before.

"I am too," Jadeite complained as he slurped down the last of his coffee. "That bitch took advantage of us once. I can guarantee that she won't do it again."

That's right," Nephrite seconded the statement. "Last time she took advantage of us at our weakest moments. She waited until we were physically exhausted and wounded from fighting. We were also emotionally beaten up from not seeing the girls for so long. She stole us away like a thief in the night and then played with our heads until we didn't know which way was up."

Zoicite nodded. "She was so sneaky about it that I never realized what had happened. One minute I was myself, the next I found myself on the moon. And Ami…well I really don't want to talk about that. Then everything just went dark for a really long time until one day there was a flash of gold light and I found myself here in this time."

"That's exactly why I don't want you guys involved," Darien snapped. "You know better than anyone what a manipulative bitch she is. Serena feels the same way when it comes to the scouts. She lost all of them during the final battle against Beryl six years ago and she doesn't want a repeat of that."

"So what, are you and Serena saying that you're just going to fight Beryl on your own?" Jadeite sneered. "That's not happening, buddy! Not on my watch! I'll fight who I want, when I want."

"That's right!" Zoicite agreed emphatically. "Who we were in the past no longer has any bearing on the decisions we make today. It's your side that we choose to stand next to now, not Prince Endymion's, and we do it because you are our friend."

Nephrite sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. "I would have figured you to be a smart enough man to figure that out on your own, Darien. When you first revived us you told us that we didn't have to stick around, so we would have split a long time ago if we truly didn't want to be here."

Darien couldn't help but grin. "And I'm sure that a certain group of sailor scouts had absolutely no influence on your decision."

Kunzite answered with a grin of his own. "Perhaps just a little. The bottom line is that nobody picks a fight with you without facing all of us. It's that simple."

Andrew chuckled. "I hate to say I told you so, Dare, but I knew that this would be their reaction."

Darien shook his head, partly in amusement and partly in irritation. "I wonder if Serena is having this much trouble with the girls."

* * *

Raye's violet eyes narrowed until they were nothing more than slits in her face. "Let me get this straight. You went out to check on a possible disturbance last night with only Darien, Andrew, and a handful of teenage kids and didn't bother to call us? Am I hearing that right?"

Serena shrank back from the anger emanating in fiery waves around her friend. She had called all the scouts together for a meeting and they had all met at the shrine. "Y…yes."

Next to Raye, Mina looked just as furious. "And once you discovered that our oldest enemy had magically returned from the grave, you still didn't call us?"

A growl rumbled in Lita's throat. "And then you have the nerve to tell us to stay out of the fight. Have you lost your mind?"

"And you helped her cover it up!" Amara and Hotaru yelled at Amy, who let out a startled squeak and slid closer to her princess's side, seeking comfort from all the angry glares.

"There, there," Michelle said calmly, although her eyes looked reproachfully at the shamefaced looking duo. "I'm sure Serena and Amy have a valid reason for withholding this important information from us."

"Oh for the love of…" Serena sputtered, becoming indignant at her scout's behavior. "You are all acting like I was hiding some big secret from you for a long time. I didn't know Beryl was going to show up when we left out last night. Amy called me and said that the Mercury computer had picked up a minor disturbance. I figured that it would be simple to check it out since there were already nine of us at the apartment. I didn't see the use in waking everybody up in the middle of the night if it wasn't serious. Believe me, Beryl came as a huge surprise. Anyway, once it was over I called Amy and filled her in and decided to call all of you together first thing this morning to let you know what was going on."

"The point is that you never should have been in that situation without us there to back you up," Mina continued to scold. "What is the point of us being your guard if we aren't there to protect you from danger?"

Serena's eyes glittered hotly. "Do I look like someone that needs protection? This is the 21st century, not the Silver Millennium! I'm not some pampered little princess that has to hide behind others! If there is one thing that I can say I have accomplished in this life, it's that I have proven time and again that I am capable of standing up to the enemies that threaten this world. All of you have helped me in those battles over the years, so I would have thought that you would have just a little bit more faith in me and my abilities instead of treating me like a child that has misbehaved!" She stopped for breath, chest heaving.

"It's not that we don't trust you, Serena," Raye said softly. "We know what you are capable of, but even if you aren't the same Serenity you used to be, we still feel the need to help protect you. It's just that now we do it because we are your friends instead of the fact that we are your scouts."

"So don't think that you can talk us into sitting this little rumble out," Lita smirked. "Evidently that red headed bitch still hasn't learned that if she screws with one of us, she has to deal with the whole damn crew. And we're a lot bigger force than what we were last time. I'm looking forward to kicking her ass."

"Right on!" Amara cheered. "We outers weren't here for the last brawl with Beryl, but we are this time and I have a few old scores to settle with her."

"Always so violent," Michelle sighed. "But she's right. We are all here to help you this time, and that's what we're going to do."

Serena groaned in defeat. "I knew it would be useless to try to talk you guys into sitting out. I may as well be talking to a brick wall for all the good it's doing."

Just then the door to Raye's old room slid open to reveal Raye's grandfather holding a heavily laden tray. The tiny old man hadn't changed a bit in all the years that the girls had been coming to the shrine.

"Raye, I brought some tea for you and all of your little friends," he said jovially, just like he had hundreds of times before. "It's not often that we are blessed with such an abundance of beauty around here anymore."

"You old lecher, don't you have some jail bait to go hit on?" Raye grumbled good-naturedly.

The old man grinned as he sat the tray down. "I may be old, but I'm not dead yet. As long as I have breath in my body I will continue to admire the miracle of feminine beauty and give my thanks to the Great Spirit for blessing this planet with their presence. Now where are my hugs?"

The outers watched in amusement as the inner scouts all scrambled to hug the old man that had been like a substitute grandfather to them all since they had been in middle school.

When it was Serena's turn he grabbed her in an extra exuberant hug. "So I hear you're finally going to marry that young doctor of yours in a few months."

Serena nodded, going a little starry eyed the way she always did when she thought about her upcoming wedding and becoming the wife of her prince the way she had always dreamed.

Grandpa Hino patted her on the head. "That's good. You'll make him a good wife. I had a feeling about you two the first time I saw you together. I'll never forget that day. I was coming out of a store when I saw you across the street; running like the devil was after you. You ran right into that young man and you both fell down with a spectacular crash. The next thing I knew the two of you were yelling at each other at the top of your voices. I knew then that I knew you two belonged together. I'll be sure to say a blessing for your union."

Tears pricked Serena's eyes. "Thank you, grandpa. I'll take all the blessings I can get."

He hugged her again; clearly enjoy himself, until he met his granddaughter's censoring glare. He pulled away from the blonde with a grin. "Now if only I could get Raye married off. Of course, I really can't blame Jadeite for not wanting to ask her. She's as mean tempered as an old shrew."

Raye's face flamed red. "I'll show you old shrew! OUT!" she screamed.

"Enjoy the tea. I'll see you pretty young things later," he chuckled as he left with a grin and a wave.

Raye deflated and sank down onto one of the cushions on the floor. "Of all the people in the world, I end up with the perverted priest as my grandfather. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that we share any common genes."

"Oh, come on, Raye," Serena said in a muffled voice. She was already in the process of devouring one of the doughnuts that was on the tray. "You act like it's something new. He's been flirting with all of us since we were fourteen. I'd be worried about him if I ever came here and didn't hear him make at least one comment about how pretty we all are."

A smile twitched Raye's lips. "You're right, Serena. I don't guess I would take him any other way."

The outers left soon after, leaving the others to reminisce on their memories from six years ago when they fought Beryl the last time.

"Do you think Darien had any luck convincing the guys to stay out of this?" Mina asked in a slightly hesitant tone.

Serena snorted. "Not likely! They're just as stubborn as you girls. I'm sure they'll find some way to keep themselves in the action."

"But what if that witch manages to get them? I don't think I can go through that again," Amy said softly.

Lita cracked her knuckles. "But we're onto her this time. If she tries to make a move on our guys we'll bring a world of hurt down on her."

"If she even looks sideways at Jed I'll roast the bitch until there's nothing left of her but ashes," Raye growled.

"Just be careful," Serena cautioned. "She's faster and stronger than she was before. I think Discord made Metallia stronger when he brought her back, and that strength was passed on to Beryl when she was resurrected."

"Yeah, well we're stronger too," Lita replied. "We're not the same teenagers that she bashed around before. We took her down once, and we'll do it again."

"That's right!" Mina cheered. "As long as we stick together we can beat her."

Looking around at her friend's determined faces, Serena couldn't help but feel hopeful. "Okay scouts, we're going up against our oldest enemy here. Are you all with me?" She held her hand out, palm down.

One by one the other scouts agreed and laid their hands on top of hers, just like they had done back in the early days right before a big battle. Beryl may have come back from the dead, but the scouts were ready to send her back to the Underworld where she belonged.

* * *

Katie ran as quickly as she could down the sidewalk. She knew that she wasn't supposed to go off on her own, but she was growing just a little bit resentful at feeling like she had to have a chaperone with her wherever she went. Surely she could handle a quick trip to the library to return a book on her own without any trouble. The others would never even know she was gone.

After last night's unexpected skirmish they had all returned back to the apartments to catch a few hours of sleep. Emma had stayed with Katie while Alex bunked in with DJ and Skye shared a room with Rini.

Early this morning Serena, Darien, and Andrew left out to meet the scouts and generals to fill them in on what happened. The teens stayed at the apartment with the still sick Jess to finish their studying. A couple of hours later they had been run out by a red nosed, puffy eyed, tangled hair monster that somewhat resembled Katie and Alex's future mother when she had stumbled from the bedroom to the kitchen and told all of them to get out and enjoy the rest of their weekend. Not knowing where else to go, they had ended up at the Crown.

Luckily Katie had remembered to grab the book that was due at the library and stuff it into her bag before she left. The library was right around the corner from the Crown, so she should have no problem dropping it off. She waited until everyone was distracted by playing games at the arcade before slipping out. Five, six minutes tops was all she needed.

She had enjoyed a leisurely stroll on the way to the library, luxuriating in the taste of the first freedom she had experienced for a long time. She paused several times to do a little window shopping until she glanced at her watch to see that she had been gone from the arcade for almost ten minutes.

She ran the rest of the way to the library and dropped off her book before hotfooting it back the way she came. She just hoped that she could get away with saying that she had been in the bathroom if anyone had been looking for her.

The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end and she had that weird feeling you get when someone was watching you. She glanced around the crowded sidewalk, but didn't see anyone that looked suspicious, until her eyes landed on _her._

The woman in the black baseball cap and tank top paired with low riding jeans was leaning casually against a brick wall by an alley, her eyes were covered by dark sunglasses once again, but Katie shivered, knowing that those creepy eyes behind the lenses were focused on her.

She jumped when she heard a voice inside her head. _'If you want answers, then follow me.'_

"What the hell?" she whispered. A week ago this crazy woman tried to choke her to death, and now she was offering to answer her questions? What was up with that? She knew it was probably a trap, but she couldn't let the chance to give that bitch a piece of her mind slip by. She grabbed hold of her transformation pendant and started toward her, anger and determination burning in her hazel eyes.

She was still a decent distance away when she saw a hand reach out from the alley to grab the woman and pull her into the dark alley behind her. She broke into a run as she thought she saw a muted flash of light. When she reached the opening to the alley there was no one there.

"Okay, that's just way weird," she muttered to herself. She wondered what the woman wanted to tell her and who it was that had taken her away before she could. She stood there for a minute trying to work out the puzzle until she felt DJ's aura nudging hers.

Realizing that he must be searching for her, she let out a squeal as she quickly ran the half block to the arcade. She slipped in and melted into the crowd. She pushed her way toward the counter where Lizzy was busy preparing drinks for the thirsty patrons.

She took a seat and flashed a smile at her future aunt. "Hey Liz! May I have a cherry coke, please?"

"Sure thing!" Lizzy replied with a laugh. "I can definitely tell that you are related to Jess. That's what she always drinks."

Katie forced out a giggle. "Oh yeah. I guess it must run in the family. It's my mom's favorite."

She soon had her soda in front of her and sat there sipping on it while she looked around nonchalantly. She felt his simmering presence behind her before she heard his voice grate harshly in her ear.

"And just where were you at?" DJ demanded. "I've been looking for you for almost ten minutes."

She turned to look at him as innocently as she could. "I was in the bathroom. Why? Is something wrong?"

He studied her for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I just got worried when I couldn't find you."

She took a sip of her drink. "I'm sorry. Well you found me. Now what?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. The others were talking about maybe going bowling."

Katie smiled, just a little too brightly. "That sounds like fun. Let's go!" She jumped up and grabbed his hand.

DJ frowned a little as she pulled him through the crowded arcade to search for their friends. He couldn't help but feel like she was hiding something from him.

* * *

Andrew opened his apartment door and walked in with Serena and Darien right behind him. It had been a long morning spent informing the scouts and generals about Beryl's sudden reappearance, and they were all ready to relax.

The apartment was much quieter than they anticipated. They had expected to walk in to the sound of young voices jabbering away, but instead all they heard was the soft sound of the television playing.

They stepped into the living room to find Jess curled up on the couch with a blanket, staring at the screen with tired, swollen eyes as Inuyasha and Kagome battled it out with demons. Few people knew that she was secretly a diehard fan of that anime. She even kept a set of the character's plushies on a shelf in her studio with Sesshomaru taking the center spot. She had laughingly told Serena one time that secretly she must long for a bad boy, that was why she found it so hot when Andrew transformed. What girl could resist a guy in black leather?

"Hey! You're up!" Andrew said cheerfully when he saw her there.

She spared him a quick glance. "Yes, I'm up."

"How are you feeling?" Serena asked in a rush as she hurried over to sit beside her friend.

Jess sighed. "I still feel like crap, but I guess I feel better enough to be sick of lying in that bed. I needed a change of scenery."

"Well that's a good sign," Darien said as sat in a chair. "Just try to take it easy for a few more days and don't overdo it. Where are the kids? I figured they would still be here."

Jess turned her gaze back to the television. "I sent them out. I could tell they were going stir crazy sitting around here, so I told them to get lost and enjoy the rest of their weekend. I don't need a bunch of teenage babysitters just because I caught a cold. What about you guys, what have you been up to? Everyone left out so early this morning that I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone."

Serena smiled brightly. "Oh nothing too much. I met up with the girls and had breakfast. We talked for a while and discussed wedding plans." She felt a small amount of guilt at withholding the entire truth, but she wasn't lying. She and the others had discussed some wedding details over doughnuts that morning. But Darien, Andrew, and she had decided to wait until Jess had recovered from her cold before dropping the latest bomb on her. With her fiery temper she was liable to blow a gasket when she found out Beryl had returned.

"Oh, that's nice," Jess said in a bored tone. "I hate I missed it. So I guess you guys went and did your own thing while the women gossiped."

Darien kept his face impassive. "Yeah, we hooked up with Kunzite and the others for coffee." He wasn't lying either, but at the same time he wasn't being totally honest.

Andrew felt a sense of uneasiness as he watched his fiancé. Something wasn't right with the way she was acting. Sure she was sick, but this was way out of character for her. He tried his best to lighten the mood. "So do you feel like eating anything today? I'll make you dinner tonight, anything you want. Just let me know what sounds good to you."

She tore her eyes from the screen to turn what could only be described as a contemptuous glare on all three of them. Anger sparked deeply in her dark blue eyes. In that moment they all realized the mistake they had made. She knew the truth.

"I don't believe this," she ground out in a low, furious voice. "I thought I'd give you the benefit of the doubt since I've been dead to the world for the last twelve hours, but I never seriously thought that you would purposefully not tell me that the bitch that killed me a thousand years ago is back and throwing her weight around like she owns the place. Do you know how degrading it is to have to stoop to eavesdropping on teenagers to find out what the hell is going on? Don't you guys trust me enough?"

Andrew dropped to his knees in front of her and put his hands over hers that were clenched in her lap. "Of course we do, sweetheart! It's just that you've been so sick the last couple of days and we wanted you to get over it before we dumped this mess on you. Right now the important thing to me is you getting better."

"He's right, sweetie," Serena hastily reassured her. "We would never keep you in the dark on purpose, but we want you to get well."

Jess grinned wryly at them. "You two are such horrible liars. I'm not saying that you weren't thinking of my health, but I'd be willing to bet my Camaro that you were also afraid that I'd run off and try to get some vigilante justice on that red headed witch." She turned to arch brow at Darien, who had been quiet through this whole thing. "Am I right?"

He shrugged. "Can you blame us? We never know what to expect when you get your temper up. I know how badly I would love to rip Beryl to pieces, and you and I are the only two that actually died by her hand."

Jess couldn't help but flinch as a long buried memory flew to the surface. She had only been five years old and so scared, not fully comprehending what was going on around her. Then she had felt Endymion's warm arms around her and had burrowed into his comforting embrace as she tried to shut out the sounds around her. Then there was a sharp pain in her chest and she heard Serenity scream. After that there was nothing.

She shook the memory away. "We may have been the only ones that she physically killed, but she was responsible for everyone's death that day. So it would be selfish of me to be the only one to seek revenge on her. But I do want my chance to get a couple of hits in as payback."

Serena shared a conspiratorial smile with her. "I'm sure that can be arranged. I didn't exactly get a chance to finish my little heart to heart with her last time, so I'm kind of looking forward to it."

* * *

There was a flash of light in a clearing near the middle school as two bodies appeared out of nowhere to hit the ground. They rolled over several times, grappling with each other as they tried to fight one another off. They finally broke apart and leapt to their feet.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the Katie from the future screeched at the man. "I was in the middle of something in case you didn't notice. What are you doing in this time anyway?"

He smirked at her and pulled the chain with the time key from under his shirt. "I borrowed this from Rini so that I could come and try to talk some sense into you. I know what you're trying to do, but I think you're going about it the wrong way."

She glared at him, her eyes swirling in anger. "You have no idea what I have planned and I don't need your help. So why don't you carry your sorry ass back to where you belong. I have everything under control. Discord will never know what hit him."

He crossed his arms over his chest and returned her glare with his own tricolored eyes. "If he's so confident in your abilities, then why is he resurrecting old enemies from the past?"

She stiffened at his words. "What are you talking about?"

He looked smug. "Ah, so he hasn't let you in on his latest plot yet. It seems that he used his powers to revive Metallia and then she brought Beryl back as well. She attacked the park last night and there was a minor skirmish. Nothing too big, but she's definitely back. And who's to say that he'll stop there."

"Nooo…" she groaned and slumped to the ground. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Damn it! I was sure once I got Jack and Sasha out of the way that he would leave everything to me. Then all I had to do was buy a little time and keep my past self out of the way until the time came for me to act. It was all so simple!"

He snorted. "Haven't you learned by now that nothing ever goes the way we plan?"

"Well you don't have to sound so amused by it!" she snapped. "This could really screw things up. I wasn't planning on any interference because he decided to call in some more lackeys."

He sat down next to her. "Take a chill pill, Kat. I've already come up with a backup plan and put it into motion. With any luck things will work out without you having to lift a finger."

She eyed him skeptically. "What did you do?"

He plucked a piece of grass and twirled it in his fingers. "Nothing too drastic. I just sent your past self a dream showing her how she could change things on her own."

"You did what!" she exclaimed. "Why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?"

He held his hands up. "Just hear me out! Think about it. If your past self manages to set things right without you having to become involved then Discord won't kill you for betraying him. Everything will go back to the way it should be and we'll have a different future ahead of us."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You're doing all of this just so I won't die? I already told you that it doesn't matter. If I die because I change the events here in this time I will be revived in our new future when time resets itself. Neither one of us will remember it."

He gripped her arms and shook her. "I can't take that risk. I refuse to gamble your life on something that may or may not work. If something were to go wrong…I don't think I could live through that."

They sat in silence for several minutes, lost in memories of their past and what could be done to change their future.

Katie glanced at the man beside her and worked up the courage to ask a question that had been burning in her mind for years. "So how come you never married?"

He looked startled by the change of subject. "I…I don't know. I guess it just never felt right."

She arched a brow. "Really? I heard rumors about you and Emma and thought for sure that I would be hearing a wedding announcement any day. I thought the two of you would make a nice looking couple."

"Me and Emma!" he barked with laughter. "Don't get me wrong, she's a sweet girl and all, but she's just a friend. Besides, she hasn't been the same since…well, you know, and I would never move in on my best friend's girl like that. Anyway, nobody could ever hold a candle to you in my eyes."

Katie sucked in a deep breath. "DJ…"

The black haired prince from the future sighed. "Look, I know it makes me sound like a pansy ass, but I could never bring myself to look at another woman after you. Especially after that night."

Pain etched itself across his face. "You know, I never understood why you came to my room that night. For a while I wondered if it ever even happened. But I never have dreams that good, so I knew it had to have happened."

Katie's mind spun back fifteen years to that night. The one night when she had been hurting and feeling more alone than she ever had in her life and had sought comfort in the arms of the one she loved. It was those memories that had sustained her throughout the dark years since.

When she spoke her voice was barely more than a whisper. "I was in pain. I had just buried my twin brother that I had watched being ripped to shreds while I lay on the ground barely six feet away from him and was unable to do anything to stop it. My parents were grieving so hard and I felt guilty for not being able to save him. I felt sick from that power flux that mixed up our energies and was tired of everyone pointing and whispering behind my back like I was a freak. You were my one beacon of light in the darkness, so I sought you out."

She looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful, soft blue that reminded her of what his eyes looked like before everything went wrong. "Do you regret what we did that night?" she asked softly.

He thought about it for a moment. "No. I don't regret a single moment I spent in your arms. But when I woke up to find you gone and no one knew where you were, it killed me inside. I spent weeks searching for you, night and day until my father finally had to literally knock me out and drag me home. I tried to reach out to you with our bond, but it was like you had just disappeared. I was going crazy. I started taking out my frustrations on everyone else, and since my powers were unstable things were constantly blowing up around me. I had pretty much convinced myself that you must have been dead as well, and then Discord launched his attack to try to take the palace. Suddenly you were there, standing in front of me. I was so happy to see you alive. Then you pulled your sword and attacked me and that shattered the illusion of happiness."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wanted to stay with you that night. I lay there for a long time watching you sleep. But I didn't want my parents to worry if they went to check on me and found my bed empty, so I decided to go back. I was sneaking down one of the halls of the palace when I overheard Trista and Hotaru talking about how the timeline had changed and how it was my fault. I must have made some sound because they busted me eavesdropping. I demanded that Trista tell me what I did wrong, and she was honest with me. It made my guilt a hundred times worse than it already was. You and Alex would have never been on that rooftop fighting in the first place if I had just kept my mouth shut and let you two work out your frustrations without me interfering. And then when I tracked you down I saw the sentinel stalking you, but I was so afraid that you might hurt each other that I ignored it and got in between you. Trista explained to me that both of you were so evenly matched in power that the most you would have done was knock each other down it I hadn't gotten in the way. And if I had taken out the sentinel it wouldn't have had the chance to attack Alex and our powers wouldn't have gotten mixed up. He wasn't supposed to die that night, but because of me he did."

DJ heard her voice break and turned his head to find tears streaming down her cheeks. Without a word he pulled her to sit in his lap, and after a moment's resistance she allowed him to. He closed his eyes and held her close as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and buried her face in the juncture of his shoulder. Her tears were hot against his skin

"I wish I had been the one to die," she sobbed a few minutes later.

Fury coursed through him at her words. He moved his hands to her shoulders and gripped them tightly, forcing her back so that he could see her face. "Don't you ever say anything like that again! What would Alex say if he were here to hear you talking like that? You are too strong of a woman to give in to depression like this. The Katie I know would fight back with everything she has, so don't go giving up on me now."

She stared up at him, eyes wet and lips trembling. She looked so much like the vulnerable young girl that she had once been that it broke his heart. He wanted to comfort her in some way, but he didn't know what to say.

So he settled for swooping down and capturing her lips with his. He felt her hesitate for a moment before her arms tightened around his neck and pulled him closer. He could taste her tears on her lips, and that fueled his urgency. He forced her lips to part and he slid his tongue smoothly into her mouth where it engaged hers in a sensuous dance.

Katie moaned low into the kiss and shifted on his lap so that she was straddling his hips. She pushed all her worries aside for the moment as she reveled in the feeling of having her love back in her arms for the first time in fifteen years. She wasted no time burying her fingers into his thick ebony hair and luxuriating in the silkiness that she had missed.

DJ growled in response and reached up to whisk the hat from her head, releasing her almost white gold hair to tumble to her shoulders. He wrapped a hand in it and pulled her head back slightly, breaking the contact of their lips. "If everything works out, don't ever cut your hair again. I miss it being long."

Her eyes were glazed and her lips were swollen. "We shouldn't be doing this," she protested weakly.

He gave her a cocky grin. "Just hush and live for the moment." And then he went to work on her neck, kissing and nipping carefully at the skin. His grin turned feral when she jumped and let out a soft whimper. The shiver shuddering through her body told him that he had hit a sensitive spot. He returned to the spot and began sucking gently as he slid his hands under her tank top to stroke the skin on her back.

Her head fell back and she moaned. "Now I know we shouldn't be doing this." But her fingers belied her words as they slipped from his hair and began to feverishly undo the buttons of his shirt. She grazed every inch of skin she uncovered with her nails, making him insane with anticipation.

And when she put her lips next to his ear and whispered, "I love you. I've always loved you," he lost it. He flipped them around in a flash so that she was lying against the soft grass on her back while he was stretched out on top of her.

He stroked her cheek as he gazed down at her. "I love you too. I never stopped. Even through all the times we've fought over the years, my love for you never wavered."

She giggled. "You sure fooled me. There were several times that I was sure I was about to lose my head to you."

He frowned at her. "Hey! I never said I wasn't angry. And what else was I supposed to do? You were always coming at me with your sword. I wasn't just going to stand there and let you kill me."

Her face sobered. "That was the hardest order that Discord has ever given me. I almost died the first time I had to pull my sword against you. You looked so shocked that I was afraid that I might actually hurt you. I was so relieved when you began fighting back, even though it tore me up inside."

"Let's not think about that right now," he said gently as he lowered his face toward hers. His lips had barely brushed hers when she let out a gasp and clamped a hand over the tattoo on her shoulder. A flicker of pain flashed across her face.

"Let me up! Let me up!" she demanded, pushing against his chest. He rolled off of her and watched through hooded eyes as she scrambled to her feet, wadding her hair up in a messy twist before snatching her hat up and plunking it on her head. She grabbed her discarded sunglasses and settled them on her nose.

"Where are you going?" he asked slowly as he got up of the ground.

"I have to go!" she said in a rush. "He's summoning me. I just hope he hasn't realized that I disappeared from his sight. I knew I should have marched out of here the moment you brought me here. This was a huge mistake!"

His eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that you regret us having a civilized conversation and finally getting our feelings out in the open the way we should have fifteen years ago?"

"Yes!" she screeched in panic. "Emotional entanglement is something that I don't need right now. I've wasted too many years of my life on this to throw it all away now. This is why I've kept myself distant from everyone all of these years, so I could have a clear mind. Look at me! I spend ten minutes in your presence and I turn into a needy teenage girl all over again. If we had stayed in that position any longer I would have been begging for you to make love to me again just like I did on that last night."

His face turned stone cold. "I thought you said that you didn't regret that night."

She turned to look at him in exasperation. "I don't! It was the most magical, wonderful experience of my life, despite the circumstances. But I can't let myself get sidetracked by you. Go home, DJ! Go back and let me do what I have to do."

He took a step toward her. "You need help. Why won't you let me help you?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "See! This is exactly why I should have kept my distance! I'm not dragging you into this. I won't see anyone else die! This is my problem. I made it, I'll fix it."

"Would you quit being so damn stubborn!" he snapped. "It's not a sin to accept help from someone when they offer. You need to climb down off your high horse and realize that you are in over your head before you fall flat on your ass and end up six feet under like your brother!"

"Ooo," she fumed, her face burning red in anger. "Why don't you go crawl inside a whiskey bottle like you always do and leave me the hell alone! I'm warning you now, stay out of my way or I _will_ kill you!"

She disappeared in a flash of light, leaving DJ standing there staring at the spot she had been a moment before. A minute later a goofy grin appeared on his face.

"So I can still get under your skin, huh, Tinkerbell?" he murmured. "Well I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but you're getting my help whether you like it or not. You're not alone in this, and we won't let that bastard win."

* * *

Discord turned away from the stone basin that he was peering into expectantly when he felt two new presences behind him. A smirk curled his lips.

"Ah, Metallia," he greeted the swirling mist in a jovial voice before turning to the woman that was standing beside it. "And you must be Beryl. It's lovely to make your acquaintance at last. I've heard so many things about you."

Beryl snarled. "I hope you aren't basing your opinion of me on what you heard from my bastard brother or that faithless ex-lover of mine. I am of a much higher breed than either one of them."

"Of course you are," Discord placated. "Now what brings the two of you to see me so soon after being revived? I figured that you would be busy wrecking havoc upon Serenity and Endymion."

Beryl's eyes snapped. "Make no mistake, they will pay for what they have done to me in the past. We are here because Queen Metallia has a request to make of you."

An amused look appeared on Discord's face. "Really? And what, pray tell, would that be."

"I want a body of my own," Metallia's voice hissed. "I know exactly whose body I want to reside in, but I lack the power to make that happen. But you have the ability to grant my request."

Discord stroked his chin. "I see. What you're asking is not impossible, but it would require a moderate amount of energy."

"We are prepared to gather the energy you would need," Beryl stated. "We will send out our youma to attack the humans and steal their energy. Queen Metallia just wanted to be assured of your cooperation first."

"And you shall have it," Discord agreed. "Bring me the energy, and I will make sure that you get the body that you want."

Beryl inclined her head. "Her majesty thanks you. It will be much easier to accomplish our ultimate goal if she has a solid form."

An evil glint showed in Discord's red eyes. "I assume, Lady Beryl, that you are not willing to sacrifice your body for your mistress this time."

A shiver wracked her skeletal frame. "No I am not. I prefer to remain myself. But I am willing to assist her in gaining a body for her use."

"How admirable of you," he replied dryly. A flash of light diverted his attention and he turned to face the newcomer with a scowl. "Where have you been?"

Katie looked at him with a bored expression. "I was busy. You did still want me to take out the triple threat, didn't you?"

"Excuse me! I was talking here!" Beryl growled. "Wait your turn girl!"

A pale brow arched above Katie's sunglasses. "Hey Discord, who's the walking, talking bag of bones."

"How dare you," Beryl snarled. "You would do well to keep a civil tone while in my presence, you cretin. I happen to be Queen Beryl, ruler of the Dark Kingdom."

Katie burst into giggles. "You're Beryl? That's the funniest damn thing I've ever heard. No wonder you got your ass kicked by a fourteen-year-old girl. A word of advice, anorexia went out of style a long time ago. And nobody likes a woman that dresses like a whore."

Steam was pouring from Beryl's ears. "Nobody talks to me like that and gets away with it." Dark energy began crackling at her scarlet tipped fingers.

"Ladies, please," Discord reprimanded as Katie's hand flew to her sword, silver, gold, and red-orange sparks flying in every direction. "Save the fighting for your missions. We're all on the same team here."

"So what did you go digging them up for?" Katie sneered, jerking her chin at Beryl and Metallia.

"Now don't go getting your back up," Discord tried to sound sincere. "I brought them in to help you."

"I don't need their help!" Katie growled. "I can handle things just fine on my own."

"Nevertheless, I have put them in charge of keeping Serenity, Endymion, and their little band occupied so that should take care of some of the problems you've been having," Discord told her.

A smile grew on Katie's face. "You're going to put that walking skeleton up against Sailor Moon and the others? That should be amusing."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Beryl demanded.

"Oh nothing," Katie replied, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm just saying that they are a lot stronger than they used to be, and they have some extra help that they didn't have before."

"I don't care who they have to help them. I will get my revenge," Beryl declared.

Katie laughed. "Let's see if you still feel that way when you come face to face with Sailor Shadow. I'll have to remember to bring popcorn for that show."

"Sailor Shadow? Who's she?" Beryl asked disinterestedly.

Katie smiled innocently. "Oh, I have a feeling that you'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Amy closed her laptop with a sigh. She leaned back in the chair to stretch out the tense muscles in her back that had accumulated while she had been studying.

"Done at last?" Zoicite asked from where he was sitting on their bed lounging against the headboard. The book he had been reading was splayed across his chest

Amy nodded and smothered a yawn. "Yes. I finally got it all done. I believe my professor will be pleased with the results. I'm pretty confident that it's the best paper that I've ever written."

"Then I'm sure it is bound to earn an A," he told her sincerely.

She smiled at him gently as she got up from the desk and wandered toward the adjoining bathroom. In less than ten minutes she was back with her teeth brushed and her face washed. Her light blue nightgown stopped at just above her knees.

Zoicite smiled and patted the space next to him on the bed. "Why don't you come get some sleep. I know you didn't get a lot of rest last night because stuff happened, so you deserve a restful night."

She crawled onto the bed and snuggled up to his side. She lay there watching him from under her lashes as he picked his book back up and continued to read, counting her blessings that fate had given them another chance to be together. He didn't wear his hair as long as he had in the Silver Millennium, but it was still long enough to fall into his green eyes as he read. She had to fight back the urge to reach up and smooth the stubborn locks back.

After a few minutes he marked his place and set the book carefully on the nightstand. He flipped the lamp off and settled down beside her, putting his arms around her and pulling her close so that her head rested against his shoulder.

Amy wasn't normally one to give in to nerves, but tonight she had so much anxiety built up inside her that it made her fidgety. Her hand lying on his chest began tracing random patterns.

"Can't sleep?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head slightly. "Zoi, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," was his immediate response. "You know you can ask me anything."

She sighed. "I know. It's just that…would you…you would never leave me again, would you?"

He rolled over and propped his head up on a hand so that he could look down at her. The moon and stars were bright that night, so there was enough light from the windows where they could see one another clearly.

"You have nothing to worry about, my little ice sprite," he reassured her in calm, soothing tones. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere this time. There is nothing on this planet that would ever make me leave your side. I don't care what tricks Beryl has hidden up her sleeve, there is nothing that she can say or do that would make me forsake my love for you ever again."

She sniffled and burrowed into his chest. A few tears slipped from her eyes and were icy cold on his skin. "Do you really promise that you'll never leave me?"

"You have my word," he swore, kissing the top of her head. He held her like that until they both fell into a comfortable sleep. And they remained like that, locked in each other's arms for the entire night.

* * *

"Another successful night is in the books," Lita sighed as she stepped out the back door of her restaurant. "I can't believe how good business has been."

Nephrite chuckled as he locked the door behind them. "I can't see why you're so surprised. Word of mouth is the best advertising you can get, and I knew once people tasted your food that they'd be beating down the doors to get in here."

"Well I had my reservations," she snorted. "It was nice of you to stay and help me close up. You didn't have to do that."

He grinned at her. "What kind of man would I be if I went home to seek my bed while leaving a beautiful woman with all the hard work? I couldn't live with myself if I did that. Besides, it's not safe for you to be leaving here by yourself so late at night."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Excuse me Mr. Macho Man, but I'm pretty sure I can handle any thugs if they decide they want to give me a hard time."

He looked up to the stars. "I have no doubt you could, especially against normal human thugs, but things are a little different now."

"Beryl doesn't scare me!" she scoffed. "If that bitch wants to pick a fight with me I'll show her real quick why the warriors of Jupiter were so feared at one time. I'm more worried about her coming after you than I am about her springing something on me."

He smiled as he continued to stare at the heavens. "There is nothing to fear, for there is nothing that would make me leave your side."

Lita sidled up next to him and took his hand in hers. "What are the stars telling you tonight?"

He turned his head to look at her, his slate blue eyes boring deeply into her dark green. "The same thing that they always tell me, that you and I are destined to be together forever and that we have a long, happy future ahead of us."

She slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "You always say that. I think you do it just to try and seduce me."

A smirk appeared on Nephrite's face. "Well, does it work?"

She leaned over and gave him a quick, but intense kiss before pulling back with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Why don't you take me home and we'll find out."

* * *

Jadeite pulled up at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the shrine and cut the ignition off. He leaned his head back with a tired sigh before getting out of the car and climbing up the long stairway.

The good thing about being in business with three of his best friends meant that they could split up the duties between them, and tonight he had been roped into a late night meeting with a potential client that was looking for a company to build a new office building for him. It had run later than he expected and he had been looking forward to getting home and relaxing. But when he had walked into the suite that he shared with Raye he couldn't find her anywhere.

Everyone else had retired for the night, so he knew that there was only one other place that she could be.

He walked quietly down the wooden porch, knowing Raye's grandfather would be in bed by this time and he didn't want to disturb him. He reached the door to the fire room and slid it open just a crack to peek inside.

Raye was knelt in front of the roaring flames of the sacred fire, dressed in her traditional priestess robes. Her eyes were clenched tightly shut and her hands were clasped in front of her at her chest. Sweat was streaming down the sides of her face, mixing in with what suspiciously looked like tears.

Jadeite opened the door the rest of the way and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The heat inside the room would be oppressive to most people, but he could handle it. He knelt down behind Raye, being careful to not break her concentration as she searched for answers within the fire.

A few minutes later the flames roared higher and Raye's violet eyes snapped open to gaze fixedly into the glaring light. She let out a cry of frustration as the fire simmered back down to normal.

Jadeite leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "What's the matter, Firefly, is the fire not cooperating with you tonight?"

"I can't get any straight answers," she growled. "There are so many things going on right now that all I can see are a lot of fuzzy images that don't make sense. It's driving me crazy!"

"Hey," he tried to console her. "We'll just take everything one day at a time. You don't have to sit here and stress yourself out like this."

She jerked away from him, eyes flashing. "I have to figure out what Beryl's plans are. I have to know what that bitch is scheming so we can stop her before she does something. I'm scared that she's going to come after you, and I _can't lose you again!"_

Her voice had risen in pitch until it sounded hysterical. Her eyes were wide and dilated, darting around like a frightened animal. Her breath was rasping unevenly, bordering on hyperventilation.

Jadeite pulled her to him and held her tight. Her fingers gripped handfuls of his shirt as she sobbed, "I won't let her take you from me again! I won't!"

"Shh," he soothed her, smoothing a hand down the long length of her raven hair. "I'm not going anywhere, Raye. You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

She glared up at him. "Don't you dare try to crack a joke right now! I'm being serious!"

He looked at her with a completely sober expression. "I'm being serious too. I won't ever leave you again, Raye. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, rising up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway as they sealed their declaration with a kiss.

* * *

"So do you think Beryl will try to come after you and the guys?" Mina asked as she trailed a finger down the long expanse of Kunzite's back as he lay on his stomach.

He turned his head to look at her where she was sprawled out next to him. "Anything's possible. Who knows with that demented woman? All I can say is that she can try, but I think she'll be surprised at the amount of force she'll be met with this time."

Mina shivered a little, both at the thought of that evil witch taking her love and using him against her again and because of the perspiration that was drying on her skin.

Kunzite noticed and reached down to pull the covers up over their bodies before gathering his goddess in his arms. Her long golden hair wrapped around both of them like a silken cloak.

"I love you," Mina said in a broken voice as she nestled her head between his neck and shoulder. "No matter what happened in the past, you were always my knight in shining armor."

His arms tightened around her. "And you were always my love, my beautiful princess of Venus. I swear to you that nobody will ever come between us again."

"I believe you," she whispered. "I just hope that we can find a way to defeat her without anyone getting hurt. Serena died the last time she battled Beryl and Metallia. If it hadn't been for the wish she made on the Silver Crystal for us to be revived, we all would have remained dead and frozen in the arctic."

"I know," Kunzite agreed. "Darien said that Beryl's more powerful than ever, but I think if we all stand together that we can take her down. Serena's stronger now, Darien has the Golden Crystal, and then we have all of the scouts plus us generals, that's not even factoring in Jess and Andrew and the damage they can do, I think we'll be fine."

"I'm sure you're right," Mina agreed. "I don't see her being able to stand up to all of us, I don't care how much of a power boost Discord was able to give Metallia. They're going down!"

"There's my mighty Aphrodite! That's what I like to hear," Kunzite chuckled.

Mina scowled and turned to bite his shoulder lightly. "Careful, my good sir! Don't you know it's dangerous to anger a goddess? Don't make me have to whip out my Love Chain."

His silver eyes sparkled in amusement. "Ooo, I like it when you talk tough."

She smothered a giggle against his neck. "You are incorrigible!"

He rolled her beneath him. "Only with you, love. Only with you."

* * *

Andrew woke up and rolled over to find the spot beside him empty. This wasn't an unusual occurrence; Jess always had a hard time sleeping the whole night through. But she was still sick and needed her rest.

Clad in only a pair of sweatpants he padded from the bedroom and headed down the hall to a door where he could see light shining under it. He knocked lightly, and when he didn't hear a response he quietly opened the door.

The scene was exactly as he expected. There was a couple of easels set up with partially finished paintings on them. A stack of blank canvases was leaning against the wall in one corner. A long table was pushed up against another wall, and it was covered in papers and sketchbooks while a bulletin board hanging above it had dozens and dozens of photos pinned to it. Floor to ceiling shelves held a large assortment of paints and brushes, as well as Jess's prized Inuyasha plushie collection, and a small computer desk was tucked away in another corner.

A drawing table was set up right by the window, and there Andrew found his sleeping fiancé. She was slumped over with her cheek lying against the table's surface. Her long, dark, honey blonde hair was out of its usual braid and flowed in rippling curls to her waist.

Andrew chuckled a little when he saw the piece of drawing charcoal still held in her fingers. Jess was in the habit of working whenever her insomnia kicked in. He had lost count of how many nights he had found her exactly like this, passed out in the middle of whatever project she was working on when sleep finally claimed her.

So just like he had at least a hundred times before, he gently removed the charcoal from her hand and set it down where she would be able to easily find it the next time she needed it. His arm brushed against the paper she had been working on and fluttered to the floor. He bent to retrieve it and was setting it back on the table when he took his first real look at what she had been drawing.

His breath froze for a moment. There, perfectly captured on paper, was a black and white image of Beryl, exactly the way she had appeared the night before. Jess had recreated every aspect of the witch, right down to her snakelike hair, cold eyes, skeletal body, and skimpy dress.

This rattled him a little. The only way that she could have conjured up such an exact likeness of the witch would be if she had been dwelling on the final moments of her life in the Silver Millennium, and he knew that those were memories that she always tried very hard to avoid thinking about. That could only mean that the news of Beryl's presence here had bothered her more than she had let on.

Andrew resisted the urge to rip the paper to shreds and placed it back where it had been. This was her way of working out whatever feelings or anxieties she felt about what was going on and he had to respect that. It had taken him some time to come to terms with Talon since the man had been responsible for his death in the past, and he had finally reached the point where he could be civil to the man on the few occasions that he had come around. The fact that he had helped them in their last fight against Discord had gone a long way in redeeming the sorcerer in his eyes.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he gently lifted the sleeping woman up in his arms. She mumbled a little in her sleep as her arms wound instinctively around his neck and settled her head on his shoulder, but she didn't wake. He strode from the room, pausing only for a second to bump the light switch with his shoulder, before heading back to the bedroom with his slumbering bundle.

He laid Jess down on her side of the bed and pulled the covers up around her securely before rounding to his side and climbing in beside her. His head had barely touched the pillow when she rolled over and flung an arm across his chest and a leg across his.

He couldn't help but grin. No matter how deeply asleep she was, she was always able to sense when he was beside her and sought him out. He put his arms around her and gave into the temptation to kiss the tip of her tiny, upturned nose before resting his cheek against the top of her head.

After his ex-girlfriend, Rita, had broken his heart, he had sworn that he would never be able to find another woman to love. But from the first day the blonde spitfire in his arms had waltzed into the arcade and ordered a cherry coke, he had been hooked. He found her to be absolutely perfect and wouldn't change a thing about her. He even weathered her infamous temper with little fuss because it was just one of the things that made her who she was. And making up after an argument was always fun too.

She had become his world, and he would do whatever he had to do to keep her safe. Power wise she may be stronger than him, but had trained a lot since discovering his own powers and he was pleased with the way his abilities had expanded. Instead of running around without a clue as to what to do, he now felt confident enough to stand at her side and fight. And he had a feeling that a big fight was coming. If Discord was able to bring Metallia and Beryl back, what other tricks might he pull?

* * *

Serena lounged on the padded chaise on the balcony, a glass of white wine dangling from her fingers as she basked in the silvery light of her former home. The moon was nearly full, and it cast its soothing energy down on its daughter.

Rini and Katie had joined her in her sojourn for a while, both of them also taking comfort from the lunar rays since their power was born of the moon, but they had both finally slipped off to bed since they had school in the morning. Jess normally would have joined her on a night like this as well since half of her power was lunarian, but she was still a little under the weather.

The apartment behind her was dark and quiet. Her future children were tucked safely into their beds. Darien had been called to the hospital to look in on a patient of his that had taken a bad turn, but that had been a few hours ago and she was hoping that he would return soon.

Almost as if answering her thoughts, she felt his warm golden aura drawing closer. If she closed her eyes she could even sense where he was. He was only a block away now…half a block. Now he was pulling into the parking garage. Less than a minute later he was in the elevator, traveling slowly up…up. He was coming down the hall. Now he was at the door.

'_I'm on the balcony,'_ she sent an unspoken message to him. She heard him chuckle in her head.

In a matter of seconds the door slid open and he stepped into view. As always her heart stuttered in response to his presence. She didn't care if they died and were reborn a million times over, she would never get tired of looking at him. Standing there with his ebony hair falling into his deep blue eyes and his black shirt and slacks, he was her dark prince once again.

"I had a feeling I would come home to find you out here when I walked out of the hospital and saw how bright the moon was," he said in that husky voice that made her feel like she was ice cream melting on a hot summer sidewalk.

She smiled serenely at him. "You know me too well. How is your patient?"

"Much better," he replied as he sat down next to her. "It's a ten year old girl with a nasty blood infection. She wasn't responding well to the antibiotic I had her on, so I switched her to something else. Her temperature was beginning to go down when I left, so she should be fine. I'll check on her again tomorrow."

"You're such a good doctor," Serena cooed as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Darien snorted with laughter. "Now you're just being silly. Is it the wine or the moonlight that's making you so giddy?"

She held her glass up. "Well since I've only had about two sips of the wine, I guess I'll have to claim moonlight madness. This is my time to escape and let the worries of the world slip away. It also gives me a chance to put everything into perspective."

Darien read the underlying meaning in her words. "Ah, so you've been agonizing over the Beryl situation."

She tapped his chin with a finger. "I have not been agonizing over that witch. That would be a waste of time. But if she thinks she can show back up and start threatening to take you away from me, she's got another thing coming. I'll rip every strand of that ratty red hair out of her head before I let her sink her claws into you again."

He grinned at her. "You're one to talk about claws. I don't think I've ever heard you sound quite so vicious."

Her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Don't laugh at me. I'm being serious. If she tries to take you away from me it's going to have to be over my cold, lifeless body. She may have intimidated me at one time, but I'm no longer a timid princess or a scared fourteen year old girl."

Ocean blue eyes roved over her appreciatively. "No, you're definitely not fourteen anymore."

She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Why Dr. Shields, I do believe you might be flirting with me!"

He shifted in his seat and pulled her up so that her chest was flush with his. Her breath puffed across his face as she gasped and her cheeks blushed pink. His eyes darkened even more as he took in the sight of her.

"Trust me Miss Tsukino, I have a lot more than flirting in mind," he rasped in her ear.

"Oh yeah, like what?" she whispered breathlessly.

"How about I show you," he said with a grin as he swooped her up in his arms the way he had hundreds of times before when he was Tuxedo Mask and had come charging in just in time to snatch Sailor Moon out of the path of danger.

Serena squealed and clutched his shirt in the same move she had always used to hold onto her masked protector. She fought to smother her giggles as he carried her inside and down the hall to their room.

Once the door was closed and locked behind them he silenced her thoroughly with a kiss. It stole her breath away, made her head spin, and promised much more to come before the night was over.

**A/N **So like I said, no action and lots of fluff this time. But things are about to heat up. Beryl's walking around like she's a badass, but she shouldn't underestimate our heroes, especially after she threatened to take their men away. Can you say catfight? Oh yeah, it's coming. And now we know who our mystery man from the future is and who died. And before anyone goes censoring me for the make out scene between future Kat and DJ, just remember that they are thirty-one years old. So they are plenty old to get their freak on if they want to. I didn't get everything into this chapter that I wanted to, but that just means more for the next one. So hopefully in the next update we'll have Jess having a run in with Beryl, Katie will have an encounter with someone from the future, and some unexpected guests show up to join in the fun. Hope you all enjoyed. Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me you think. Catch ya next time! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	16. Sparks Fly

**A/N **I finally get to post this. Yay! I was hoping to have this chapter up days ago, but I had some issues come up. (My life is always full of issues…lol) Anyway, I had to go out of town for a few days. The place I was staying at claimed to have wi-fi, but it was very iffy and impossible to keep a connection for more than 5 seconds. On top of all of that I was in the middle of nowhere, so there was no Starbucks or even a McDonald's for me to go and try to get a signal, so I gave up. The good news is that since I had no internet access, I spent my time working on this. So this chapter is about 50% longer than usual and has lots of stuff going on. Okay, where are my wonderful reviewers so I can hug them? Oh, there you are! BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**haylee**

**VAlvr04**

**anime-lover10**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**tiny2008**

**nileena**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**amaramichelle**

**mandii-xo**

**ailzzzz**

**GoldenDragon326**

**S dot Serenity**

**KageNoNeko**

**Swinkinator**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**SlackerDee**

**TanithLipsky**

Thank you sooooo much! I was happy to see that everyone seemed to like the fluffiness in the last chapter. There's a little of everything in this one, action, drama, comedy, and some romance. Just as I warned you at the very beginning of this story, even though some of our heroes are still teenagers, they will be dealing with some sexual situations. It's nowhere near lemon quality because I want to respect my readers and the rating, but come on! They're hormonal teenagers in love and things are bound to get heated. Okay, nuff said. Let's move on!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 14

Sparks Fly

Mount Olympus. Home of the gods. A timeless paradise where the deities that had reigned over the universe since the beginning of time spent their immortal existence either in frivolous pastimes or watching over the lives of the mortals.

Most of the gods claimed that watching the humans was no fun since they were forbidden to interfere in their lives, but there were some that still kept watch over the human realm.

One such goddess was doing this now as she sat beside a fountain and used the water as a mirror to look in on the billions of people of Earth as they went about their daily lives. Their existence was so extremely fragile. She watched as a new life was born into the world. The crying infant drew in its first breaths of life as it was laid upon its mother's chest. At the same time another soul reached the end of its journey and departed for its next adventure.

The blonde goddess thought of how life was full of opposites. Life and death, love and hate, light and dark, good and evil, these were all things that had to exist to make life possible. Each negative balanced out the positive.

She looked up as she saw a shimmer of light and smiled as a woman appeared. "Well, Setsuna, it's been a while since you've graced Olympus with your presence."

Sailor Pluto inclined her head respectfully. "It has been far too long, Athena. It feels almost surreal to be here and to hear myself being addressed by that name."

Laughter sparkled in Athena's emerald green eyes. "And you will never hear me address you as anything else. Setsuna is the name you were born with, so that is what I will always call you. I assume you have come to meet with your grandfather."

Pluto nodded. "Yes. He sent me a summons to come see him as soon as possible. I'm actually surprised that it took him this long to contact me."

"I am too," Athena agreed. "I thought the old man would have snapped long before now. You've been a very naughty girl. There are so many people out of their proper place and time that I can't even keep up with who belongs where anymore. And then there's the little problem with you losing control of the time gate."

"Don't remind me," Pluto moaned. "There's no telling what he's going to do to me for this."

"Well I must say, your antics have kept things amusing around here," Athena giggled. "You wouldn't believe the screaming matches that have been going on. Your dear grandfather cornered Apollo, Gaia, and Selene the other day and gave them a real earful about all of the stuff that's going on with their little chosen ones messing up the timeline. The Fates are about to have nervous breakdowns because they don't know whose life lines to cut anymore, and Aphrodite is about to pull her hair out because the soul bond between the little prince and his girlfriend keeps bouncing back and forth between weak and strong. Your Uncle Hades keeps grumbling that he better get at least one dead person from all of this mess, and on top of all of that you have Ares, Hermes, and Poseidon taking bets on whether or not it's all going to end in Armageddon."

"Great!" Pluto muttered sarcastically. "I may as well say my prayers now, because I'm toast if Zeus gets a hold of me. I'm shocked he hasn't already sent a lightning bolt down to fry me."

Athena waved a hand. "You don't have to worry about him just yet. He's been really stressed out and short tempered recently, so Hera threatened everyone with mortality if they say a word to him about your little problem. So you should be safe for now."

Pluto sighed. "Thank goodness for small mercies. I guess I better go face the music. It's not going to get any easier if I keep standing here."

Athena bid her good luck and she made her way into the subterranean levels of Mount Olympus. She shivered in both cold and anticipation as she followed the cold, damp, dark passageways down deep into the ground. This was the domain of Chronos and Hades, so she should have felt right at home. But she had taken more after the Plutarian side of her family, making her detest the cold, wet darkness.

There were a few torches to light her way, and she followed them until she reached a set of tall double doors. She knocked and then waited.

Several seconds passed before the doors swung open and a deep, baritone voice called, "Enter, Setsuna."

She took a deep breath and then stepped into Chronos's chamber. She flinched as the doors slammed shut behind her, but she kept her head bowed respectfully, waiting to be acknowledged by the god of time.

She heard a deep sigh, and then the voice spoke again. "What am I going to with you, Junebug? It seems like every few centuries I turn around to find you in some kind of a bind."

Pluto's head snapped up in surprise when she heard the affectionately teasing voice instead of the harsh angry one she had been expecting. "Grandfather?"

Chronos laughed deeply at her shocked expression. "Come now, my dear, you act as if you expected me to strike you dead the moment you set foot in here. You should know that I would never do that to you."

"You never hesitated to kill the time guardians before me for much lesser crimes than I have committed," she muttered under her breath.

"Of course I did!" he snapped. "But they were all twelfth cousins, twenty times removed, or something of that nature. But you are my granddaughter and my last surviving descendant, so I tend to be a little more lenient in your case."

A rare smile touched her lips as she took in the sight of her only living blood relative. Chronos was thousands of centuries old, but to look at him he appeared to be a man in his prime. Tall, broad, and muscularly built, his resemblance to his granddaughter was uncanny. He wore his long, dark green hair in a ponytail that hung down to the middle of his back and his garnet eyes shown with affection as he studied the woman before him.

Chronos had a reputation for being a just, but harsh god. He expected perfection from himself and all of those around him. He had lived out his existence as a confirmed bachelor until a little over a thousand years ago when he fell in love with a young Plutonian princess. Despite the fact that relationships between the gods and mortals were frowned upon, he took the princess as his wife and within the year she bore him a son.

He had watched with pride as his son grew to be strong and powerful man. When his wife's father stepped down as king, the throne was passed to the young demigod. The new king married his sweetheart, who was a lady of the court, and made her his queen.

But the couple suffered heartbreak after heartbreak as they tried repeatedly to start a family of their own, only to have it end in the tragedy of miscarriage every time. When the young queen almost lost her life due to hemorrhage, they decided to give up the dream.

But then fortune smiled down on them when the queen became pregnant yet again, and after nine anxious months gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The firstborn, the boy that was named Nathaniel, was named as the heir to the throne, while the girl, Setsuna, was chosen by Queen Serenity of the Silver Millennium to become Pluto's guardian princess, thus Sailor Pluto was born.

Chronos was extremely proud of both of his grandchildren, and when the time came that he needed a new guardian for the time gate, he offered the position to Setsuna. She had accepted the offer graciously, even though it meant leading a mostly solitary existence. The entrance to the time gate had been moved to the moon castle so that she could juggle both of her responsibilities easily.

Things moved slowly and peacefully until the fall of the moon kingdom. After the death of Queen Serenity, the rest of the solar system had fallen apart. Civil uprisings sprouted from the panic on all of the other planets, and without the sailor scouts to help keep the peace, they destroyed themselves. Sailor Pluto was the only one to survive because she had been ordered to never leave the gates of time when there was a battle that could threaten the timeline.

When word had reached Olympus about what had happened, Chronos had hurried to Pluto. What he found there had been a sea of destruction and devastation. The palace had been overrun and the royal family assassinated. He had found the bodies of his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson and taken them to Mount Olympus. Then he had fetched Setsuna from her post and together they gave their family proper burials.

Now here they were over ten centuries later. The combination of being blessed by the Silver Crystal and her being a one-quarter goddess had given Setsuna a lifespan that was practically infinite. Eventually the princess she served and the rest of her fellow scouts had been reborn and she reunited with them. She had even adopted the civilian persona of Trista Meioh in order to have a semblance of a somewhat normal life, but Chronos was her blood family and she never forgot that.

"So why don't you fill me in on what's been going on," Chronos prompted her. "I gave you permission to move the Trinity holders to the past, but it seems that a lot more people have been misplaced since then."

She glanced down, her face flushing with guilt. "Things got complicated. There's an event that may or may not take place in the near future that could have devastating consequences. There are also some other unforeseen guests making an appearance. I felt that there was a need to bring in additional reinforcements. But I'm sure you've seen all of this already."

He nodded. "I have, but I wanted to hear your reasoning behind your decisions. Even you have to admit that you tend to go above and beyond simple rule bending when comes to Serenity and her brood. I just wanted to make sure that you're doing this for the right reasons."

"Of course I am!" she retorted. "Serena is not only my princess and future queen, she is my friend. And I pledged my loyalty to Jess when she was born as Princess Melody in the Silver Millennium. These are their children that I am trying to keep safe."

Chronos's gaze narrowed slightly on her. "And the fact that the twin boy died in this new timeline isn't affecting your decision at all? Alexander is not Nathaniel!"

Pluto's garnet eyes blazed. "I know that! But he wasn't supposed to die. I've spoken to the Fates. I know that Nathaniel's life played out exactly like it was meant to. But Alex is different. He has a bright future ahead of him full of love and happiness. That's why I couldn't deny Katie when she came to me and begged for my help. I couldn't let time continue on that path! Not as long as the correct timeline exists."

Chronos's face turned deadly serious. "You and that girl are playing a very dangerous game that could have severe consequences. At this point even I am unsure of what the outcome will be. And let me tell you, that is a very strange feeling for a god."

"I know," Pluto said softly. "But I think that things can be set right again. I just have to keep believing that."

"Do you really have that much faith in these children?" her grandfather asked her.

She nodded. "I do. I trust in them enough to believe that when the time comes they'll make the right decisions."

Chronos regarded her solemnly. "I sure hope you're right, for everyone's sake. I've always had faith in your judgment, and I don't see any reason for that to change now. So I'll do what I can to keep Zeus off your back."

Pluto smiled and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you, grandfather."

* * *

_**Outside Crystal Tokyo – The Far Future**_

The female guardian paused and glanced nervously at the door before her. Of all the people sent to fetch her ladyship, why did it have to be her? She took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the door.

"My lady?" she called out in a trembling voice.

A few seconds later the door was almost ripped from its hinges as it was wrenched open. The guardian stumbled back at the terrifying sight of the enraged woman in front of her. Pale blonde hair stuck out in wild disarray around her head and her swirling eyes blazed angrily as she glared.

"You better have a damn good reason for disturbing me!" Katie ground out in a low voice.

The female bowed her head. "My apologies, Lady Eclipse, but the master sent me. He said that was imperative that he speak with you right away."

"Fine!" she growled. "Tell him I'll be there soon."

She slammed the door in the guardian's face and leaned up against it for a minute, trying to catch her breath. She had woken from a nightmare only moments before the knock at her door and it was still fresh in her mind.

He chest heaved under the worn button down shirt she wore to sleep in. At one time the shirt had been black, but after fifteen years of washing and wearing, the fabric had dulled to a gray color and had become almost threadbare. Most people would have thrown it out long ago, but she couldn't bear to part with it.

She had taken very few things with her when she left her old life behind. Among these mementos was a locket that her parents had given to her on her thirteenth birthday that had a picture of them on one side and a picture of her and Alex on the other. The pillow that she slept on had come from Alex's bed. She had brought her old, raggedy notebook with her, although she hadn't written any songs since before her brother had died. She had brought one other very important item with her, but it was currently in Sailor Pluto's possession

She couldn't help but smile as she carefully removed the shirt she was wearing. She had snuck into the Crystal Palace one night not long after she had entered Discord's service as a test to see if she had been successful in her attempts to block the bond that allowed DJ to sense her when she was near.

It had worked, and she had slipped into the palace without being detected. She had one hair raising moment when she almost walked right into Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion in one of the hallways and ducked into a room to keep from being discovered. When she looked around, she was shocked to find that she had inadvertently taken refuge in DJ's room. Luckily it was empty, but she had found this shirt thrown carelessly over a chair and had taken it.

She smiled as she laid it across her bed. She always wore it to sleep in whenever she wasn't out on a job somewhere that prevented her from sleeping in the bed that had been hers for the past fifteen years. His smell had disappeared after the first washing, but it was still a comfort to her.

She quickly pull on a pair of low riding jeans and the form fitting black tank top that had become her standard uniform over the years. Since her powers were not always reliable she had to do a lot of physical fighting, and bulky clothes would get in the way. She laced up her black boots and skimmed her hair back into a short messy ponytail before grabbing her dark sunglasses and shoving them onto her nose and stalking from the room

She felt somewhat better as she left the nightmare behind as well. It had been a long time since she had dreamed of her brother's death and the events that had followed after, but she guessed she shouldn't be surprised that the old dream had resurfaced since the time was growing closer for her to try to prevent it. Her little encounter with DJ the day before had also awoken long buried memories, and she tried to shove them back into the dark recesses of her mind.

She arrived at Discord's chamber and wasn't surprised when the doors swung open as she approached. The despicable bastard would have known she was coming. She walked in confidently and stood before the monster that had ruined her life.

Discord showed no emotion as he flicked his burning red eyes over her. "I was surprised to learn that you had returned to this time. I figured my past self would be keeping you busy in the past."

She shrugged. "I was feeling a little out of sorts from the long exposure of there being two of me in the same time, so I thought it was best to return here and regroup."

She was lying, of course. Pluto's garnet orb had done a wonderful job of protecting both her and her past self from the effects of her intruding in the past. But after her heated interlude with a certain prince she had felt the need to escape somewhere he couldn't follow her so she could try to get her head back on straight.

"Hmm," Discord mused. "Well now that you've had a chance to rest, I think it's best that you return to my past self. I'm sure he has something for you to do."

"I'm sure he does," she muttered as she opened a portal to the time plane and stepped through before she could act on the urge to try to rip Discord's stupid head off. She hated the sight of his gloating face and contented herself with the knowledge that she would soon wash her hands of him, one way or another.

She materialized at the time gate and the past form of Discord looked up at her in annoyance. "There you are! I was wondering where you had gotten off to this time!"

Oh how her hands itched to wrap around his throat. "Even I have to sleep sometime. I'm not a robot." She rolled her eyes behind her dark lenses as she observed the other person there. "What's Queen Bitch doing here?"

Beryl snarled, baring her fangs. "Impertinent brat! You better watch how you speak to me! I am more powerful than you could ever hope to be. Keep it up and I may just decide to wear your entrails as a necklace. I have more than enough power to take care of a spineless, sniveling creature like you."

Katie didn't even bat an eyelash. "Go ahead, Beryl. If you're feeling froggy enough, then leap."

"Ladies, please," Discord interrupted. "Must things always turn into a spitting match whenever you two are together? I would prefer you to direct that hostility toward our enemies rather than each other. We don't need any catfights here."

Katie snorted. "I don't catfight. If there's one thing my momma taught me it's how to kick ass the old fashioned way. So if Beryl's in a hurry to get her face pounded in, let her bring it on."

"Enough!" Discord bellowed. "I need the two of you to get your head back into the game. We have work to do."

Beryl sniffed. "Well I hope you don't expect me to work with this ignorant little upstart. My youma and I are perfectly capable of carrying out our mission without her interference."

Katie crossed her arms. "Likewise. I work better alone."

"I would never dream of asking you to work together," Discord placated them. "But I do need you to coordinate your next moves. I still require energy to grant Metallia the body she wants, so Beryl will take her youma to collect what we need from the humans. I'm sure that Serenity and her little group will be alerted to our presence and attempt to interfere in some way. That is where you come in, Eclipse. I need you to take a few guardians and sentinels and set them loose a distance away from where Beryl attacks. With any luck that will split their forces up. Perhaps you will even get a chance at one of the Trinity bearers."

Katie fought down the urge to punch that excited look right off his face. "Fine! When do we leave?"

"No time like the present," he told them. "Now go and make me proud."

"Stay out of my way!" Beryl hissed as she swept by Katie, making sure to ram her shoulder into the other woman's in a juvenile gesture.

"How mature," Katie muttered, shaking her head as she went to choose which of Discord's creations to take with her. She was careful to only choose the ones that seemed to move slightly slower than the others. She didn't doubt the abilities of her past self, DJ, Alex, or her friends, but she wasn't going to take any unnecessary chances either. The last thing she wanted was anybody getting hurt.

Her lip curled in disgust as she looked over the mutant cat sentinels. One of the first things that she had done when she joined Discord had been to track down the tiger sentinel that had been responsible for Alex's death and kill it. Her dislike for the giant felines had always motivated her to use those of the wolf variety whenever she had to use sentinels in her missions, and as a result there weren't many canines left.

"Looks like I don't have a lot to choose from," she grumbled as she quickly picked out a handful to accompany her and opened up a portal to the past for them to travel through.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"You have got to be kidding me!" Jess moaned as the gray clouds that had been threatening rain all day opened up and sent precipitation plummeting to the earth. There was no starting off as sprinkles and building up to a downpour, it swept in swiftly like a solid wall of water.

"Damn it! This is just my luck!" she growled as she tried to juggle the now slippery plastic wrapped parcels in her arms. The sky answered her angrily with a loud rumble of thunder.

She glared up at the dark clouds. "Don't backtalk me! You can't blame me for this one. I'm not making you do it!"

With only half of her power coming from the Earth, she wasn't in tune with it as much as Darien or DJ was, but she could have sworn that it almost felt as if the planet beneath her feet was laughing at her as it drank in the water that was falling on it as she shifted her load to one arm so that she could wrestle open the door to the campus art building. A few minutes later she was knocking on the door of her art professor's office.

"Come in," a softly spoken, feminine voice called out.

Jess pushed the door open. "Professor Dubois, I came to drop my project off."

The tiny, middle-aged woman behind the desk jumped up at the sound of her voice. "Miss Alexander! What are you doing here? You know my best friend, Nora, is Dr. Shields' receptionist, and she passed on to me that he told her that you were really sick. You still look rather peaked, dear. You should be at home in bed. Does that young, good looking fiancé of yours know that you're out and about?"

Jess couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her. "No, Drew's at work. I was hoping I could sneak out and get back without him finding out I left. But today is the due date for the projects, and I wanted to make sure mine got turned in on time even if I wasn't in class."

Professor Dubois patted her arm. "You know I would have made an exception in your case. You couldn't help getting sick. You must be mindful of your health."

"I know, but I've always turned things in on time. It's a pet peeve of mine," Jess replied stubbornly.

The professor laughed. "I can't say I'm surprised. You've been one of my most attentive and devoted students. Well, let's see what you have for me."

Jess carefully unwrapped the plastic from the canvases she had carried in and set them up for viewing. She held her breath as she waited for a response.

"These are simply amazing!" Professor Dubois finally whispered after studying them for several minutes. "Where did you find the inspiration for them?"

Jess smiled wistfully. "From my dreams. I wasn't sure if they would all fall into the category of the project, but this is what I came up with."

The project had been to come up with a series of three paintings that portrayed a fantasy scene. For the first one she had painted the golden palace of Elysian, surrounded by its expansive gardens of flowers. Helios was in his Pegasus form, flying high in the sky while Rini, in her princess dress, gazed up longingly at him.

The second one depicted a darkened ballroom lit by only a few candles. In the center of the empty floor stood a shadowy couple. Neither one's facial features were clear, but the man was dressed in black and silver armor with a long, red lined cape. The woman's long, golden blonde hair was visible, trailing down in pigtails over the white gown she was wearing to lightly brush the floor. The couple appeared to be dancing as they held one another close with their faces tipped toward each other.

The last picture showed a riotous garden of pale flowers growing out of a rocky looking white ground. The sky was dark and peppered with brightly shining stars. A bubbling stream flowed through the center of the garden. And beside it a young, sandy haired boy lay on a blanket next to a little girl with long, curly, golden hair as they both stared up at the sky toward what looked like a blue marble.

"Like I said, amazing," the professor repeated. "Of course I don't have the final say since all of us art professors get to evaluate these projects. But I'm sure the rest of them will be as blown away as I am. Just from my point of view, I think it's safe to say that you've passed this project with flying colors."

Jess's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? That's the best news I've heard in days."

Her professor chuckled. "Well maybe this will lift your spirits and speed up your recovery. But for now I want you to get home and out of this deplorable weather. We don't need you having a relapse, do we?"

"No ma'am!" Jess agreed. "I'm leaving now. I hope to be ready to come back in time for your next class. I don't want to fall behind."

"I think you'll be fine," she was reassured. "I'll e-mail you the lesson outline if you're unable to make it to Wednesday's class. Now go home and get out of those wet clothes and have something warm to drink."

Jess said her goodbyes and headed back to the front of the building. She groaned when she looked out the doors and was confronted with a heavy downpour. The art building was situated near the middle of the campus, that also meant that it was far away from parking. It looked like she was about to get really wet.

She took off across the wet grass and was soaked to the bone in mere seconds. She had always been a fast runner, but today she was moving slower than normal. This little trip had tired her out more than she cared to admit, and all she wanted to do was get home and curl up with a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa.

When she reached the extensive library building she decided to cut through. The crabby old librarian would probably give her hell for tracking water in around her precious books, but she didn't care. It was better than going the long way around the outside of the building and it would put her close to her car when she came out the other side. She stopped under an overhang to wring as much water from her braid and her clothes as possible before going inside.

A blast of cold air hit her as she opened the door, raising goosebumps up and down her arms. The silence of the library seemed almost deafening after the constant racket of rain splattering on the ground. In fact it seemed too quiet. There was no sound of quiet voices or whispers of pencils on paper or pages turning. There was only silence.

She crept over to the double doors that led into the main part of the library and peered inside, expecting to see it full of hard studying students as always. Instead she found it full of dozens of unconscious people. Most were students, but there were a few library employees as well as a couple of professors in the group.

From what she'd heard about the attack the other night this one looked to be caused by youma. She had no idea if the enemy was still there, so she backed away from the doors quietly, lifting her wrist to use her communicator to call for help.

She cursed soundly when she was greeted by nothing but bare skin, remembering only now that she had left the apartment in such a rush that she had forgotten her communicator lying on top of the dresser. And to make matters worse she left her cell phone in the car to keep it from getting wet. So now she had no way to call anyone.

"Of all the stupid, idiotic, rookie mistakes to make," she growled under her breath. One of the first lessons she had been taught as a sailor scout had been to never leave home without her communicator in case there was an emergency. The best she could hope for now was to make a mad dash to her car and the cell phone that was resting in the cup holder, because another one of those lessons she'd had pounded into her head was never go into a fight alone. It didn't matter how powerful a fighter you were, you never confronted an enemy without back up unless you had to. One small misstep without someone to watch your back could mean the difference between life and death.

She was almost to the door when she felt a presence behind her. She spun and almost fell when she jumped quickly out of the way of what appeared to be a long, reptilian tail that had been aiming for her only seconds before. The tail missed her by several inches and left a deep depression in the marble floor right where she had been standing.

"Looksss like I missssed one," the youma hissed like a snake. Long seaweed looking hair swirled around the obvious female. Instead of skin she was covered in sickly green, slimy looking scales. Her eyes were slitted and bright yellow while that lethal tail whipped back and forth menacingly. "I thought I got all of you missserable humansss. But that'sss okay. I'll take care of you now."

"That's what you think, freak!" Jess growled. She picked up a chunk of the busted marble and chunked it at the youma, bashing it upside the head, stunning it long enough to make a break for it.

The door she had come in through was blocked by the youma, so she had no choice but to run through the library. She leapt over unconscious bodies and overturned tables and chairs as she sprinted toward the other exit of the building.

There was a crash as a bookshelf in the Earth Science section fell over, and she ducked down an aisle, peeking around it to see two more youma. One had pale blue skin and a long, pointed face with sharp claws instead of fingers and leathery looking black wings sprouting from her back. The other one was probably the most normal looking one she'd seen. It had normal looking skin and shoulder length black hair, but the set of black horns sprouting from its head gave it a demonic appearance.

The first youma joined the other two and she knew she only had moments before they began tearing the place apart looking for her. It seemed that the only chance she had of making it out of here without ending up like the other victims was to transform. It would serve a dual purpose. Not only would it give her an extra boost in case she had to fight against these monsters, but it would also help her contact the others. Andrew and she hadn't perfected the art of speaking telepathically yet, but he could sense her when she transformed and would be able to find her.

She backed further into the shadows and let their comforting presence wrap around her as she gripped the sapphire pendant that hung from the gold chain around her neck. "Celestial Shadow Power!" she whispered.

The shadows swirled even closer around her mixed with the blue glow of energy from the Celestial Crystal. In that moment that her transformation began her mind was completely open and she reached out to connect with her soul mate. _'Campus library…youma…hurry!'_ she sent out to Andrew, hoping that it wouldn't take long for him and the others to get there. Normally taking out three youma wouldn't be an impossible challenge for her, but she couldn't be for sure that there weren't more around and she wasn't exactly on top of her game right now.

Deciding to take the high road, she jumped up to the top of a bookshelf. From where she was she could see the exit to the parking lot not too terribly far away. If she stayed up high and the youma didn't look up, she just might be able to make it outside to wait for the others to join her without being seen.

She almost cried out in relief when she felt a sensation as warm as the sun flood through her and felt Andrew's aura brush lightly against hers. It was faintly tinted with irritation and anger, so she knew that she was probably going to get the third degree for being out in the first place, but she didn't care as long as she knew that help was on the way.

Only three more shelves separated her from her goal, and she cleared them quickly without being seen, or so she thought until she dropped down to the floor near the exit. She was only feet away from her destination when a swirling black portal opened and a woman stepped out of it.

Sailor Shadow skidded to a stop as she gazed upon the face that had starred in hundreds of her nightmares, a face that she had never thought that she would actually ever see in this lifetime. Anger burst through her as she glared at the self-proclaimed queen that had been responsible for bringing about the fall of the Silver Millennium a thousand years ago.

"Beryl!" she snarled, barely able to keep herself from flying at the woman and ripping the sallow skin from her bony frame. She fought back a cough and forced her voice to remain strong. "I should have known that your anorexic little ass was lurking around here somewhere."

Beryl sneered hatefully at her. "I don't allow people to address me in such a way. I am Queen Beryl, and you would do well to remember that. Now who are you? You're obviously a sailor scout, but I don't recognize you as being one of Serenity's rag tag bunch."

"Well pardon me for forgetting my manners," Shadow shot back sarcastically. "I don't see what exchanging names is going to accomplish. But if you're really that interested I'll tell you. I'm Sailor Shadow. And I promise you, bitch, you're going to regret crossing my path before this day is over."

"Spare me!" Beryl snapped. "I expected to be met with at least a small amount of resistance, but other than my one brief encounter with Serenity and Endymion I've been faced with nothing but a bunch of imitation scouts and generals. When am I going to get to face my true enemies?"

Sailor Shadow smirked at her. "I've got a feeling that you won't have to wait very long for that, but allow me to be the opening act."

Tired of listening to the psychotic witch boast about herself, she sprang into action. Blue energy erupted from her fingertips. It wasn't her strongest attack, but she felt so tired and drained already. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to the others to take out the Negaverse queen before they had a chance to exact their own revenge.

Beryl threw up a barrier of dark energy, but still had to teleport out of the way when Sailor Shadow's attack crumbled her defense like it wasn't even there. She reappeared several feet away from her original location and glared angrily at the scout.

"You have talent, I'll give you that," Beryl sneered. "But in all honesty, my dear, you look like you're about to drop. What happened to the days when the sailor scouts actually posed a threat?"

"Why don't you follow me outside and I'll show you," Shadow growled. She had just spotted a few people that had managed to escape the youma's rampage through the library hiding under a table. She had to get Beryl and her minions out of there before any more innocent people got hurt.

"I have had enough of people disrespecting me today!" Beryl raged. "The energy of a sailor scout could prove to be beneficial for me, so I think I'll relieve you of yours. Youma! Drain that scout of her energy!"

"Oh hell no!" Shadow exclaimed as she dodged the three youma that suddenly sprang at her and ran out of the library into the gray, gloomy day. The rain had let up some, but it was still coming down in a steady drizzle. She breathed a sigh of relief as both the youma and Beryl followed her out.

"You can't run from me!" Beryl taunted the lone scout. "So you're the infamous Sailor Shadow that I was warned about. There doesn't seem to be much to worry about from you. You look as if a gust of wind would blow you over."

"Just try me!" Shadow growled in retaliation, her temper overriding her common sense that told her to keep Beryl talking and distracted until help arrived. She got lucky and took out the lizard youma with an energy blast as they rushed her, but as she spun to avoid the other two a wave of dizziness hit her and sent her stumbling to her knees.

She fell to the ground and tried to throw up a barrier to protect herself, but she was so cold and light headed that she couldn't focus her energy properly. The remaining two youma were almost on top of her when a sudden jolt of energy sent them flying away.

A pair of arms snatched her up off the wet ground as an amused chuckle tickled her ear. "Looks like I got here just in time, huh princess?"

* * *

"Ugh! Somebody please remind me why I wanted to be a teacher again," Serena moaned as she dropped heavily into the padded booth.

Mina looked at her and grinned. "I'm pretty sure I remember hearing you say something about adoring little kids and wanting to help them expand their minds."

"I must have been drunk when I said it," Serena groaned, laying her head down on the table. "Do you know how nerve racking it is to be completely surrounded by a dozen four year olds when they're all trying to talk at the same time?"

"Look at it this way, it's good practice for the future. Being a queen probably isn't a whole lot different than being a teacher. You're the one in charge and have to keep everyone in line," Mina tried to console her.

She patted her friend's head and then pulled her hand back with a squeak. "Serena! Why is your hair all stiff and sticky?" She cast a professional eye over the long golden ponytail. "And when did you decide to get hot pink streaks?"

Serena raised her head to glare at her. "Red fruit punch was on the menu today for snack time. Thanks to those little monsters that masquerade as children I ended up wearing more of the punch than they drank."

A low chuckle came from beside her and she looked up angrily to find her soon to be husband leaning against the side of the booth watching her as he shook with the laughter he was trying to contain. Behind him stood Kunzite, who looked just as amused.

Her eyes glittered with angry, barely suppressed tears. "I swear to you, Darien, if you laugh at me I will pack up and move back to my parent's house so fast that you'll get whiplash trying to keep up with me. Then I'll tell my dad that you were mean to me and he'll come after you with his shotgun."

That wiped the humor right off his face. He slid into the booth beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean it like that. You just look so adorable with your new hairdo. I'm sure Rini would approve of the color."

"Ha ha!" she deadpanned. "Maybe I should go ahead and douse the rest of my hair in punch, then Rini and I would really look like mother and daughter."

"It's not that bad, Serena," Mina told her as she scooted over to make room for Kunzite. "How about we go up to the salon and I'll treat you to a shampoo and conditioning treatment? Things will look much brighter once you get that gunk out of your hair. Remember my motto, 'Looking good makes you feel good'. So what do you say?"

"Maybe in a little bit," Serena sighed, leaning against Darien. "I just need a few minutes to regroup."

"Was it that bad of a day?" Darien asked her.

She nodded. "You have no idea. But I don't want to talk about it right now. How was your day?"

He shrugged. "Fairly quiet for the most part. I think the dreary weather is keeping everyone inside. The only patients I saw today were people who were seriously sick or hurt. The usual slew of hypochondriacs had enough sense to stay home."

His comment brought a smile to her face and she began to loosen up. Andrew wandered over and set a cup of chocolate laden espresso covered in a mound of whipped and sprinkles in front of her.

"Here you go, Sere," he told her. "Lizzy caught me as I was walking by and asked me to bring it to you. She said that you looked like you could use it."

"Thanks!" she beamed as she directed a wave at Andrew's sister behind the counter and took a careful sip of the hot drink. "That's much better. It's just what I need on a miserable day like today."

Andrew glanced around the empty arcade and then toward the windows where the rain was coming down in buckets. "Yeah, it's pretty nasty out there. Sucks for business though."

Everyone froze as a loud rumble of thunder shook the building and the lights flickered briefly before going out completely.

Serena jumped at the loud boom and squealed as she latched onto Darien's arm like a vice. "This better not be Lita's idea of a practical joke or I'll skin her alive!"

"It's okay, it's just a little thunder," Darien tried to sooth her as he pulled her so that she was half sitting in his lap. "It's out there while you're safe in here."

She shrieked as another loud explosion hit. All heads turned as an answering scream came from outside and someone began beating on the doors that were stuck closed due to the power failure.

Andrew and Kunzite rushed over to manually push the doors open and wind driven rain blew in along with eight bedraggled, soaking wet figures.

DJ was holding onto an almost catatonic looking Rini as she shook in his arms. "It's okay, sis. We made it."

"I…I…ha…hate…st…storms!" she stammered out in a shaky voice.

Alex was behind them with what looked like a drowned blonde rat on either side of him as Emma and Katie stood there with water dripping in an almost constant stream from their long hair.

Jayden, Hannah, and Skye brought up the rear, just as drenched as the rest of them. They all stood there in the middle of a pool that was rapidly forming around them.

"None of you move!" Lizzy screeched. "You just wait right there while I go get some towels. There's no sense in soaking the whole place." She grabbed a flashlight and rushed into the backroom. She was back in under a minute with an armload of fluffy towels that she passed around to the group.

Serena jumped up, her own fears forgotten as she took in the sight of her future daughter's frightened features. She grabbed one of the towels and began helping Rini dry off as best as she could. Once her clothes were no longer dripping she led the younger girl over to a booth and sat her down before expertly unwinding the pink hair buns and toweling the majority of the dampness from it.

"What in the world are you lot doing out running around in this weather?" Darien asked the rest as they all managed to get somewhat dry and wandered over.

"It wasn't raining yet when school let out, so we thought we might be able to beat it back to the apartment," DJ answered as he rubbed a towel over his head, making his black hair stick up worse than usual. "We were only a couple of blocks away when the bottom fell out, so we decided to come here instead. Then the thunder started and Rini freaked out as usual."

"G…go to he…hell, DJ!" Rini stuttered angrily, glaring at her brother.

"Some thanks I get for leading you to a dry place!" he snapped. "Next time I'll just leave you standing there frozen like a deer in the headlights."

"Enough!" Serena told both of them harshly. "I've had a stressful day and don't want to listen to you two bicker. Rini, you should be thankful that your brother was nice enough to drag you here instead of abandoning you in the street. And DJ, you should be a little more sympathetic about your sister's mood at a time like this. You know she hates storms. Now both of you suck it up and drop the subject. You're not children anymore, you're practically adults, so start acting like it."

DJ took a few steps back, his eyes going wide while Rini slowly began to inch away from the rampaging blonde.

"Wow! Someone's PMSing," the pink haired teen muttered.

DJ nodded. "Either that or mom's found a way to possess her past self. I swear she sounded just like her on one of her tirades. Freaky!"

"Excuse me!" Serena huffed. "Just what do you two mean by that?"

"They didn't mean anything," Darien said, shooting a stern look toward both of his future children that told them to behave themselves far better than any of Serena's words ever could. It was a look that they both knew well, and they both also knew that their father meant business so they clamped their mouths shut.

Darien led Serena back over to her seat and pushed her coffee back into her hand. He looked out the window and commented, "It looks like the worst of the rain has moved out."

"Good," Kunzite said, standing up. "I can't wait to get home and relax. I've been stuck in meetings since early this morning and need to unwind." He glanced at Mina. "Are you coming with me?"

She shrugged. "I suppose. I was going to do Serena's hair, but with the power being out…"

Serena waved a hand at her. "Go home with your man. I think I'm capable of washing my own hair. Don't worry about it."

"I guess we'll take our houseguests with us so they don't have to go back out in the rain," Kunzite told them, twirling a set of keys in his fingers. "I'm glad I drove today and that I own a SUV, otherwise some of those kids would be walking."

He frowned as he looked over to where his future daughter was snuggled up close to Alex's side, giggling at whatever he was whispering in her ear. "Emma! Let's go!"

"But I have plans to study with everyone," she protested.

"Then you'll just have to change them!" he fired back. "Now say your goodbyes. I want you, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah ready to leave in two minutes. Got it!"

Her face turned as hard as stone and her gray eyes shown angrily as she gave him a mock salute. "Yes sir, Mr. General sir!"

Kunzite felt his temper begin to simmer at her insubordinate attitude, but he couldn't help but feel a rush of pride. The girl may look and act a lot like her mother, but at times like this he saw himself reflected in the eyes that resembled his own so much. She had already shown that she was a fierce fighter and loyal to her friends and loved ones, definitely a daughter any man would be proud to claim as his own. He bit back a smile and kept his face impassive as he stalked away.

Mina shook her head. "He is so on edge," she whispered to Serena and Darien. "I think this Beryl thing has him more worked up than he wants to admit. I have honestly felt like I am walking on eggshells around him for the last couple of days."

Serena nodded. "Raye said the same thing about Jed when I talked to her earlier. It's to be expected, we're all stressed out right now. But we'll find a way through it."

"Damn!" Andrew muttered nearby as he flipped his cell phone shut. "I was trying to call Jess to check up on her, but she isn't answering her phone."

"Maybe she has it turned off or she's asleep," Serena said placatingly.

He disagreed. "No, she never turns her phone off, and even if she was asleep she'd hear it. A feather dropping would wake her up."

Mina rolled her eyes. "Relax, Drew. She's probably in the shower or something. I know I'd feel grungy after being stuck in bed sick like she has. Besides, can't you sense her and tell that she's okay?"

His forehead wrinkled in concentration. "We've been working on it. But you know it only works when both minds are completely open. She's always slipping off into her zone, especially when she's working, and that makes it almost impossible to communicate that way."

"I know what you mean," Serena commiserated. "I can always tell when Darien's really wrapped up when he's at work. His end of the link turns into a blank slate. But that's how I can always tell if he's going to be late coming home or not."

Darien tugged on a strand of her sticky hair. "Been spying on me, have you?"

She scrunched her nose up at him. "No! I just like to check up on you from time to time. And don't tell me you don't do the same to me. Do you know how annoying it is to sit in class sometimes and feel like you're looking over my shoulder? The least you could do is feed me some answers, especially in English, that's the class I have the most trouble with."

Darien swapped from Japanese to English. "Come on, Sere. English isn't that hard to learn. It's not like you haven't been taking it since elementary school. I'm sure you've picked up on some of it by now."

"He has a point," DJ jumped in, also in English. "It's a lot easier to learn English than Japanese."

"Anything's better than learning French," Katie piped up. "That's one class that I wish I could drop."

"Arghh!" Serena groaned covering her ears. "Too much English! Jess does the same thing every time I complain about taking it. And she's ten times worse because she speaks it like a native born American since she lived in California for so long. It makes my head spin."

Andrew chuckled. "She does have that effect. I like it when she gets frustrated and mixes the two languages together. I find it adorable."

"Gag!" Katie growled, miming sticking a finger down her throat and muttering under her breath about hormonal, embarrassing parents.

Andrew grinned slyly at her. "You know, if it wasn't for those hormonal parents you wouldn't be here."

Katie's mouth fell open in a silent "O" and her face turned as red as a cherry before she buried it in DJ's shoulder.

Andrew just laughed as he hit a button on his phone and held it to his ear. After several long seconds he sighed and hung it up. "She still isn't answering. I can't shake this feeling that something's wrong."

"I'm sure everything's fine…" Serena began, but her communicator beeping cut her off. She flicked it open to find Amy's concerned face.

"Serena," Amy started speaking rapidly. "My computer's picking up some strange readings over near…"

Andrew suddenly jumped like he had received an electrical shock. "I'm going to strangle her!" he exclaimed. He grabbed Serena's wrist to talk to Amy. "Were you about to say the university library?"

The blue haired woman nodded. "Yes. I'm getting a negative energy reading from there. I think it might be a youma attack."

His face hardened. "I swear she's a walking, talking danger magnet. She told me that she wasn't going to class today because she still didn't feel good."

Serena's head whipped up. "Wait a minute! Are you telling me that Jess is where the youma are?"

He gave a tight nod. "Yes! And considering she just transformed a few seconds ago I'd say that she's probably right in the thick of it." That got everyone's attention.

"Well what are we waiting for? We have to go help her!" Alex exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat.

"No!" Darien commanded. "We'll go take care of this. I want you kids to stay here and out of the way."

"No way!" the younger group chorused together.

"Yes way!" Serena snapped. "If Beryl's there we've faced her before. We don't need to be distracted by having you running around. Now stay put and we'll be back."

She sounded so much like Neo Queen Serenity that none of them could argue with her, but they were all seething at being left out of the action.

Serena turned her attention back to her communicator. "We're on our way Amy. Mina, Kunzite, and Andrew are here with us."

"Right!" Amy answered. "Zoicite and I will contact Lita, Nephrite, Raye, and Jed and meet you there. What about the outers?"

"We'll call them if we need them, but for now let's try to handle this on our own," Serena told her and then cut the connection.

"You two stay here!" Andrew ordered Alex and Katie. "It's bad enough that I've got to go chase your mother down without having to worry about you two."

"This bites!" Skye grumbled as she watched with narrowed eyes as Serena, Darien, Andrew, Mina, and Kunzite hurried out of the arcade. "They're acting like we're toddlers or something. I was itching to bash something."

DJ, Katie, and Alex's heads snapped up a few seconds later as a familiar tingling sensation raced down their spines.

"You just might get your wish, Skye," DJ said. "Did you two feel that?" Alex and Katie both nodded.

"Guardians and sentinels are nearby," Katie whispered,

Alex had whipped out his mini computer and was typing away. "There's quite a few of them, but they're not what's over by the college. This reading is coming from the shopping district."

Rini had finally snapped out of her stupor. "So Serena and the others are heading for one attack while another one is happening across town?"

"Looks that way," Alex confirmed. "It looks like Discord decided to launch two attacks at once."

"You know what that means, don't you?" Hannah asked quietly.

Jayden pounded a fist into his palm. "That means that we have to go take out the trash in the shopping district while we let the parents take care of the attack at the university."

Emma stood up, her henshin rod appearing in her hand. "Let's go!"

A few minutes later Lizzy pushed open the swinging doors from the kitchen and walked in with a tray full of cups. "Hey guys! We're lucky that the stove is gas. I was able to heat up some cocoa. Now who wants some?"

She looked around in bewilderment at the empty arcade. "Where did everybody go?"

* * *

Sailor Shadow looked up in shock at the last face she had expected to see. Jet black eyes twinkled at her from under a fringe of medium brown hair that had been tousled out of its usual sleek style. A long jagged scar ran down one side of his face.

"Talon!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I guess you could say my Spidey-senses have been tingling for the past couple of days. And I see my intuition was right. How the hell is Beryl here?"

She groaned. "It's kind of a long story. To put it simply, your old boss has resurfaced and decided to stir up a little trouble."

"Ooo, fun!" he intoned sarcastically. "What is it about you that makes trouble seem to want to follow you wherever you go?"

She slapped at his arm. "If you came here to be a jackass you can just go on back home. Now put me down."

He eyed her dubiously, but set her carefully on her feet. "Whatever you say. But it wouldn't kill you to show a little gratitude every now and then when someone saves your life."

She rolled her dark blue eyes at him. "I am grateful, and I'll be sure to tell you how much I am later. But right now I'm so pissed that I can't see straight."

"That probably has more to do with the fact that you're still sick than it does with you being mad," a low, angry voice growled behind her. Her face paled even more than it already was at the sound. She had been so wrapped up in hoping that her head wasn't about to spin off her shoulders that she hadn't felt him arrive. She put on her best innocent expression and looked over her shoulder. "Hi, honey!"

Andrew's hard expression didn't show any sign of softening. He stood with his legs wide and his arms folded across his chest. His long black coat flapped in the wet wind. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, but Shadow had no doubt that the hazel eyes behind them were glaring at her. Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Venus, and Kunzite all took a step away from the fuming man.

"Don't you 'hi honey' me!" he bit out harshly. "What in the hell are you doing here? You told me that you were staying put at the apartment today to try and get over the last of that cold. Instead I find you out here running around in the rain. Have you completely lost your mind?"

She stomped up to him and poked him in the chest with a gloved finger. "Don't you go getting all macho on me, you insensitive jerk! I had some business that I needed to take care of. The last time I checked that wasn't a criminal offense. I happen to be a big girl and I can take care of myself!"

It wasn't often that Andrew lost his temper, but when he did he could match his fiancé any day of the week when it came to angry sarcasm. "Rigghht! So that's why your voice was screaming in my head for help a few minutes ago like a lost little girl. Go try that line on someone else, sweetheart, because I'm not buying it."

Sailor Shadow's face flamed red. "Why you…"

"Uh, lovebirds?" Talon interrupted. "Do you two mind saving the bitch session for later? Right now I believe we have more important things to take care of."

He turned to Beryl, who was looking at him as if she had just seen a ghost. "Hello, darling! Did you miss me?"

"You!" she hissed. "You rotten, lying, faithless bastard! How dare you have the nerve to show yourself in front of me!"

A twisted smirk curled up Talon's lips as he surveyed his former lover from a thousand years ago. "Aww, don't be like that. And you're one to talk about lying and being faithless. Don't try and pretend that you weren't planning to screw me over. I know exactly how that warped, twisted brain of yours works. You were only going to keep me around until you stole the Silver Crystal. Then your plans were to kill Serenity and take Endymion for yourself as your king in my stead."

"Like you weren't planning to betray me!" Beryl screeched. "You became obsessed with that little half lunarian brat and her crystal and thought that you could become more powerful than me. I wasn't going to sit around and wait to be slaughtered in my sleep, so I went to Metallia for help."

Talon chuckled. "And that worked out so well for you, didn't it? You end up being sealed away for a thousand years only to wind up getting your ass kicked when you finally broke free. If it didn't work the first time, what made you think you could pull it off the second time?"

"Shut up!" she screamed at him. "I had the power of Queen Metallia behind me. I may have made a slight miscalculation about how much power Princess Serenity's reincarnation would have, but I won't make that mistake again. This time I will succeed in taking the Silver Crystal, and then the planet will be mine."

"You're deluding yourself!" Talon snorted. "I know exactly who you are working for now, and trust me, he has his own plans for this planet. He's just using you until he gets what he wants, and then you'll be disposable, just like your brother was."

"Bastian was a fool!" Beryl scoffed.

"I won't argue with you there," Talon agreed. "He definitely wasn't the brightest light bulb in the bunch, but for all of his evil ways he was loyal to Discord for over a millennium. And he paid for that mistake with his life. Luckily I came to my senses before I made the same mistake."

"So now you're working with the ones that used to be your enemies," Beryl sneered. "How noble of you. I've never known you to out of your way to rescue someone else from death, but you didn't think twice about snatching up that silly little scout a few minutes ago. Has the mighty Talon gone soft over the years, or is there something special about this girl? Hmm, could it be that you have feelings for her?"

His jaw tightened at the implication. "She's just a friend."

Beryl threw back her head and laughed. "Just a friend! The Talon I knew would never have said that about a woman. You thought you were so sneaky, but I knew how many other women you were sleeping with besides me. Women were nothing but a game for you."

"Yeah, like she wasn't running around lifting her skirt for every man she came across," Kunzite snickered in the background.

Beryl's reddish brown eyes snapped to him. "Why Kunzite, you know I only welcome quality men into my bed. You could have had your chance many times, but no amount of brainwashing could cure you of your Aphrodite complex."

Venus took a stance in front of him. "Well that just goes to show which of us is the better woman, doesn't it?"

"Please!" Beryl scoffed. "Venusians are nothing more than pretty faces with fluff between their ears instead of brains. They're hardly a step up from common whores in my opinion."

An angry sound unlike any ever heard tore out of Venus's throat. Her fingers curled into claws as she prepared to spring at the witch. Before she had a chance to act, Kunzite grabbed her by the arm and swung her toward Sailor Moon.

In just two long strides the platinum haired general was in front of the woman that had ruined his life and caused the death of his beloved twice. He clenched one hand in her snarled red hair and wrenched her head back. A blade of pure, light purple energy appeared in his other hand and he held it to her throat.

As the commander of the Earth's military during the Silver Millennium, Kunzite had earned a reputation for being the hardest man on the planet. He had never been unfair or cruel, but he had delivered justice with deadly accuracy, earning him the nickname 'Iron Fist'.

It was that man that now looked down at the woman in his grip. Not a shred of sympathy for her shown in his eyes. His voice was low and cold. "I have never, under my own free will, harmed a woman in my life. But you are not a woman. You are nothing but an evil, twisted bitch, lower than the lowest parasite that has ever existed in the history of the world. Killing you may go against every value that was ever instilled in me, but if you think for one second that I would ever stand by and let you insult the woman that I love in such a manner, then you have another thing coming."

Beryl glared up at him hatefully. A line of black blood was beginning to ooze down her neck from where his blade had already cut her skin. "Go ahead, Kunzite. If you think you have the balls to kill me, then by all means do it. There was a reason why I chose you to be my head general. I've seen into every part of your mind. I know how the bloodlust excites you. You always lived for the battle because you relished in the killing. It's who you are. So do it, my pet. Cut me down and show your precious Minako exactly what a monster you are. You try to act respectable, but you're not as different from me as you think."

Kunzite hesitated at her words. Part of what she was saying was true. At one time he had been exactly what she was painting him to be. He had lived for his career and nothing else. He had taken pride in fighting to protect the kingdom he served and felt a thrill run through him every time he cut down one of the enemies that threatened it.

That had all changed when he and his comrades had followed Prince Endymion the night that he snuck up to the moon for Princess Serenity's sixteenth birthday ball. He had been trying to remain inconspicuous while keeping an eye on his liege when a sudden flurry of gold and orange had stumbled into him in the form of Princess Minako of Venus. He hadn't seen her since she had been a child, but as he had taken one look into her sparkling cornflower blue eyes, something changed. He had felt a flood of warmth and tenderness rush through him that was foreign and comforting at the same time.

Before he had known what he was doing, he had asked her to dance. And by the time he stood up next to her as witnesses at Endymion and Serenity's wedding, he had found himself falling in love with her.

Mina was Minako's reincarnation, and as such there were some differences between who she had been then and who she was now, but Kunzite wouldn't have her any other way. While she was still the leader of the sailor scouts, not having to deal with the pressures of court life had allowed her bubbly personality to flourish and mold her into who she was today. She'd had a calming effect on him and had taught him how to grab life by the horns and enjoy the ride.

His grip on the evil queen loosened and she smirked. "What's wrong, Kunzite? Don't tell me that you've gone soft on me too. Not my big, strong second in command. You were meant for better things than this mundane existence, Kunzite. Come back to me, and I'll give you the life you deserve."

He pushed her away from him so hard that she fell to the ground. Disgust was thick on his face and in his voice as he growled, "You despicable bitch! There is nothing in this universe that would make me willingly serve you. I'm perfectly happy with my life the way it is."

He turned to smile at his fiancé, who was being held in Sailor Moon's arms. "Mina, sweetheart, rip the bitch's head off and show her why the Venusian warriors were feared just as much as Mars and Jupiter's."

An almost sinister smile lit up Venus's face as her Love Chain appeared in her hands. "It would be my pleasure."

"I can't believe you've been turned into a whipped puppy," Beryl sneered as she got up off the ground. "You were always my favorite, Kunzite."

"That's funny, you used to say the same thing to me," an angry voice cut through the air.

Everyone turned to see that Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite had joined them. Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury were also with them.

Jadeite's blue eyes blazed as he raked them over Beryl. "Yep! You used to fill my ears with those same poisonous lies. What about you, Neph? Did she try to play you too?"

Nephrite nodded. "Oh yeah, she was always spouting some kind of bullshit. Zoi?"

The normally cool and collected general looked ready to burst. "I say we throw her to the scouts and enjoy the show."

"Works for me!" Jupiter and Mars said together gleefully, taking up fighting positions. Mercury remained quiet, but she joined her sister scouts with a look of fierce determination on her face.

Beryl waved her two youma forward. "Bring on your worst, scouts. I'm in need of energy, and I'm sure your energy is worth a lot more than these pathetic humans. In fact, I think I'll take all of your energy."

She clapped her hands together and a portal opened. Several more youma spilled out of it to surround the group.

Talon grinned at Sailor Shadow. "Now this is starting to get fun! I don't know about you, but I've been itching for a good fight."

She returned the grin. "You know me. I'm always ready to rumble."

"Oh no you don't!" Andrew exclaimed. "Your little upbeat act isn't fooling me. I can tell you're about two steps away from passing out. As soon as you see a chance I want you to get out of here."

She jerked away from him. "You must be out of your ever-loving mind! I have never run from a fight in my life, and I'm not about to start now."

"Serena, help me out here," he pleaded to Sailor Moon. "Tell her that she needs to go home and leave the rest of this to us."

Sailor Moon shook her head. "You're crazier than I ever gave you credit for if you think I'm getting in the middle of that argument. You know you can't change her mind once it's made up. Just keep an eye on her."

"That's enough talk!" Beryl exclaimed. "Take their energy, youma!"

Fighting exploded all around as the youma and the heroes shot into action, ducking and diving as bursts of energy, punches, and kicks flew through the air.

Beryl watched with clenched teeth as her enemies slowly but surely worked their way through her youma. She growled every time one of her minions burst into dust. On the plus side though, she was managing to get a little of their energy from them, but it was slow in coming. Each time one of her youma managed to grab one of them, one of their friends would either force it back or kill it.

Her eyes narrowed as they focused on Endymion. As much as she would love to have the generals back to serve her demands, their prince was far more intriguing to her. There had always been something about the ebony haired earth prince that had set her blood boiling and her heart racing. The short amount of time that she had him brainwashed and in her service had been nowhere near long enough to sate her hunger for him. The fact that he had proven to have just as strong a will as his generals and refused to touch her infuriated her beyond reasoning.

In a flash she teleported behind the battling man. She took a moment to admire the way his tuxedo clung to his body, clearly showing the movement of his muscles as he fought one of her youma. She ran her tongue over her fangs as she recalled the striking figure he made when he was dressed in his royal armor. If she could successfully make him hers, she would enjoy peeling every piece of it from his body.

A small, black crystal appeared in her hand and she smiled wickedly. Most of her old base had been completely destroyed, but when she had gone to explore it she'd found several items that could still be useful. This crystal would completely zap his energy and make it possible for her to transport him without a fight. Once she had him before Metallia, she was sure that they would be able to brainwash him once more. This time she would be sure to purge his mind completely and make sure that she erased every trace of Serenity's existence from his memories.

Tuxedo Mask grinned as he took out another youma with a well aimed, golden energy charged rose. As it crumbled to dust he took a quick look around to make sure everyone was okay. After assuring himself that everyone was still on his or her feet and not in any immediate danger, he focused his attention on locating Beryl, but the witch seemed to have vanished.

His senses suddenly screamed to life, alerting him to a presence behind him. Before he could turn around, he found himself trapped by a pair of boney looking, but unbelievably strong arms. He began to struggle, but froze when he felt something prick his neck.

"Well, well, Endymion," Beryl purred in his ear. "It looks like I finally have you where I want you."

"You bitch!" he ground out through his clenched teeth.

"Uh, uh, uh," she scolded him lightly. "It's not nice to talk to your future queen like that, my prince. The crystal I am holding to your neck has the power to suck out your energy to the point where you will be paralyzed. The moment I shove it under your skin, your life will belong to me. But just to show you that I'm not completely heartless, I will allow you one last look at the moon princess before she dies and I strip her from your mind forever."

She slid the sharply pointed crystal from his neck to right under his chin, and with a slight amount of pressure made him turn his head toward Sailor Moon where she was battling a youma.

"Darien!" he heard her scream as she quickly disposed of the youma and began to run toward him. Her piercing cry got everyone's attention, but they were wrapped up with their battles.

"Oh screw this! I've had enough of this shit!" Sailor Shadow growled when she caught sight of the situation. She knelt down and placed her hands on the ground as they began glowing blue. The Earth trembled beneath her for a moment as she called forth a sizable amount of energy from the Celestial Crystal and sent it into the earth in a rushing blast. All of the youma disintegrated as she slumped to the ground, completely spent and exhausted.

Tuxedo Mask had felt the surge in his planet a moment before the blast and had prepared himself to make his move. In the second that Beryl was distracted by the bright blue light he jerked his head away from the pointed crystal and pushed out with the energy of the Golden Crystal, breaking him free from her grip and sending her stumbling away from him.

Her shriek of outrage rang through the air and her eyes gleamed maniacally as she watched Sailor Moon rush to Tuxedo Mask's side. "So, Endymion, I see that you have indeed reclaimed your past powers since the last time we met. But no matter, I will find a way around that."

Then she turned to Sailor Shadow where she was sitting on the ground in Andrew's arms and Talon hovering worriedly over her. Her lips twisted in disgust. "And I finally figured out the mystery about you. You're that horrible, filthy little half breed brat that Serenity gave birth to."

Sailor Shadow turned a glare on Beryl that would have sent most people fleeing in fear for their lives. "What did you just call me? I know I did not just hear you go there and start insulting my heredity because you don't have a lot of room to talk. Who were your parents, Ichabod Crane and the Wicked Witch of the West? Gotta be, because you're flat out the ugliest, toothpick looking bitch that I've ever had the misfortune to come across."

"Oh boy, here we go," Andrew muttered as he sat back with a sigh. Jess might be physically exhausted, but nobody could stop her voice when she was good and riled, and Beryl had seriously pissed her off.

Talon watched with a gleeful grin. He had been on the receiving end of Beryl's sharp tongue many, many times in the past, and he was ecstatic to finally get a chance to see her get taken down a peg or two by someone else,

"Whoo hoo, you tell her, girlfriend!" Jadeite cheered, sidestepping the predictable elbow that Mars sent for his ribs.

"Don't encourage her!" she hissed at him.

"Aww, why not?" Jupiter drawled. "This could get good."

Nephrite nodded. "I bet she'll have Beryl pulling her hair out inside two minutes."

"I would have brought popcorn if I had known there was going to be a show," Venus pouted.

"Help me up!" Sailor Shadow demanded, holding out her hands to her fiancé. When he just rolled his eyes at her, she turned to Talon who quickly took her hands and pulled her gently to her feet.

"Go get her!" he whispered to her once he was sure she was steady and wasn't in any danger of falling.

Her steps were slow and measured as she walked forward, but there was no fatigue showing on her face, only anger, and her voice was strong and true. "Let's get one thing straight right now. You don't come down here throwing your weight around and acting like you're such hot shit unless you've got a way to back up your claims. You've been walking around like you're the freaking queen of the universe or something, but I haven't seen a damn thing to prove to me that you're anything more than a desperate woman that has to resort to trying to stealing other women's men because you've got such a shitty personality that no decent man would ever look at you twice. But just so we don't have any confusion between us, every man here is spoken for, so you can sashay your scrawny little ass on someplace else. Because I promise you, if you insist on trying to sink your poorly manicured claws into our guys you're going to have me and my girls to deal with, and you don't want to see us when we're angry."

Sailor Moon grew concerned when she saw a vein throbbing in Beryl's neck and a tick form near her eye. "Uh, Shadow, I think you've said enough. Maybe you should start backing off."

Sailor Shadow shot her a look that clearly said she must be nuts. "Oh hell no! I finally get a chance to take my frustrations out on the woman that thought it would be fun to stick a sword through my heart a thousand years ago and you think I'm going to back down? Not a chance! I'm just getting warmed up good."

"Oh for the love of god! Somebody make her stop!" Beryl screeched. "I thought that strange girl Discord has working for him had a big mouth, but this one's ten times worse."

"Time!" Nephrite called out.

"A minute and twenty two seconds!" Jadeite crowed as he looked at his watch. "You were right, Neph, less than two minutes."

"Idiots!" Mars growled.

Beryl looked like she was gearing up to go on a rampage herself, but she surprised everyone when she simply opened a portal and stepped through.

"I got what I came for. The next time we meet won't end quite so pleasantly. Enjoy your reprieve, because it won't last," her voice echoed around them. "I have a little surprise coming that I'm sure will get your attention."

Sailor Moon shivered at the dark queen's ominous words and stepped closer to Tuxedo Mask. "Darien, what do you think she meant by that?"

He shrugged. "Beats me! You can never know what to expect from her."

"She's probably just talking out her ass." Sailor Shadow spat.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Talon said somberly. "Sure Beryl has a high opinion of herself, but she wouldn't throw out a threat like that unless she has something planned."

"Then we all need to stay on our toes," Kunzite ground out. "I know it's impossible for everybody to stay together all the time because of our schedules, but everyone needs to make sure they carry their communicators with them at all times in case they run into any trouble."

"Did you catch that?" Andrew asked mockingly as he tapped his fiancé's unadorned wrist.

"So sue me!" she huffed. "This is the first time I've ever forgotten it so you don't have to be so cynical. But I'm worried about the kids. It's no secret that Discord's after them, but what if he sics Beryl on them too?"

Talon looked confused. "Kids? What kids?"

Shadow waved a hand in the air. "It's a reeaallly long story. Why don't you come over to the apartment and we'll fill you in. Not to sound like I'm whining or anything, but I'm way beyond tired and would like to sit down and put my feet up."

Sailor Mercury had pulled her computer out and had flipped her visor down. She seemed to be scanning something off in the distance as she sighed. "You might want to stay put for just a second, I think we have some company about to join us."

Almost before the words left her mouth there was a series of crashes in the nearby trees as two panther sentinels appeared followed by several running figures.

There was a burst of light as the girl in the black-skirted fuku that was in the lead shot ropes of silver energy at the cats. She screamed in frustration when they managed to leap out of the way. "Damn it all to hell! Can't those bastards stay still for one freaking second?"

Two figures in all black blew by her as she stopped and stomped her foot in anger. One of them laughed over his shoulder at her. "I think you're losing your touch, sis!"

"Bite me!" she shrieked back at him.

"Whoa! That's freaky!" Talon muttered to Sailor Shadow. "If I closed my eyes I could have sworn that was you screaming like a banshee. Is she related to you?"

Shadow's blue eyes twinkled. "You could say that. Like I said, I have a long story to tell you."

He nodded. "Obviously. I recognize Rini, of course, but the others are a mystery. I see resemblances between…" his head whipped back and forth between Tuxedo Mask and Phantom. "No way! Are you serious?"

"Just watch," she told him, and he stood back and watched as the younger group of fighters made quick work of the panthers and then whooped in victory when they were nothing more than two piles of dust on the ground.

"Wow! They're good!" Talon whispered in awe. "Discord must have finally worked out the kinks in his plans for developing mutant hybrids, and I know for a fact that they're not easy to beat."

"That doesn't change the fact that they were told to stay put at the arcade," Tuxedo Mask growled.

Kunzite gave a tight nod. "There's no rule that says we can't ground them, is there?"

Andrew snorted. "I don't care if there is, I'm tempted to do it anyway." Then he directed a hard look at his fiancé. "And you! I'm tempted to tie you up or something."

Sailor Shadow may have been tired, but she couldn't help giving him a saucy grin. "Ooo, baby! I didn't know you had such a kinky side to you. Sounds like it could be fun."

Sailor Venus nudged her in the side, "Oh it is, especially when the roles are reversed." She tightened her grip on her Love Chain that was still in her hands. "I could give you some pointers if you're interested."

"Eww!" a loud chorus of protests rose from both the younger crowd and a few of the older ones as well.

The blonde scout blinked innocently. "What did I say? It's my job to give out love advice."

"That's not love advice, that's perversion, Mina! How many times do we have to tell you that nobody wants to hear what you do behind closed doors?" Mars shrieked. "And wipe that grin off your face, Kunzite. We all know that you're just as sick and twisted as she is."

Ishtar moaned and buried her hot face in Phoenix's neck. "Somebody please make the mental images stop! I'm scarred for life!"

"I wouldn't mind hearing some of it," Callista said slyly, and then broke off into a stream of curses as Jupiter smacked the back of her head.

Phantom leaned close to Eclipse and whispered in her ear. "I think I've heard enough of this, how about you?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yeah, let's get out of here. I'm getting seriously creeped out."

"Hey! Where are you two going?" Sailor Moon called after them as they began walking away.

"We're going back to the arcade to get our books and then going home," Phantom tossed over his shoulder. "I don't think my stomach can handle any more of this conversation."

The two of them ducked into the trees. After making sure they were alone they let their transformations fade back into their civilian forms.

Katie giggled as DJ snaked his arms around her waist and jerked her hard against his chest before taking her lips in a hard, demanding kiss that sent her head spinning and her pulse rocketing.

"Wow!" she whispered breathlessly through reddened, slightly swollen lips when they finally had to break for air. "What was that for?"

He dipped his head to nuzzle at the soft skin of her neck. "You look so beautiful. Your face is flushed from fighting and your eyes are so bright and alive. I just couldn't help myself."

She let out a little squeak as his teeth nipped at her earlobe. "DJ!"

He raised his head to grin at her. He brushed his lips lightly across hers a few times until she moaned and sank her fingers into his thick hair, pulling him even closer as her mouth opened to his.

He went a little crazy for a moment when he heard her moan and spun them around so that her back was against a tree while he pressed every inch of his body against hers. Time seemed to stop as he proceeded to kiss the blonde with everything he had, pouring every ounce of emotion he had for her into that kiss.

Common sense began to slowly trickle back into his brain again as he felt her fingers trail down his throat where she began to feverishly unknot his school tie, her breathy little moans where mixing with the ragged gasps coming from his own throat. He jumped when she managed to undo the first few buttons of his shirt and her nails trailed over the exposed skin.

This was getting way out of control. They were out here hiding in the trees with at least twenty people not more than two hundred yards away. They could be found out any minute.

It was hard to do, but he pulled away from her tempting lips, dragging in deep breaths as he tried to cool his boiling blood.

Katie suddenly looked ashamed as she panted for breath. "I'm so sorry, DJ. I didn't mean to throw myself at you like that."

She looked so cute that he couldn't help but chuckle. "What are you apologizing for? I'm the one that started it."

She shook her head and began trying to straighten his shirt and tie with clumsy fingers. "Yeah, but you weren't trying to rip my clothes off."

He smirked at her. "Wasn't I?"

It was then that she realized that his hands were on her hips where her skirt was bunched up until it was almost as if she wasn't even wearing it. A few of his fingers brushed her extreme upper thighs.

"O…oh!" she stammered, blushing red all the way to the roots of her hair.

It was all he could do to keep from pulling her back to him and continuing where they had left off, but he was trying to be mature about this. True he was a normal, hormonal teenage boy, but he knew he had something special with the nymph in his arms and didn't want to risk screwing it up. He wanted to be with her forever, so they had plenty of time to explore other aspects of their relationship.

'_But what if you don't?' _A voice whispered inside his head. _'What if tomorrow the whole world comes crumbling down around you and you lose her forever? Won't you wish that you had taken the opportunity, just once, to know her like no other?'_

Of course he would, but he refused to let himself think of that possibility. He may have inherited more of his father's stoic cynicism than his mother's cheerful optimism, but he had a bright hope burning inside of him, hope that they were going to defeat the evil that was threatening them and reclaim their lives. He wasn't sure exactly what their futures held for them, but he was certain about one thing, one day he was going to marry the girl in his arms and make her his princess.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to step away from her. He gently let her skirt fall back into place and smiled tenderly at her as he swept a few loose hairs away from her flushed cheeks. "I love you," he told her softly.

Her luminescent hazel eyes shone brightly at his words. "I love you too," she replied just as softly.

He quickly straightened his shirt and tie before taking her hand in his and pulling her slowly behind him. "Come on! Let's get back to the arcade. Maybe the power's back on by now and your Aunt Liz can whip us up a snack. Then I say we knock out what little bit of homework we have and just chill for the rest of the night. Maybe we'll watch a movie. I'll even let you pick it out. How's that sound?"

Katie heard him, but her attention was focused on something else. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, and by more than one person. She glanced over her shoulder as a familiar female voice echoed in her head.

'_The mistakes of the past are determined to be repeated, but history can be rewritten. Hold those that are dear to you close to your heart, or run the risk of losing them forever. Love can bring the greatest joy, but also the greatest sorrow. Lovers can become enemies and brothers can turn on one another_. _When the bonds that hold kindred spirits together fall apart, people die. Remember that.'_

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" DJ's voice broke into her thoughts.

She gave herself a shake and stepped closer to him, wrapping both of her arms around his. "Yeah. A movie. That sounds like fun."

He frowned when he felt a shiver run through her. "Are you okay?"

She fixed a smile on her face. "I'm fine! Now let's go get something to eat. I'm starved!"

He had a feeling she was keeping something from him, but decided not to press the issue. He looked back in the direction they had come from, and for a second thought he saw a black figure watching them from one of the trees. But he blinked and it was gone.

He shrugged it off, thinking he must have imagined it and turned his attention back to his girlfriend with a smile. He gave into temptation and placed a quick kiss on her button nose, laughing when she scrunched it up. "Come on, Tinkerbell, let's get some food in us."

* * *

The sun was a glowing ball of flaming red orange as it sank behind the horizon, signaling the end of another day. The teenage boy's blue eyes watched as it disappeared with a content smile on his face. He leaned his cheek against the blonde head nestled on his shoulder.

"I love you," Emma whispered softly as she watched the sunset with him. "It's nice that the rain went away in time for the sun to say goodbye."

"Hey," Alex said as raised his head up and put a couple of fingers beneath her chin to lift her face so he could see her. "What's with the gloomy sounding voice? It's not like you to sound so melancholy."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I keep having this funny feeling, like something bad is going to happen. It's like a rock sitting in my stomach and it won't go away. Sometimes I get so scared that I feel like I'm choking."

Alex put his arms around her and held her tight. "You've got nothing to be afraid of. We're going to kick Discord's ass and then we're going home. It's that simple."

She jerked away from him angrily. "What if it's not that simple, Alex. I can only help you so far in this fight. Then it's up to you, your sister, and DJ. So many things could go wrong. Somebody could get hurt…or even die. I don't know how I would be able to go on if something happened to you."

He brushed his lips gently across hers. "You would find a way to carry on. You may not think so, but you are one of the strongest women I know. Even if I were to die in this fight, I have no doubt that you would pick yourself up and continue your life. That's what I'd want you to do."

She sniffled as her eyes went bright with tears. "You would?"

"Sure I would," he told her. "I wouldn't want you to be miserable for the rest of your life just because I wasn't around. I would hope that someday you would find someone else to love, get married, and have that houseful of kids you said you wanted. My afterlife would be pretty shitty if I knew you were alone."

"Oh, Alex!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest as her tears broke free. "I may find a way to go on living, but I would never be able to love anyone but you. You are my soul mate and the only person I would ever marry."

He chuckled. "Then it's a good thing that I'm not planning on going anywhere, isn't it?"

She looked up at him. "You can't guarantee that."

He shrugged. "Maybe not, but I think my odds are pretty good. Kat, DJ, and I make a great team. I sincerely believe that once we've proven ourselves to Apollo and the others and we get the power of the Trinity that Discord will be history. Then we'll move on together."

"I sure hope so," she sighed. She pulled a chain out from under her shirt that she wore around her neck. Dangling from it was a dainty topaz ring with a platinum band. "I can't wait until I can wear this where everyone can see it. I know that everyone will complain that we're too young to think about marriage, but I want them to know that I love you and I want to be with you. Even though I know I'd have to listen to Skye teasing me about robbing the cradle because of our age difference."

Alex quirked an eyebrow. "You're only a year and a half older than me."

"You know it doesn't bother me," she hastily reassured him. "But in another month I'll be eighteen and you'll still be sixteen until November. Some people have a way of making it sound bad."

"They'll just have to get over it," he said with a grin as he unlatched the chain from around her neck and slid the ring he had given to her the past Christmas onto her ring finger. "I want you to wear it when it's just us. It's our symbol of love and what we want for our future and it belongs on your finger."

She nodded happily and wound her arms around his neck before kissing him deeply. He responded immediately and returned the kiss with as much enthusiasm as her as he leaned her back until she was lying on the ground with him hovering over her.

He broke the kiss and glanced wryly around at the deserted rooftop of the high school they were on. "This isn't exactly the most romantic of places."

She smirked up at him as she began to slide his school blazer from his shoulders. "It doesn't matter where we are. Anyplace I can be with you is romantic enough for me."

He smiled at her as he stroked his hand from her cheek to her neck. "What time did your dad say you had to be back?"

She grabbed his wrist to look at his watch. "Um, in an hour."

He shook his jacket the rest of the way off. "Too bad it isn't longer," he murmured as he laid his weight on top of her and claimed her lips hungrily.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

"How much longer is it going to take? This has been going on for hours," Beryl complained for what felt like the hundredth time.

Katie snickered from where she was sitting on the misty ground. "What's the matter, Beryl, you got ants in your pants or something?"

The red haired woman spun angrily. "I wasn't speaking to you, you ignorant little wench! I don't see why you are looking so smug. Your mission today was an utter failure. At least I managed to collect the energy that I needed."

The mission wasn't a failure in Katie's eyes. It had gone off without a hitch. She had set the youma loose in a shopping center that was a decent distance away from the college without being too far away and waited. In what seemed like only a matter of minutes her past self had shown up with the rest of her friends. She had been thrilled to see them all together because that just strengthened the excuse of there being too many of them for her to face when she reported back to Discord.

She had remained hidden and watched as they plowed through her forces with just a moderate amount of effort. The rest had worked out without any interference from her. When there were only two sentinels left they ran away in fear and headed straight in the direction of the university. She had followed at a discreet distance and watched from the trees as the sentinels were destroyed and the younger group joined up with the older group.

She had been about to leave when she saw her and DJ's past selves walk away from the group. Curiosity got the better of her and she had hidden up in the branches as the two of them had drawn near. This was an event that had never taken place in her memories, and she watched in fascination.

She had almost fallen from her perch a few minutes later when she and DJ had practically jumped one another. Even now she remembered how hot her face had gotten as she saw how aggressive her past self had gotten with the prince. It had stirred up memories of the past she remembered and how she had crawled into his bed that one night and the clothes had flown in every direction.

It had been about that time when she'd felt another presence that had sent her straight into a panic. It had been very faint, but she had felt her DJ nearby. Cursing herself for her lapse in blocking their link, she'd clenched her eyes shut. If she didn't see him, she didn't have to attack him.

Below her she heard the teens compose themselves and move away. Mad at herself for her slip and furious with her prince for coming back to this time after she told him not to, she mentally connected with her past self and sent her a cryptic message. She may not be able to stop some events that were fated to take place, but she had to scare the girl into staying out of her way so she could do what she had to do to change the past.

She'd felt that slight brush of golden aura again and teleported back to the time gate where Beryl had been in the process of handing over the energy she had gathered. Now here she was a few hours later, waiting to see the results of what had been a long, drawn out ordeal.

"It is time," Discord said from where he stood in front of a giant, crackling ball of energy. "Queen Metallia, your new body awaits."

"At last!" the cloud of mist hissed as is slowly sank into the shimmering orb and disappeared. Everyone waited with baited breath for several long seconds until the energy ball seemed to collapse in on itself and vanished in a puff of thick smoke.

Katie waved a hand in front of face to try to clear the air so she could breath. As the haziness began to fade she looked up to see Discord and Beryl still standing where they had been, but now there was a third person standing with them.

As the last of the smoke disappeared, the newcomer's features came sharply into focus, wringing a sharp cry from to blonde woman as she jumped to her feet. "Holy shit! There is no freaking way I'm seeing this! I have got to be dreaming!"

Discord chuckled. "I assure you that you are not dreaming." Then he spoke to Metallia. "Now remember, this body is just a replica of the original. You will still have to take in energy to sustain it or it will begin to weaken and fall apart."

Metallia leaned over the river of time to study her new reflection. She turned her head in all directions and looked at her countenance from several different directions before a twisted smile appeared on her face. "Yes, I believe this will do quite well. Please accept my thanks for doing such a wonderful job, my lord."

He inclined his head to her. "You're welcome. Now what are your plans?"

A positively evil expression lit up her features. "Now I will go after my enemies. The people of the moon will pay for the atrocities that they committed against me. I just need to pick out my first target."

She swirled her fingers through the streams of time until she settled on the vision of a young man and woman that were walking through a park together hand in hand. "Ah yes, these two will do fine."

Katie gasped when she saw who her intended victims were. "You can't! Not them!"

"Do not question Queen Metallia's authority!" Beryl barked.

The newly corporeal queen turned cold, chilling eyes that held no feeling whatsoever on her. "Yes, them. They fit in quite well with my plans. This should get the moon princess's attention."

Katie sat back down for a minute chewing nervously on her thumbnail as she listened to Metallia and Beryl formulating their plan while Discord watched over them with an amused smile on his face.

She finally reached the point where she thought she was going to snap. The strange mixture of power within her made her feel like she was going to self-destruct at any second. It took everything she had to keep it under control and not start blasting the hell out of all of them.

She forced herself to stand up slowly and say in an even voice. "I'll be back soon. I need to return to my own time for a little bit."

Discord's eyes narrowed on her, but he nodded his consent. "Don't be gone too long. I may have use of you."

She inclined her head before opening a portal and stepping through. She returned to her proper time, but instead of transporting herself to Discord's compound that she had called home for the last fifteen years, she arrived in her secret hideaway.

Her silent prayers were answered when she saw DJ sitting on the ground with his back against a tree. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep, but within seconds of her arrival they opened and he smiled at her.

"I was hoping you might show up here," he said as he stretched his arms over his head. "That was quite a little show our past selves put on earlier, wasn't it?"

She didn't say anything. She just stood there silently staring down at her feet. She heard a rustling sound as he got up, and then she saw his black booted feet enter her line of sight as her vision began to swim with tears.

A hand found its way under her chin and lifted her head up. "Kat? Baby, what's wrong?"

"Everything!" she cried as she threw herself into his arms. "Anything and everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong."

His fingers trailed up and down her back in a soothing motion. "Hey! Whatever's wrong, we'll find a way around it."

She shook her head adamantly. "I don't think we can this time. You won't believe what that bastard has done. I think we may be royally screwed!"

**A/N **Oooo! What's going to happen next? Mwahahaha! You'll just have to wait and see. Metallia now has a body, and something about it freaked future Kat out bad enough to send her running to DJ. And who's the unlucky duo that Queen Bitch has set her sights on? Whoever they are, it sounds like it could be a major blow for Serena. And Talon made an appearance, yay! I'm not planning on him being a major player in this, but that could change at any time depending on my muse. I just felt like bringing him in a little since him and Beryl were an item in the past and they were both there on the last day of the moon kingdom. And if anyone's wondering about his and Anya's relationship, it will be answered in the next chapter. And we got a little peek into Pluto's life as well. Okay, enough rambling from me. I hope you all enjoyed this update as much as I had fun writing it. Don't forget to drop me a line and tell me what you think. Your reviews are what keep me going. See ya next time! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	17. Drama With a Side of Heat

**A/N **Sorry about the long wait everyone. Work has been extremely hectic lately and I've got family in town visiting on top of that, so it's seriously cutting into my writing time. But I think I've tired everybody out with sightseeing and they're sleeping now, so I'm taking the opportunity to put the finishing touches on this chapter and post it while I have the time. Thank goodness I'm a nightowl, or this chapter may have sat on my flash drive for a while. I apologize in advance if any of the editing seems way sloppier than normal. My family has me completely frazzled and I admit that I've had a few drinks. That's probably not the best thing when trying to proofread, but oh well. Anyway, let me give out my hugs to you wonderful reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

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**MeganLeBlanc**

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Thanks bunches you guys! Your words always mean so much to me. And to those of you that are reading my season rewrites, I can't make any promises but I hope to update Rekindled really soon. I also want to thank all of you that have made Chapter 1 of Lunar Princess's prequel, When Bad Boys Go Good such a success. I never thought that it would be received so well. That story may be slower in updating, but I will get it updated as quickly as I can. Okay, that's enough out of me. This is a nice long chapter for you here. I hope you all like it.

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 15

Drama With a Side of Heat

"What!" three feminine voices squealed at the same time while a fourth deeper, masculine voice chuckled.

The three men congregated in the kitchen cringed at the window shattering sound and then rolled their eyes at one another.

Kunzite tossed back his drink in one gulp. "I swear they get louder with every passing year. Do you think they'll ever outgrow it?"

Darien shook his head. "Just be glad you weren't around back during their middle school days. I think my eardrums were permanently damaged during that time frame."

"Ha!" Andrew snorted. "I think Kunzite would agree with me that the high school days were pretty loud. You got to escape most of that torture by either being dead or away at college."

Darien snickered at him. "Could you imagine what it would have been like if Jess had been around back then?"

Andrew groaned. "As much as I love that woman, I have to say that I'm glad I didn't meet her until later. I don't think my nerves could have handled it."

Right on cue another round of squeals came from the living room, making all three of them jump in surprise. Then there was the sound of stomping footsteps as Katie barged into the kitchen.

"Honestly!" she fumed. "Those three are such blondes! Do they have to shriek like idiotic fangirls just because stupid Talon knocked up his wife? They act like he's the first man in history to impregnate a woman. Geez! Any man can father a baby!"

Just then Serena blew into the kitchen in a whirlwind of golden hair. She skidded to a stop in front of Darien, bouncing excitedly. "You're not going to believe this, but Talon's going to be a daddy! Isn't that amazing!"

Darien looked dumbfounded. "Uh, yeah…amazing," but he was already speaking to her back as she spun and dashed back toward the living room where the excited buzzing increased in pitch once more.

"See what I mean?" Katie commented snidely as she threw open the refrigerator, pulled out a can of cherry coke and popped the lid.

Andrew eyed her warily as he stirred the sauce he was making. "I'd be careful drinking those if I were you. Those belong to Jess and she flips if we run out."

Katie jerked her chin stubbornly. "That's just too bad! It's what she gets for giving me a migraine with her, Serena, and Mina's squawking. I could barely concentrate on my homework for all of the noise. DJ almost had to yell to explain the math to me so I could hear over them."

DJ appeared in the door with a confused expression his face. "Did I miss something? Serena almost ran me over in the hall and now she, Jess, and Mina are about to clobber Talon to death. The poor guy looks like he could use some help, but I'm not about to go in there."

"Smart decision," Darien commended him as he took a sip of his drink.

"I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid enough to get in the middle of that," DJ replied as he plucked the can from Katie's fingers. "What's got them so worked up anyway?"

"Hey," Katie protested as he took a long slurp from her drink. "If you must know, Mr. Genius, evidently Talon and Anya did the deed one too many times and now they've got a little bundle of joy heading their way."

DJ almost spewed cola everywhere but managed to choke it down. He went into a coughing fit while the other three men's jaws dropped at her blunt assessment of the situation.

"But…how…what do you know about things like that?" Andrew sputtered.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Come off it, dad! I'm sixteen, not six. I know about the birds and the bees and where babies come from. I'm a sailor scout, not a nun for crying out loud! Come on, DJ. You promised we could watch a movie."

Andrew watched in silent shock as his future daughter hauled the teenage boy out of the room by the arm. It wasn't until he heard the front door open that his voice began to work again. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"Next door to watch a movie," Katie called back before shutting the door behind them.

Andrew ran an agitated hand through his hair. "The moment that girl is born I'm going to lock her up someplace until she's thirty. I bet my future self has a million gray hairs thanks to her."

Kunzite grunted and looked at the clock. "Well if you value your son at all, you better hope that he has my daughter back here in the next five minutes or there's going to hell to pay. I told Emma to be back by eight, and it's almost that time."

Almost as if his words had conjured them, the front door opened and in walked Alex and Emma. Andrew closed his eyes for a moment and said a silent prayer of thanks that at least one of his kids seemed to be responsible.

Jess's voice floated out from the living room, "Hey, baby, how's dinner coming? I'm starving!"

Predictably, Serena's voice joined hers. "Ooo! Did somebody say dinner? My stomach's so empty I think it's touching my backbone!"

Darien shook his head and chuckled. "And that, gentlemen, is the woman that will one day be queen."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The Far Future**_

DJ shifted his numb arm a little, trying to get at least some of the feeling to come back to it, but he didn't move too much for fear of waking the woman that was currently curled up asleep with her head on his shoulder and an arm flung across his chest.

He gritted his teeth to keep from groaning at the pins and needles sensation that erupted along his nerve endings, but he must have made some noise because the blonde head shifted and then rose to blink at him with hazy, tricolored eyes.

He chuckled. "Good evening, Tinkerbell."

"Huh?" Katie muttered in confusion. Then comprehension lit up her face. "Shit! What did you let me fall asleep for?" She sat up quickly and put some distance between them.

DJ sat up as well, rubbing his aching arm. "You cried yourself out and then fell asleep. You looked exhausted so I figured a short nap couldn't hurt."

Her face burned red as she remembered what had happened. Discord had granted Metallia a new body and now that bitch was plotting her revenge on Serena and the others. She had panicked because these events could change the timeline drastically and interfere with her own plans to set the future straight. In her panic she had escaped to her one safe place to discover DJ there waiting for her, and in a moment of weakness she had clung to him for comfort.

Embarrassment washed over her. She had fought so hard over the years to turn herself into a strong person and had prided herself on the fact that she didn't have to be dependant on other people in order to survive. But ever since her prince had recently started shoving his way back into her life, she found herself reverting back to her old self. She began craving the security of once more having someone stand at her back instead of having to keep watch over her shoulder.

It had been a hard fifteen years, but somehow she had made it this far. The determination to drag her brother back from death's clutches had ignited a fire in her that had driven her forward. It had been a long and gruesome battle, but it had been one that she'd thought she could win. Now she wasn't so sure about that.

She sighed and pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. They still burned and felt gritty from her earlier breakdown. "How long was I out?"

DJ checked his watch. "Not long, maybe an hour at the most. You still look tired, though. Why don't you lie back down and try to get some more rest?"

She shook her head and jumped to her feet. "I can't. I've already stayed here longer than I should have. I have to get back and see what's going on. Maybe I can find some way of throwing a wrench into Metallia and Beryl's scheme. I don't need them messing things up for me."

He got up off the ground and wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest. "I don't want to let you go, but I know you will go no matter what, so I won't even bother starting an argument with you about it. I just want you to promise me one thing."

She looked at him over her shoulder. "What's that?"

He kissed the tip of her nose. "I want you to promise me that you'll be careful. I know you keep saying that if Discord kills you for betraying him it's no big deal because time will reset and it will be like it never happened. But I can't help thinking about other possibilities. Like, what if something goes wrong and he still dies? I don't want to lose you too, not after all this time."

She smiled sadly at him and gently pulled herself from his arms. "I'm dead either way. If I can't keep Alex from dying, then I would still be bonded to Discord. If that happens I will attempt to kill the bastard myself. If I do he will probably still have the chance to terminate my life. All I can do is hope that I can injure him enough that he won't be far behind me."

DJ's look turned murderous. "So that's it? You've just reconciled yourself to dying no matter what? That's pretty effing selfish of you! You may not place a whole lot of value on your life, but a lot of other people do. Can you even begin to imagine the emotional chaos that happened when you left? Your parents were a mess. They lost both of their kids in the span of just a few days. Everyone thought you were dead! Your dad almost had a nervous breakdown, but he forced himself to keep it together for your mom's sake. She was so screwed up that my dad had to keep her sedated for weeks to keep her from blowing up the planet and taking everyone with it."

Katie opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as he raised a silencing hand.

"Oh no, hear me out here. I'm just getting warmed up," he told her harshly. "I guess I should have hunted you down years ago and told you all of this. Maybe then you would be more sympathetic to all of the trouble you caused. Let's see, Emma was in just as bad of shape as your mom. There for a while we wondered if she would ever recover. She tried to kill herself twice, but luckily she was kept under such close watch that neither attempt worked. Here's another little tidbit for you. Did you know that your brother had proposed to her? Yeah, she's got a ring and everything. And don't even get me started on my mother and her hysterics. She always thought of you and Alex as her adopted children, so it hit her really hard."

Katie shook her head violently and clamped her hands over her ears. "Stop it! Just stop it, okay! I knew that my leaving on top of Alex's death would hurt people, but I did what I felt like I had to do at the time. You don't have to be such a sanctimonious bastard and rub it in!"

"But I haven't even gotten to the good part yet," he protested with smirk so cold that it sent chills down her spine. "Let's talk about what your leaving did to me. I was already blaming myself for my part in Alex's death. If I had just kept a cool head and tried to talk things out with him instead of flying off the handle, we never would have been fighting on that rooftop that night. Instead we were both so focused on our anger that we grew careless and gave that sentinel the chance to sneak up on us. I felt like I lost a brother too that night.

Then the night of his funeral you came to me, looking like an angel. I can still picture every moment of that night in my head with crystal clarity. I can still taste your lips and the way your skin felt against mine. I can even still hear the way you whispered and moaned in my ear. You put a curse on me that night. I tried to erase you from my memories by drinking. I even tried to sleep with other women, but I never could. No matter what I've done, you are always right there at the forefront of my mind."

Katie raked him with a scathing glare. "Oh, grow up, DJ! You're not the first man on earth to have been screwed over by a woman, and I'm sure you won't be the last. This whole ordeal would have been a lot easier to deal with if you had just kept thinking of me as your evil ex-girlfriend and kept your nose out of things!"

Rather than getting riled, DJ just smiled at her. "Ah! But there's one bit of fault in that logic."

She snorted. "And what would that be?"

His smile grew wider. "You're not my ex-girlfriend. I don't remember us ever officially breaking up. So that means we're still a couple."

She gaped at him. "I think all that whiskey you've drank over the years has fried your brain. I broke up with you the night of the hospital benefit, remember. We didn't speak to one another for weeks after that, not until the day that everything fell apart."

"But you came back to me," he said softly. "When things were at their absolute worst it was me that you came to for comfort."

"Because you are my weakness!" she screamed at him. "Whenever I'm near you I go back to being that needy teenage girl again and I can't stand it! You're like a poison in my blood! And no matter how much I bleed I can't get rid of you! So please, if you ever truly loved me, then stay the hell away from me!"

She teleported away before he could say anything else, leaving him staring at the spot where she had been only moments before. It took a few seconds for his shock at her outburst to wear off, then with a growl he disappeared as well.

He reappeared in the courtyard of the Crystal Palace, beside the black, wrought iron fence that enclosed the grave of his best friend. It was a place that he normally avoided, but now he felt compelled to go there.

"Your sister is still just as crazy and stubborn as hell, Lex!" he exclaimed to the stone marker that held the elegantly engraved inscription _Alexander Andrew Furuhata, beloved son, brother, and friend, you will never be forgotten._ The date of his birth and that of his death followed that.

Was the time coming when they would erect a second stone next to that one with identical dates except that the year of death would be fifteen years later and the name at the top would read _Kathleen Kimberly Furuhata_?

DJ shook his head. If that happened they might as well dig a third hole and bury him right beside them. Then everyone could commiserate on their folly and how they had failed to even gain the god's favor and be granted the Galactic Trinity.

He turned at the sound of soft footsteps behind him and wasn't surprised to see Emma coming up behind him. She looked a little shocked to see him there, but offered him a sad, but gentle smile as she walked by him and through the gate to take a seat on the ground next to the grave.

She leaned her back against the stone and regarded him curiously. "In the fifteen years that I've been holding my daily vigils here I've run into everyone except you at least ten times. I was under the impression that you never came here."

He shrugged. "I don't. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I've been here since the day of…since the day they put him here." He observed the colorful array of wildflowers that covered the grave. "Did you plant those?"

"Hmm?" Emma blinked at him as if just waking up and then looked down where her fingers toyed with the petals of a flower. "Oh! No, Katie did this a few weeks ago. She just waved her hand and they appeared. They're beautiful, aren't they? Of course I can just hear what Alex would have to say if he could. He would probably complain about them looking too girly to be on his grave, but I know that deep inside he would really love them."

DJ was actually able to chuckle as he too was able imagine his friend complaining about how girls had such silly notions, but he wouldn't really mean a word of it. If there was one thing that had been important to Alex, it had been keeping his mother, his sister, and Emma happy. So if Katie had conjured these flowers and Emma adored them, then he would go along with them.

But this wasn't helping him unravel the problem with Katie. He had to find some way to save her from what she pictured to be her only fate. If only there was some way to break the bond between her and Discord. Then she would be free of him.

"Hey, Emma," he began hesitantly. "You know a lot about soul bonds, don't you? I mean, I know you are an expert about soul mates and the ties between them, but there are other types of bonds that you have studied, aren't there?"

She nodded. "Yes. There are many different kinds of bonds besides the ones that exist between soul mates. There are those that exist between a parent and child and those between friends. Some are stronger than others. Take my father and yours for example. They are more than just mere friends or a king and his subject. They performed a ritual back during the Silver Millennium and became blood brothers. The moment they did that they strengthened the bond between them and joined a piece of their spirits."

"Can soul bonds ever be broken?" DJ asked her.

She looked as if she were in pain. "Yes, they can be broken. This usually happens when one of the people dies. It's a very excruciating experience that makes you feel like you are being ripped apart and set on fire from the inside out. Words really can't describe the agony."

DJ clenched his fists in anger. He knew that Emma was remembering her own tortuous experience when Alex had died, and he hated making her relive that, but he had to know. "Is there any other way to break soul bonds?"

She shot him a startled look. "If one person wanted to bad enough they could. But most people usually choose to block the connection rather than sever it to spare both parties the pain of the separation; much like what Katie did with the bond between you two when she left. The link still exists, but nothing flows through it anymore. You can no longer sense where one another are or what you are feeling. It's as if it's not even there."

Then her gray eyes narrowed seriously. "You're not thinking about separating yourself from her after all this time, are you? That would be a stupid move to make. It would be more humane for someone to just kill both of you and get it over with quickly. At least that way you won't suffer."

He shook his head. "It's nothing like that. How would someone go about breaking a bond of subjugation?"

Emma's mouth fell open in a silent 'O' for several seconds before she snapped it closed again. "Is that what you're talking about? DJ, there's no way to break the connection between Katie and Discord."

He glared at her. "You just said that bonds could be severed. Which one is it, yes or no?"

"Yes, a regular soul bond could be broken," she told him as calmly as she could. "But a vow of subjugation is something entirely different. It goes beyond just the joining of souls. When a person makes a vow like that to another they literally hand over their life force to whomever they are pledging their loyalty to. After that they have no free will of their own. That person controls everything in their life. The only way that someone could be released from a vow like that is if the person in charge decided to return their life to them or…"

"If they die," DJ finished flatly. "Damn! Kat sure got herself into a hell of a mess this time, didn't she?"

Emma smiled sadly. "She always was the impulsive one out of all of us. I wish I had better news to give you, but the best we can hope for now is that she's successful in her plans to stop Alex's death. If she can do that then the past will change. I just hope that her interfering in the past doesn't throw things off any worse than what they already are. If I were her I would tell my past self exactly what she needs to do instead of trying to scare her away and let her take care of things the way that they were originally supposed to happen. That would throw Discord into a tailspin because the bond would be broken since it would never be made in the first place, and he wouldn't even have the satisfaction of being able to kill her for it."

DJ's eyes widened as he mulled over her words, and then a huge grin appeared on his face. "That's it! That's what I need to do! Emma, you are an absolute genius."

She tossed her long golden hair over her shoulder. "I've been known to have my moments of brilliance, but…Hey! Where are you going?"

DJ called back as he hurried away. "I've got some things I need to go take care of."

"But your mother was wondering where you were!" Emma protested to his retreating form.

"Tell her I'll be back later. She'll understand," his faint voice floated to her on the wind.

She crossed her arms and grumbled, "Who does he think I am, his messaging service?" Then she leaned back against the headstone with a sigh. "Baby, I'm so glad you weren't insane like the rest of our friends. I think that's what kept us from having any issues in our relationship, and I'm thankful for that."

She sat and watched until the last sliver of sun dropped below the horizon before rising to her feet. "Well, your sun has gone to sleep again after another long day of shining brightly. I guess it's time for me to say goodnight as well."

She bent and pressed her lips to the stone that still held the sun's warmth. "Goodnight, my heart. I love you."

* * *

_**Tokyo-Present Day**_

Serena reached down and tickled the toes that were peeking out from under the blanket next to her on the couch. "Hey! Are you awake?"

"No," Jess muttered sarcastically, keeping her eyes closed. "Don't you know I'm the queen of multitasking? I can sleep and watch TV at the same time."

"Come on!" Serena pouted. "You're going to miss the best part of the movie where Bella runs to Edward and throws herself into his arms. And then when he realizes that she's alive he gives her that kiss that rocks her world."

Jess snorted. "Like we haven't watched _New Moon _about a thousand times. I've got the whole thing memorized by now. And anyway, you know my views of it; I think she should have picked Jacob. He's way hotter than Edward."

Serena gasped. "That's not true! Take it back! Edward is much more romantic than Jacob."

Jess yawned. "Oh, Edward knows all the right words to say to make a girl's heart melt, but Jacob's got it going on in the body department. If I had to choose between the vampire and the werewolf, I'd pick the werewolf. That boy's got an ass that just begs to be squeezed."

Serena rolled her eyes. "You've become depraved. Besides, where's your sense of romance?"

One sapphire eye squinted open to glance toward the glass balcony doors. "He's standing outside sharing a drink and some manly conversation with your other half. Now be quiet and enjoy watching your favorite vampire get his girl while I take advantage of this peaceful moment now that Mina, Kunzite, and Talon all finally decided to leave."

Serena huffed, but fell silent as she sat back and watched the final scenes of the movie. Darien and Andrew wandered in just as the ending credits began rolling across the screen.

Andrew began shooing Jess off to bed as the two couples said their goodnights, and Darien and Serena took their leave to make the long, ten yard trek to their own apartment, promising to send the twins home when they got there.

Serena was reaching for the doorknob when Darien suddenly grabbed her from behind and spun her around in his arms before pressing her back against the wall. His head swooped down swiftly and captured her lips before she could utter a sound. They stayed that way for several moments before Darien finally pulled away with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Well someone's feeling frisky," Serena whispered breathlessly.

"I was just thinking," he said in that husky tone that had made her fourteen-year-old heart go pitter patter when she had first become Sailor Moon and she had been crushing hard on Tuxedo Mask. "I don't have work tomorrow, and you have a day free from classes and working at the school…" he trailed off seductively.

Serena smiled up at him. "What did you have in mind?"

He trailed his fingers down her neck. "I was thinking maybe we could crack open a bottle of wine and perhaps run a bath in the Jacuzzi tub."

She toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck. "That sounds promising. So what's the occasion?"

He looked mildly affronted. "Do I need it to be a special occasion to spend a romantic evening with my soon to be wife?"

She poked him lightly in the chest. "You were eavesdropping on me and Jess."

"I was not!" he tried to deny, and then he hung his head. "Okay, maybe I was just a little. But I wasn't really listening in, it's just that the door was open and your voice carried out to me."

"Sure it did," she replied in a patronizing tone that clearly told him that she didn't believe him one little bit.

Darien groaned and pressed his forehead against the wall above her shoulder. "You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?"

A smile curled up Serena's lips. "Oh, I think I may have an idea about how you can make it up to me."

"And what would that be?" Darien asked, grinning at her teasing, playful tone.

She slipped nimbly out of his arms, making sure to rub her body sensuously against his as she did. When he hissed a breath as if in pain and closed his eyes for a moment, she whispered seductively in his ear, "Why don't you grab that bottle of wine and join me in the bedroom to find out?"

That was all the encouragement that the reincarnated prince needed. He grabbed Serena's hand and flung open the door to their apartment in one easy, fluid motion. He pulled her behind him as he strode into the kitchen and snatched a chilled bottle of her favorite white zinfandel from the refrigerator before proceeding down the hall toward the master suite. As he passed by the living room on the way he called out to the three teens inside, "Alex, Katie, your parents want you home. It is a school night and you all need your sleep. The same goes for you DJ. Is your sister home yet?"

The dark haired boy nodded. "Yeah, she came in a little while ago."

"Good," Darien replied, continuing on. "Well we're off to bed. See you in the morning."

Katie snickered as they disappeared. "Off to bed with a bottle of wine? I bet neither one of them have sleeping in mind."

"Yeah, it looks like the honeymoon's starting early," Alex agreed.

DJ clamped his hands over his ears. "Please, stop, you guys! I think I'm about to be struck deaf and blind."

"And probably dumb, too," Katie giggled. "And I mean the mental type, not the no speaking type."

"Very funny!" DJ growled, tugging on her long, light blonde ponytail.

She squealed in outrage and leapt at him, knocking him backward on the couch as she pinned him down. "You are so going to get it for that. Nobody pulls my hair."

Alex flushed brick red at seeing his sister and his best friend in such a compromising position. He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, I'm going to go on to bed so that you two can say goodnight without me having to witness it and lose my dinner. But you guys behave yourselves and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

DJ was busy trying to fight off Katie's tickling fingers, but he managed to flip his friend off behind his attacker's back.

Alex chuckled as he turned to leave. He had only taken two steps when there was a loud bang from the direction of the balcony. All three teens turned startled eyes that way as something crashed hard into the glass and slid down it slowly, leaving behind a giant red smear of what appeared to be blood.

DJ and Alex cursed loudly.

Katie screamed.

* * *

Andrew walked out of the master bathroom and shook his head as he took in the sight of his fiancé sprawled out on her stomach widthwise across the bed. She had managed to free her hair from its braid and it flowed around her like a molten river of shining, dark golden caramel, but that appeared to be as far as she had gotten in her preparations for bed. Her feet were bare, but she was still fully clothed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a form fitting, bright yellow knit shirt.

He eased down next to her and began rubbing gentle circles across her back. "Are you still that tired, sweetheart?"

She turned her head toward him and let her eyelids slowly flutter open. "Not really. I got a lot of rest since you did everything but tie me to the couch all afternoon and evening. You're really bossy sometimes. Did you know that?"

He smirked at her. "So I've been told. I only do it for your own good. What would happen to you if I weren't around to remind you to eat and make you get the rest you need? You'd probably be unconscious in an alley somewhere."

She scrunched her nose at him. "Contrary to popular belief, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. Besides, if you weren't here I'm sure Nebula would be around to drive me insane. I am so glad that she stays with Dawn in Elysian most of the time. I would much rather deal with your fussiness than her overbearing criticism. I had enough of that growing up, thank you very much!"

Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "I sure hope you would prefer me over a talking furball with a questionable mental balance, especially since I'm the one you're marrying."

"Aww, don't worry, baby. Your position in my life is safe," Jess teased him. "I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. You're not going anywhere."

"I'm reading between the lines here, but I'm going to assume that's just a twisted way of you saying that you love me," he teased back.

She rolled onto her side and propped her head up on a hand. "You know I love you. I hope you never doubt that."

He reached over and tapped her nose with a finger, smiling when she scrunched it up. "Of course I would never doubt it. I'm just grateful that you're willing to put up with me. According to my mother and my sister I'm not an easy person to live with."

She snorted with laughter. "I'm not exactly a candidate for the world's most agreeable person either. I know I have a horrible temper and tend to be loud and overreact about things. Sometimes I find it amazing that you stick around with all of my moodiness and bitching."

Andrew tried to look indignant. "Hey! I don't allow anyone, not even you, to talk about you like that. I don't care if you are talking about yourself. Take it back!"

Jess burst out into full-blown, gut wrenching laughter and rolled to her back, clutching her stomach as she laughed like she hadn't done in days. "You are so goofy sometimes!" she gasped out breathlessly.

Andrew moved closer to her and grinned. "It's good to hear you laugh again. I mean, really laugh. You had me worried while you were sick."

She rolled her eyes at him. "It takes more than a nasty old cold to keep me down. You should know that by now."

"I know," he sighed. "But I just hate it when you don't feel good and I feel like there's nothing I can do to make you feel better." Then he brightened some. "You know what? Your birthday is in a couple of weeks, the big Two-O."

Jess threw an arm over her eyes and groaned. "Don't remind me! Serena already brought it up earlier. Why does she always have to make such a big ordeal over these things?"

Andrew smirked. "That's just the way she is. But I think it's a day to celebrate too. So how about this, I want you to think about what you want. We'll go anywhere or do anything you want to do that day. It'll be your choice. What do you say?"

She still looked a little wary, but she nodded. "Okay, I'll think about it. But do you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"What's that?" he asked gently.

An evil smile twitched her lips. "I'm thinking that you look entirely too good lying there in nothing but those boxers and that I'm wearing entirely too many clothes. Do you think you could help me with that problem?"

A heated look entered his hazel eyes. "I think I might be able to do something about that."

He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her across him, grinning when she let out a squeal. His other hand found its way to the back of her neck and pulled her head down so that he could take her lips in a scorching kiss. Jess put a hand on either side of his face and moaned deeply into his mouth as she pressed herself fully against him.

Quick as a flash, Andrew sat up with her in his arms so that she was straddling his lap. He groaned and broke the kiss as her hips did a wicked little shimmy against his. He trailed his lips to her ear. "You are not a woman, you are a seductress. Now let's see about getting you out of these clothes."

He was reaching for the hem of her shirt when she froze in his arms. Her head shot up and her eyes were bright and alert. "Did you hear that?" she asked him urgently.

He was confused. "Hear what?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. It sounded, well, almost like somebody screamed."

Andrew cocked his head listening. "I don't hear anything. Maybe you just heard the kids coming in and playing around. You know how they are."

Jess chewed her bottom lip. "You're probably right, but I'd feel better if I checked and made sure. I think I'll swing by the kitchen too and get me something to drink. I'm a little thirsty."

Andrew grumbled a bit to himself about his moment being delayed, but he got up and tugged a pair of sweatpants up over his hips and a t-shirt over his head. "I'll come with you. I could use a sip of something myself."

They walked down the hall, pausing at the twin's bedroom door to knock quietly. When they didn't get an answer Andrew pushed it open to reveal an empty room with a still neatly made bed and futon.

Jess growled. "Where are those two? I thought Serena and Darien said they would send them straight home. I don't care if they are teenage superheroes; they need to get their sleep so they can go to school. I won't have my kids growing up ignorant!"

Andrew chuckled. "I don't think we have to worry about that. They're both pretty smart kids. They're probably just finishing up a movie next door or something."

"Yeah, I guess so," Jess grouched as she stomped down the hall toward the kitchen. She let out another growl when she discovered that there were only three cans of cherry coke in the refrigerator.

"There are more in the pantry," Andrew reassured her as he reached around her to grab a can of Dr. Pepper. He popped the top and took a sip as he leaned his hips against the counter. "So should we go and get them, or let them come home on their own?"

She shrugged. "I guess we'll just leave them alone and let them do their own thing. Besides, they're just right next door. It's not like they're out prowling the city or anything."

Now it was Andrew's turn to growl. "The better not be. Of course being next door might not be the safest thing for certain people either."

Jess sputtered on her drink for a moment before exclaiming, "I thought you had finally reconciled yourself to the fact that Katie and DJ were seeing each other."

"I said that I leave it to my future self to pass judgment on the situation, not that I accepted it or approved of if," he corrected her. "There's a big difference. But what kind of future father would I be if I didn't look out for my daughter's best interest?"

Jess snickered. "You're so cute when you go into overprotective father mode. But the point is you'll have plenty of time to play daddy in the future. Katie is an almost grown young lady and we have to respect her choices. And she's mature, so I trust her to make good decisions."

That brought a smirk from Andrew. "You mean when she's not running around and acting impulsive like her mother?"

She stuck her tongue out at him only to let out a squeak a second later as he unexpectedly jerked her against him and found a much more pleasurable use for that particular appendage. Their drinks sat forgotten on the counter.

"Let's go back to bed," Andrew whispered against the skin of her neck as he pressed a kiss there.

"Sounds good to me," she replied back as she turned away with a playful smile and a twitch of her hips.

Just then the front door banged open and Alex ran in, looking wild eyed and more than a little scared. "Good, you two are still awake!"

"Alex! What in the world…" Andrew began.

"No time for that!" the teen told them, already turning back toward the door. "Just hurry up and come next door."

"Wait a minute!" Jess protested, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to a stop as she spied something on his shirt. "Is that blood?"

"It's not mine," he said quickly. "Come on! You'll see for yourself."

They followed him quickly down the hall and into the neighboring apartment where they could hear several raised voices trying to talk over one another. Katie was frozen in the living room doorway, her eyes glazed over as if she were about to pass out as she stared at something inside.

"What's going on?" Andrew and Jess demanded at the same time as they approached her.

When she didn't show any acknowledgement of their presence they looked past her, and straight into a scene that looked like it should be in one of those CSI TV shows.

Andrew cursed severely under his breath.

Jess slapped a shaking hand over her mouth to keep from screaming out loud.

* * *

"I love you so much," Serena moaned as she arched her back against the door behind her. She smiled to herself as she looked down at the dark head of the man that was currently paying a lot of attention to her chest. The bottle of wine that he'd held a few minutes before now lay forgotten on the floor next to them.

Darien's head rose as he felt her fingers thread through his hair. His eyes sparkled like twin sapphires in the dim light of the one small lamp that was burning in the room. "What do you find so humorous, my love?" he whispered huskily as his head dipped down again, this time to lay a line of open mouth kisses across her collarbone.

She sucked in a breath. "I was just thinking that as nice as relaxing in the Jacuzzi with a bottle of wine sounded, I should have known that we would barely make it through the bedroom door."

"Are you complaining?" he asked as he reached behind her to grasp her rear and pull her firmly against him.

"You know I'm not," she gasped as heat flooded through her. She tightened the hold of her legs that she had wrapped around his waist, suddenly very happy that she had decided to wear a skirt today. That could prove to be very convenient if they stayed on this same path. "Kiss me," she begged him, pulling his head up while lowering hers.

Her dark prince happily complied, plundering her mouth fully and deeply, reveling in the contented mewling sounds coming from her throat. He didn't break the contact between them until he felt her slender fingers feverishly tugging his shirt up. He pulled back slightly so that she could pull the t-shirt over his head, and groaned deeply a second later when she raked her nails gently across his chest. "You're a temptress."

She laughed lightly. "Is it working?"

"Oh yeah," he breathed as he dove back in to capture her lips once more, pinning her securely between his body and the door. She responded just as eagerly, her lips and tongue matching his easily. They both knew that things were moving swiftly between them, but the night was still young enough since neither one of them had to get up in the morning. There would be plenty of time to take it slow and savor the moment later.

Her fingers were fumbling with his belt and his hands had just slid under skirt when a shrill scream coming from the living room grabbed their attention. They both knew that it was Katie, and they also knew that something was seriously wrong. That wasn't the shriek of a girl playing around with her boyfriend or brother. That had been the sound of pure, gut wrenching terror.

That was confirmed a second later as Serena was straightening and buttoning her shirt and Darien was pulling his t-shirt back on. DJ's frantic voice yelled down the hall, "Mom! Dad! Come here quick!"

This was followed by the sound of Rini's bedroom door slamming open and her bellowing, "What the hell is wrong with you three? Don't you have any respect for…" Her voice trailed off, and then she screamed, "Momma! Daddy!"

Serena wrenched open the door and she and Darien were through it before the last sound of Rini's scream had faded. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she ran into the living room and her brain registered several things at once. Katie was plastered against the wall, a fist in her mouth as she bit down harshly on her knuckles in what looked like an attempt to keep from screaming again. Rini stood frozen in the center of the room, her maroon eyes wide and panicked as she stared toward the balcony doors that stood open with something red smeared across the glass. And finally her thoughts caught up enough to realize that DJ and Alex were each attempting to drag an unconscious body into the room.

Darien ran to help them and returned a few seconds later with a woman in his arms. Serena gasped at the sight of the sailor fuku that was beginning to fade away from around the woman's body.

"Hotaru?" she whispered in shock as the purple-skirted fuku disappeared to be replaced by a short, swishy black skirt and a pale green top. Her youngest scout was much paler than normal and her large, amethyst colored eyes were closed.

"Serena!" Darien said loudly to get her attention. "Grab a couple of blankets and spread them out on the floor for me."

She shook herself out of her shock and ran to the hall closet to grab several of the blankets kept there. She hurried back and spread a couple out on the floor like he had requested. It wasn't until he had set Hotaru down that she could see that the younger girl's clothes were covered in blood.

"Hotaru!" Rini shrieked, rushing to her friend's side and dropping to her knees beside her. "Can you hear me, Hotaru? Hotaru!"

"Rini, back up so I can take a look at her," Darien demanded, pushing her gently aside and taking her place.

DJ came backing through the doors holding the second person's feet while Alex followed holding the shoulders.

Serena took a deep breath before looking up, already knowing who she was going to find, but that didn't stop the heart-wrenching cry that tore past her lips. "Sammy!"

There was her almost eighteen-year-old brother being carried in and laid next to his girlfriend. His dark sandy hair was stuck to his brow with the blood that was seeping from a long gash on his forehead and the skin around his left eye was swelling and becoming purple.

Serena stumbled over to him and sank down beside him to pull his head into her lap as the tears began to fall from her eyes. She was vaguely aware of Darien sending Alex to go fetch Andrew and Jess and DJ sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on, Sammy!" she choked out on a sob. "Open your eyes and call me an overemotional idiot like you always do."

When he remained silent she collapsed into hysterical tears and hugged him close as she wept into his hair. Visions of him when he was younger and annoying played through her head. She sat that way for what seemed like forever. She heard Alex run back in, followed by the sound of Andrew and Jess's voices, but she didn't look up to acknowledge them. She was too focused on the young man in her arms.

She thought back on all the cruel words she had spoken to him over the years. Granted, he had done his fair share of teasing and she had felt justified in saying them at the time, but she couldn't help but think that she would take them all back now if only he would open those slate blue eyes of his and start calling her names the way he used to.

Suddenly she felt anger burn through her. "Damn it, Samuel Kenji Tsukino, you better not up and die on me, because that is one phone call to mom and dad that I refuse to make."

"Well if I die it'll be because you smothered me to death," a groggy voice spoke to her.

Serena jerked her head up and looked down to see what later in her life she would call one of the most precious, yet heartbreaking things she'd ever seen, the sight of her baby brother glaring up at her with his bruised and battered face.

"Sammy!" she squealed, hugging him tightly as a fresh wave of tears flooded her eyes and spilled over.

He hissed in pain and then yelled, "Damn it! Back off a little bit, spaz queen! That freakin hurt!"

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she exclaimed, loosening her hold on him, but not letting go.

"Where's Hotaru?" he demanded, struggling to try to sit up.

Serena held him down gently. "She's right next to you. Darien's taking a look at her now. What happened to you two?"

Sammy turned his head to look at Hotaru next to him and reached over to take one of her pale, slim hands in his as he sighed. "I don't really know what happened. We had just left the movie theater and decided to walk through the park and see if the ice cream stand was still open. I noticed that the farther we walked, the more tense and quiet Hotaru got. I was just about to ask her if she was okay when this…I don't know what it was, it looked like a cougar maybe, jumped out of the bushes at us. She pushed me out of the way and it knocked her down and bit her on the shoulder."

"Sentinel poisoning," Alex stated from where he was typing on his minicomputer. "That's what I thought I reading, but I wasn't sure. Darien, you have to remove the poison from her system as well as heal the wound."

"Got it," Darien said tensely as he held his hands over the unconscious girl and they began to glow gold.

"Is she going to be okay?" Sammy asked worriedly.

"She's going to be just fine," Serena reassured him. "Darien will have her fixed right up in a jiffy. But I'm worried about you. How did you get so beat up?"

He grinned wryly at her. "Well, after Hotaru managed to kick that wildcat off of her she transformed into Sailor Saturn and began whaling on it, but then these two other Hooter's reject looking bitches showed up and tried to jump her from behind. I figured that I may not have super powers, but I wasn't about to sit there and let her do all the work. I haven't taken all those years of martial arts classes for nothing, you know."

Serena couldn't help but shake her head. "So you decided to play the hero and engage two youma on your own? That wasn't exactly the smartest move to make?"

Sammy rolled his eyes and snorted. "Maybe it wasn't smart, and they did bash me around a bit, but I managed to keep them off of Hotaru until she got rid of that cat. The only reason I got as hurt as I did was because one of them jumped me from behind and slammed me into a tree. Other than a massive headache and an aching shoulder, I'm fine."

"Do you mind if I try to heal you?" DJ asked from beside Serena, trying to hide the excitement in his voice. Ever since he had been successful in healing Katie's scars he had been practicing on every bump and scrape the people around him got, and he'd become pretty good at it.

"I guess not," Sammy said warily. Then he looked to Serena. "Does he know what he's doing?"

"Just shut up and lie back," Serena said with a smile. "My boy's more than capable of patching up a lamebrain like you, so let him get to it. While he's doing that, why don't you tell me the rest of the story?"

Sammy gave a little jump as the warmth of DJ's golden healing power washed over him, but he continued the story. "Anyway, Hotaru killed the cat and was about to start in on the other two when she suddenly collapsed to her knees. Then there was this gust of wind and an ugly red haired lady was there."

"Beryl," Serena snarled harshly.

Sammy nodded. "That's what Hotaru called her. She told Hotaru that she was willing to let us off easy if she would deliver a message to you. Hotaru pretty much told her to kiss her ass, and that bitch got livid. She started screaming all kinds of things about you, like how you were a whore and had stolen her prince from her more than once. Then she just started rambling about how she was going to kill you and all of the other scouts and then brainwash all the guys into working for her. It was some really crazy stuff."

"That bitch is psycho!" Jess ground out from nearby. "If only I hadn't exhausted myself earlier I would have loved smashing her face in."

Sammy grinned at her. "I figured you must have done something to piss her off because she didn't have anything nice to say about you either. She babbled something about you being a freak of nature that never should have existed and how you needed to learn to keep your damn mouth shut."

Jess's sapphire eyes threw sparks at his words. "Oh she did, did she? And exactly what part of the park were you in?"

"Oh no you don't!" Andrew exclaimed. "If you think you're going gunning for her by yourself, you've got another thing coming."

Jess's face turned deceptively innocent. "I was thinking anything like that. I was thinking that maybe Serena and I, along with Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy, would like to go take a late night stroll. And if we happened to come across that skinny little slut we would quietly pound her into the ground."

Serena's blood boiled as she remembered earlier that day and how Beryl had wrapped Darien in her clutches in an attempt to take him away from her yet again. "I think something like that could be arranged."

"Both of you knock it off. Nobody's going out hunting that witch down tonight," Darien said as he sat back from Hotaru and wiped a sheen of sweat from his brow. He looked over toward where DJ was in a similar state. "You got that under control?"

The golden glow around the black haired teen faded and he grinned as he swiped an arm across his own forehead. "Yep, he should be good as new."

Sammy sat up cautiously and moved his shoulder around gingerly before reaching up to feel the now unblemished skin of his face. "Hey, not bad! I feel like me again. How's Hotaru?"

"She should be fine," Darien answered. "In fact, she'll probably be waking up here in a few minutes. She had quite a bit of venom in her blood, but I got it cleared out."

"Thank goodness," Sammy sighed in relief. "I wasn't even sure that we were going to make it here there for a while. She almost passed out several times. And how she managed to jump up to that balcony while holding on to me I'll never know."

"So how did you two get away from Beryl while you were both injured?" Serena asked her brother.

He scratched his head. "That's the weird part. After Hotaru told Beryl off, the bitch got even madder and said that she was going to kill us both then to get to you, but right when she was about to attack us there was this flare of silver light and a woman showed up. I couldn't really see her all that well, but she reminded me of you, sis."

Serena looked confused. "Me? She looked like me?"

"From what little I could tell," Sammy told her. "All I could really see was her outline in the shadows, but she had really long hair that she wore in that old meatball style like you used to. She also looked like she was wearing a ballgown or something, like she was on her way to a fancy party. Anyway, Beryl got scared and took off."

Rini and DJ's heads snapped around as they stared at each other for a long second before they both muttered together, "Mom?"

Rini shook her head. "I seriously doubt that. I don't think mom would take the chance of coming to this time where there would be two of her, even if she found a way to make it through the time plane safely. Dad would never let her. And if she did, I can't imagine her not coming to at least say hi to us. She hasn't seen either of us for a while now."

"Yeah, you're probably right," DJ agreed, sounding a little dejected. "But it would have been nice to see her, if only for a minute."

"Aren't I enough mom for you?" Serena joked, nudging him in the side.

He smiled at her. "Sure you are, but it's not exactly the same."

"I understand," Serena said softly. Then she leaned down to whisper to him, "Thank you for healing Sammy, but right now I think there's someone else that looks like she could use some comforting." She cocked her head to the side.

DJ looked over toward the direction she was indicating and saw that Katie was still standing in the doorway, her eyes focused and unblinking on Hotaru's blood soaked form. She appeared to be almost in shock.

He got up swiftly and crossed over to her, but she didn't look at him, even when he stood directly in front of her. He took her face between his palms and forced her to look up at him. Her eyes were open wide, glazed over and dilated.

"Kat, baby, what's wrong?" he asked gently. "Everything's okay. Hotaru and Sammy are going to be just fine. Dad and I fixed them right up."

She tried to shake her head. "No…blood…I remember…blood on a green dress…just like me."

He moved his hands to her shoulders. "What are you talking about? You're not making any sense."

She craned her neck to look around him, and a shiver ran through her body as she caught another sight of the motionless Hotaru lying on the floor. "It's almost the same."

DJ glanced over his shoulder to see what it was that fascinated, yet seemed to traumatize her so much. It took him a minute to put the pieces together, and then it clicked to him. The flowing top that Hotaru was wearing was almost an identical shade of green to the dress she had worn the night she had been attacked and kidnapped. Even now he could see her the way she had looked three nights later when he and Alex had dragged her from the cold water of the bay. She had been covered in bruises and cuts, and though the bloodstains had faded some from the water, they had still been visible against the pale green fabric.

He glanced over at Alex and concentrated hard as he tried to send him a silent message. _'I think we have a problem here.'_

Alex's head shot up and he looked over where the two of them stood. He took one look at his sister's stricken face and hurried over to them. _'What's going on?'_ he directed toward both of them.

'_Blood on green…blood on green,' _Katie's voice echoed in their heads.

'_Does that answer your question?' _DJ asked brusquely. _'She's having flashbacks to the night she was kidnapped. I don't want to bother the others since they have enough going on right now, but I think we need to get her out of here.'_

'_Don't…talk…about…me…like…I'm…not…here…' _Katie's voice gasped, still sounding panicked. _'I…can…beat…this! I'm…not…weak!'_

'_Nobody thinks you're weak, but you don't have to torture yourself like this,' _DJ snapped back.

'_He's right, sis,' _Alex agreed. _'If nothing else let's go into the kitchen where you can sit down and have something to drink. I think we're all a little rattled by what's happened.'_

"Fine!" she said out loud, and turned toward the kitchen. But the moment she walked in and saw a large knife on the counter next to a cutting board on the counter, every bit of color drained from her face and she wobbled on her feet.

"I've got to get out of here!" she choked, and spun back around, crashing into Jess who had picked up on the tension and had come to check on her.

"Whoa!" Jess exclaimed, grabbing her future daughter by the arms. "Where's the fire?"

Katie jerked back. "Let me go! I've got to get out of here!"

Jess only pulled her closer. "Hey, it's okay! I thought you seemed upset. I get a little squeamish around blood too, but everything's going to be all right."

Katie struggled against her. "That's not it! Just let me go!"

"I'm not letting you go until you tell me what's wrong," Jess demanded.

Katie's eyes flashed a furious silver. "Nothing's wrong! Now let me go!"

Alex grabbed Jess and yanked her away only a second before silver sparks erupted all around Katie. The younger girl burst into sobs and ran from the apartment.

DJ followed her only as far as the door, but stopped when he saw her heading for the stairs to the roof. He felt her need to be alone, and decided to respect her wishes. He turned back to Alex, who was still holding onto a shocked looking Jess. Serena, Darien, and Andrew had also come to see what all of the commotion was about.

"She's headed to the roof to cool off," he told them, then he addressed Alex, "I haven't seen her lose it like that in a long time."

Alex nodded. "I haven't seen her lose control of her powers since the last night we were in Crystal Tokyo and she took out that guardian that kidnapped her when he grabbed her. She went supernova on his ass and blew up him and took two sentinels along with him."

"Am I missing something here?" Jess asked in bewilderment. "Why was she freaking out like that? I don't particularly care for the sight of blood either, but she was having a total meltdown."

Alex looked to DJ, who in turn shrugged and gestured back to him. He sighed and answered as best as he could. "I can't really give you the details because of the future and all, but let's just say that she has some bad memories of blood and a green dress the same color as Hotaru's shirt. I think she would have been okay, but then she saw that knife in the kitchen and it was too much for her."

Jess's eyes lit up with understanding. "Does this have to do with how she got those scars she used to have?"

DJ nodded sadly. "I could make the physical scars disappear, but she still has scars on the inside that plague her. I just hate that she always feels like that she has to run away when she gets like this."

Serena went over and put her arm around him. "She went through a horrifying experience and she's coping with it the only way she knows how. She probably also feels embarrassed by her outburst as well. Just give her a little bit to calm down and then you and Alex go check on her. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Hey guys!" Rini chirped happily as she bounced into the crowded entry hall. "I thought you might like to know that Hotaru's awake."

"She is!" Serena squealed and rushed back into the living room, only to come to a dead stop about three feet in and slap a hand over her eyes. "Geez, Sammy! Thanks a lot! I'll probably be blind now thanks to you! Couldn't you have waited until you were alone?"

Sammy raised his head from where he had just been delivering a pretty intense kiss to the girl that was sitting on his lap to grin wolfishly at her. "We were alone until you decided to barge in and start shrieking like always, megaphone mouth!"

Serena glared at him. "Don't start on me, you ungrateful little parasite! You happen to be sitting in the middle of _my _living room, so that's not exactly a private place. And I respect the fact that you are an adult now, but the sight of my little brother kissing one of my friends like he's about to eat her face off is just a little too much for me to take in at the moment!"

Hotaru's pale face flushed a deep pink and she mumbled, "Sorry, Serena."

Serena smiled at her in relief. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're all right. You gave us quite a scare. Sammy already filled us in on what happened. I can't believe Beryl came after you like that. I thought for sure she would come after me or go after one of the inner scouts before she would go for any of the outers. And since you've never had a run in with her before I would have thought that you would have been at the bottom of the list."

Hotaru shook her head. "It wasn't just me, she was after Sammy as well. She knew that he was your brother and wanted to use us to get to you. I told her that I refused to be a pawn in her game. So then she decided to try to kill us. But luckily we were saved."

"Sammy said it was a woman who reminded him of me," Serena said hesitantly, glancing over at Rini and DJ.

Hotaru's look turned contemplative. "Yes. But I still don't understand how it happened. I thought it was you for a moment, but then I noticed the differences."

Serena felt like she was at the end of her rope. "So was it Neo Queen Serenity?"

Hotaru looked up at her with confusion burning brightly in her purple eyes. "No, it wasn't you at all. It was Queen Serenity, your mother."

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

"What the hell are you doing?" Katie demanded of Discord. "I thought I was the one in charge of the guardians and sentinels, and yet you let that scarecrow bitch take one of the cats with her."

"Calm yourself, my dear," Discord replied smoothly as he surveyed the furiously seething woman in front of him. "Sailor Saturn is, without question, one of the most lethal scouts. I knew that Beryl's youma alone wouldn't be enough to overpower her, so I sent in a sentinel as backup. I would have consulted you about the decision, but you were absent at the time. Did you get your business taken care of?"

"Yes I did!" Katie spat. "And stop trying to change the subject. I didn't know when I left that Metallia was intending to launch her plan so soon."

"The time was opportune to strike, so I took advantage of it," a calm, melodic voice answered as a woman's figure appeared out of the mist.

Katie carefully schooled her features into a mask of nonchalance to keep from showing her shock as she was once more confronted with the sight of the ancient entity in her new body. "So were you successful in your mission?" she sneered.

Cool eyes were turned on her. "You may have strength and a notable amount of power yourself, Eclipse, but you are still an infant when it comes to the workings of the universe. There are many different levels of success. Right now I'm sure that poor little Princess Serenity is suffering from immense emotional confusion because her beloved brother and one of her loyal scouts have been attacked and injured. It may even be worse than that if Endymion wasn't there to heal them. Saturn could even perish if the poison is not removed from her system."

Katie smirked to herself. Even if Darien wasn't around, then DJ would be. But neither Discord nor Metallia seemed to think that the son would have the same powers as his father, and she wasn't about to tell them.

"So what can I do for you, Queen Metallia?" Discord asked jovially. "I was under the impression that you and Lady Beryl were in the process of restoring your old stronghold."

Metallia inclined her head to him. "We are, but I have expended a great deal of energy to revive the Dark Kingdom, and I wanted to seek your permission to go out and collect more energy. I wouldn't want my new body to fail, especially after you went through all the trouble to create it for me."

Discord clapped his hands together. "Of course! Take all the energy you need from those worthless humans. In fact, to ensure that you don't run into any unnecessary complications, why don't you take Lady Eclipse and a band of her guardians and sentinels with you? She has a job to do anyway, and perhaps she can accomplish that while helping you get the energy you need. You don't have a problem with that, do you my pet?"

"Not at all," Katie gritted out between clenched teeth. "I'll just go and assemble a team." She stalked away from them stiffly.

"That girl has rebellion written all over her," Metallia said softly once she was out of earshot. "One would hope that you don't actually consider her an ally."

An evil smile stretched Discord's lips. "She has obviously been a great help to my future self, and she has not proven to be completely worthless here, but she has just about lived out her usefulness. I have studied the timelines carefully, and I know that she will probably eventually betray me at some point to try to avenge her brother's death. And when that time comes she will die. It's just a question of when."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"Argh! I'm so stupid!" Katie groaned as she sat down on the ledge of the roof, feeling physically exhausted after pacing for the better part of twenty minutes. Now that she had worked off some excess energy and had given her brain a chance to calm down, she felt ashamed for letting her old fears get the better of her and making her lose it and lash out at those around her.

She cringed when she thought of Jess. What must her mother's past self think of her and how she had flown off the handle? At this moment in time, she didn't think that she would ever be able to face her again.

She sighed, part in irritation and part in relief when she felt another energy join hers on the roof. She couldn't help but smile a little when a flawless, snowy white rose appeared in front of her face a second later. She leaned back against a firmly muscled chest.

A breath tickled her ear. "She'll forgive you, you know. She loves you."

"I know," she said softly. "But sometimes I feel like I don't deserve her or anyone else's love. I try not to be a horrible person, but sometimes my emotions get the better of me and I just react without thinking."

"You're not a horrible person," he whispered. "You're one of the strongest and bravest people I know. You've overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where you are today."

"And yet I'm still the weakest link out of the three of us," she sighed. "It's no wonder the gods have yet to give us the Trinity, I'm probably the one making them hold back because I'm such an emotional wreck. For crying out loud, I see blood on a green shirt and I flip out. How lame is that? At least you and Alex have your heads on straight and don't lose control of your powers the way I do."

"You've been through a lot in the last several months," he said consolingly. "A lot of people wouldn't have made as far as you have."

She shrugged. "Maybe. But sometimes it gets to be so much that I just want to run away somewhere remote where I don't have to worry about it. What would you say if I told you that I wanted to run away from it all with you? Just you and me? We could go somewhere where nobody knows us and live happily ever after."

He chuckled. "I would say that it sounds tempting, but I know you too well. You could never run away from an unfinished fight. It's not in you. You always follow everything through to the end."

A smirk turned up her lips. "Good answer. And what would you say if I asked you who the hell you are? Because I knew from the minute that I felt your energy that you weren't my DJ."

Arms closed around her. "I would say that I'm not surprised. I'm just amazed that you didn't lay me out the first second you read my aura and realized that it was different."

"I don't feel threatened by you," she said simply. "You feel like my prince, and yet you're not exactly. So I guess my next question is what do you want from me?"

The arms tightened around her a fraction. "I just want to show you some home truths. Do you trust me enough to do that?"

She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I do. I don't know why I do, but I do."

"Then hold on tight," he whispered. And she clasped her hands against his forearms as everything disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

Everyone was still sitting around Darien and Serena's living room. Andrew had scrounged around through the kitchens of both apartments until he found a nice array of snacks that were now spread out on the coffee table.

Darien sat in his favorite chair while Serena perched on the arm. Jess and Andrew were on the couch with Rini beside them while Hotaru and Sammy, both looking much better since they had taken showers and borrowed some clothes, were on the opposite sofa. DJ and Alex sat on the floor by the table, crumbling chips between their fingers as they kept glancing at the clock every ten seconds.

Rini finally snapped. "Oh good grief! The two of you are driving me crazy with your moping! Go up to the roof and drag her back down here if you have to. Anything is better than watching you fidget like you've sat on an ant hill."

"Nobody asked your opinion, bubblegum brains!" DJ fired back with a glare.

Rini's maroon eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm just tired of watching you sulk like a baby, crow head!"

"I'm not sulking, klutz!"

"Yes you are, nerd!"

"Ditz!"

"Bookworm!"

"At least I don't make out with my pillow every night pretending that it's horseboy!"

"Why you…!"

Jess grabbed Rini and held her back before she could launch herself across the table and inflict bodily harm on her brother. Serena and Sammy both fell over in fits of laughter.

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Serena gasped through her laughter.

Sammy wiped tears from his eyes. "Oh yeah! There's no denying they're family. That sounded just like me and you going at it. Remember how mad mom used to get at us?"

Serena nodded. "She'd send us to our rooms and threaten us with no dessert if she heard another peep out of us, so we'd write our insults down and slide them under each other's doors. Those were the days, huh?"

"Yep!" Sammy agreed. "I just hope that your spelling and handwriting have gotten better since you want to become a teacher. If not were going to have a lot of undereducated kids running around."

Serena just smiled. "Go ahead and laugh now, techno geek. Keep it up and your precious Xbox just might have a little accident."

Sammy gasped in outrage. "You wouldn't!"

"Try me," Serena replied sweetly.

All of a sudden DJ and Alex both jumped to their feet. They stared at one another for a few long seconds.

"Did you feel that?" DJ ground out.

"Yeah," Alex bit out tersely.

"What?" everyone else asked together.

"Kat just disappeared," Alex whispered.

Andrew jumped up. "What do you mean disappeared?"

DJ was already running for the door. "I can't sense her at all!"

Everybody else followed him as he ran up to the roof. When they got there both DJ and Alex ran to a certain spot on the roof's ledge and looked around wildly.

"Damn it!" DJ yelled, slamming his hand down so hard that it left a dent in the concrete. "She was here until just a minute ago!"

"Maybe she transformed and went off to another place to think," Hotaru said.

"No, she never transformed. I would have felt it!" both boys bellowed at the same time.

"Maybe she left the normal way by the elevator," Rini supplied.

DJ rolled his eyes. "You don't get it! The three of us are linked together. We can tell where each other are at any time, but she just disappeared without a trace."

Alex had his computer back out. "I'm not reading her energy anywhere. But I'm picking up something weird."

Serena, Rini, Jess, and Hotaru's communicators began beeping wildly and they flipped them open to answer.

Amy's anxious face filled the screens. "This is an all scout alert! There's an attack happening at a carnival on the south side of Azabu. It reads like Beryl's youma, but I can't be sure. It looks like a lot of them too."

"We're on our way," the four scouts responded, already reaching for their transformation devices.

"Sammy, stay here," Serena and Hotaru cried together.

"The same goes for you two," Darien and Andrew told the boys as they transformed.

"Bullshit! Kat might be there," DJ declared, transforming into Phantom. "If she is, I have to go."

Tuxedo Mask stared at his future son and recognized the fire burning in the eyes behind the black mask. It was the same feeling that had compelled him to rush into battle every time he feared that Sailor Moon might be in danger. It was in that moment that he knew that his son was as deeply and undeniably in love as he was.

"Okay," he bit out. "But no stupid stunts."

"Whatever!" Phantom snapped as he jumped to the roof of the neighboring building, followed closely by Phoenix.

"Darien! What were you thinking?" Sailor Moon screeched.

"Chill out, Serena," Andrew told her. "They would have followed us anyway."

"Let's go!" Sailor Shadow declared, quickly following the boys along with Sailor Crescent Moon and Sailor Saturn. The others quickly followed suit as they hurried off to see what trouble Beryl was stirring up now.

* * *

Katie stumbled and gasped for breath as he hit the roof of an unfamiliar building. She would have fallen if it hadn't been for the arms still holding her. "What the hell just happened?"

The voice behind her spoke softly. "I've taken you forward about a week in time to show you an event in your life that should never take place, Pluto may disagree with my methods, but I felt this needed to be done."

"Wait a minute! You're going to show me something from my future? Isn't that breaking one of Pluto's rules?" Katie asked, trying to turn around only to find that he was still holding her tightly.

She felt him shrug. "I don't really care. I know she's working to try to fix the glitch in the timeline, but I can't sit by and do nothing. I'm trying to save two lives, and I believe that you are the only one that can do it."

"Why me?" she asked quietly. "You act like you know me pretty well. If you do then you should know that I usually manage to screw up everything I put my hands on."

"That's not true," he contradicted. "You are human and make mistakes just like everyone else. We make mistakes in life in order to learn from them and not repeat them. In this case though I'm going to show you a mistake that you haven't made yet in hopes that you learn what went wrong so that it never happens in the first place."

"Wow! That's pretty cryptic," she muttered sarcastically. "I thought Pluto was the master of speaking in riddles, but you could give her a run for her money. And could you let go of me? I may have said that I trust you, but I don't really like having people I don't know touching me."

He let out a growl of irritation but his arms let go of her. She took a couple of steps away and then turned slowly around to get a good look at her captor. She thought she was prepared for anything, but she couldn't stop the gasp that left her mouth.

At first she thought it was Darien, or King Endymion. He certainly looked like him with that messy midnight hair. He wore a black button down shirt with the top few buttons and undone and the sleeves rolled back over his forearms, a pair of faded blue jeans, and black boots. A pair of dark sunglasses hid his eyes from her, but as she watched his movements as he leaned casually against a wall and folded his arms across his chest she knew exactly who he was.

"DJ?" she whispered uncertainly.

His lips twitched up into the familiar grin that she knew so well. "Well you figured that out quick enough. I thought you would have mistaken me for my dad, Tinkerbell."

"Don't call me that!" she snapped out of pure habit, but she barely realized what she was saying. She was busy trying to figure out the mystery of the man before her. He moved like her boyfriend. His voice was a little deeper, but he still sounded like him. He just seemed so much older and mature. He looked to be about twenty-five.

She shook her head. "Okay, this may sound stupid, but how old are you?"

He chuckled. "I'm almost thirty two. I came here from fifteen years in the future from your proper time."

Katie let out a low whistle. "I don't know whether I should congratulate you on still looking good for your age or feel really creeped out because a guy that's closer to my dad's age than mine was holding on to me a minute ago."

A black eyebrow arched above the edge of the dark lenses perched on his nose. "Cute, Kat. Way to make me sound like a pervert."

She lifted her chin smugly. "If the shoe fits. And what's with the shades? It's nighttime in case you haven't noticed. I always thought that was more Alex's thing than yours. Take them off so I can see your eyes when I'm talking to you."

"Maybe later," he said shortly. "Right now we have more important things to discuss. Now a lot of this may be hard for you believe, but bear with me and try to keep an open mind. I'm sure that you've felt a rise in the tension between everyone lately. In the next few days something is going to happen that's going to cause Alex and I to get into a huge argument. I don't mean the usual I snap at him, he snaps at me, we steam about it for a few hours and everything blows over. I mean we really get mad at one another, mad enough to try to kick each other's asses."

Katie snorted. "Yeah right! Sure, the two of you have gotten into it a few times over the years, but neither one of you has ever even thrown a punch at the other."

"Open mind, remember," he reminded her. "I'm not saying that it's logical. Thinking back on it now I see how juvenile it really was. The point is that we let the stress get to us and we lashed out at each other."

Katie opened her mouth to rebuke the possibility of that happening, but snapped it shut again when the sounds of distant screams and a few loud booms reached her. She ran to the edge of the roof and looked down, shocked to see the streets filled with panicked people running from pursing guardians, sentinels, and youma. Flashes of different colored light came from several other points around the city, showing where many different battles were taking place.

"What the hell is going on?" she whispered in horror.

DJ came over to stand next to her. "It was a desperate move on Discord's part. Since he controls the time gate I think he saw something in the timeline that scared him. So he sent out a flood of his minions to saturate the city in an attempt to split everyone up and make us weaker. Sadly it worked. If it hadn't been for my mom and the Silver Crystal, the Earth could have been lost that night. But that's not what I wanted to show you. Come here."

He drew her over to the far side of the roof and into the dark concealing shadows there. "Just watch. Don't make a sound and don't move from this spot."

Katie wanted to tell him to go to hell, but she nodded instead. Her breath caught a moment later when she felt two very familiar energies approaching quickly. Two black blurs landed on the roof about thirty yards away from them. They stared one another down for a moment, as if sizing each other up.

"What the hell is your problem?" Phantom yelled. "I was just about to finish that sentinel off when decided to stick your nose into the middle of it. Thanks to you it got away!"

"Yeah right!" Phoenix snorted. "You were so busy showing off for my sister that you weren't even paying attention! Your stupid moves could have gotten someone killed."

"I was waiting for the right moment to strike, you idiotic bastard!" Phantom fired back. "That sentinel was a tricky one. I almost had it until you decided to come blazing in out of control and try to act the hero. I think you singed my cape."

"Oh cry me a river!" Phoenix sneered. "Why don't you go cry to mommy and let the real fighters around here get the job done."

"Ha!" Phantom barked. "I hope you don't consider yourself to be a real fighter. I could fight circles around you and you know it."

Phoenix's face went blood red. "I hope you can put your money where your mouth is, _your highness_, because you're about to get an ass kicking!" He lunged at him.

They both hit the ground hard, rolling around as the fists started flying. Muffled grunts and curses came from both of them as both managed to get in some good hits.

DJ grabbed Katie and held her back as she attempted to run from their hiding spot. "I told you not to move. You can't interfere in this."

"That hell I can't!" she spat back. "How can you just stand here and watch this? I've got to stop them. They're best friends."

"Stay put!" he ordered. "Just watch and see what happens."

She huffed but quit struggling against him. She turned her eyes back to the fighting boys who had now climbed back to their feet and stood several yards apart from each other as they panted for breath. Phantom now sported a busted lip while blood streamed from Phoenix's nose.

Phantom wiped his mouth with the back of his hand with a growl. "I've had enough playing around with you. I'm about to knock you on your ass!" He began glowing gold.

"Bring it on!" Phoenix shot back as his red orange power began to surge around him.

Katie saw something out of the corner of her eye and looked to see a tiger sentinel land on the roof. Its red eyes glowed menacingly as it eyed the fighting boys. She opened her mouth to scream a warning to them and found her mouth covered by a large hand. She froze when she still heard her voice cry out, "Stop it, you two!"

Sailor Eclipse landed near them and began running toward them at the same time the sentinel sprang forward as well. She threw herself between the two as they each launched an energy blast at the other, putting herself in the line of fire. She let out a shriek and silver light exploded around her.

The boom of the three energies colliding rocked the building and exploded in a light so bright that Katie had to close her eyes. When the brightness against her lids began to dim, she squinted her eyes open to see what had happened.

All three teens were lying motionless on the ground while a swirling cloud of silver, gold, and red orange surrounded them. Suddenly the mixture of energy was sucked into all three bodies, making them jerk.

Katie slumped bonelessly in the future prince's arms as she watched herself, her brother, and her boyfriend lying there helpless.

The sentinel had been knocked off its feet by the blast, and it snarled as it got up. Its eyes glowed brighter with bloodlust as it surveyed its enemies. The muscles bunched beneath its skin as it sprang forward.

Everything around Katie disappeared in a burst of light. Before she knew what was happening she found herself back on the roof of the apartment building.

"You don't need to see the rest of that," DJ told her as he released her. "You've had enough nightmares in your life without adding to them."

"What was that all about?" she asked shakily. "What happened next?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell you that. I'm already talking a huge risk of screwing up the timeline worse than it already is by showing you want I have. But I knew that you seeing it for yourself would be the only way to convince you."

Katie gritted her teeth together in agitation. "There you go talking in code again. I wish you would just come out and say whatever it is that you're trying to tell me. And stop hiding behind those stupid sunglasses!"

Before he could stop her she reached out and snatched them from his face. He stood there with his eyes closed tightly, which only infuriated her worse than she already was.

"Damn it! Look at me!" she demanded loudly. "You say that you are here to help me stop something bad from happening, but you won't even look me in the eyes."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You won't like what you see. My own mother can hardly stand to look at me without the glasses and not flinch."

"What did you do, turn into Rosemary's baby or something?" Katie scoffed. "I'm sure you're overreacting. Now open your eyes!"

A tiny grin appeared on his lips. "You're bound and determined to make me tell you more than I wanted to, aren't you? Fine! But don't say I didn't warn you."

He opened his eyelids slowly and watched as his gaze met hers and her already pale face turned impossibly whiter. Her wide, disbelieving hazel eyes sparked with questions and rampant emotions.

"It's time for us to have a little talk," he said quietly.

* * *

"Silver Moon, Crystal Power Kiss!" Sailor Moon cried, aiming her tier toward two youma and watching in satisfaction as they disintegrated into dust. She felt like screaming in frustration a moment later when it seemed that four more just seemed to take their place.

"What the hell! Mercury, where are they coming from?" she asked, edging closer to the blue suited scout.

Sailor Mercury had her visor in place and computer in her hand as Zoicite stood at her back to protect her while she tried to run scans of the area. "I'm not sure. She must have a portal open somewhere nearby to constantly bring in fresh recruits when she needs them."

"If we could get to Beryl and take her out, perhaps the rest will disappear," Sailor Shadow said as she joined them. She shot a blast of energy at one of Discord's guardians, cussing a blue streak under her breath when it avoided her attack. "I could try clearing the area."

Sailor Moon quickly put her hands over hers that had begun to glow blue. "No, don't do that. That attack takes a lot out of you when you're at full strength, and we don't need you collapsing on us. We need everyone we can get right now."

Shadow looked a little peeved, but she nodded in agreement. The enemy just seemed to keep on coming, and they had already lost a few members of their force. Saturn, who had still been recovering from her earlier ordeal, had given into exhaustion. Neptune had sprung to her adopted daughter's defense and had almost been overwhelmed. Luckily Uranus was never far from Neptune's side and had jumped in. After arguing for a few moments with her older, overprotective scouts, Sailor Moon had convinced them to take Saturn and go to her apartment to protect Sammy in case Beryl decided to go after him again while they were tied up here.

All the inners and the generals were there, as well as Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Shadow, and Andrew. But they kept getting distracted as they tried to fight and keep an eye on the handful of teens that were fighting alongside them at the same time.

Not that the younger heroes needed the supervision, they were holding their own in this fight as well as the adults were. But signs of weariness and irritation were beginning to show on their faces as well at the unending sea of attackers.

Luckily they didn't have to worry about any civilians. Since it was late there had mostly been carnival workers and maybe a hundred night owls around when the attack began. Most of them had fled when it began, and thanks to the quick response of Tokyo's heroes, the rest had been able to get away with only minor injuries.

Beryl cackled from the center of the melee where she was surrounded by a protective circle of her youma. "What's the matter, Serenity? You're not getting tired, are you? The fun is only beginning."

"I hate that woman!" Sailor Moon growled. "Every time I think we have her beaten for good she pops back up again like a recurring nightmare. Why won't she stay dead?"

Beryl's eyes gleamed maliciously. "I never knew that you were capable of such negative emotions, Serenity. I thought the moon royalty prided themselves on their grace and gentility. But you're practically foaming at the mouth for a chance to tear into me. This wouldn't happen to be because I held your prince in my arms earlier, would it?"

"Shut up!" Sailor Moon screamed at her. "I am so sick of you! This is more than just me being mad because you are determined to steal the man that I love. You are a twisted, evil soul. Because of you I lost one lifetime. I am not going to stand by and let you destroy this one too. I will fight you with every last breath in my body."

Beryl snapped her fingers and forces pulled back to her side, leaving the scouts, generals, and others to gather around the moon princess.

"Serena, what are you doing?" Tuxedo Mask asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "I'm tired of this, Darien. Because of her we both lost the kingdoms that were rightfully ours. Then she almost messed up our second chance. Now she's running around attacking my family and friends. I can't let this go on. I have to stop her any way I can." There was a flash of light as the Silver Crystal appeared, floating above her palm.

Tuxedo Mask grabbed her by the shoulders. "I can't let you do this. Don't you remember what happened the last time you used the crystal against her? You ended up dead!"

She shrugged his hands away gently. "But I came back, didn't I? Besides, I was only fourteen years old and barely knew how to use the crystal then. I've come a long way since then."

"And so has she!" he snapped back. "Thanks to Discord she has received a tremendous power boost. She's not the same as she was the last time you faced her either."

"Ooo, Serenity," Beryl purred like a satisfied cat. "Does this mean that you're willing to challenge me one on one? How about we place a little wager, you versus me with no outside interference from anyone else. Whoever wins gets Endymion, the Silver Crystal, and the Earth. Does that sound fair enough?"

Sailor Moon spoke loudly to be heard over the protests of the others. "Sounds good to me. Let's get it on."

A strong wind blew discarded cups and food wrappers across the ground. "There will be no fight between the two of you on this night." There was a bright flash of light, and then a woman stood before them.

Everyone stared at the newcomer in shock. Her long silver hair was caught up in the traditional buns and pigtails of the lunar royal family and her tall, slender frame was draped in her official silver royal gown. Her lavender eyes were calm, yet held a spark of fury as she glared at the Dark Kingdom queen.

But when Queen Serenity spoke her voice was as regal and commanding as it ever was. "The time is coming, Beryl, when you will be made to own up to all of the misery and sorrow that you have inflicted on everyone here, and I look forward to the time that my daughter sends you back to Hades where you deserve to be."

"So the dead queen has decided to thwart my attempts twice in one night," Beryl snarled, but she looked scared. "Why can't you stay dead and keep your nose out of my business? This doesn't concern you."

"Anything that impacts my family concerns me," the queen rebuked. "I will not stand by and watch you try to destroy the second chance I have given them. You have no intentions of facing Serenity in a fair fight, you evil witch, and I know it."

Beryl just smirked. "And I know that you can only hold your form for only a short amount of time, and even then only during certain times of the month." She looked up to where the barest little sliver of moon could be seen in the night sky. " What do you have, two, maybe three days before the new moon wanes completely and you go back to being an invisible, soundless spirit? I think I can wait that long."

A portal opened behind her and she and her remaining forces stepped through without another word.

Sailor Moon stared at the straight back of the queen for a long moment before whispering, "Mother?"

Queen Serenity turned to her with a benevolent smile. "Hello, Serenity. It's been a while." Her gaze fell on Sailor Shadow. "You too, my little Melody."

Both Sailor Moon and Sailor Shadow burst into tears and ran to embrace the queen. They stood that way for several moments before Queen Serenity's body began to flicker and fade.

"Oh dear," Serenity sighed. "I guess I have used up all of the energy that I have for tonight. Were Saturn and your brother able to make it to you?"

Sailor Moon nodded. "Yes, and they are both okay. I'm just grateful that you were able to help them."

Queen Serenity smiled sadly. "I may not be able to do much, but I do what I am capable of doing. I could not sit by and let you walk into that duel with Beryl. Even though you were blinded with rage, your intentions were noble. You sought to protect your loved ones and the Earth. Beryl has no such notions. She is greedy and selfish and would not think twice stabbing you in the back. She would never face you in a fair fight. You will get your chance against her, but make sure you do it together. You all draw your strength from each other."

Sailor Moon hung her head. "I know. She just makes me so mad. Why can't we just be rid of her already!"

"The time is coming, my darling," Serenity soothed her. Then she turned a chastising look on Sailor Shadow. "And you, young lady, pay attention to Motoki when he is trying to look after you and don't give him a hard time. Solarians can be frightening creatures when riled to anger. Believe me, I know from firsthand experience. Your grandfather was patient man for the most part, but on the occasions he did get angry he could give the devil a run for his money."

She stepped away from them. "Now let me give the younger ones a once over before I take my leave. What a fine group of fighters you are! I'm sure you do your parents proud, both here and in the future. Watch each other's backs and keep one another safe."

"Yes ma'am," they all replied, bowing their heads in respect.

"Serenity, Darien, and Alexander," she addressed Crescent Moon, Phantom, and Phoenix. "Words cannot express the joy this old soul feels when it looks upon you. It lets me know that my life definitely had a purpose and that I fulfilled it. I would have told Kathleen this as well, but it seems that she had other business to attend to tonight."

"We don't know where she is, grandma!" Sailor Shadow exclaimed. Her earlier fears resurfacing now that the battle was over. "She disappeared right before Beryl attacked."

"Do not distress yourself, my dear," Serenity said calmly. "She did not disappear and nobody kidnapped her. She simply had other things on her mind that she needed to work out. She will return home soon."

"Thank god!" Phantom and Phoenix muttered together, looking relieved.

The queen's body flickered again and turned transparent. "I must go now. Scouts, you are doing a wonderful job as always. Pass on my greetings to the outer scouts as well. Generals, continue watching over my girls. They are like daughters to me. Motoki, I hope my granddaughter doesn't drive you crazy. Watch over her and my great-grandchildren."

"We will," they all promised her solemnly.

The translucent queen ghosted over to Tuxedo Mask and spoke low where only he could hear. "I know you will keep her safe, Endymion, but please take care of her. This battle is not over, and she will need your strength and support to see her through."

He placed his right hand over his heart and inclined his head. "I will, your majesty."

"I must go now," Serenity told them all. "May Selene watch over you all and guide you." She faded away.

"Well that was unexpected," Sailor Mars said after a moment of silence.

Sailor Jupiter nodded her head. "For real! I guess you never know who's going to pop up around here."

"Are you okay?" Tuxedo Mask asked, wrapping an arm around Sailor Moon's shoulders.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm a little emotionally shell shocked, but I'm fine."

"Then what do you say we go home and chase off your brother and the outers and go to bed so we can pick up where we left off?" he whispered in her ear. "The wine's probably warm by now, but I can switch it out for another one."

"You're bad!" she giggled quietly. "But it sounds good to me. It's good thing we don't have to get up in the morning. I also have a feeling that Azabu High might be missing some students tomorrow as well." She nodded her head toward where the group of teens were smothering yawns behind their hands.

"I think we're all out of here," Sailor Venus said. "I was just about to doze off when I got the call and I'm ready to go back to bed."

"Bull! That's code for her and dad were about to get their freak on and were interrupted," Ishtar muttered to Callisto, nudging her in the ribs as they both laughed.

The group broke apart as they all headed for home. The scouts, generals, and their respective children headed for their place while Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Shadow, Andrew, and the remaining teens headed for theirs.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Crescent Moon landed on one balcony, while Sailor Shadow and Andrew landed on the neighboring one. Phantom and Phoenix landed on the roof.

The five on the balconies below looked up, but decided not to say anything and went inside to seek their beds. They knew that the two of them wouldn't come down from there until Katie returned, even if it took all night. So there was no use saying anything to them.

* * *

The future Katie watched from high in the tree branches as the group beneath her split up and left. She couldn't stop the smile on her face. Metallia must be pulling her hair out right about now since Queen Serenity's spirit had decided to show up and throw a wrench into her plans. Served the bitch right?

She was so busy gloating to herself that she didn't feel the approaching energy until the branch she was sitting on shuddered and she had to grab hold of it to keep from losing her seat. She looked around, surprised to find the crouched figure of Sailor Eclipse merely feet away from her.

She covered her shock quickly. "I was wondering where you were little girl. I thought maybe you'd had enough of this shit and ran."

"Cut the crap!" Eclipse growled. "You're not pulling anything on me. I know exactly what's going on around here and what you're trying to pull. And if anybody around here is going to save my brother from dying, it's going to be me!"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Katie snapped, slipping from the branch and dropping to the ground. Her feet had barely touched the ground when she was spun around and pushed into the tree trunk.

"Don't give me that shit, you bitch!" Eclipse raged, her face only inches away from hers. "I know that you're me from the future and that you sold yourself out to Discord to have a shot at saving Alex from getting mauled to death by a sentinel after he and DJ got into a fight. But now I know what has to be done, so I'm letting you know that I'm going to take care of it. So back off!"

Katie pushed her away, hard, making her stumble back. "You're going to take care of it? Don't make me laugh! I was you at one time, so forgive me if I don't have that much faith in you. If you screwed things up once, you just might do it again. So the best thing for you to do is butt the hell out!"

Eclipse shoved her back. "And you can kiss my ass! I know I can't stop the two of them from getting into that fight, but I can sure as hell stop that sentinel from sinking its fangs into my brother."

"You don't get it!" Katie snapped. "I've been working toward this for fifteen years. I gave up my family and my life just to have ten seconds in which to save Alex and change the future."

Eclipse heard the pain in those words. "I do understand. I am you, remember. I can't fully imagine what it would be like to lose my brother or anyone else close to me, but I know that I would do anything and everything in my power if I thought there was a way to bring them back."

Katie slid her sunglasses down her nose to study her past self closely with those eerie, swirling eyes of hers. "Would you really? Would you break your parent's heart and turn your back on the only man you would ever love for one shot at changing the past, even if you didn't know if it would work or not? Would you give up your life for that?"

Eclipse shrugged. "I can't answer that because I honestly don't know. I've never been in the position that you were put in."

Katie smirked. "And that's the reason why I have to handle this myself. You can't possibly comprehend the years of pain and suffering that have driven me to this point. I have learned that there is only one person that I can trust to set things right, and that person is me."

Sailor Eclipse shook her head before turning and walking away. "You do what you feel like you have to do. But I'm warning you; I'm not backing down. I know what I have to do, and I'm going to do it. So you can try to push me away all you want to, but I can be just as stubborn as you. And a word of advice, I would quit fighting against DJ so hard. The man obviously loves you. I don't know what it is that could make his past or future self love either one of us, but he does. If I were you I would grab him with both hands and never let go. Now I'm off to see my prince. Good night!"

Katie stared after her past self wordlessly as she leapt away in the direction where two bright and very worried auras awaited her. She leaned her head back against the tree as a solitary tear rolled down her cheek.

"Damn it, DJ! What have you done?"

**A/N **Uh oh! Future DJ may have opened up a whole new can of worms with his revelations to Katie. Now her past and future self are about ready to lock horns over this whole thing. And what was Queen Serenity doing slinking around? Let's just say that she has her reasons. The Beryl saga of this story is about to come to a close, but I still have more planned before it's over. Don't forget to click below and tell me what you think. I absolutely adore reviews. I'll see ya next update. Lots of love!

~Sere~


	18. The Cookie Crumbles

**A/N **A thousand and one humble apologies for the long wait! All I can claim is that I've been busy, busy, busy! October is always a busy month in my house because my hubby and I convert our garage into a haunted house every year for the trick-or-treaters to go through and we build all of our displays from scratch. It's very time consuming, but well worth it in the end. Some people think that we're nuts for putting so much effort into something that will only be seen for a few hours on one night, but that's us. I was also dealing with some other things going on that caused my writing to turn really angsty. So instead of ruining any of my existing stories with it, I funneled that angst into other projects that I hope to post in the future. So anyway, once I got my head back on straight I got this finished for you. It's pretty long, so I hope that makes up some for the wait.

All right, so where are my reviewers? I need to give out my hugs for their wonderful words of inspiration. Oh! There you are! BIG HUGS TO:

**TanithLipsky**

**amaramichelle**

**nileena**

**sabina21**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Chibi Kitt**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**KageNoNeko**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Seredhiel05**

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**S dot Serenity**

**anime-lover10**

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**rainbabie**

**R**

**Myst**

**Isis2010**

Thanks bunches and bunches you guys! Now I'm off to work some more. The next chapter of Rekindled is sitting on my flash drive waiting for me to try to make some sense out of it, so that's my next mission. Bad Boys may be a little longer, but I haven't forgotten it either. I also started a Halloween one shot that sadly didn't get completed before the big day, but I may finish it up and post it as well. Better late than never, right? Anyway, that's enough out of me!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 16

The Cookie Crumbles

"So as you can see, class, the author used several different examples of foreshadowing and symbolism. Can any of you recite the line from the poem that showed that the main character had seen his death and knew that it was drawing near?"

Close to two dozen hands shot up into the air, but the literature teacher focused her attention on the one pupil that had not raised her hand. "Miss Morgan, perhaps you would like to stop daydreaming and join the rest of the class."

Katie sat with her cheek resting on her palm as she stared out the window. She may have appeared calm on the outside, but on the inside she was a hyperactive, jumbled up mess. She had so many thoughts flying through her head that they kept crashing into one another, making it impossible to sort anything out.

'_Kat!' _she heard two voices hiss in her mind at the same time that someone nudged her in the ribs. She glanced over at Emma beside her who jerked her head toward the front of the room, and she looked up to find her very cross teacher standing there with her arms folded across her chest while she tapped her foot impatiently.

Katie's face turned red as she realized that every eye in the room was on her. Besides all of the other students, Rini and Skye had twisted around in their seats in front of her to look at her curiously and Alex and DJ watched her with concern written on both of their faces.

"I'm sorry Miss Takemaru," she mumbled in embarrassment. "I must have spaced out for a minute."

The stern faced teacher snorted. "For a minute my foot! You've done nothing but stare off into space for this entire class. Now stop fantasizing about boys and pay attention. What we are covering will be on the test next week."

Katie's hazel eyes glittered angrily but she bowed her head and replied softly, "Yes ma'am."

Miss Takemaru seemed pleased by her meekness. "Miss Tsukino, perhaps you may be able to answer my question."

Rini stood up. " Yes ma'am,"

Katie blocked out her voice. She didn't give a damn what the teacher was talking about. For all she knew she may not even be here for that stupid test next week. She might be home reuniting with her family by then, or dead, or possibly aligning herself with Discord.

She shivered at the thought. It had been two days since the DJ from the future had shown her that horrible event from her future and she had badgered him into telling her as much as she could force out of him. Ever since then she had been on edge, watching for any little sign that might possibly signal the impending doom. She was afraid to go to sleep and loathe to let either her brother or her boyfriend out of her sight. She kept tabs on both of them as much as possible, watching them as if they were ticking time bombs that may explode at any moment.

She was well aware of her character flaws and what they were, and lack of patience was definitely one that ranked high up on the list. She wished that whatever was going to happen would just go ahead and happen already. This sitting around waiting for the shoe to drop was driving her mad.

'_Are you okay?' _a concerned voice whispered through her head.

She cut a quick glance across the aisle where DJ sat, facing toward the front of the room, but she saw his blue irises peeking at her out of the corner of his eyes. _'I'm fine. I was just having a blonde moment.'_

'_You sure?'_

'_Yes, I'm sure. Now can we drop it, please?'_

She sighed in relief as she felt his mind retreat from hers. She had been trying so hard to keep her fear and anxiety contained so that it wouldn't spill over where the guys could sense it, but lack of sleep and continuously stretching nerves were making it hard to keep up the façade that nothing was wrong.

She put on a pretense of paying attention to what the teacher was lecturing about, but in reality she was watching the clock over the woman's head as it steadily ticked off the minutes until the class was over and she could escape the stifling classroom. When at last the second hand had counted down the last few seconds, the bell mercifully rang.

Katie was the first one out of her seat. She jumped up like she had been stuck with a needle and grabbed her books before almost sprinting out the door. She had beaten the crowds of students leaving their classes, so she had clear sailing as she shot down the hallway toward her destination. She pulled a bill out of the pocket of her skirt and had it ready in her hand as she approached the soda machine at the end of the hall. It slid easily into the money slot and she pounded the button for a cherry coke.

The machine rattled as it dropped her drink into the bin. She snatched it up and popped the top, downing the soda in less than fifteen seconds. She felt the presences coming up behind her as she tossed the can into a nearby trashcan and pasted a smile on her face.

"Are you two stalking me now?" she quipped in a light voice as she turned to face her boyfriend and brother. "Can't a girl get a drink in peace around here?"

"We were worried about you," Alex said quietly as he stared down at the floor where he was shuffling his feet back and forth.

A surge of love for her twin exploded in her chest. She loved DJ irrevocably, but it was different than what she felt for her brother. Other than the three days that she had been held captive by Discord, there was never a time that she couldn't remember Alex's presence lingering in the back of her mind. She had a feeling that even in their mother's womb that they had been connected and looking out for one another.

"You don't have to be worried about me. I'm fine," she said teasingly. "My throat was really dry, so I wanted to get a drink before we go to French. It's no big deal. Now we better get to class before we're late and end up in detention."

She didn't give either one of them a chance to voice the questions that shown clearly on their faces as she looped an arm with each of them and dragged them off toward their waiting class, keeping up a steady stream of chatter the entire time.

It wasn't until she was seated at her desk next to Emma that she allowed the plastic smile to fade from her face and her shoulders to slump. She had always considered herself to be good at keeping secrets. Luckily the Furuhata gossiping gene hadn't been passed down to her and her friends had been coming and confiding in her for years because they knew that she wouldn't go around repeating what they told her in confidence.

But this was so much more than covering for Alex and Emma when they wanted to sneak out for a date, or listening to Rini talk about her relationship with Helios, or hearing about Skye's latest conquests. This was the first time she had been told something that was a matter of life or death and been unable to talk to anyone about it, and it was eating her up inside.

_**FLASHBACK**_

She paced back and forth on the roof of the apartment building, her mind reeling with everything that she had just learned. A low growl ripped its way up her throat as she abruptly stopped and spun toward the black haired man that was leaning against the ledge of the roof with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her warily.

Her hazel eyes flashed furiously at him. "This is total horseshit! If it wasn't for the fact that I can sense that you're exactly who you say you are, I would swear that this was a trick of Discord's."

Those swirling tricolored eyes bored into hers. "In a way it is a trick of that bastard's. His name definitely suits him. He exists for no other purpose than to cause discord and wreck havoc. He is a master of manipulation and enjoys screwing with people's heads, as I'm sure you well know."

She shivered as she thought back to those three days that he had held her captive. He had definitely done a number on her, making her doubt not only herself, but everyone else around her as well. It had been a long, hard battle to try and reclaim her life again, and it was still a daily fight to not give in to the darkness and despair that was always lingering around in the back of her mind.

That alone made it possible for her to believe this DJ from the future when he had told her that she had defected to Discord's side in his time. But the events that led up to her doing something so drastic was impossible for her to wrap her head around.

"I just don't get it!" she moaned, pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. "I know you and Alex had your share of arguments from time to time. You've even come close to throwing punches on a few occasions. But the two of you have never fought the way you just showed me, that was usually our forte. So why would you two suddenly start trying to stomp the snot out of each other when we have so many other things going on?"

DJ shrugged. "I never said it made sense. Looking back on it now I see exactly how petty and juvenile it actually was. Just keep in mind that we are normal, hot-blooded, teenage boys. I don't think that either of us meant for things to get so far out of control, but words were exchanged and the next thing I knew we were at each other's throats. Believe me, I wish I could take back every hurtful thing I said to him."

Katie felt a rush of sympathy for the man before her. It was hard for her to imagine the hell that he had lived through in his life. The stress and strain were etched into every feature of his still devastatingly handsome face. She couldn't stop herself from reaching out and brushing the long black bangs away from his eyes.

"What happened to us?" she asked softly. "I know now that the woman that attacked me the night of the hospital benefit is really me from the future. But why do our eyes look like this?"

He heaved a sigh. "I don't think anybody really knows. Mercury and Zoicite have run test after test for years now, but there is no logical explanation for it. The most we've ever come with is that it's a punishment from the gods for fighting amongst ourselves when we were supposed to be becoming stronger as a team. That night on the roof all of our energy got mixed up and then the jumbled mess was sucked back into our bodies, giving us the ability to use the power of the sun, moon, and earth. But having all three twisted together like than in the same body makes the energy very unpredictable and hard to use."

"Oh," was all she could mutter as a reply. She had grown up watching her mother and the tight control that she had to maintain at all times because of the fact that she carried both moon and earth power inside of her. And heaven knows she had a hard time keeping her own moon energy from lashing out at times. But to have three powerful energies wrestling inside of you, that had to be overwhelming.

She turned her attention back to the problem at hand. "Well now that I know what's going on, I should be able to do something about it. I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open. The moment I see the two of you getting ready to take a chunk out of each other I'll just break you up and send you to your rooms like good little boys. If you don't get a chance to argue then the fight will never happen."

DJ smiled sadly at her. "I wish it could be that simple, but unfortunately there's nothing you can do to stop it. The only thing you can do now is make sure that sentinel doesn't get anywhere near Alex. Even though she seems harsh, that's why your future self is here. She plans to stop his death and change the future at the risk of her own life. But I think you're a better candidate for the job."

_**END FLASHBACK**_

Katie jumped in her seat as the bell rang and students all around her got up and grabbed their belongings before dashing out of the room to try and beat the crowds to the cafeteria. She closed her French book and carefully returned it, along with her notebook and pen, to her backpack before slowly standing and joining the others.

DJ slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as they walked down the hall. "Are you sure you're okay? You spaced out the entire class again."

She put on her best smile, hoping that it didn't look as fake as it felt. "I'm fine. Really I am. I guess I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well last night."

This caught Alex's attention. "You're not having nightmares again, are you?"

"No, no!" she quickly assured him. "It's nothing like that. I just had a hard time getting to sleep. Of course it would help if I didn't have to share a room with someone that snores like a chainsaw," she teased him, trying to make everything seem normal.

He sputtered indignantly. "I do NOT snore!"

"Actually sweetie, you do," Emma told him in a compassionate voice as she patted his shoulder. "But I would never hold it against you. I still love you anyway."

"Sounds like Emma better put earplugs on the gift registry when she's planning the wedding," Rini snickered as she elbowed Skye in the ribs.

Skye high-fived her. "Hell yeah! There's nothing wrong with a man being vocal in bed, but not when it's sleepy-time. If I wanted to curl up with something that rumbles I'd sleep in my car." Then her eyes turned wistful. "I miss my car."

"I'm sure it'll still be sitting at home waiting for you when we go back," Katie choked out, fighting down the blush that was threatening to rise at Skye's casual reference to sharing a bed with the opposite sex. She didn't know how the girl always managed to sound so nonchalant about intimate subjects like that considering she knew from Skye's alcohol induced confession several months ago that she was still as untouched as the day she was born. She may flirt outrageously with every male she came across, but she was biding her time until she found the one guy who would capture her heart forever.

Everyone else's cheeks were tinged pink in embarrassment as well and they fell silent as they continued on outside to claim a shady spot to sit. They settled under a tree as Skye began unpacking various containers from a bag she had grabbed from her locker on the way. That was the good thing about being friends with a locally well-known restaurant owner; Lita made sure none of them went hungry.

The silence that had fallen over them was broken as Jayden and Hannah joined them, bickering with each other as usual. Although they were only fourteen, Sailor Pluto had worked her hocus-pocus and had the two of them enrolled as high school sophomores. Any grade less than that would have left them bored. It also kept the group of young heroes together.

"I don't see what you're getting so bent out of shape about," the golden haired boy was saying. "I still passed the test with a higher grade than most of the other imbeciles in that class."

Hannah's dark sapphire hair swished as she shook her head. "But you still could have done better. Maybe if you paid attention to the teacher more instead of staring at girl's legs all the time you would retain more information."

Bright blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say that you sound jealous."

Hannah ground to an abrupt halt, her green eyes going wide as she gaped at him. "I am NOT jealous! I don't care if you look up the skirts of every girl in the school, you pervert! I was just trying to give you some friendly advice so you can do your best in your classes. But obviously my opinions aren't appreciated. If you'll excuse me."

She stomped around the group to the far side where she sat down next to Rini before pulling out her history book and ducking behind it, but not before everyone saw the red spots burning on her cheeks and the suspicious glimmer in her eyes.

Jayden stared after her for a moment with a confused look on his face before shrugging it off and throwing himself down on the grass. He grinned widely at Emma and Katie. "So ladies, are we ready for another fun filled afternoon?"

A warning growl came from Alex. "Watch yourself, Hotstuff! You can perv over every other girl in the school, but these two are off limits."

Emma bumped her boyfriend's shoulder with hers as she smiled brightly at Jayden. "Of course I'm ready. It's one of the highlights of my school day."

Jayden was quite an accomplished guitar player, so he had joined Katie in attending afternoon classes with Michelle. Emma wasn't much at playing any instruments, but she possessed a clear, angelic singing voice. She really should have been in the chorus, but Michelle had pulled some strings, saying that she needed a vocalist to accompany her students, and had wrangled the blonde girl into her class.

Katie sat aside the soda that DJ had passed her and dug in her bag before pulling out a couple of packets of paper. She handed one to Emma and one to Jayden. "I did some modifications to the song we were working on yesterday and finished the lyrics. I wanted you two to look it over and tell me what you think."

Everyone was quiet for a moment as the two ruffled through the papers. After a moment Jayden looked up with his eyes glowing excitedly. "That's…wow…it's incredible!"

Emma was in a similar state of awe. "This is probably the most heartfelt song I've ever read."

"Let me see!" Alex and DJ said together as they reached for the papers.

Katie deftly snatched them back and slid them into her bag. "Nope! Nobody else gets to know what it says until we work out the kinks."

DJ huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Meanie! I just wanted a little peek."

She let a teasing smile play around her lips. "You'll just have to wait and see."

"That's not fair!" Alex complained.

"Aww, leave her alone," Skye said as she started passing out food. "It's no different than either one of you not wanting someone to see one of your lame video games or geeky science projects before you're finished."

That comment set off a round of good natured arguing as Alex defended his hobby of designing video games, claiming that one day he was going to make millions with it and DJ grumbled that being good at science didn't automatically make a person a nerd.

Katie sat back, watching all of this with a feeling of sad happiness. She wished with all her heart that she could freeze this perfect moment in time and keep things like this forever. This was the way they should be, everyone laughing and joking. She never wanted it to change.

She felt the presence of an aura watching them and had to bite back a snarl. _'Go away!' _she thought venomously. Now that she knew what to look for she was able to pick up when her future self was near, and she was starting to get extremely irritated with the woman's almost constant surveillance.

"Hey," DJ said to her softly. "You're a million miles away again. Aren't you going to eat? Lunch will be over before you know it."

She gave him a small smile and then gave in to the need to have some physical comfort and leaned against him as she reached for a sandwich to nibble on. Unlike some people, like her mother, Serena, and Rini, whose already huge appetites seemed to increase to astronomical proportions when they were stressed, she had to force herself to choke down a few bites. And what little she consumed sat like a lead weight in her stomach.

The time was coming. She could feel it bearing down on her like a suffocating blanket. Would they all still be standing when it was all said and done, or would the ominous future she caught a glimpse of come true? Only time would tell.

* * *

For the second time in just a few weeks, Sailor Pluto found herself once again descending into the underground of Mount Olympus to answer a summons from her grandfather. It wasn't really all that surprising. She may be limited to seeing only what bits and pieces her garnet orb could show her, but she had seen several disturbing outcomes in the visions she had been granted.

The double doors to Chronos's chambers opened at her approach, and she was greeted by the sounds of several raised voices. She stepped in and was shocked to see a group of gods and goddesses arguing with each other like a pack of grade schoolers.

"Damn it all!" Apollo thundered, slamming a fist down on the table in front of him as he glared at Gaia and Selene. "I told the two of you that we should have waited until the next generation to choose the ones to wield the Trinity. They are much more likely candidates than this lot. But no, I let you conniving women talk me into this. Now look at the mess we have!"

:Oh, go stuff yourself, Apollo!" Gaia fumed. "We didn't talk you into anything and you know it! So don't try to make us out to be the bad guys here!"

"Let's calm ourselves and try to look at this rationally," Selene spoke up in her quiet, placating voice. "All is not lost yet. There is still a chance that things could turn out in our favor."

"You better hope that it does," a deep voice growled from the other end of the table where Hades, god of the Underworld, sat swirling a glass of wine absently in his fingers. His black hair and eyes glinted with a reddish light in the glow of firelight that filled the chamber. "I have souls disappearing out of my domain, and I don't think I need to tell you how…upsetting that is to me. That bastard is breaching doors that he should have never reached, and I want him stopped."

"We all want him stopped," Chronos said wearily as he turned from the large mirror he had been gazing into. "But I agree with Gaia, Selene, and Apollo. To give those children the power of the Trinity before they are ready could result in cataclysmic failure."

"Failure?…Failure!" Hades boomed as he shoved himself up from his seat and stalked toward the mirror where he stabbed a finger at the image of a black haired man and a blonde woman, both of them with blazing, swirling eyes, locked together in a fierce battle as their swords clashed together repeatedly. "I don't know what you would call this, but it looks like it's already a failure in my book. I say go ahead and give them the power they need. If we're lucky they'll still be able to take Discord down."

Pluto had heard enough. She strode forward determinedly. "You can't do that! If you do all three of them may die!"

Hades raked her with a contemptuous glare. "Then there will be three less pitiful humans to worry about!"

Pluto pulled herself up to her full height. Though she was still several inches shorter than the furious man in front of her, she refused to back down. She returned his jet black glare with snapping garnet eyes.

"You listen to me," she ground out in a tight voice. "I have been working my ass off trying to set things right, but I will not defect from my duties to my future king and queen just because you get bent out of shape. You'll get your precious souls back. I'm confident that the rift in the timeline will change."

"Climb down off of your high horse, little girl! You're no saint," Hades sneered. "We wouldn't be faced with this situation if you had done your job like you were supposed to. Instead you let that bleeding Plutonian heart of yours be swayed by the compassion you feel for that fragile lunarian princess and her offspring."

Pluto's eyes flared with contempt. "Serenity is not fragile, nor are any of the others. But I swore an oath of allegiance that can't be broken no matter how many times they die and come back. So I've broken a few rules over the years to ensure the safety of Serenity's line. I would do it all over again if I was confronted with the same situations."

The lord of the underworld seemed to swell with indignance. "So you admit that you have willingly and on purpose broken the rules on more than one occasion." He spun toward Chronos. "And you've let her get away with this? If it wasn't for Hera's threat I would go to Zeus right this minute. Time is all messed up because of her and you're covering it up!"

"Enough!" Chronos roared. "I wish to speak to my granddaughter alone. Leave us!"

A petulant look crossed Hades' face, but he held his tongue. He shot one last murderous glare at Sailor Pluto before he turned and stomped from the chamber. Apollo, Gaia, and Selene followed, but they paused as Pluto spoke softly to them as they passed.

"Be ready," she told them. "I have every confidence that the future is about to change for the better. DJ, Katie, and Alex will soon be prepared to step into their roles. I have faith in them."

"As do I," Gaia agreed.

Selene smiled and nodded.

Apollo sighed and shook his head, but said nothing as he followed the goddesses out.

"Setsuna," Chronos said in a tired voice as the doors closed behind them. "I thought you would have learned by now to not pick a fight with Hades."

Pluto shrugged. "I couldn't help it. He spoke against my princess and I couldn't stand for that."

"Nevertheless," Chronos admonished. "He is a force to be reckoned with when riled to anger, and he's already upset enough with Persephone being gone."

"Well it's not my fault that his wife has to spend half the year away from him!" she snapped. "That doesn't give him the excuse to start attacking people."

"I would agree with you, but there's more to it than that. Did you hear what he said about the souls that have escaped from Tartarus?" the god of time asked her.

She nodded. "I know that Discord resurrected Metallia and then she revived Beryl, but I'm certain that Serenity, Endymion, and the others will be able to take care of them. The garnet orb has at least shown me that much."

Chronos shook his head. "They're not the only ones that had been stolen away from the hell realm. Discord managed to sneak in and take some others as well. He hasn't brought them back yet, but unless he's stopped soon it could spell certain doom for the Earth."

Pluto felt her blood freeze in her veins. "Who else has he taken?"

Chronos beckoned her over to the time mirror. He waved a hand and several figures shimmered into sight in the glass, wringing a cry from the normally stoic time guardian.

"He's going to try to bring back the Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, and Chaos as well?" she gasped.

"He will if he isn't stopped soon," he replied glumly. "I thought we might have more time to work with to try and set time back on its proper path, but this move from Discord was unexpected."

"You can say that again," Pluto grumbled. "Serenity would have no problem taking them on one by one. But if he were to unleash them all at once…it may prove to be overwhelming even with the help of the others. It's too bad that the scouts won't be granted their eternal powers until the formation of Crystal Tokyo. That would help even the odds."

She tapped her staff on the floor in agitation. "Ugh! I've got to get Discord away from the time gate so I can see what's going on. This acting blindly is driving me mad."

Her grandfather gave her a commiserative smile. "It is certainly disconcerting. Luckily the time mirror has allowed me to see a little more than what the garnet orb has shown you. That is why I asked you here today. I know you have been working with the Kathleen from the future. But are you aware that your young prince has been meddling in the past as well?"

Pluto's head snapped up. " What? I told him to go home and stay there when I caught him sneaking around Tokyo."

Chronos chuckled at her disbelief. "And you expected him to comply meekly? That boy is just as stubborn as his parents. You should have known that he would never give up. He has enlisted the help of the younger Sailor Eclipse in an attempt to not only save Alexander's life, but her future self as well."

The vision in the mirror changed to depict a scene that showed the grown, dark haired prince from the future conversing animatedly with the teenaged Katie.

Pluto put a hand to her temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. "I was foolish to believe that he wouldn't interfere. This could have severe consequences."

"On the contrary, from what I have been able to see several of the timelines changed for the better the moment he became involved," Chronos told her. "His plan to keep the Trinity holders intact seems to be much more effective than the woman's. But there is one fatal flaw that will still need to be overcome."

Apprehension skittered across her nerve endings. "And what is that?"

His sharp garnet eyes locked on hers. "The Fates don't like to be thwarted. They are clearly expecting to sever the thread of someone's life that night. So if they are denied the pleasure of cutting Alexander's, they may very well target one of the others. The future is still in danger."

She sucked in a shuddering breath. "Do you have any idea who?"

He shrugged. "I've seen bits and pieces of different scenarios. There are too many open ends at the moment to give me a clear answer. None of them are certain at this time and they still have the possibility of being changed. I sincerely hope that they are. I would love to see the Fates throw back their heads and howl for a while. It would serve those three bitches right for playing with people's lives like they are nothing more than toys."

The large mirror split into three different scenes. One showed Sailor Eclipse falling from the roof of a tall building as the concrete crumbled away beneath her. Another showed Jess plunging several hundred feet from a bridge into the dangerous waters of Tokyo Bay.

But the third one was the most disturbing. Sailor Moon stood before a woman that she knew very well. The bright smile on her face faded into a look of agony and disbelief as the woman flung a hand toward her and sent a long crystal spear shooting straight into her heart. Blood splattered the front of her fuku and stained her lips as she crumpled to the ground. Tears glistened in her crystal blue eyes as she whispered, "Why?" And then her eyelids closed forever in death.

Pluto's fingers tightened around her staff in a white knuckled grip. "That has to be an illusion! There is no way she could…she would never kill Serenity! That vision can't be true!"

"Sadly enough, it just might be," Chronos said softly. "Beware of those who pretend to be your allies. They may be nothing more than a sheep in wolf's fur."

* * *

Serena cracked the door to the oven open just a tiny bit so she could peek inside at the apple pie that was sending its heavenly smell throughout the apartment. "What do you think, Lita? Is it ready to come out?"

Lita hurried across the kitchen to glance inside the oven. "Hmm…maybe just a few more minutes. You want the crust to be an even, golden brown all over."

Serena carefully closed the door and straightened up to beam at her auburn haired friend. "Won't Darien be so proud of me? I made his favorite pie almost completely by myself!"

Jess snorted from where she sat at the breakfast bar with a sketchpad in front of her. "Almost by yourself my ass! Lita did most of it and you know it! Of course, I don't blame her after the mess you made with the flour."

Serena scrunched up her nose that was liberally coated in white, along with the rest of her face and a good portion of her hair as well. "You're just jealous because I'll be able to greet my future husband when he comes home from work with something delicious and home baked. You should have joined our little cooking lesson and made one for Andrew. I bet he would have liked it."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but no thanks. I may be an artist, but I'm afraid my capabilities don't extend to cooking anything that requires a lot of effort in the kitchen. The closest I've ever come to baking is cooking a frozen potpie. And Drew's such a food snob that I would just be setting myself up for disappointment anyway. He's picky about whose cooking he eats."

Serena blew a raspberry at her and then dissolved into giggles. "You're right about that. I've seen him snub dishes from some of the finest restaurants in town because they didn't live up to his expectations. I guess we can blame his parents for that since they are both such magnificent cooks. He was raised on nothing but the best."

"How else do you think that the arcade became known for its wonderful food as well as its broad range of video games?" Jess replied with a smirk. "His dad is a grill master. He can whip up a burger like it's nobody's business. And his mom pulls off some sheer magic in the kitchen."

Lita nodded eagerly. "It's true. I begged both of them to come work in my restaurant, but they said that they are enjoying their semi-retirement now that Andrew's pretty much running the business."

"Ha!" Jess barked. "They could retire completely if that airhead Lizzy could ever get her act together. Drew wants to turn the arcade completely over to her so he can concentrate on other things, but she lets her personal life interfere too much. I told you guys about that mess she got into recently. She just better be glad that I was sick at the time or I would have given her a piece of my mind."

"I'm just glad that everything worked out for her and that she wasn't," Serena's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "pregnant like she thought she was. That would have been a serious complication in her life that she doesn't need right now."

"Amen," Lita growled as she pulled the pie from the oven. "What happened to that loser boyfriend of hers anyway?"

A huge grin broke out on Jess's face. "Poppa Andy," she said, using her pet name for Andrew's father, Andrew Sr., "and Drew went over and physically threw the bum out of Lizzy's apartment. They were both pissed when they heard about how that son of a bitch had been treating her. Drew said he had a hard time keeping from blasting the little prick with his solar power. I wish I had been a fly on the wall to see that."

All three women burst into laughter at the mental images of an enraged Mr. Furuhata and Andrew confronting the slimy little weasel that was now Lizzy's ex-boyfriend.

A key rattled in the lock for a second before the front door swung open and Darien walked in. He smiled as he tossed his keys on the entry hall table and threw his discarded jacket and tie on a chair. "Did I miss out on the joke?"

Serena let out a muted squeal as she ran to him and wrapped him in a huge hug. "It's just girl talk. I'm so glad you're home! Come look and see what Lita helped me make in our cooking lesson today."

Darien dutifully followed her as she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the kitchen. He made all of the appreciative comments as Serena shoved the pie under his nose for his approval. Luckily she didn't see the conspiratorial wink he shared with Lita. Once he was done dishing out the compliments he headed for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup of the steaming brew.

He went to lean up against the breakfast bar. "And what have you been up to?" he asked Jess as he tugged on a strand of hair that had come lose from her braid. He shared an easy camaraderie with the woman who held the soul of his daughter from his past life and counted her as one of his closest friends.

She gave him an impish smile. "Oh a little of this and that. I've been prepping my canvas for my final school project and had to let it set up for a bit, so I decided to wander over here and see what Chef Serena had cooking up. It's been quite entertaining."

Serena stuck her tongue out at her. "Fine! Take joy from my pain. So I may have had a few incidents along the way, but was a labor of love."

Jess just snickered, but she turned her sketchbook around so that Darien could see the manga-style drawing that she had made of Serena sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor and surrounded by poofy clouds of flour. She had perfectly captured the cross little frown that would appear on Serena's face when something frustrated her.

Darien almost choked on the sip of coffee that he had just taken and sat his cup down quickly before he could spill it. "That's great! I have to have a copy that one to go in my office." Since he worked such long hours, Serena had put up a bulletin board in his office and covered it with pictures of everyone that was close to him so that he wouldn't feel lonely when he was stuck there.

"What is it? I want to see!" Serena exclaimed, rushing over to them. She shrieked when she saw the drawing of herself, "I did not look like that!"

"Actually, Jess has it pegged. You looked exactly like that," Lita confirmed as she took a good look at the paper.

Serena glared at Darien as he laughed with the two women. "Just for that you don't get any of this pie. I'll save it for me, Rini, and DJ instead."

Lita fought and failed to hold back a teasing chuckle. "You mean you'll eat the whole thing yourself and not save any for your poor children. I know you better than that, Sere."

She broke off as the blonde leveled a dark, murderous look on her. "You know what, I think I'll just get while the getting's good. I need to go by the restaurant anyway. I'll see you guys later."

"I thought you were off tonight," Serena commented as she watched her friend pick up her purse and keys. "Wasn't that the whole reason why you hired a manager, so you wouldn't have to work all the time?"

Lita nodded. "Yeah, but I still like to check in and see how things are going. I'm supposed to meet up with Neph anyway. We made plans to hook up with Mina and Kunz at _Blaze._ Raye's playing all American music tonight, so it should make for good dancing."

Jess visibly perked up. "Really? That sounds like a blast. I could relive my high school days."

"You and Andrew should join us," Lita encouraged. "The more the merrier."

"We'll see," Jess hedged. "Drew had a meeting with a guy that's wanting to put a game store in the complex today and he's a real asshole to deal with. My poor baby may not feel like doing anything but coming home and crashing. I'll have to feel out the situation."

"Well, you know where we'll be," Lita said. "What about you two?" she asked Serena and Darien.

Darien groaned. "Let me grab a nap for a couple of hours and then we'll see. I just put in a twelve-hour shift and I'm pretty wiped out. But I may catch a second wind after I rest some."

"I'll call and let you know," Serena promised as she walked Lita to the door and hugged her as they said goodbye. Jess took her leave a few minutes later, claiming that she had some work to do in her studio, leaving Serena and Darien alone.

Darien sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh, rolling his head around in an attempt to loosen his stiff neck muscles. He moaned a few seconds later when he felt soft fingers gently massaging away the tension.

"Hard day?" Serena asked softly as she tried to knead away his stress.

He let his head fall forward. "Just busy. People seemed unusually accident-prone today. You'd think it was a full moon with the number of people I had to stitch back together."

"Oh sure, blame the moon for it," she giggled as she moved from his neck to his shoulders. "My poor moon always gets blamed for people acting like idiots."

Darien tipped his head back to look at her. "Ask Zoicite if you don't believe me. It is a proven fact that the ER is busier during a full moon than at any other time. And somehow the two of us always end up getting stuck working the night shift on those nights." While Zoicite was still business partners with the other generals, he also worked at the hospital as a doctor as well.

"Oh, you poor dear," Serena teased as she smothered a laugh. "But I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do about it. I may be princess of the moon, but I can't control the effect it has on people."

Darien turned in his seat and tugged her down into his lap. "Now you're just being silly. No matter, I'm sure Amy will fill you in when she starts doing her student rotations."

"And I'm sure you and Zoi won't have any influence over her whatsoever," she quipped lightly as she brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "You do look tired. Why don't you go and take a nap. Lita brought over some stuff that she cooked, so we can warm it up and have a late dinner after you've rested. I've got some work I need to do for school on Monday, so I'll just knock that out while you nap."

Darien grinned mischievously. "Are you seriously going to pass up the opportunity to come curl up with me to do homework? Who are you, and what have you done with my fiancé?"

She burst into peals of laughter as he lightly tickled her ribs. "Stop that! I just thought that maybe if you got a nap in that we might be able to enjoy the rest of our night. And I really don't want to save my homework for the last minute. That way the rest of my weekend will be free to do whatever I want."

"I can respect that," Darien agreed softly. "Give me about two hours of sleep and I'll be back to normal."

"Sounds like a deal to me," she whispered as she leaned forward to kiss his lips.

"I hope everyone's decent in there, because I'm coming in," DJ's voice called out a few seconds before he walked into the kitchen. He smirked when he saw his future mother perched on his future father's lap, but wisely kept his comments to himself.

"Wow! Where are you going?" Serena asked as she took in the dark jeans and black button down shirt he wore. His hair was damp from his attempts to control the unruly locks.

"I've got a date," he beamed as he reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of water. "Can I borrow your motorcycle for the night?" he asked Darien.

Darien shrugged. "Sure, as long as you're careful. I'm assuming that Katie is the lucky young woman."

DJ grinned. "Of course. Who else would it be? Alex and Emma have their own plans for the night, so I'm looking forward to it just being us. I thought we'd go catch a movie, but the problem with coming from the future is that we've seen everything that's playing at least ten times already."

"It's the quality of the time you spend together, not necessarily what you do," Serena said wisely. "Even if it's a movie that you've seen a hundred times, all that's important is that you enjoy yourselves and have fun with each other."

DJ nodded sagely. "You're right. Just spending time with her is enough for me." He quickly drained his bottle of water and tossed it toward the garbage can. "Well I'm out of here. I'll see you guys later!"

"Have fun!" Serena called after him as she heard him snatch the motorcycle keys from the table in the entry hall and leave through the front door. She turned a blinding smile on Darien. "Isn't it sweet? Both of our children have found their soul mates and are enjoying young romances of their own now."

Darien's look darkened. "Yeah, sweet. Where's Rini anyway?"

Serena slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "She left right before you got home. Helios invited her to Elysian for dinner tonight."

"Is that safe?" Darien asked worriedly.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Of course it is! Aurora and Nebula are both there to act as chaperones, so I don't think her virtue is in any danger."

He flushed a dark red. "I didn't mean that. I just meant is it safe for her to be there. Discord already attacked Elysian once."

"I'm sure it will be fine," she assured him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "It's pretty clear that DJ, Katie, and Alex are Discord's targets. And Helios stepped up the protection around Elysian after the last attack. I'm sure Rini is perfectly safe."

"I hope you're right," Darien grumbled. "The last thing I want is for Discord to try to use them against us like he tried to do with your brother and Hotaru."

"Everything will be fine," she stated surely. "Even if Discord tried to invade Elysian again, I know that Helios would protect Rini with his life. And Elysian is connected to the time plane. If Rini couldn't get back here, I'm sure she would be able to get back home."

"Here's hoping," Darien whispered softly. "Now how about you tuck me in for my nap."

"You're so bad!" Serena giggled as she pressed a kiss against his waiting lips.

* * *

"Oh, Helios!" Rini moaned as she collapsed on her lover's chest, basking in the afterglow of what they had just shared.

The white haired priest wound one hand into the long pink tresses that flowed around him as his other hand gently stroked up and down his princess's spine. Slowly his breathing and heartbeat slowed to a normal level. He kissed the top of her head reverently. "Are you okay?"

She raised her head to look at him with adoring eyes. "I'm wonderful. I'm always so happy when I'm with you."

"And I with you," Helios told her as he pulled her down to lay butterfly kisses against her lips. He released her when she sighed against him and began nibbling his bottom lip. "We better get dressed before our guard dogs come looking for us."

She pouted playfully. "Do we have to? I'd much rather lay here and be your blanket."

He chuckled deeply. "As much as I would love to stay here forever, I would hate for your father to find out what we've been up to. He would probably execute me if he found out that I'd been taking advantage of you."

Rini snorted. "Taking advantage my foot! I seem to remember that it was me that took advantage of you the first time. Besides, he needs to realize that I've grown up and that we're going to be married soon."

He smoothed her bangs back. "That may be true, my sultry seductress, but I've already broken my promise to your parents to not deepen our relationship until you were eighteen, and I don't think it's a good idea to tempt fate."

"Fine!" she sighed as she slipped off of him and reached for her discarded clothing. "I can't wait for the next two and a half months to go by. Then I'll be eighteen and can do what I want."

"Within reason," Helios cautioned her as he too began to dress. "Don't forget that you are the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo and there are certain things expected of you."

She turned on him with a heated glare. "I don't care about any of that if I can't be with you. If it came down to a choice between you and being queen, I would choose you every time. It's not like Crystal Tokyo would be without an heir. They could just make DJ king. He is the prince of Earth after all."

"I didn't mean that you should have to choose between me and your birthright," Helios placated her calmly. "I just meant that I know that your parent's opinions mean a lot to you, and I don't want to see any disagreements come up between you."

Suddenly Rini giggled and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "You're so sweet! It's no wonder I love you so much. I know you think my parents are almost saints, but I guess I should let you know that my mom took me to Amy and got me started on birth control about a year ago. She may be a queen, but she's not naïve you know."

Helios was struck speechless for a moment. "Bu…but, we didn't become intimate together until Christmas!"

Rini just grinned. "I know, but mom told me that she could read the signs between us. She knew that we wouldn't wait until my birthday, so she wanted to make sure I was safe."

His pale face flushed with embarrassment at knowing that his queen was aware of the nature of his relationship with her daughter. Then he blanched white. "His majesty isn't aware of this, is he?"

She pulled her shirt on and shook her head. "No way! Dad would go ballistic if he knew, so mom and I decided to keep things hush hush and just between us."

Helios gathered her close. "All the more reason to not press our luck with your birthday being so close. Soon we will be free to tell the world of our intentions. Just hold on a little bit longer."

Rini smiled at him. "You're right. I guess I'm just getting anxious. I just hope my parents don't insist on some ridiculously long engagement. I can't wait to become your wife."

He sighed. "Rini, sweetheart, you're young and we have plenty of time. Let's not rush things any quicker than they are supposed to happen."

Her maroon eyes began to glitter with unshed tears. "Are you saying that you don't want to marry me? Are you hoping that I'll change my mind?"

"Not at all!" he quickly reassured her. "You know that I love you and want to marry you more than anything." In fact, he knew from working closely with Sailor Pluto on their current problems that Rini would become his wife within the next year, but he couldn't let her know that.

She eyed him skeptically. Although her soon to be official fiancé didn't appear to be a day over twenty, she had to remind herself that he was actually a timeless being that had lived through many centuries. Like Sailor Pluto, he had the ability to move through time and space, so it was only natural that he have some knowledge of what was to come.

"You know something," she said simply.

He looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head. "I know you know something about what's going to happen in the future. I can tell. You've been very quiet and thoughtful lately, more so than usual."

He sighed. He should have known that he couldn't hide anything from her. She knew him better than he knew himself sometimes. "It's nothing to worry about, just a little hiccup in the timeline. But everything's going to work out just fine."

Rini's eyes widened fearfully. She knew firsthand the ramifications of when the timeline was disrupted. "Is my family okay?"

Helios folded her into a hug. "Everyone's fine. Like I said, it was a minor mess up."

"You're lying," she mumbled. "You're just saying that to make me feel better. But if you say everything's going to be alright, then I'll trust you."

He closed his eyes as he rested his cheek against the top of her head, hoping that he wasn't lying to her. He had thought that the timeline was on the mend, but a visit from Sailor Pluto earlier had presented him with a whole other set of problems. He tightened his hold around the girl in his arms, afraid that at any moment she would begin to fade and disappear. And that could very well happen if the new potential threats weren't neutralized.

Rini twisted her head around to look up at him with a tiny frown on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, forcing his voice to be light. A smile appeared on his face when he heard her stomach rumble. "And now I think it's time that I fed you like I promised. After all, that's supposed to be the whole reason why I asked you here tonight."

She laughed a little and allowed him to take her hand as he led them out of the secluded grove of trees that had served as their trysting spot. As she followed him back toward the gleaming golden palace of Elysian she kept up a constant stream of small talk, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that he was keeping something big from her. She could feel it in his actions and hear an undertone in his voice that had never been there before that made her shiver. Yep, something huge was about to go down.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

Discord regarded the woman kneeling before him scornfully. "Your continued failures are beginning to become a nuisance to me, Eclipse. I was under the impression that my future self sent you here because you would be able to eliminate your past self and those other two bastards with minimal fuss."

Katie kept her head bowed so the evil entity wouldn't be able to see the hatred she held for him burning in her eyes. She fought to keep her voice subservient. "I apologize, my lord, but as I informed you, there are several disrupting factors that were not present when I lived through this the first time."

"So you said," he sneered. "I wouldn't imagine that the arrival of Crystal Tokyo's junior guard could pose such a problem for you though. They are only mere children."

"But they are powerful children," Katie insisted. "Don't forget who their parents are. Even at my level of expertise, I don't have a hope of standing against all of them together. And finding an opportunity when they are alone is almost next to impossible. They are as thick as thieves."

An amused sound entered Discord's voice. "And that's why I've done some researching for you and found a perfect time for you to strike."

He waved a hand over the time stream and a vision appeared showing her past self walking hand in hand with DJ.

"The two of them are alone right now," he drawled softly. "I want you to take out the prince tonight. Just make sure you're careful and don't kill yourself yet. You still have your brother to deal with before your mission is complete."

Katie drew in a steadying breath. She had known this time was coming. The scenario was slightly different from what she had experienced because of the changes that had already taken place in past between her and DJ, but the result would be the same. This would be the beginning of the downward spiral that would lead to the events that she had waited fifteen years for, events that she hoped desperately to change.

"Do you have a problem with your orders?" Discord snapped at her.

Her head shot up. "Not at all. I will leave immediately."

"Just one moment," he stopped her. "I have a new sentinel that I designed, and this would be a good test run for it." He snapped his fingers and guardian appeared, leading what looked to be a wolf sentinel that had been jacked up on steroids. It stood well over six feet tall while on all fours and had spikes protruding all over its body. Venom dripped from its teeth as it pulled its lips back in a snarl.

"Take this sentinel with you," Discord told her. "That puffed up little prince will have no idea what hit him."

Katie fought back the urge to recoil. She remembered this sentinel as well as she remembered the one that had killed Alex, and they weren't pleasant memories. She wanted more than anything to tell Discord to shove his pet where the sun didn't shine, but deep inside she knew that this had to be done. She just didn't want to be the one that initiated things.

For a brief moment she wished that Jack and Sasha were back. They were the ones that had originally launched this attack and she would have willingly turned it over to them if they were still around. But thanks to her bout of sympathy that she had felt for them and her desire to save them from untimely deaths, they had made their break and ran for it. So now it was all up to her.

She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and motioned for the wolf to follow her as she headed off to try to destroy her own life.

Discord rubbed his hands together gleefully as he watched her leave. Things were moving along nicely once again. If all went as planned, in two days time he will have captured Tokyo of the past and the Trinity bearers, along with Serenity, Endymion, and their court, would be dead.

"You look pleased with yourself," a feminine voice spoke up behind him.

He turned and smiled at Metallia. "I am. Hopefully in just a few short hours the earth prince will be history and the Trinity will be fractured. With that threat gone it should be easy to pick the others off."

"Hmm," she mused. "Does that mean that you intend to kill Endymion as well? You know that Beryl was hoping to keep him for herself."

Discord grinned. "She'll get over it. She tried to brainwash him before and it ended in failure. Now that he has the Golden Crystal back in his possession there is no way that she could make him bend to her will. In fact, I've been thinking of disposing of her once the earth is ours. What do you think?"

Metallia tossed her head. "I could care less what you do with the witch. But what of me? Will you dispose of me as well?"

He tried to look affronted. "Of course not. You are family, born of my power. I promised you that you could have the earth and the Silver Crystal, and I stand by that. I have the rest of the universe to concern myself with. I've even been thinking of waking your brothers up to help wreck havoc. The universe is a large place and plenty big enough for us all to share."

Metallia wandered over to the stone basins that held the essences of the Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, and Chaos. "That could prove interesting, but don't you think it might be overkill to unleash them all at once? It would probably turn into a pissing contest between them to see who could do the most damage in the shortest amount of time."

Discord looked smug. "And would that necessarily be a bad thing? With all of us together our victory would be guaranteed."

"That is true," Metallia agreed, tapping a finger against her chin. "But I will be the one to go after Serenity. Let the boys deal with the others, but that little moon bitch is mine. I will pry the Silver Crystal from her dying body and pay her back for all that she's done to me."

"She's all yours," he told her with a sweeping gesture of his hand. "But what of Beryl? She covets the Silver Crystal as well."

A wicked smile tilted her lips. "Like you said, it's probably about time to dispose of her. I only required her assistance long enough to gather the energy needed for you to manufacture this body for me. Now that I have a physical form I am more than capable of commanding my youma. She would probably end up becoming a nuisance anyway."

Discord chuckled. "You are heartless, aren't you? So I'm assuming that you are prepared for our strike against our enemies."

Her smile widened. "More than prepared. In two night's time we will unleash the combined forces of our armies on that pitiful planet and wipe them all out. There will be no future Crystal Tokyo, just my world covered in lovely darkness."

Discord nodded. "Serenity is yours to do with as you please, but the other princess is mine. I have an old score to settle with her."

Metallia arched a brow. "You still seek the Celestial Crystal?"

He shrugged. "I figure if I'm going to kill off her and her children, I may as well relieve her of her power as well. I'll be able to put it to much better use than she ever would."

"And you accuse me of being heartless," she crooned slyly.

They were so wrapped up in their evil plans that neither one of them noticed a youma that was just out of sight in the swirling mist that had overheard everything. Nor did they know when that youma teleported away to the Dark Kingdom full of information to deliver to her queen.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"So did you want to go catch a movie or something?" DJ asked as he held the door open for Katie as they left the pizza restaurant. "I know we've seen everything that's playing before, but it could be fun."

Katie shook her head listlessly. "Could we maybe do something else? I'm not really in the mood for sitting in a crowded theater for two hours."

He shrugged. "Sure! We can do whatever you want; ice skating, dancing, anything you want."

"I was thinking something a little more private," she said softly. "Like going up to the bluffs and just enjoying some quiet time."

DJ swallowed hard. The gently rolling bluffs that overlooked the bay were a popular make out spot for teens in the future, and he was pretty sure the same was true in this time. His palms were sweating as he nodded. "If that's what you want."

"I just want to get away for a while," she whispered. "So much is going on. I need to try to clear my head."

DJ stopped walking and turned to her, placing both hands on her shoulders as he looked deep into her eyes. "What is wrong? You have been completely wigged out for the last few days. Are you still upset about losing it after the attack on Sammy and Hotaru?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm past all that. Jess and I even had a long talk afterward and she doesn't hold my actions against me. It's probably more than I deserve after lashing out at her the way I did, but she forgave me and I've moved on from it."

She tried to pull away, but he held fast. "Something else happened that night. I know it did. Your entire aura disappeared for a while. Do you know how badly I freaked out?"

She cupped his cheek in her palm. "I know. I didn't mean to worry you. Now can we please go somewhere else? I don't feel like standing in the middle of the sidewalk for the rest of the night."

"Okay," he relented, taking her hand and leading her to where he had parked Darien's motorcycle. He pulled on his helmet and waited until she had done the same and had climbed on the bike behind him before he kick started it. He felt her wrap her arms around his waist and lean her head against his back. She may not have been aware of it, but he could feel the faint trembling of her body as she pressed up against him, and it wasn't from the vibrations of the engine. Something had her worked up, and he wanted to know what.

He gunned the engine and they shot off down the street. He thought for the umpteenth time since he had found himself in this time how glad he was that his mother had insisted on keeping the city as much like the original as possible when she had created Crystal Tokyo. Despite the presence of some unfamiliar buildings and the lack of the crystal towers that served as part of the city's security system, he could almost believe that he was back home again, riding around town like he had done so many other Friday nights.

They soon left the heart of the city behind and entered the waterfront area of the bay. Just as the darkly shimmering water came into sight, he turned off on a side road that was hardly more than a dirt trail. Luckily Darien hadn't skimped on horsepower when he had bought the bike, and it easily climbed up the bluffs. He stopped when he found a secluded spot that overlooked the bay.

He removed his helmet and got off the bike. Before Katie could follow, he swooped her up in his arms and lifted her off the seat. He spun around slowly a couple of times before pressing his lips to hers for a brief moment and letting her body slide down his until her feet touched the ground. Then he led her over to a large boulder where he sat and pulled her down to sit between his legs with her back against his chest.

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You were right. This is much nicer than sitting in a theater. The only thing we're missing is sodas and snacks."

She nodded robotically, not even cracking a grin at his attempted teasing. Her eyes were glazed over with the far away look that had appeared on her face quite often the last couple of days.

He felt irritation begin to simmer inside him. "That's it! I want to know what's bothering you. You've been walking around like a zombie ever since the other night and it's really starting to piss me off. You're so lost in your own little world that you don't even pay attention to people unless they force you to."

She blinked hard and looked at him. "That's not true! I've heard everything that you've said tonight."

"But you don't participate in the conversation," he retorted. "Getting a reaction out of you is like pulling teeth."

She sat up straight and pulled away slightly. "I'm sorry! I'm just tired, okay. Please don't give me a hard time about this."

Whoa! That sent his suspicion meter way off the chart! Now he knew something was seriously wrong. The Katie he knew would never cave in so easily after he had delivered a smartass comment like that. She always fought back and gave as good as she got.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Stop looking at me like I'm an alien from another planet. I just don't want to fight tonight."

He took in the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to hide with make up and felt his heart go out to her. "I guess that's fair enough. But will you answer one question for me, honestly?"

Her look turned wary. "What?"

He pulled her back so that she was reclining against him again. "Why haven't you been sleeping?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I've just had a lot on my mind. Can I ask you something now?"

He grinned at her. "Fire away!"

She tilted her head back so that she could look at him fully. "Back when we didn't…get along…did you ever hate me?"

"Wh…what?" he stuttered in shock. "Where in the hell did that come from?"

She looked away. "I was just wondering. We spent practically all of our lives fighting with one another and we said some pretty hurtful things to each other over the years. I was just curious whether or not hate ever fueled your actions against me. I can honestly say that I never hated you. You made me mad and kept me confused about my feelings for you, but hate was never a factor."

DJ sighed and rested his chin on top of her head. "No, I didn't hate you. I tried to make myself hate you, but I never could. Looking back on it now, I'm pretty sure that I've loved you since we were little. I was just too stupid to figure it out. I didn't see it until you disappeared two years ago when our parents here were fighting against Discord. And to be honest, it scared the hell out of me."

He felt her begin to shake in his arms and was surprised when he looked down to find tears streaming down her cheeks. "Hey! What are the tears for?"

She sucked in shuddering breaths. "I…I'm just sc…scared that one day you'll ha…hate me!"

Shaken to his core, DJ pulled her fully into his lap and wrapped her into the fiercest hug he could manage without hurting her. "Nothing could ever change the way I feel about you. I love you."

She shook her head adamantly, but buried her face in the crook of his neck and threw her arms around him. She wanted so badly to believe him, but the future DJ's voice echoed in her head.

_"I hated her for leaving me, for walking away from what we could have had together. She wasn't the only one that was hurting, and I needed her as much as I thought she needed me. I figured out how wrong I was pretty quick the first time she tried to separate my head from my body. I couldn't believe that the girl that I had loved more than my own life would throw every feeling I'd ever had for her back in my face like it was nothing. It killed something inside of me and fueled a rage like nothing I've ever felt before. I was consumed by anger until I could think of nothing but inflicting the same kind of pain on her that she had on me. And I did, several times. Every time we met on the battlefield and crossed swords, I would scream my hurt out at her and try to cause her as much emotional and physical pain as I could. I eventually reached the point where I just shut down. The scary part was the first time I managed to draw blood from her, I didn't feel a thing I know now that I was in denial and that I never stopped loving her. I have even reached a point where I can understand the reasons why she's done the things that she has, but it can't change the way I felt for fifteen long years."_

"Shhh," her DJ's voice breathed softly against her ear. "It's no wonder you're feeling so messed up. The last six months have been hell on you. I wouldn't be surprised if you're not suffering from a little post traumatic stress."

Even through her tears, she couldn't stop a choked laugh from breaking free. "If you start quoting that sciency medical mumbo jumbo, I may have to strangle you."

He chuckled and began wiping the tears off her face with his fingers. "I do love you. I'll always love you, no matter what." And then he swooped down and took her still trembling lips in a thorough kiss.

* * *

Up in the branches of a nearby tree, the future Katie watched the scene between her past self and the young prince with a mixture of heartbreak and disgust. Part of her yearned to experience that feeling of love once again, while another part of her couldn't help but agree with the last words her past self had spoken. If her DJ was in front of her right now, she just might have to strangle him.

"What did he do, tell her our entire life story?" she grumbled to herself. It was evident from the way the girl had been carrying on a few minutes ago that he must have told her quite a bit. And he wanted to let her emotionally mixed up, fragile past self try to save the future? Ha! What a laugh!

"God, DJ! You are such a freaking idiot!" she groaned softly. "I swear I think you've traded all of your brain cells to Jack Daniels over the years. I guess I'll take the blame for that one too. Can things get any more screwed up?"

Thankfully below her the two teens had stopped trying to suck one another's faces off and had settled back to watch the faint light that the tiny sliver of moon that was visible sent dancing over the water. She sure didn't need any more reminders of what it felt like to be sixteen years old and what she had had experienced in the arms of the one she loved.

She felt her skin heat up at the memories. "Stop it!" she hissed to herself. She had a job to do and couldn't afford to get sidetracked by thoughts of the one night of passion she had experienced in her entire life.

Not that she hadn't been propositioned several times over the years, she had. But most of the offers came from weak willed men that hoped that if they became the lover of Lady Eclipse that they would be spared from Discord's wrath. She hadn't given any of them a second glance. Her heart and her body had been claimed long ago.

She felt a little pinprick of energy that told her that Discord was looking in to see how she was faring. Knowing that she couldn't put off the inevitable any longer, she sent a mental message to the sentinel that she had hidden well back into the underbrush. But unknown to her so called master; she only gave an order to injure, not to kill.

She sat back and averted her eyes from the scene that was about to unfold below, not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

* * *

_**The Dark Kingdom**_

Beryl growled as she stared at the youma that was knelt down in front of her throne. "So they said that, did they?"

The buxom, blonde haired creature nodded. "Yes, your majesty. I distinctly heard them say that they were going to terminate your life. Lord Discord mentioned it first, but Queen Metallia voiced her approval quite vehemently."

"That bitch!" Beryl snarled. "Is this the thanks I get after all the years I have faithfully devoted to her service? I gave up my life to help her because she promised to help me become more powerful so that I could rule the Earth."

"My queen," the youma said in a trembling voice, hoping that the enraged woman before her wouldn't take her wrath out on her, the simple messenger. "Perhaps we should leave this place. I fear for your life."

Beryl's reddish brown eyes blazed. "Never! Those two traitors may be all powerful entities, but they have no idea who they are messing with! I am Beryl, Princess and heir of the Surcenian Clan. I was powerful before I joined them, and I don't need them now! If they think they can screw me over then they have another thing coming!"

She teleported away from her speechless servant and rematerialized in the living room of a modest, yet rustic looking house, wringing shouted exclamations from the couple that had been sitting together on the couch at her sudden intrusion.

"What the hell are you doing here!" the petite, dark haired woman shrilled as she jumped to her feet. Her hands automatically flew down to cover her slightly swollen stomach.

Beryl huffed an agitated sigh. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Anya. I'm not here to harm you or your child. I just need to have a little chat with your dear husband."

"Oh, like hell!" Anya screeched. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you anywhere near him, you bitch!"

"Calm down, sweetheart," Talon said soothingly as he tugged her gently by the wrist to his side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. His jet black eyes blazed with mistrust. "What do you want, Beryl?"

The red haired woman didn't even flinch under the weight of his glare. "I've come to strike a deal with you."

Talon growled deep in his throat. "And why would I want to make a deal with you?"

She returned his gaze coolly. "If you want your child to live long enough to see the light of day, I believe you will listen to what I have to say."

He pushed Anya behind him and took a menacing step toward her. "Are you threatening me?"

Beryl barked out a harsh laugh. "Trust me, my sweet, I am the least of your worries right now. But if you're not interested in what I have to say, I guess I'll be going."

"No, wait!" Talon cried as she began to shimmer away. "What's going on? I want to know."

Beryl flashed back into a solid form and smirked as she walked over to a chair to sit primly on the edge. "What's a lady got to do to get a cup of tea around here?"

Talon looked to Anya and tipped his head toward the kitchen, pleading with his eyes to go and make the requested beverage. Once she was out of sight he turned back to his unexpected visitor and folded his arms across his chest as he pinned her with an expectant look."

Beryl was busy looking around the room. "How quaint! I guess we've come a long way from the tents that we used to live in a millennium ago."

"Cut the bullshit, Beryl!" Talon snarled. "You better start talking and talking fast. What did you mean by what you said before? What kind of threat is coming?"

Beryl flicked a piece of her flame red hair over her shoulder and sat back as a feline smile stretched her lips. "You always were straight to the point. You are close to Endymion and Serenity, are you not?"

His stoic expression didn't change. "We are acquaintances, yes."

Her smile grew. "And you are very…friendly…with that mongrel princess?"

This time she saw a flicker of something in his eyes. "What's your point, Beryl?"

She crossed her legs casually. "This is what I propose. I'll tell you everything I know about Discord and Metallia's plans, in return for you helping me with a little problem I have."

His dark eyes narrowed angrily. "And if I don't?"

She met and held his gaze. "If you don't, then perhaps you may have time to grieve over the dead bodies of your wife, unborn child, and your precious princess before you die as well."

The anger drained from his face as dropped down to sit on the sofa. "Okay, I'm listening."

* * *

Andrew knocked on the door in front of him and called out softly, "Jess". He frowned when he didn't get an answer and tried again. "Jess, baby, can we talk? Look, I'm sorry for acting the way I did earlier. I didn't mean it." He still heard nothing.

He gritted his teeth and counted slowly to ten. He had always prided himself on being a calm and patient person. He considered it a byproduct of growing up in the same house with his mother and sister, both of whom could try the patience of a saint. He had started studying his father at an early age and had learned to adopt the same carefree, happy go lucky personality that the older man used. But his lovely fiancé seemed to be one of the few people that knew how to push his buttons.

Not that he blamed her for being upset with him. He had been in a really snappy mood when he had come home. His afternoon meeting hadn't gone over so well, and he had let some of his frustrations bubble over and become directed at her.

She had greeted him warmly with a hug and a kiss and then served him a scrumptious dinner straight from Lita's kitchen. After they had eaten she had led him to the couch and made him sit while she had wriggled her way behind him and had put her talented fingers to use to try and sooth away the stress of his day.

Things had been fine until she had mentioned something about wanting to go to Raye's club that night. He had snapped out, way harsher than he meant to, that he was tired and in a bad mood. But if that wasn't enough, he let his irritation take control of his tongue and he told her that he had better things to do than to sit around a nightclub all night acting like a teeny bopper, and if she wanted to go that bad she could just go by herself.

Of course that had gone over about as well as a cat in water. She certainly had been as spitting mad as a kitty that had gotten dunked in a pool. She shoved him away from her until he landed on the floor, and then proceeded to tell him in her own colorful way that he could go straight to hell…among some other choice curses that involved some rather…sensitive…parts of his anatomy. His ears still stung from the string of both Japanese and English cuss words she had heaped on him before storming out of the room and closing herself up in her studio.

That had been a little over an hour ago. Andrew had stomped into his home office and had tried to take out his anger through work. He had given it up as a lost cause when the numbers and letters on the papers refuse to compute in his brain and had opted for a long, hot shower instead. Feeling rejuvenated, he now found himself standing outside Jess's studio, gearing himself up to do some serious groveling.

He tried the knob, thrilled to find that it wasn't locked, and pushed the door open slowly. His heart jumped in his chest and his breath caught at the vision he saw.

Jess stood in the middle of the room in front of an easel with a large canvas on it. Her back was to him, but her head was turned enough for him to see the pink tip of her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth as it always did when she was lost in concentration. His eyes slid up the tall, slender length of her as he drank her in. She was barefooted and wore a pair of very short cutoff jean shorts partnered with one of his white button down shirts that she had tied at the waist and rolled back the sleeves on.

He grinned as he saw the wire snaking out of her back pocket that led to the earbuds she had in her ears. Her hips swayed gently in time to whatever song she was listening to on her mp3 player. Well that explained why she hadn't answered him.

He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he planted a kiss on her neck. He chuckled as she jumped and spun around.

She yanked the earbuds out of her ears and glared at him. "What, is it kiss and make up time now? I swear you have more mood swings than a pregnant woman sometimes!"

She tried to step away, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her back to him. He dipped his head and nuzzled her neck. "Baby, I'm sorry. I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be."

She pushed against his chest. "You're damn right I'm mad, you ass! I can sympathize with the fact that you had a bad day, but if you think you can just come home and take it out on me, think again buster! I was cool with it if you didn't want to go out, but you didn't have to be so pissy about it!"

He locked his arms tighter around her. "You're absolutely right. I was an insensitive asshole and I deserve to be punished. So what is my punishment going to be this time?"

She let out a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a giggle. "I ought to make you sleep on the couch in your office. And stop kissing my neck like that! I'm trying to be serious here. I'm still mad at you, you moron! Don't think you can waltz in here with a few pretty words and kisses and I'll just melt at your feet. I'm not your booty call for whenever you're in the mood!"

"No you're not," Andrew groaned as he nipped at the tender skin where her neck and shoulder met and then soothed it with his tongue. "You are so much more."

Jess bit back a moan as he hit her sensitive spot and her bones turned to jelly. Damn him! He knew her neck was her weakness. Her hands slid up on their own and her fingers twined into his sandy blonde hair. "I'm still mad at you," she whispered in a breathless voice.

He raised his head to grin at her. "I know," he said before kissing her deeply, bending her back over his arm as he did so. He didn't break it until he felt every last bit of tension drain from her body.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked softly against her lips.

She shook her head. "No. But you knew I wouldn't be after that."

He laughed and stood them both upright as he hugged her tightly. "I really am sorry, though. I had no right to snap at you the way I did."

"It's okay," she answered. "I shouldn't have said anything about going to the club tonight. I could tell from the moment you walked in that you were worn out. And I'm sorry for the things I said. I never should have told you to stick your contracts up you're a…"

"Let's not go there again," he interrupted her. Then his face brightened. "How about this? The kids are out for the night, so why don't we crack open that bottle of wine that my mother gave us, turn on some music, and just relax."

She smiled. "I think that sounds like a plan to me."

* * *

"Mmm, this is nice," Serena sighed as she snuggled back into the warm chest behind her and looked up at the night sky and the millions of twinkling stars that glittered there.

Darien's lips brushed her ear. "Yeah it is. Everything's nice and quiet. Are you sure you'd rather not go meet up with the others at the club? It's still fairly early."

She stifled a yawn. "Nuh uh. This is much better. There's no written law that says I have to spend all of my free time with the scouts. They're big girls. I'm sure they can keep themselves entertained without me."

"That's true," he replied as he reached for the wine glass on the table beside them and offered her a sip. "And with the girls keeping the guys busy, that keeps all of them from calling or knocking on the door. It's a nice change of pace to be able to sit out here on our balcony and just enjoy the evening."

"It makes me feel almost normal," Serena mumbled. "Right now I'm not Sailor Moon, or the moon princess, or even the future Neo Queen Serenity. I'm just plain old Serena Tsukino."

"Soon to be Serena Shields," Darien reminded her as he kissed the top of her head.

"Less than six months now," she chirped, tilting her head back to look at him. "Of course to hear my mother talk you would think that the wedding was only six days away."

"Is she giving you a hard time again?" he asked in concern.

She shook her head. "No, not really. Everything has fallen into place so easily that there's not much left to take care of, mostly minor details like invitations and finalizing the menu. Jess asked if she could design the invitations, so I'm sure they'll be beautiful. Lita has thrown so many dinner and cake suggestions at me that my head's spinning, but I know that anything she makes will be good, so I'm not worried about it. Mina's got the wardrobe taken care of, so that's covered. Now it's just a matter of waiting for the time to come."

Darien grinned. "It'll be here before we know it. Time has flown the past several years. It seems like only yesterday to me that you were a clumsy, wailing, fourteen year old trying her best to be a super heroine."

Serena elbowed him lightly in the stomach. "And you were a tuxedo wearing, rose throwing, wannabe vigilante that ran around chasing dream princesses and hunting crystals."

"And saving damsels in distress. You can't forget that part," he quipped.

She rolled her eyes. "As if I could forget. I would have been dead in that first fight at the jewelry store if you hadn't shown up when you did."

He chuckled. "We've come a long way, haven't we? From royalty, to regular people, then super heroes, and one day back to royalty again; it's like we've turned a full circle."

She sighed. "Yeah it does." Then she thought for a moment. "Darien, do you ever think about the future?"

He smirked at her. "It's kinda hard not to nowadays when we have two living and breathing proofs of it living in the same apartment as us."

She sat up and turned around so that she was facing him. "I mean do you ever _really _think about it? Sure, we know that we become king and queen and that we have two children, but there's a lot that can happen between now and then. When you think about it, we don't know as much about our future as we thought we did."

Darien shrugged. "That's not necessarily a bad thing. People aren't supposed to know about their futures after all."

Serena jerked her chin up stubbornly. "People aren't supposed to remember their past lives either, but yet I'm sitting here with two lifetimes of memories running through my head."

Darien grabbed her hand and pulled her forward so that she fell onto his chest. "You're thinking too much about it again," he whispered huskily before drowning out her protests with a thorough kiss.

Serena sighed into his mouth as she returned the kiss enthusiastically. Clinging weakly to his shoulders, she thought how she would follow this man through a thousand, no a million lifetimes just to be able to experience the thrill of being in his arms.

She gasped and broke away as she felt his hands slide under the knee length silk dorm shirt she was wearing. "Darien! We're outside!"

He gave her an evil grin. "So what? It's dark out. Besides, all we're doing is making out a little. There's no harm in that. I'd much rather have you behind closed doors before I have my way with you."

"Well if you put it that way…" Serena replied in a teasing tone as she pulled his head down and took control of their next kiss, sweeping her tongue between his parted lips. She reveled in the way he groaned and shuddered slightly in her arms.

Her eyes fluttered open as she pulled back a few minutes later and gazed dazedly into his sparkling midnight orbs. A soft giggle escaped her.

"What's so funny?" Darien asked with a smile.

She shook her head slightly. "Nothing. I'm just so happy right now. I know we have a lot of issues going on, but it's nice to take a break and just be us for a while."

He leaned his forehead against hers as his fingers slowly trailed up and down the length of her back "I know what you mean. No hospital, no scouts, no generals, and no kids, just us."

They both jumped a little when the sliding door on the next balcony over slid open with a bang and a squeal of laughter was heard as Jess ran outside with Andrew right behind her.

Serena moaned and let her head fall to Darien's shoulder. "What was that you just said about no scouts? Or does she technically fall into the kid category?" She looked up and growled at the couple that was too absorbed in each other to realize that they had just intruded on a private moment. Andrew had lifted Jess to sit on the balcony railing and was kissing the tall blonde senseless as she wrapped both her arms and her long bare legs around him.

"Get a room you two!" Serena snapped and then grinned when the two of them leapt like an electrical shock had zapped them.

"What the hell!" Jess shrieked as her sapphire eyes swung to confront the laughing, crystalline blue gaze of her best friend and past mother. "Thanks for ruining the mood, you blonde, airheaded flake!"

Serena lifted a shoulder casually. "I was just trying to keep you from traumatizing the tenants in the next building over with an x-rated show. There could be some pervert over there with a video camera that would love to make you the next internet sensation."

Jess smirked darkly as she took in Serena's own compromising position where she was straddling Darien's hips. "You're one to preach about putting on a show. Besides, it's too dark out for anyone to see anything."

"That's what I said," Darien muttered.

Serena slapped him on the arm. "Hush! Nobody asked you!"

"Anyway," Andrew broke in. His face was flushed a deep red, but he stepped easily into his usual role of playing peacekeeper. "I take it you two are enjoying a peaceful, teenager free evening as well."

"We were until you guys interrupted us," Serena grumbled.

"Thhhbb!" Jess blew a raspberry at her and then began laughing. The tinkling, bell like sound was infectious, and soon they were all chortling with chuckles and giggles.

Conversation struck up between them, and before long Jess and Andrew had jumped over the distance between the two balconies and settled on the chaise that matched the one that Serena and Darien were snuggling on.

Serena looked up at the sky again. "The stars are so bright tonight since the moon's not drowning them out."

Jess shivered. "Yeah, they're pretty, but I like it better when the moon is nice and big and shining instead of just a little sliver. It just seems kinda ominous without it."

Andrew lightly bumped the top of her head with his chin. "Is that a faint thread of homesickness I hear in your voice?"

She shook her head. "No, not really. I think about it sometimes and remember the times we had there, but there's no place else I'd rather be than right here."

"Right on!" Serena agreed. "I cherish my memories of the past, but I wouldn't trade this life for all the chocolate truffles in the world."

Darien rolled his eyes. "Leave it to you to use a food analogy."

She elbowed him. "Look who's talking, Mr. Chocoholic! You know, I've never figured out how you can tell your patients to cut back on sweets and stuff when I know for a fact that you probably have a jumbo size bag of dark chocolate M&M's hidden in your desk."

Darien's face flushed. "Guilty as charged. But in my defense, I am in perfect health while my patients…" he abruptly stopped and swung his eyes out over the city like he was searching for something. "Hey Jess, did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" she grumbled drowsily. "I didn't feel anything."

She almost choked on those words a second later when she and Darien both jumped to their feet as they sensed a huge surge go through the planet beneath them. At almost the same moment, bright gold and silver light shot up into the sky across town from the direction of the bluffs near the bay.

* * *

"Here you are, my lady," Alex said with a flourish as he bowed in front of Emma and presented her with the bright yellow teddy bear that the man at the game booth had just given him.

It was cheaply made and its stitched on smile was very visibly lopsided, but Emma took it with a squeal and hugged it to her chest like it was something precious. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's sooo cute! I'm going to call it Sunny!"

Alex snorted with laughter. "Sunny, huh?"

She nodded rapidly. "Uh huh! Because it's yellow like the sun. And when I think of the sun, I think of you."

"You're silly," he chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her as they walked down the pier. They had decided to check out the waterfront carnival that he'd overheard some of the guys at school talking about. It wasn't huge, but there were several booths set up with games, food, and merchants selling their goods.

He had considered asking his sister and DJ if they wanted to come, but then had changed his mind. Things had been pretty tense the last couple of days, and he was hoping that maybe his best friend might be able to snap Katie out of the funk she'd been in lately if they spent some time together. And he definitely wasn't opposed to spending some quality alone time with Emma as well.

"So what do you want to do now?" he asked the bubbly blonde next to him.

Her gray eyes lit up. "Let's go get a snow cone! I haven't had one in ages."

"Okay, snow cones it is," he agreed, steering her toward the food vendor with the sign that advertised the icy treats. As they walked along he looked out over the bay toward the bluffs in the distance. What he really wanted to do was throw Emma on the back of his borrowed motorcycle and drive up there until they found a private little hidey-hole where they could really spend some alone time. But they had promised the adults that they would stay in well-populated areas, so that pretty much ruled out the bluffs. That was okay though; there were plenty other places around where they could sneak away to before the night was over.

"What'll it be?" he asked as they reached the end of the line. "Cherry, grape, or…"

He broke off with a gasp and buried his face in his hands as a mind splitting scream tore through his head. For a moment he thought he might pass out from the amount of sheer terror that accompanied it ripping through his body.

Through the daze, he felt Emma grab his arm and her anxious voice asking if he was okay. It wasn't until he felt her fingers tighten and dig into his skin and he heard her let out a strangled screech that he was able to raise his head.

"What is it?" he croaked as he let his eyes follow the path of hers to see why she looked so horrified.

All of the other people on the pier had stopped and were pointing out across the bay where gold and silver light was beginning to fade away.

"Kat…DJ," Alex whispered in shock. Then his adrenaline kicked in. "We've got to go!" he exclaimed, grabbing Emma by the hand and pulling her behind him as they darted their way quickly through the crowd. Once they were away from people, they ducked behind a parked car and transformed quickly.

Calling on their super human speed, they managed to cross the distance from one side of the bay to the other in a matter of minutes. Once they reached the base of the bluffs they took to the trees, leaping and jumping their way up the side of the cliffs. Near the top they finally heard sounds of a fight and dropped down into a nightmare.

DJ lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious with his head resting against a large rock. Blood was smeared across his face and beginning to pool beneath him as it gushed from an almost four inch long gash at his temple.

Standing between his prone form and the figure of a super sized, snarling wolf sentinel was Sailor Eclipse. Every available speck of white on her fuku was stained red from the blood that was pouring out from the multiple slashes and bite marks that covered her body.

She swayed on her feet, clearly battling against the effects of both blood loss and sentinel poisoning, but she showed no signs of backing down as she sent sparkling ropes of silver energy flying from her fingers toward the wolf.

With a howl it snapped its jaws down on the attack and jerked its head, sending the severely injured girl flying through the air and into a tree with a bone-crushing thud. Her transformation vanished in a flurry of silver sparks as she fell to the ground and didn't move.

"Kat!" Phoenix yelled as he unleashed a wave of solar fire at the sentinel and Sailor Ishtar sent one of her golden arrows speeding toward it. Before either attack could hit it, the wolf shimmered and vanished as if it had never been there.

Phoenix and Ishtar ran to Katie, who was the closest to them, and let out startled exclamations at the sight of the amount of blood that had already began to soak the ground under her. The breaths panting out between her pained moans were shallow and raspy in her chest.

Phoenix tore off his long black coat and began to wrap it gently around his sister's badly beaten form. He jerked his head toward his fallen friend. "Em, go check on DJ. I've got to find a way to get Kat back to Darien so he can heal her."

"I'm already here," Tuxedo Mask said gravely as he dropped from a tree branch, closely followed by Sailor Moon, Sailor Shadow, and Andrew. He hurried over to Katie and wasted no time in covering her in the healing power of the Golden Crystal.

Sailor Moon rushed to DJ, who had begun to groan and was trying to push himself into a sitting position.

"Hey, take it easy," she cautioned him as put a steadying arm around him and helped him to sit.

He used his arm to wipe the blood out of his eyes. "Oh man! What the hell happened? My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Sentinel attack," Ishtar told him as she hunkered down in front of him. "Looked like a bad one too. You were already down and Katie was barely standing by the time Alex and I got here."

His eyes flared at the memory of that giant wolf charging out of the trees at them. The last thing he remembered was getting knocked back by the creature's tail as he tried to get it off of Sailor Eclipse when it had bitten her on the arm.

"Kat," he moaned, trying to get to his feet.

Sailor Moon held him down. "Hold on just a minute there, mister! Darien's taking care of her, but you're not in such hot shape either. Can you heal yourself, or do you need to wait for him."

"I've got it," he grumbled, closing his eyes and fighting past the pain to draw on his healing powers. He sighed in relief as all of the pain vanished.

"Okay, I'm fine!" he said testily, shaking off his future mother's arm. "Now can I go see her?"

"All right," she agreed, standing and reaching down a hand to help him up.

He walked slowly over to where Tuxedo Mask was knelt down as he held his golden glowing hands over the body lying in front of him. His back was to him and his cape billowed in the breeze, blocking DJ's sight of Katie until he had walked around past Sailor Shadow, who was sobbing quietly on Andrew's shoulder, to stand by a detransformed Alex.

His heart seized up and then felt like it shattered as he took in the now half healed bite marks and gashes that marred his girlfriend's normally glowing, lightly tanned skin. Her clothes were covered in blood and the red gunk streaked her fair hair.

"Is she going to be okay?" he whispered.

Alex nodded tightly. "Darien said she would. She had a shitload of poison in her system. I don't see how she stayed standing as long as she did. What about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied shortly. "Serena made me heal myself before I got up."

"Good," Alex said softly. "Now I won't feel bad about doing this."

"Doing what?" DJ asked as he turned to face his friend.

_WHAM!_

Alex's fist hit DJ square in the jaw, snapping his head aside and sending him stumbling back several steps before he fell to the ground. He rubbed his jaw and glared up Alex, who was standing over him.

"What the hell was that for!" he yelled.

Alex stood trembling in fury. His deep sea eyes burned like the blue fire at the center of a candle flame. When he spoke his voice came out as a vicious hiss. "I'll tell you what, you worthless bastard! What the hell were you two doing up here in the first place? I trusted you with my sister's life. I thought you would be able to keep her safe. Instead I show up to find her almost dead trying to protect your sorry ass!"

DJ climbed slowly to his feet and reached out a hand toward the boy that had been like a brother to him his whole life. "Lex, man, I'm sor…" He had to duck to avoid another punch.

Alex crossed his arms and leveled a dark, murderous look on him. "If you come near my sister again, you son of a bitch, I will kill you!"

DJ returned his look with a furious glare of his own. "Then I guess you'll just to _try_ to kill me then, because I love Katie. And neither you, nor anyone else is going to keep me from her."

**A/N **Whew! The testosterone is certainly flying now. The past and future are about to clash in a huge way. Now it's time to see whether time will be changed and if anyone is going to die in the process. We have four potential targets for death now, Alex, Katie, Jess, and Serena. If any of them are killed then the entire future may disappear. But hopefully Chronos's wish will come true and the Fates will get screwed out of severing the threads of any of their lives. I also had fun writing the little after whoopee scene with Rini and Helios. Everybody else has been having their intimate moments and I didn't want to leave them out in the cold. After all, they're on their way to the alter and I didn't want them to seem like a little goody two shoes couple. I am playing a little bit with Beryl's character right now. I can't decide whether or not to have Serena blast her skinny ass into oblivion or possibly have her give the witch a second chance. What do you guys think? I would love to hear your opinions on it. I know I won't be able to make everyone happy with the outcome, but the feedback would still be welcomed. Okay! So coming up, Metallia makes her grand appearance, all hell breaks loose in present day Tokyo as Discord launches an all out strike, and the friction between DJ and Alex reaches devastating proportions with poor Katie stuck in the middle as they battle it out. The rooftop showdown is on the way. Will The Galactic Trinity survive? I guess we'll see! Thank you so much for reading! Please hit the review button and tell me what you think. I'll catch everybody next update. Later! Lots of love!

~Sere~


	19. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

**A/N **Hey guys! I finished editing this sometime in the wee early hours of the morning, so I thought I'd kick my weekend off a day early by updating. Yay me! Okay, so this chapter is nice and long, and it is a mix of humor and drama like I always try to provide, but it's really just a bridge to cover the day between Katie and DJ's attack and the day of Metallia and Beryl's upcoming attack. Things are going to get tricky as the senior members of our hero squad begin banding together for the upcoming fight while things begin to deteriorate rapidly between the younger guys, but I'll let you read and see for yourself. In the meantime, it's time to give out my hugs to all of my wonderful reviewers. BIG HUGS TO:

**SlackerDee**

**Ashleigh**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**GoldenDragon326**

**VAlvr04**

**KageNoNeko**

**sabina21**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Chibi Kitt**

**.lyingtonguesareclumsy.**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**Swinkinator**

**Isis2010**

**anime-lover10**

**S dot Serenity**

**rainbabie**

**ailzzzz**

**High King Peter**

Thank you so much for the inspiration guys! You are the best. I hope you all like this chapter. I'm going to let you get to it now.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 17

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The clearing at the top of the bluff was still and silent as a dark figure dropped from a tree branch. Her feet moved soundlessly across the grass as she crossed over to the piece of ground that was darker than all of the rest. She fell to her knees and held a hand over the spot that was still damp from the blood that had come from the girl that had laid there just a short time before.

"So it's begun," she sighed heavily. "The wheels of fate have been set into motion. Now I just have to make sure to change the path that destiny seems bound to take."

"I guess you're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?" a deep voice spoke from the shadows of the trees.

She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I can't say that I'm proud of anything that I've done in the past fifteen years. All I can do is keep hoping that things will turn out differently this time. I hated setting that sentinel on our past selves, but it had to be done."

"Because Discord said so?" he sneered. "I can't believe that you almost killed your past self in order to keep that bastard happy!"

"Do you think that I liked doing it?" she snapped back. "Believe me, if I could have prevented the whole damn thing from happening I would have. I hate watching all of this happening all over again as much as you do, but I don't have a choice in the matter. You, on the other hand, don't have to be here. So why don't you go home and let me do what I have to do."

She heard a rustling sound behind her as he stepped closer to her. "That's not going to happen, Kat. I've already told you, I'm here to do what I can to save both of you from death. And if that means throwing myself in front of that sentinel to keep Alex from dying and you from letting that devil take your soul, then that's what I'm going to do. I'll fight you every step of the way if I have to."

She stood slowly, careful to keep her back toward him and her eyes closed. Her hands balled into fists at her sides. "Why do you have to make everything so difficult? I was getting along just fine until you showed up and started messing around with things. Yes, my past self almost died tonight. But did you ever stop to think that you are the reason that she was injured so badly?"

A sharp breath hissed past his teeth. "What are you talking about? It's not my fault that you had a hard time controlling that sentinel."

She shook her head. "No, I take the blame for that part. That wolf was a lot stronger than I gave it credit for and I should have kept a tighter rein on it. I'm just glad that I was able to flash it out of here before it turned on Alex and Emma too. I'll probably catch hell from Discord about that, but I don't care. My point is that my past self took a bit more damage in this attack than I did originally, and I think it's because of what you've told her. She's been on guard constantly since your little chat, just waiting for something to happen. So instead of being taken by surprise by the attack like you were, she was prepared to stand and fight."

"Ha!" he barked. "And you're not just as guilty as I am for meddling with past events? You changed the scenario when you convinced your past self not to break up with me over that stunt Sasha pulled. The night that wolf attacked us in our past we were both taken off guard because we were too busy arguing with each other to sense that anything was wrong until it was too late. So don't try to put all of this on me!"

He couldn't see her face, but he was pretty certain that she was rolling her eyes by this point as she retorted, "Well we wouldn't have been up here screaming at each other if you hadn't been such a total Neanderthal and dragged me here against my will. I think I was pretty clear about the fact that I wasn't in the mood to talk to you that night."

"I was tired of watching you pout!" he fired back at her. "You were the one that broke up with me after jumping to the wrong conclusions about what happened between me and Sasha and refused to listen to anything I had to say. You pushed me to my limits with your constant cold shoulder, so hell yes I carried you off so that we could have some privacy. I was trying to get the facts through that thick skull of yours!"

He heard her suck in a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for the cursing he was sure she was about to hurl at him, but he was surprised instead when she just folded her arms across her chest and began tapping her foot impatiently as she grumbled, "I wasn't pouting. I never pouted over you. So get over yourself, your highness."

A laugh rumbled in his chest. "I hate to disappoint you, sweetheart, but you most definitely did pout. It would have been cute if had been over something else besides me."

She growled low in her throat. "Go ahead and laugh it up, jerk! But if you keep picking on me I'll turn around and we'll settle this the old fashioned way."

He bit back his laughter. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. The last thing I want to do right now is pick a fight with you."

Katie clucked her tongue. "Oh my! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it sounds like the big, bad prince of Crystal Tokyo might actually be intimidated by little ole me." Then she actually giggled.

DJ stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "To be honest, you scare the hell out of me, lady. No man in his right mind would stand against you as long as there was another option."

She shivered as his breath brushed her ear. "Then what does that say about you? You've stood up to me many times over the years."

He grinned as he felt her tremble under his fingers. "But I've never claimed to be in my right mind, have I? In fact, when it comes to you I'm convinced that I am completely insane." When she remained silent, he continued, "I wish you would let me help you."

She shook her head, her short, light blonde ponytail whapping him in the face. "We've already been over this several times. I already have my plan laid out, and I won't risk anybody else by involving them. I am going to stop that sentinel from killing my brother. Then the past will be changed and the future will go forward. The best thing you can do is go home and wait for it. With any luck, I'll be right there with you when everything is over."

"You're still just as stubborn as ever," he sighed.

She shrugged against him. "That's just who I am. You should know that by now. I have to go now. Please, do as I asked and stay out of this."

"I'm not making any promises," he told her.

"And you talk about me being stubborn," she muttered as she stepped away from him. When she spoke again, her voice was thick with unshed tears. "I guess I'll see ya around." And then she was gone.

"I think you're both too stubborn for your own good," Sailor Pluto commented as she appeared beside the downcast looking prince. "I've lived through a lot of centuries, but I've come across few people that had heads as hard as you two."

"And just how long were you listening in on us?" DJ growled moodily.

Pluto was unfazed by the hostility in his voice. "Not as long as you think. I'm hardly an eavesdropper after all. I prefer to leave that to Venus, Jupiter, and Uranus. I was just hoping to catch you alone for a moment."

"If you're going to tell me to go home too, you can just forget it!" he snarled. "Even if you managed to take the time key from me and sent me back, I would find a way to come back here. I'm not letting her face this alone."

Pluto held a hand up to stop his tirade. "There's no sense getting yourself so worked up. I'm not here to send you back to Crystal Tokyo. We've gone too far for that now."

A black brow arched over the rim of his dark sunglasses. "What do you mean, Trista? You sound as if you've found out something."

She raised an eyebrow of her own. "I have spent some time on Mount Olympus, and let's just say that Chronos's time mirror was kind enough to show me some unclouded visions of what the immediate future holds in store. I am still bound by certain rules, so I can't tell you everything that I saw, but I will say that your interference in this time has brought about huge changes in the timeline. As long as you can keep your Katie from interfering on that rooftop, her younger counterpart should be able to handle things on her own and prevent Alex's death from happening."

A grin quirked his lips. "I never doubted her for a second. That's why I felt confident about showing her the future. She has never given herself the credit that she deserves. But I'm sure that there is more that you're not telling me. There's no way that things will be fixed so easily."

"Very perceptive of you," Pluto drawled wryly. "There are some new events that have manifested themselves into the timeline, but as I said before, I can't tell you what they are. What is important is that you are on that roof when the time comes. Do whatever you have to do to keep Katie away from that fight. I don't care if you have to sit on her or knock her out cold, your job is to stop her from getting to that sentinel before her past self does."

"I can do that," DJ told her. "I may be banged and bruised by the time it's over, but I'll keep her out of the way."

Pluto graced him with a rare smile. "Good! Then I'll leave her to you. Now you should probably return to your proper time for now. My garnet orb has been working overtime to try and protect both you and Katie from the effects of having two of you in the same time, and it could use a rest."

Then she reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a small package. "By the way, Katie gave this to me some time back and told me to give it to you if things went wrong. She wouldn't be happy to know that I gave it to you anyway. But I don't feel that I have the right to keep it anymore."

"What is it?" he asked as he took the small box tied with a silver ribbon.

Pluto looked insulted. "How would I know? I don't make it a habit to pry into people's private affairs. I am only the delivery person. But anyway, it belongs to you."

"Thank you," DJ said softly as he untied the ribbon. He was barely aware of when Pluto teleported away. He lifted the lid of the box and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of what was inside.

Nestled on a bed of soft white cotton was the silver charm bracelet with the dangling crescent moons that he had given to Katie so long ago. He picked it up with trembling fingers and held the delicate piece of jewelry in the palm of his hand. He'd had no idea that she even still had the bracelet. There was a folded piece of paper inside the box as well, and he plucked it up before carefully unfolding it to read the words that were written in Katie's flowing handwriting. It was short, sweet, and to the point.

_My Dearest Prince,_

_Please don't hate me for what I have done. I thought I could make everything better. I guess I was wrong. Believe me when I say that I never stopped loving you for one single second and missed you like crazy every moment of the last fifteen years. I'm sorry that I couldn't set things right and return to you like I wanted to, but I had to try. I hope that you can think of me with a smile from time to time and remember me as I once was instead of the vile betrayer you have thought me to be for so long. You have always lived in my heart, and you always will. Thank you for the love you once showed me, my love. I will continue to love you even as I join Alex in the afterlife._

_Always Yours Forever,_

_Tinkerbell_

DJ balled the note up in his fist and clenched his eyes shut as he fought down the urge to scream his frustrations to the night sky. After several seconds and many deep breaths, he opened his eyes once more to look out over the dark waters of the bay. A wry grin twisted up his lips.

"You're not saying goodbye to me yet, Kat," he whispered to himself. "I won't let you."

* * *

She pushed aside the oppressive blackness that she felt like she had been swimming in for so long. It was a struggle to so, almost like trying to claw your way out of a grave after being buried alive. It would have been easier to just give in to the darkness and go back to sleep, but the anxious feeling boiling in the pit of her stomach told her that it was more important that she woke up.

Katie's hazel eyes fluttered open slowly and she found herself staring at a white blur. She blinked several times until her vision finally focused enough to see that what she was looking at was a white ceiling above her.

She felt a weight next to her side and looked down to see someone sitting in a chair, leaned over with their head resting on the mattress beside her. The long spill of honey colored curls that she had always envied over her own straight, pale hair told her the person's identity immediately.

"Mom," she rasped in a dry voice as she raised a heavy hand to tap her shoulder. "Mom," she tried again when she got no response.

The woman beside her still didn't move. She pushed harder against her and tried to speak louder. "Jess!"

Jess's head snapped up, her eyes surprisingly alert for someone that had been out cold only a second before. "Hey Sleeping Beauty! I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up. How do you feel?"

Katie grimaced at the question. "I'll be flat out honest with you. I feel like shit. My head is spinning, my mouth is as dry as a desert, and there's not a muscle in my body that doesn't ache."

Jess winced in sympathy. "I can believe that. That sentinel worked you over pretty good. Darien's become nothing short of a miracle worker with the Golden Crystal, but you lost a lot of blood and that's something that even he can't heal."

Katie closed her eyes and nodded slowly to keep from making herself dizzy. Then she whispered the most important question on her mind. "How's DJ? That White Fang reject didn't go after him again once it got me down did it?"

"No, he's perfectly fine," Jess reassured her as she reached over and smoothed the younger girl's bangs back gently. "Your brother and Emma showed up about the same time you got knocked out and the sentinel vanished. DJ had a pretty nasty bump on the head, but he was able to take care of that easily enough."

"Good," Katie sighed deeply. "I was so scared for him. He was lying so still and blood was just pouring out of him. I was afraid that he was going to die. I thought we both were." She opened her eyes to look sheepishly at her future mother. "Are you mad at me? I know I promised that I'd stay in a busy area, but I just felt like I needed to get away for a while."

Jess shook her head and smiled. "No, I'm not mad. I understand the need to go someplace peaceful and think when things get to be overwhelming. And I'm proud of the way you stood up to that monster. I would have done the same if somebody I loved had been injured. So no, I'm not angry. I'm just glad that you're okay."

Katie sat up carefully, groaning as her body protested the movement, and pulled Jess into a clumsy hug. "Thanks, mom. I thought for sure you'd read me the riot act for this."

Jess giggled and returned the embrace carefully. "Come on! I'm not completely unreasonable, am I?"

"No, I guess you're not," Katie replied with a light laugh as she sat back and pushed her hair out of her face. Her nose wrinkled up in disgust. "Yuck! My hair is all stiff and gunky."

"You were practically a red head when we found you," Jess told her. "I tried to get as much blood out of it as I could, but you definitely need a good shampooing. A hot shower will probably make you feel loads better if you feel up to it. And you could probably use a good meal to help build up your strength. Drew's been in the kitchen cooking up all sorts of things ever since Darien told him that you would need some good nutrition to build your blood back up."

Katie grinned wryly. "That's dad for you. When disaster strikes, he heads for the kitchen. He once told me that cooking was better therapy than seeing a shrink. He's almost as bad as Lita."

Jess returned her grin. "That sounds like him. But at least you never go hungry with him around. Now do you need some help getting to the shower?"

"I think I've got it," Katie told her as she got up slowly, leaning against the nightstand as the room spun crazily around her. "Could you get me some clothes though? I'll pass out if I have to bend over to get in the bottom drawer."

"Sure thing!" Jess chirped as she quickly retrieved a white t-shirt and a pair of black drawstring pants along with clean undergarments. She saw her future daughter safely to the bathroom and then made her way down the hall to let the others know that Katie had rejoined the land of the living.

She stepped into the living room and cast a critical eye over the two teenage boys that were glowering darkly at each other from opposite sofas. Serena sat in a chair between them with one eye on the TV and the other on their new resident troublemakers.

"Katie's awake and taking a shower," she announced to the room as a whole.

"Thank goodness!" Serena sighed at the same time Andrew said the same thing from where he was looking through the opening over the breakfast bar where he was mixing something in a bowl.

"Perfect timing," he said with a grin. "I was just making blueberry pancakes. I know they're her favorite."

"I'm sure she'll be grateful for them. The way her stomach was growling reminded me of an angry bear," Jess said jokingly.

Then she spun on Alex and DJ. "I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but you both better keep it under control when she comes out here. She's recovering from a life threatening experience, and the last thing she needs is to deal with your drama. If we have to break up one more fight between you, I swear I will kick both of your asses so hard that no amount of crystal healing power will be able to put you back together again. Do I make myself clear?"

The scowls never left either one of their faces, but they both nodded tersely. They knew that she meant business and the last thing they wanted to do was get on the bad side of her temper.

"She's right, you know," Serena commented as Jess walked over to the breakfast bar and the cup of coffee that Andrew had placed there for her. "Both of you have been acting like a pair of bullies all night and enough is enough. I know both of you were raised better than this, and I would think that your primary concern would be Katie and her well-being. So why don't both of you set your hostilities aside and concentrate on helping her feel better?"

"I will if he does," DJ snarled as he shot a dark look at his newfound nemesis. "He's the one that started it by taking that cheap shot at me. It's pretty shitty to blindside somebody when they're not looking."

"Screw you, Shields!" Alex fired back. "You had no business taking her off to a secluded place when you know we've practically got targets painted on our backs. But I guess you must have been thinking with the wrong head. People only go up on that bluff for one thing. I can't believe you put my sister in danger just for a chance to get in her pants."

DJ's blue eyes turned stormy. "You better stop while you're ahead, Furuhata. Just because you didn't get a chance to score last night doesn't give you the right to piss and moan to everyone else. I thought you had more respect for Katie than to assume that she'd been doing anything. Besides, even if she were it wouldn't be any of your business. She's a big girl and doesn't need you to make her decisions for her. You don't see me butting into Rini's life."

Alex shot to his feet. "I'm just trying to keep her safe, something which you obviously can't do."

"I'm so sorry I got my skull cracked open and knocked unconscious," DJ drawled sarcastically as he stood as well. "Do you think I like the fact that she was left to fight alone and had to protect me?"

Serena scrambled onto the coffee table and pushed herself between the two boys that looked to be only seconds from lunging at each other. "Stop it right now, both of you! This is exactly what I was talking about before. Now knock it off before I lock both of you up somewhere and not let either of you see her. I mean it!"

DJ growled low in his throat. He wanted nothing more than to knock that condemning look off of Alex's face, but he didn't want to go against Serena. He unclenched his fists and threw himself back down on the couch.

Alex snickered smugly. "Momma's boy!"

Jess flew over and popped her future son on the back of the head, and then she yanked him by his collar to make him sit. "Not another word out of you, Alexander, or you'll be wishing that you were dealing with Discord instead of me. Sit down and shut up before I bend you over my knee and blister your ass so hard that sitting will only be a memory."

Now DJ snickered as Alex folded his arms across his chest and looked away petulantly. "Now who's the momma's boy?"

Serena whirled on him in a fury. "The same goes for you, Darien James! You will sit here and be quiet. When Katie comes out you will both treat each other politely and with respect. And you will treat her like a princess. Do you understand me?"

"I would never treat her like anything else," DJ mumbled. "It's not her fault that her brother is acting like a lunatic."

Silence fell over the room again except for the sound of the newscaster on the TV that was reporting on the various spring festivals that would be taking place over the next couple of weeks and the clinks and sizzles that accompanied the smells coming from the kitchen as Andrew prepared breakfast. It stretched on for several long minutes.

"Geez, it's as silent as a tomb in here. Don't any of you people know how to talk?" Katie muttered grumpily as she appeared in the living room doorway. "You're all acting like somebody died."

The reaction was instantaneous. DJ and Alex both jumped up from their seats at the same time to rush toward the frowning blonde. After much pushing and shoving, Alex managed to reach her first.

He pulled her into a gentle, but still slightly smothering hug, and scolded her lightly. "You little idiot! You scared me to death! I know you have brains buried somewhere in that blonde head of yours. I just wish that you would learn how to use them."

"Please don't yell at me," Katie whispered as she returned the embrace and laid her head on her brother's shoulder. "I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry."

Her eyes met DJ's, and she pulled away from Alex. He seemed reluctant to let her go, but he released her after receiving a warning look from both Jess and Andrew.

Katie wandered over until she was only a couple of feet away from the dark haired prince. "Hey," she muttered quietly.

"Hey yourself," DJ forced past the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled timidly. "I'm still a little out of it, but I'll be okay. How are you doing? I almost freaked out when that sentinel knocked you out."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I'm fine. I had a little knock on the head, but I guess my skull is as thick as you've always accused it of being after all."

She choked on a little sob and threw herself against him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. DJ sent a triumphant look to Alex as he wound his arms around her waist and held her close. Alex glared back at him, but Jess's restraining hand on his shoulder kept him still.

"All right, that's enough. Let's give her some room to breathe. Besides, I haven't had my hug yet," Andrew declared as he walked in from the kitchen and carefully removed his future daughter from her boyfriend's arms. He handled her as delicately as a piece of spun glass. "How are you doing, pumpkin?"

She wiped her damp eyes and smiled brightly as she hugged him enthusiastically. "I'm okay, daddy. Now is my nose playing tricks on me, or do I smell blueberry pancakes?"

He ruffled her hair that she had left loose to trail damply down her back and chuckled. "I think you may be able to find a pancake or two in the kitchen. There are also omelets, bacon, hash browns, and several different fruits to choose from."

Katie giggled as her stomach growled loudly in response to the list of foods he rattled off. "Sounds great! I'm starving!"

A few minutes later they were all around the kitchen table, indulging in the superbly cooked meal. Serena and Jess dug in with their normal, voracious appetites. Katie was a little more subdued, but no less intent as she attacked a stack of pancakes. Andrew and DJ just shook their heads as they calmly began eating.

Alex was the only one that didn't appear to be enjoying the meal. He sat with his eyes fixed on his plate as he pushed around his food with a fork. Katie noticed this once the edge had been taken off her hunger and grew concerned.

'_Lex, are you okay?' _she asked him mentally.

He looked up at her in surprise, his dark blue eyes flaring wide for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he shook his head slightly. _'I don't want to talk about it right now. I'd rather wait until we can talk without certain other people listening in.' _He scowled darkly at DJ.

Shocked, Katie turned a questioning look to DJ. _'Is there something I need to know about?'_

DJ shrugged. _'It's nothing to worry about. Your brother just seems to think that I'm not good enough to be your boyfriend anymore.'_

'_What?' _she shrieked as she stared in disbelief at her twin. _'Alex, how could you even think that?'_

A growl echoed in her head. _'I said I didn't want to talk about it right now, but if you're so determined to push the issue I'll tell you. I want you to break up with him Kat. If you hadn't been with him last night you wouldn't have almost died!'_

Her fork fell from her fingers to clatter against her plate. She forgot that they had an audience as she jumped from her seat. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, Alex. What difference did it make if I was with DJ or not? We've been targeted from the very beginning, so that thing probably would have come after us no matter what. How can you blame this on him?"

Alex sat back in the chair and crossed his arms. "I got there in time to see the end of your fight. I saw the position you were in. Now tell me honestly, did you get all of those injuries because the sentinel directly attacked you, or did you get them because you threw yourself in its path because it kept going after DJ."

Her mouth opened and then snapped closed as she thought back to the battle the night before. What Alex was saying had a ring of truth to it. The wolf had paid little attention to her except when she got in its way. It had seemed unnaturally fixated on DJ, continuing to go after him even after he had been knocked unconscious.

Alex's look turned smug. "I rest my case. He dragged you off to a secluded location, making you prime candidates for an attack, and then got himself knocked out, leaving you all alone to defend him. It was a bad situation all the way around, one that should have never happened."

"But that's not the way it was!" she protested. "DJ got hurt because he was trying to protect me. That damned sentinel had me pinned down and he was trying to pull it off of me. So you better get your facts straight before you start making assumptions. It could have happened anywhere."

Alex jerked his chin defiantly. "I still think it's too dangerous for you to be alone with him."

"And you can't tell me who I can and can't spend time with!" she fired back. "Have you forgotten that we're supposed to be a team? It's our job to protect and watch each other's backs. I think you've lost sight of that little fact."

Sapphire blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "I haven't forgotten our mission or why we are here, but I have another job to do as well. I promised mom and dad before we left home that I would keep you safe. And if it means tying you to me 24/7 to keep you from getting yourself killed, then that's what I'm going to do!"

Katie gasped in outrage at her brother's words. "Just because you are seven minutes older than me doesn't give you the right to think that you can run my life. You are my brother, not my father. I don't need a babysitter."

"I'm seriously starting to doubt that," Alex grumbled.

"Hey, lay off of her! She already told you to mind your own business, so butt out!" DJ spoke up tersely.

"Well excuse me, _your highness_," Alex drawled with a heavy sarcastic emphasis on the 'your highness'. "But I was having a conversation with _my _sister, not with you. So I think you're the one that needs to butt out."

DJ's face turned as hard as a slab of concrete. "Well she happens to be _my _girlfriend, and I don't like the way you're talking to her. She's sixteen, not six, and she can make her own decisions."

"Both of you stop it!" Katie cried as she banged her hands on the table, making the dishes rattle. "You're both making a big deal out of nothing."

"Nothing!" Alex yelled at her. "Do you not realize how bad of shape you were in when I found you? You were soaked in your own blood, Kat! I hate to think what might have happened if Darien hadn't been close by. And I for one don't want to have to tell mom and dad that you're dead!"

Bile rose like burning battery acid in Katie's throat at his words. She had seen a small piece of what could be their future and knew that there was the possibility that she would be the one that would be carrying the grim news of his death home to her parents. At the time that the DJ from the future had shown her the scene of her brother fighting with his best friend she thought that it could never happen. But with the way the two of them were glaring daggers at each other now she could see the possibility of it actually coming true. And it was all over her.

She pushed away from the table a little unsteadily. "I'm going to go lay down. I'm not feeling so good," she mumbled as tears began prickling her eyes. She stumbled from the room, gripping the walls and doorframe for support. Behind her she heard the adults lighting into the guys for arguing in front of her, but she knew that it wouldn't make a difference. The future she had seen was coming true right before her eyes and there was nothing she could do to stop it. They were both too hard headed to back down.

Her stomach heaved and she lurched into the bathroom where she lost every bit of the breakfast she had eaten into the toilet. Weak and shaking, she brushed her teeth and washed her sweaty face before staggering to her room and the bed that awaited her. She felt cold so she pulled the blankets all the way up to her chin and closed her eyes, praying that the room would soon stop spinning.

She was still awake some time later when she heard the door open and soft footsteps padded into the room. She felt his energy, but kept her eyes closed and didn't acknowledge him.

"I know you're awake, Kat," Alex said softly from right beside her. "I know you're mad at me too, and for that I am sorry. But I only have your best interests at heart. It killed me to see you injured so badly and I never want to go through that again, okay. I guess we can talk later after you've rested up some more."

She felt his hand on her shoulder and had to fight back her tears. It wasn't until she heard him leave the room that she allowed them to trickle out from under her eyelids to roll down her face and soak into the pillow. She loved her brother deeply and knew that he was only looking out for her, but couldn't he see that he was tearing their group apart with his narrow mindedness?

She rolled to her side and curled into a ball, clenching her teeth together to still their chattering. She felt absolutely miserable. Sure she had known that things were going to blow up at some point between Alex and DJ, but her little visitor from the future had never told her that it was because of the issue of her safety. He had been very vague with his explanation and said that it was a petty, juvenile argument. And she totally agreed with him. Both of the guys were being thick headed.

She must have dozed off a little because the next thing she knew she felt fingers gently wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks and a pair of warm lips brush against hers. Then DJ's voice whispered softly in her ear, "Sleep well, my fairy princess. I love you."

And surprisingly enough she did. She slipped easily into the realm of dreams and fell into a deep, rejuvenating sleep thanks to the fact that Helios was nearby and sensed her inner turmoil.

* * *

"Are things going as planned?" Metallia asked the woman that was knelt in front of her.

"Yes, your majesty," Beryl replied smoothly. "All available youma are preparing for battle as we speak. They will be ready for your command."

"Very good. You've done well, Beryl," Metallia replied in a slightly bored tone. She seemed more concerned with examining her manicured nails than the upcoming fight. "Have you finished your own preparations?"

Beryl kept her head down to hide the glint in her eyes. "I have, my queen. I only await your orders."

"Then there seems to be nothing more for us to do except wait for Lord Discord's signal tomorrow night. You may go now," Metallia dismissed her casually.

"Of course, your majesty," Beryl said as she rose to her feet and made to sweep regally from the chamber.

Metallia's voice made her pause. "Oh, one more thing, Beryl."

The red head looked back over her shoulder. "Yes?"

A deceptively serene smile turned up Metallia's lips. "Princess Serenity is mine. You may do what you like to any of the others, but I will be the one to take the life of that moon brat. It will be my revenge on Queen Serenity for daring to seal me away all those centuries ago. Oh, and try to steer clear of that half-breed abomination as well. Discord has plans to deal with her himself."

A flicker of something that could have been fear flashed in Beryl's eyes for the briefest of moments. "Discord will be present for the battle as well?" She hadn't been expecting that.

Metallia shrugged elegantly as she stood and walked over to a long mirror hanging on the wall. She preened for a moment as she studied her reflection from different angles. How she enjoyed inhabiting this body. Then her eyes met Beryl's in the mirror. "He is planning on making a brief appearance. Honestly, my dear, I don't think you comprehend the magnitude of how big this fight will be. Let's see, how can I put it? It's almost like several small missions rolled up into one large one. We do have multiple targets to deal with after all."

Beryl nodded jerkily. "I understand, my queen."

The look in those staring eyes hardened like stone. "I hope you do, Beryl. Remember, there is no room in the future of the Dark Kingdom for those who can't do their jobs. Those who fail will be eliminated."

Beryl bowed low and then strolled leisurely from the room. Once in the corridor her steps quickened as she hurried to the security of her magically sealed chamber. She briefly considered finding a way to get a message to Talon about this new development, but then changed her mind. She had already risked too much by informing him about the attack so that he could warn Endymion about it. Her main objective in this was to keep the earth prince alive. And if Serenity could manage to destroy Metallia, that was fine with her. It would be one less thing that she would have to deal with later.

* * *

Darien pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Let me get this straight. You're telling me that Beryl came to you and told you all about this grand plan that Metallia and Discord have cooked up to unleash their combined armies on the city and you actually believed her?"

"Are you calling me a liar, Endymion?" Talon growled from where he was sitting on one of the sofas in Serena and Darien's living room. Then he yelled, "Ouch!" as something tugged painfully on his ear.

"Behave yourself!" Anya hissed next him as she released his now throbbing ear. "You can't blame him for being skeptical so don't get your underwear in a twist."

"For God's sake, woman! You need a serious manicure to cut those claws of yours! Those things are deadly weapons!" he howled.

Anya rolled her eyes at him. "Suck it up and take it like a man! Nobody wants to listen to you throw a temper tantrum right now. We have more important things to discuss."

"But this doesn't make any sense," Serena mumbled. "Why would Beryl pass on inside information to us. There's definitely no love lost between us."

Talon sat back, still rubbing his offended ear. "Don't get me wrong, I don't think for one second that she's doing this to help you. She's still just as greedy and self-centered as she always was. What it basically boils down to is that she has the same objective that she's always had; which is to kill you, Serenity, and take the Silver Crystal for herself. She wouldn't be opposed if she could manage to snag your little princey there up as well. But evidently Metallia and Discord's methods are interfering with what she wants, so she's looking for a way to thwart them. It's typical of her. I always said her father spoiled her too much."

"This couldn't happen at a worse time!" Serena moaned in despair. "Amara had a race out of town this weekend and Michelle went with her. And Hotaru's off with that stupid brother of mine on a supposed camping trip," she shuddered a little at the mental images of what her younger sibling was possibly doing with the young scout of destruction. "Sammy will kill me for ruining his trip, but he'll get over it. Nobody ever knows when or where Trista will turn up. And now we have Katie out of commission from the attack last night. We may be down five people."

Jess snorted from where she was sitting on the ledge of the breakfast bar. "So we may be missing a few members of the team, but there's still plenty enough of us to take them on. We just may need to kick ass a little harder to make up for the loss."

Talon quirked an eyebrow at her. "So are you saying that you've kept up with your training regimen? That's good. I was under the impression that you had let your time become consumed with school and other domestic things."

She flushed guiltily. The truth was that the rigorous training sessions that she had endured on an almost daily basis at the hand of Nebula since she was thirteen had dwindled down to almost nonexistent over the last couple of years. She couldn't even remember the last time that she'd had a good, muscle burning workout.

Still she scoffed at Talon. "Fighting is like riding a bike. You don't forget how to do it."

Talon smirked at her. "Oh really?" He blurred into motion quicker than anyone could blink.

Before Jess could even process what had happened, Talon had appeared behind her and locked an arm around her neck. He chuckled deeply. "You're slipping, princess. Two years ago I never would have been able to pull that off. You've let yourself grow complacent with your everyday life and have lost the edge that made you such a formidable fighter. You need to get that drive back if you hope to fight successfully in the coming battle."

"Get off of me!" Jess ground out as she pushed herself off of the bar and dragging him with her. As she hit the floor she took a step back toward him and bent down, sending him flying over her head to land on the floor with a crash. In the blink of an eye she was on top of him with a glowing blue hand pressed against his neck.

"What the hell are you trying to prove?" she demanded. "I could rip your throat out in a heartbeat. But I know you better than that, and I know that you're only doing this to point out something. So what is it?"

He grinned up at her. "I was just trying to make sure that all of your amazing abilities were still intact, that's all. It's been a while since you've had to use them and I wanted to make sure that you haven't gotten too rusty. But controlling your crystal and having physical power is only half the battle. Don't forget that you have to carefully guard what resides inside your head as well or it my be used against you."

His jet black eyes locked with hers, and she was sucked deep into her memories.

_The kids in her kindergarten class made fun of her because she begged them not to pull the leaves off the bushes that surrounded the playground because it hurt them and she could hear them screaming in pain._

_Daddy's arms were so warm when he carried her home after she fell off her bike the first time she tried riding it without training wheels. Then he put a band-aid on her skinned knee and took her out for ice cream._

_Momma's hands were so soft as they brushed her hair. She loved it when her mother would come into her room every night and brushed her hair before reading her a story._

_Her family was moving to California and she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay in Japan. But her parents said it was a good move and maybe she could make some friends there. They just didn't realize that she was different from the other kids. Weird things always happened around her and people called her a freak. _

_Momma's pet Chihuahua liked to bark and chase Nebula around the house. She always laughed at the sight and considered it payback for all of the long hours of torturous training that bossy feline made her go through._

_Momma and Daddy waved to her as they pulled out of the driveway. If only she had known then that they would never be coming home again. She would have screamed and begged for them to stay home that night if she had known._

"Stop it!" she screamed at the man beneath her. She grasped him by the front of his shirt and shook him hard, making his head bang against the floor. "You bastard! How dare you break into my mind!"

Talon was unfazed by her violent outburst. "I was just proving to you how lax you've become. The young Sailor Shadow I met two years ago never would have allowed me to get the drop on her so easily. You need to become that person again if you want to have a hope and prayer of making it through this fight."

She let go of him. "Fine, I get it. I guess I have gotten a little lazy lately."

He grinned up at her. "So did you ever learn how to ride that bike?"

"Piss off!" she ground out as she pushed herself off of him. "Anya, you better do something about your husband if you want that child of yours to grow up with a father. He's seriously ticking me off!"

"Leave her alone, Talon! You've done enough," Anya snapped waspishly and pointed to the seat next to her. "Now get over here and behave yourself before I make you sleep on the couch for the next century!"

"Okay, okay. Damn pregnancy hormones!" he muttered under his breath as he got up off the floor.

Her chocolate brown eyes blazed furiously. "What was that?"

"Nothing, dear," Talon hastily reassured her as he sat down next to her and patted her hand consolingly.

Jess bit down hard on her lip to stifle her giggles when Anya looked at her with a grin and a sly wink. Who would have ever thought that the mighty Talon could be reduced to groveling by a tiny slip of a woman?

Andrew sat his coffee cup down on the bar with a thud. "If we're done with this round of _'Who Can Piss Jess Off?' _, can we get back to the subject of the fight, please?"

Darien nodded his agreement. "Right. So they're planning on setting groups of sentinels, guardians, and youma loose at different points all around the city? Doesn't take a genius to figure out that they're trying to split us up."

"It doesn't look like we'll have much of a choice," Serena replied wearily. "We won't be able to stay all together and try to take down one group at a time. They would be able to destroy over half of the city by the time we got around to them all."

"Then we'll just have to split up into smaller groups," Jess said seriously. "If we can get the outers here we can break off into groups of four. You know that the kids aren't going to sit out even if we ask them to, so if we include them we should have enough people to form at least five or six groups."

Darien ran an agitated hand through his hair. "I guess that's the best we can do. It would be even better if we knew exactly where they were going to strike. I don't guess Beryl told you the specifics, did she, Talon?"

He shook his head. "No, she was pretty stingy with the details. I don't know if it was because she didn't want to say or if she simply doesn't know. There's quite a bit of tension brewing between her and Metallia right know, so it's possible that she hasn't been let in on the full plan. You should probably also know that Metallia is definitely the one running the show. She has claimed a physical body as well."

"Oh that's just great!" Serena moaned. "It's easy to spot a big black cloud of vapor. But if she has taken on a human form that's going to make her harder to locate. She could walk past any of us on the street and we wouldn't know it. Do we have any kind of a description?"

Talon answered in the negative. "No. Like I said before, Beryl has her own agenda so she didn't tell me any more than she felt like she had to. I think what she's really hoping for is that you will take care of Metallia for her and get her out of the way. But deep down she's still plotting to steal the Silver Crystal and take over the world."

"She can try," Darien growled as he put an arm around Serena and pulled her against his side. "I can't believe she's still going on about the same thing after all of this time. You would think she would have gotten over it after a thousand years and being beaten twice."

"The bitch definitely needs to get a life," Jess agreed as she hopped down from where she had sat on the bar once again. "I guess we'll just have to kick her ass too. In the meantime I think I'm going to squeeze in a little practice. Talon is right, I haven't had to really fight in so long that I feel rusty."

Just then Rini and DJ walked in from the direction of the bedrooms. Jess squealed and ran over to throw an arm around each of them. "Ah ha! Just the two people I wanted to see. My wonderful, dear, younger almost siblings, would you two be willing to do your would be older sister a huge favor?"

Rini jerked away from her and eyed her warily. "Are you high or something? I don't like that look on your face. You're up to something sneaky."

Jess pretended to pout. "I am not. I just felt like doing a little bit of training and thought that you two might be willing to be my sparring partners."

"Now I know you've been smoking crack!" Rini exclaimed. "There's no way that I'm sparring against you."

"Oh, come on!" Jess pleaded. "Why does no one ever want to practice with me?"

"Maybe because you scare the crap out of them," DJ replied with a smirk. "It's the same reason why I won't spar with Katie. I like to walk away from training matches with my limbs still intact."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Jess protested. "Oh I know! I'll ask Alex to help me. He's been in such a bad mood that I bet he needs to work off some excess energy."

Rini snorted. "Good luck with that! You'd have a better shot at getting Amy to spar with you than him. Face it, the only person that would be crazy enough to go up against you is Katie, and she's out of commission at the moment. But I have to admit that it would be an interesting match since you two have the same fighting style."

"This isn't fair!" Jess wailed. "If nobody will train with me I'll be stuck having to use the hologram chamber under the arcade, and that's no challenge!"

"If you're looking for a challenge, I'll be happy to oblige," Talon spoke up in a quiet, but commanding voice. "In all of the time that I spent chasing you, we never had a chance to go against each other. I'd like to see what I missed out on."

A manic light entered Jess's eyes and they gleamed bright blue for a moment. "You're on! Just let me go check on Katie real quick and then we'll get this party started."

She spoke softly to DJ before she left. "I'm going to pull Alex off of his guard dog duty and make him go with me. That should give you some time to spend with Katie without him glaring daggers at you."

DJ grinned widely at her. "Thanks Jess."

Andrew groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Great! Why did you have to egg her on, Talon? You know how she gets."

Talon looked smug. "Yes I do. But I have always admired her spunk."

"Hey! Where are you going?" Darien asked as Serena scrambled off the couch.

"To call the scouts," she called back to him. "I need to see if I can get in touch with the outers and the other girls need to be filled in on what's going on. I think I'll call a meeting at the clearing by the middle school. I could use a little practice myself. I don't feel ready for this fight. If we're going to be going up against Metallia, then I need to get my head in the game."

Darien sighed as he watched her retreat to the bedroom to call the scouts and fished his cell phone from his pocket. He scrolled down until he reached the number he was looking for and pressed the call button. It rang three times before a deep voice answered with a simple, "Hello."

"Rally the guys, Kunzite," Darien told him. "We just got handed front row tickets to an all-star fight."

"Interesting…" Kunzite drawled. "I take it that the wicked witch is coming to town."

Darien grinned at the underlying enthusiasm in his friend's voice. "Just make sure to sharpen your blades. We're going on a bitch hunt."

* * *

"So why are we here?" Jayden drawled in a bored tone as Lita pulled her car into a parking space in the middle school parking lot. "We're not supposed to train today. I had plans for this afternoon."

Raye twisted around in the passenger seat to glare at her future son. "Oh I'm sure you did have plans, mister! And I'm sure they probably involved you hanging out somewhere like a hoodlum trying to pick up college girls."

Jayden waggled his eyebrows at her. "I told you before, I like my women to be older." He leaned across the back seat to lay his head on Skye's shoulder. "Isn't that right, baby? I know you're just playing hard to get."

Unfortunately he had to lean over Hannah to accomplish this, and the blue haired girl shrieked in outrage. "Ewww! Perv germs! Get off of me you sorry, depraved excuse for a human being!"

"Quiet!" Lita bellowed. "We told you before, Serena called and told us that she got the lowdown on an upcoming attack and wanted us to meet. Rini requested that you all be brought along."

"Aww, who cares what Rini wants? I don't answer to her," Jayden grumbled. "She can boss around Skye, Emma, and Hannah because they're sailor scouts, but DJ is my leader and he's not even going to be here. He's too busy at home playing nursemaid to his girlfriend. What a wuss! Katie's a strong, beautiful female. She can take care of herself."

"Boy, if you don't shut your mouth I'm going to shut it for you!" Raye ground out between clenched teeth. "I never thought I would hear myself say this, but you are ten times worse than your father and I never thought I would meet someone that could drive me crazier than he can."

"Ooo! She told you!" Hannah crowed gleefully.

"Keep it up, Snowflake, and I'll burn every bit of those biology and geometry notes that you spent so much time organizing for next week's tests," Jayden growled.

Hannah shrieked. "You wouldn't! Jayden! You big bully!"

"Out of the car!" Lita demanded. "And both of you, stick a cork in it before I subject you both to electroshock therapy. I promise it will be very painful."

Both of the young teens huffed indignantly, but wisely kept their insults to themselves as they all climbed from the car.

"Won't people get suspicious when they see this many cars in a school parking lot on a Saturday?" Skye wondered as she looked around at the various vehicles that belonged to their friends.

"Nope!" Hannah chirped. "Mom extended the barrier around the clearing to conceal our presence completely. Nobody will ever know that we're here."

"That's Amy for you, she always thinks ahead," Lita said with a grin as she looked around. "I don't see her or Zoicite's cars here yet. They must be stuck at the hospital. But it looks like just about everyone else is here except…hmm. I thought for sure Nephrite would beat me here. He left the restaurant before I did."

Just then a large black pickup truck roared into the parking lot. Tires squealed as it slammed into the parking place next to Lita's forest green Camry. The doors flew open and out tumbled Nephrite and Jadeite, laughing and high-fiving one another.

"Do you always have to drive like a maniac?" Lita shouted. "You're going to wind up killing somebody someday!"

Nephrite grinned and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Sorry. Jed and I were just having a little fun. But no harm, no foul."

"You're a menace to all drivers and pedestrians," Lita grumbled sourly.

"Hellooo Baaabby!" Jadeite drawled as he swept Raye off her feet and kissed her very enthusiastically.

She squirmed and wriggled in his arms until she broke free, and then she shoved him back a few steps. "Knock it off, you exhibitionist! I swear you have a one track mind!"

Jadeite pretended to pout. "Come on, Firefly! There's nothing wrong with a little public display of affection."

Raye snorted. "You take it beyond PDA! You're so debased that you would probably do me on the hood of a car for the whole world to see and not think twice about it!"

Jadeite's eyes began to burn like blue coals. "Is that an invitation?"

Smoke curled from Raye's clenched fists. "No it is NOT! You…you…you PERVERT!"

Lita slapped her hands over a blushing Hannah's ears and shot a dark glare at Nephrite, who was doubled over in laughter. "Do you mind?" she hissed at him. "This isn't funny! Think about what kind of example you're setting for your daughter!"

Skye's eyes had glazed over as she watched Jadeite playfully trying to lean Raye back over the hood of Lita's car as she screeched at him. "That is sooo hot! I'm jealous of them. When am I ever going to find a guy that can make me feel like that?"

Jayden stepped in front of her and struck a pose. "Uh, hello! I'm right here, ready, willing, and able!"

Skye rolled her eyes and turned away. "In your dreams, Smokey!"

A shriek tore from Hannah's throat as she pulled away from Lita's hands. She flung her arms wide and dozens of snowballs appeared out of thin air and began pelting the blonde boy.

"Ow!" Jayen yelled as a particularly large snowball smashed into his face. He sputtered as he wiped the icy whiteness away from his eyes to glare at the now heaving and trembling girl. "What the hell was that for?"

She stomped over to him and poked him in the chest with a cold finger. "You are a JERK, Jayden! A BIG FAT JERK!" Then she twirled and ran away, her feet making crunching sounds where the ground froze immediately under her.

Jayden blinked in surprise. "Okay! What did I do this time? I think she's mentally disturbed. She's always getting mad at me when I haven't done anything to her. What a basket case!"

Jadeite walked over and clapped his future son on the shoulder. "Women are mysterious creatures. You'll understand where she's coming from when you get a little older."

"Ha!" Jayden barked. "I don't want to understand her. I don't think anyone could. She's freaking bipolar!" Then he stormed away as well.

"Ah…the joys of parenthood," Lita sighed.

"At least we're getting a small taste of what the future holds for us," Raye grumbled. "I hope Xanax still exists in the future, because I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

"You guys don't know the half of it," Skye muttered under her breath as she thought about the ones that had been deemed too young to come to the past and had been left behind in Crystal Tokyo.

Her brother, Nick, along with Jayden's sister, Ryssa, and Emma's brother, Kyle, hadn't been happy about missing out on this adventure. But at the ages of 12, 10, and 8, they would have been in over their heads. Hannah's little brother, six year old Corey, had been the only one to not put up a fuss, but that was only because he was too young to figure out what was going on.

"Did you say something?" Lita asked her curiously.

Skye jumped, not realizing that she had spoken out loud. "Nope! I didn't say a word. I guess we better go find everyone, huh? We don't want them to have all of the fun."

* * *

Bright hazel eyes stared beseechingly at DJ as she pleaded with him. "Please? I promise I'll be good."

"No," he told her firmly. "And don't try that puppy dog look on me. It's not going to work."

Katie sniffled and curled up next to his side. She laid her head on his shoulder and placed her lips next to his ear. "Please?"

He shivered as her breath brushed across his ear, but he was determined to not back down. "I said no, Kat! You almost died less than twenty-four hours ago and you still haven't fully recovered. You are going to stay right here on this couch and rest."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and slid herself onto his lap. "But I'm bored," she cooed softly as she leaned her forehead against his. "There's nothing to do. I feel much better now than I did earlier. I had a nice long nap and a good lunch. I even drank that yucky herbal tea that Zoicite sent over that's supposed to help me build up my blood faster."

DJ gulped as her close proximity to him caused all of his nerve endings to tingle and the blood to pound in his ears. "Well, we'll watch a movie then."

"I don't want to watch a movie," she countered.

He tried to think fast. "Then we'll play a game."

Her lower lip pouted. "I don't want to play a game."

He was growing frustrated. "Look, we'll do anything that you want to do as long as it doesn't interfere with your recovery."

She twisted so that she was straddling him, one long leg on each side of his hips. Her lips brushed his in the lightest of kisses. "Please?" she whispered softly.

A red flag flew up in his head as certain parts of his anatomy jumped to attention. He groaned and let his head fall to the back of the sofa. "Fine! But your brother is going to kill me for this."

She kissed the tip of his nose. "Don't worry about Alex. I'll handle him. I'll be right back."

DJ bit back a moan when her chest brushed against his as she climbed off his lap. He clenched his fists to keep from pulling her back down and kissing her senseless. He knew that he was giving in to her way too easy, but he just couldn't help himself. She may not be in peak form right now, but she was driving him crazy. It took every bit of willpower to keep from following her to her room and pushing her down on the bed so that he could live out the dreams that plagued him on a nightly basis.

"You're a sick man, Shields," muttered to himself. "Only an insensitive ass would even think about doing those things with a woman when she's sick."

He conjured thoughts of every disgusting thing he could think of in order to banish the images in his head that were becoming increasingly x-rated. Luckily he had both his mind and his body back under control by the time Katie came back into the room.

"Are you ready?" she asked as she held a hand out to him.

He took her hand with a smile. "I'm ready."

* * *

"So that's the story," Serena said to the group that was sitting on the ground in a semi-circle around her. "We have to be prepared for whatever Beryl and Metallia are going to throw at us tomorrow night."

She sighed in irritation as a loud boom came from behind her and the ground shook under her feet. "For the love of Selene, Jess! Do you think you could give it a rest for a few minutes while I wrap things up? I can't hear myself think with all that racket!"

Sailor Shadow pulled herself up from the crouch she had landed in after leaping out of the way of an energy blast Talon had shot at her. She grinned sheepishly as she pushed some stray hairs away from her flushed and sweaty face. "Oops! Sorry, Serena."

Then she screeched as Talon suddenly materialized behind her and tried to grab her. She dropped back to the ground and spun, lashing out with a leg to try to knock the man off his feet.

Talon easily avoided her attack and sent a fist flying at her that she easily blocked. It looked as if they were seriously trying to kill each other as they lunged at one another, punching and kicking at every available opening. But in between shots you could hear them laughing and they both had huge smiles on their faces.

"Looks like Jess is enjoying herself out there," Darien said casually to the scowling man beside him.

Andrew snorted. "I know she likes a good fight, and I'm glad she's enjoying herself. She needs this to take her mind off of things. But if that bastard hurts her, intentional or not, I'll kick him so hard his ass will crack the other way."

"Like you have to worry about that," Alex said loftily from where he was reclining against a tree. "The two of them have been doing this about every six months or so as far back as I can remember, and mom walks away the victor every time. She accuses him of taking it easy on her, but I don't think that's it. She's just that good."

"Yeah, she is," Andrew sighed as he watched his fiancé execute a series of back handsprings, ending in a backward flip before landing gracefully in her high heeled boots. "She's something else."

"Ugh! Mush alert!" Alex groaned. "I didn't mean to set you loopy. Parents shouldn't look at each other like that in front of their kids. It's creepy!"

Both Andrew and Darien chuckled at the indignant teen.

"How should parents look at each other then?" Darien asked.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. But it shouldn't involve eying one another like a juicy steak. You could scar a kid for life that way."

"I'll try to remember that," Darien said, his voice shaking with humor. He glanced over his shoulder. "It looks like Serena is wrapping things up. I better go see what's next on the agenda."

Alex glared at Darien's retreating back without meaning to. He held nothing against the man that had been an uncle to him all of his life, but sometimes the resemblance between him and DJ was so strong that you could forget for a moment which one you were looking at. And right now thoughts of his former best friend made him feel like punching something until his knuckles bled.

None of this was missed by Andrew. He nudged his future son with his foot. "You wanna talk about it?"

"About what?" Alex grumbled.

Andrew shook his head. "About why you're so angry. About what made you snap and attack your best friend."

"Ex-best friend!" Alex interjected. "And no, I really don't want to talk about it."

Andrew sighed and sat next to him, leaning back against the same tree trunk. "Alex, you're going to have to let it out sometime. You can't keep it all bottled up inside like this. We have a major battle coming up. And if you're distracted by your thoughts you could make a careless mistake. One wrong move could mean the difference between life and death."

Alex seemed to wilt before him. "I know. But right now I just can't bring myself to forgive him. Maybe I am being unreasonable, but I can't help but feel like he betrayed me. DJ is much stronger than me, he always has been. It's been a huge relief in my mind since he and Katie started spending so much time together. I knew that he would be a better protector for her than I could ever hope to be, and I never worried when she was with him because I knew that she would be taken care of. But last night…seeing her like that…I know I sound stupid, but I feel like he failed me."

Understanding lit Andrew's eyes. "Ah! I see where you're coming from. I went through something a lot like that once myself."

Alex looked at him skeptically. "You did?"

Andrew nodded. "Yeah, it was with a buddy of mine that I'd met back in high school. I really looked up to the guy. He was confident and successful, and it just seemed to come so easily to him. He was everything that I was working so hard to become, and I admired him for it. He was a little aloof until you got to know him, but we soon became great pals. In my eyes he could do no wrong. Then one day that all changed."

Alex visibly perked up a bit. "What happened?"

Andrew put his hands behind his head and looked up at the tree branches above him. "I was working at the arcade one afternoon when a girl that I had known for years came by to visit. My friend and I were sitting around and talking when she came in. Before I knew what was happening they were yelling at each other and he said some pretty hurtful things to her. She got mad and stormed out. I asked him what was going on, and he said that they'd had a few run ins before. I was upset that he'd treated her like that and told him to take it easy on her, but the situation got worse. One day they had a particularly brutal fight, and he said some really nasty things that I won't bother repeating. The bottom line is that she ran from the arcade in tears. I was livid."

"What did you do?" Alex asked softly.

Andrew smirked. "I did what any red blooded man would do. I hauled his sorry ass out back into the alley and beat the shit out of him. I was pissed at him for hurting another one of my friends, but I was also upset because he had shattered the high opinion that I had of him. I told him to get lost and not ever show himself in my arcade ever again. He didn't listen to me though and kept coming around. We had a few more heated encounters after that."

Alex sat up straight. "So what happened to the guy?"

Andrew grinned and pointed. "He's standing right over there next to the girl that he used to torment so ruthlessly."

Alex's eyes widened. "Whoa! Wait a minute! The friend in your story was Darien and the girl was Serena? But you guys are so tight. I can't imagine you fighting like that."

Andrew shrugged. "It took some time to get over it. Serena and Darien started dating and I stayed watchful for a while, scared that he was going to hurt her again, but eventually I put it behind me and never looked back. We've been as close as brothers ever since. So what I'm trying to say is that this thing between you and DJ may not blow over quickly, you may even get into some more fights. But if you two are as close of friends as I think you are, you'll get through it."

"Yeah, maybe," Alex muttered as he plucked a piece of grass to twirl in his fingers.

Andrew stood and then reached down to ruffle his future son's light brown hair. "Just think about it. I don't expect any immediate miracles to come from my little pep talk. Now I think I'll go rescue Talon from your mother, he's beginning to look a little ragged."

Alex sat back and closed his eyes as he mulled over Andrew's words. Could he eventually forgive his friend for not being the strong, infallible prince he had always believed him to be? Maybe someday he could, but right now the hurt was still too fresh.

He dozed off for a while and only came awake when he felt a pair of lips tickling his ear and a sweet, soft voice whispered. "Wakey time, sleepyhead!"

His sleep clouded, dark blue eyes blinked open to look into a pair of shimmering gray orbs. He grinned. "Good morning."

Emma giggled. "Good evening is more like it. I wondered there for a while if you had slipped into a coma. I can't believe you slept right through the noise of people training."

A second amused voice spoke from beside him. "I'm not surprised. I've always said he could sleep through an atomic explosion."

Alex's head whipped around so fast that it was a miracle that it didn't spin right off his neck. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Kat?"

His sister smiled impishly at him. "That was still my name the last time I checked."

"But…how…" he sputtered. Then he bellowed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

She winced a little at his tone. "Don't burst a blood vessel, Lex! I'm here because I wanted to be here. I was bored with being stuck in the apartment and wanted to get some fresh air and find out what was going on. But don't worry, I'm taking it easy. I've been ordered to not move from this spot."

Alex glanced around, realizing how many people must have left while he had been napping. Serena, Jess, Mina, and Rini were talking together not too far away. The ringing clash of swords had him looking out toward the center of the clearing. Darien and Andrew stood off to one side watching as Kunzite engaged Phantom in a fairly intense round of swordplay.

The sight made his temper flare. This was why he hadn't wanted to come here today. He'd had a feeling something like this would happen. All DJ had to do was sit at the apartment and make sure Katie rested. That wasn't that hard to do. Instead his recovering sister had been dragged across town. He knew that she was probably telling the truth when she said that it was all her idea, but DJ should have known better than to give in to her. She needed to be at home resting.

"Damn him!" he growled as he jumped to his feet. He felt Emma grab his arm and shook her off. "Stay with Kat, Em."

"Alex!" he heard the two girls scream after him as he began running, but he paid them no mind. He had his target in sight.

Phantom and Kunzite had stopped their dueling and had stepped away from each other. He saw the tuxedo-clad boy lay his sword down and use his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face. He called on his power and transformed in a fiery rush.

'_DJ, look out!' _he heard his sister's voice scream in his head and saw Phantom whirl around only a second before he plowed into him and knocked them both to the ground. DJ was slightly taller and heavier than he was, but surprise and momentum were on his side and he quickly gained the upper hand.

He pinned Phantom to the ground and grasped the lapels of his tuxedo jacket. He shook him so hard that the black mask flew off his face. "You stupid bastard! All you had to do was sit at the apartment and make sure she took it easy! What is so hard about that?"

The dark haired prince had gotten over his initial shock and he jackknifed his body, throwing his attacker off. He rolled to his feet and glared at Phoenix as he did the same. "I've had just about enough of your shit, Alex. Keep it up and I'll bash in that perfectly straight nose of yours."

Phoenix clenched his fists and ground out, "Bring it on!"

Phantom snarled and lunged at him, but found his way blocked as Kunzite stepped between them. A second later he felt someone grab his arms and pin them behind his back.

"Chill out!" a tight voice hissed in his ear. He turned to look over his shoulder to find Darien, no…not Darien, Tuxedo Mask, glowering sternly at him. He jerked against the restraining arms, but they didn't budge.

"Let me go, dad!" he grated as he looked over and saw Phoenix being held in the same position by Andrew. "If that little prick wants a fight, then I'll give it to him!"

Tuxedo Mask tightened his hold. "I said knock it off! Now detransform, right now!"

"Not on your life!" Phantom fired back furiously. "I'm tired of him taking cheap shots at me. We're going to end this, now!"

"That's fine with me!" Phoenix yelled as he struggled against Andrew. "I'm ready when you are!"

"_Stop it!" _a shrill voice screamed, jerking them both to attention. Their heads swiveled to find Katie standing nearby. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her whole body was trembling, but her face was full of contempt as she surveyed them both. Her eyes were amazingly dry and held a cold look that made them both shiver.

Her voice cut like a knife when she spoke. "Both of you are fools! We are supposed to be fighting against the enemy, not each other. I am the only one responsible for the choices I make. And I am not some object that you two can argue over in your little pissing contest. You're supposed to be protectors of Earth, but all I see are two spoiled little boys fighting over a toy. I am not a toy!"

Fatigue was catching up to her, making her pant for breath as she finished her ranting. She turned to Emma, who was beside her, and looked at her pleadingly. "Can I stay with you tonight? I don't think I can handle being around either one of them right now."

Emma pulled her sad gaze from Alex. "Sure thing, sweetie. I'm sure you could use a little peace and quiet after all of this testosterone. Let's go." She put a supporting arm around Katie's waist. Mina joined her and together they led the weakened girl away. Kunzite followed behind them.

DJ felt the fight melt right out of him and his transformation faded away. Tuxedo Mask let him go as he too changed back into his civilian form. The young prince watched his distraught girlfriend walking further away from him and felt an urge to run to her and take her in his arms to comfort her. He had only taken two steps in her direction when he found his path blocked. Sapphire blue eyes glittered dangerously at him and he steeled himself for the ass chewing that he was sure he was about to receive.

But when Jess spoke she didn't yell at him. Her voice was heavy with disappointment though, and that made him feel worse than if she had torn into him. "Let her go, DJ. She's been through enough tonight and I think you all could use some time apart to get your heads back on straight."

He wanted to tell her to go to hell and push past her anyway. Katie was hurting and he was partially to blame. But deep down he knew Jess was right. Emotions were running too high right now. To press the issue could bring more harm than good. He nodded his head dejectedly.

Jess stared at him for a long moment before moving away toward where Alex and Andrew were standing. The other boy had let go of his transformation as well and stood with his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the ground, probably anticipating a scolding from his future mother. DJ couldn't help but smirk inwardly. He hoped Jess would rip Alex to shreds. The little punk deserved it. But instead she appeared to talk to him in the same low tone she had used with him. What a letdown!

Serena came to stand before him. She had her arms folded across her chest and her big blue eyes were filled with both sadness and anger as she looked at him. For a moment he felt like he was a child again, being chastised for misbehaving or committing some breach of decorum. But this was infinitely more serious than running and yelling through the palace hallways or showing up to dinner covered in dirt when there were important guests visiting. And he was no longer a child.

"No offense, mom, but I'm not in the mood for one of your long-winded lectures," he said, cutting Serena off as she opened her mouth to speak. "I'm in a really bad mood and I don't think I can handle it right now."

He spun on his heel and stalked away, pausing for only a moment as he passed Alex. "This isn't over," he said in a low, deadly tone.

Alex's eyes met his challengingly. "No, it's not. We'll settle this later," he replied just as coldly.

DJ answered with a single nod and continued on his way.

Rini stood in stunned disbelief, her eyes darting between an equally shocked Serena and Darien and the retreating DJ. Her heart breaking for her little brother, she ran after him. "DJ! Wait up!"

"I'm outta here too," Alex declared as he walked away in the opposite direction that DJ and Rini had taken. "I'll see you at home."

Silence fell heavily over the clearing as the four flabbergasted adults looked at each other as if to ask, _'What the hell is going on?'_

* * *

Discord smiled wickedly as he took a quick peek into the time stream to check on how the little Trinity holders were doing. The little blonde moon brat was crying into her pillow. The earth prince was ranting and waving his hands around as he paced back and forth in front of that pink haired twit that was the heir to the throne of Crystal Tokyo. And the solarian was venting his frustrations by repeatedly slamming his fists into an innocent tree trunk.

A rough chuckle rumbled in the evil entity's chest. He hadn't planned for this to happen, but it couldn't have gone any better if he had. United together those three posed the biggest threat imaginable to him. But as long as they were divided by anger and jealousy they didn't stand a chance against him. Now it would only be too easy to eliminate them.

Things were falling perfectly into place. The Galactic Trinity would be lost, he would get his revenge on that little half blood princess and finally obtain the power of her crystal, and he would let Metallia deal with Serenity. Then he would leave the Earth for her to do with it as she pleased while he once more traveled the universe in search of unsuspecting worlds to destroy.

He glanced over to where the essences of Chaos, Doom Phantom, and Pharaoh 90 lay in shallow stone basins. "Sorry boys, but I just don't have the energy to spare right now to wake you up. I need to conserve everything I have for this battle. But once I have the Celestial Crystal in my possession I'll have an unlimited supply of energy and I will set you free to do your worst. Once again we will dominate the universe."

He licked his lips in anticipation. Victory was almost his, and it tasted sweet on his tongue. By this time tomorrow he would once again take his place as the supreme being in existence. And the first thing he was going to do was find himself a better body than the decrepit old man he had been inhabiting for so long. He kind of hoped that the body of that solarian that the mongrel princess was so fond of didn't get mangled too badly in the fight. He still owed him some payback as well for his role in his last defeat. What better revenge on both of them than to take that body for his own. It was young, strong, and healthy and would serve him well.

He clasped his gnarled hands together. After centuries of waiting, the end was finally in sight.

* * *

"Would you stop pacing! You're wearing me out just watching you!" Rini exclaimed, feeling a little dizzy from watching her brother stalk back and forth across her bedroom like a caged tiger.

DJ ground to a halt and shoved shaking fingers through his already messy black hair. "Sorry," he muttered. "Why isn't he back yet? It doesn't take this long to check on one person."

Rini felt a flash of irritation, but fought it back. "Just give Helios a little time. He's only been gone a couple of minutes. And if she's not asleep it will take him longer to see how she's doing."

"I wouldn't be having this problem if I could sense her like I normally do," DJ groaned and threw himself across the bed covered with a purple blanket speckled with moons and stars. "I can't believe she's shutting me out like this. Any other time I would be able to tell exactly what she's feeling, but now I hit a brick wall every time I try to reach her."

Rini rolled her eyes. "Duh! She's upset. I'm sure the last thing she wants right now is to have to listen to you and her idiot brother babbling in her head. I would do the same thing in her position."

He rolled over and propped his head up on his hand. "She was riled up, wasn't she? I hated seeing her like that, but I couldn't just stand there and not fight back."

Rini lay back next to him and stared at the ceiling. "What's going on with you two anyway? It's like one minute you were the closest friends in the world, and the next you're trying to kill each other. I don't get it."

"Neither do I," he said with a tinge of sadness in his voice. "He just came out of nowhere and jumped me after Kat got hurt. At first I thought he was lashing out because he was upset and I was the closest person to him. But the more I think about what he's said and how he's acting, I get the feeling that I'm letting him down somehow."

She rolled over to face him. "How so?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's like he's disappointed that Kat got hurt while she was with me; like he expected me to be able to protect her from harm no matter what."

Rini snorted. "That's ridiculous! You're only human, not some impenetrable tank."

"I know, but that's what it feels like," he grumbled. "But I'm not going to take his crap. If I have to beat some sense into him, that's what I'm going to do."

"I don't blame you," she agreed. "I think he needs some common sense knocked into him."

There was a flash of white light as Helios appeared in the middle of the room. Both siblings sat up quickly and looked questioningly at the Elysian priest.

"She's sleeping comfortably," he informed them. "Her rest was a little troubled when I found her, so I took a moment to give her a little nudge toward peaceful dreams. Her scout powers will heal her faster if she is able to have a deep, uninterrupted sleep."

DJ flopped back with a sigh. "Thanks, Helios. I owe you one."

Helios shook his head. "No thanks are needed, your highness. It is my pleasure to help out wherever I can. We can't have her out of commission and unable to protect herself for very long. She's too important."

"Still, thank you anyway," DJ said sincerely. "It makes me feel better knowing that she's okay."

"You're welcome," Helios returned with an incline of his head. He turned his gaze to Rini. _'We can talk later. He needs you right now,' _he told her through their bond.

She nodded and smiled at him. _'I'll come see you when I fall asleep.'_

'_I'll be waiting,' _he replied as he disappeared.

Rini lay back down next to DJ and they spent the next few minutes in silence. After a few minutes though it got to her, and she began babbling about things from their childhood, hoping to ease his mind just a little.

It must have worked because he responded to her, even chuckling on a few occasions, as they continued talk. And when Serena and Darien looked in on them about an hour later they were surprised to find both teens fast asleep across the bed.

* * *

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Alex yelled, punctuating each outburst by slamming his fist into a tree trunk. "Why the hell am I feeling like this?"

He sat down on the ground abruptly, cradling his aching, bleeding hand to his chest for a moment. He knew what he was feeling wasn't natural, even before his talk with Andrew earlier. Maybe there was something wrong with him mentally.

"Yeah, that's it, Alex, you've gone schizophrenic," he muttered to himself. "That's the only way to put it. Something in your brain has finally snapped and the next thing you know you'll be attacking everybody. Who's next, Emma, Kat, your own mother? Wow! You're a real winner!"

He banged his head back against the tree trunk, but paid no attention to the pain. He was too lost in his thoughts to notice it. He felt sick at his stomach when he pictured the disgusted look on his sister's face when she had walked away from them earlier. He didn't blame her for it one bit.

He knew that his lunatic behavior was hurting her, but he just couldn't seem to be able to control it. Every time he pictured her standing in front of that sentinel with the blood draining from her body while she fought bravely to protect the helpless DJ his anger spiked to murderous proportions. He knew it wasn't right, no man was invincible, but it was just the way he felt.

He pulled his handheld computer from his pocket and used it to scan himself and frowned when the readings came back the same as they had at least twenty times that day. No abnormalities were found. He was as healthy as a horse. But he didn't feel like it.

His cell phone buzzed in his other pocket, and he eased his battered hand into it to retrieve the device. Emma's name flashed on the screen and he debated for a minute rather to answer it. She was probably calling to tell him off for what he had done. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised if she broke up with him over all of this. But he figured he deserved it so he flipped the phone open.

"Hey," he muttered simply as a greeting.

The line was silent for a moment before a soft spoken, "Hey," came back to him. It was quiet again for several long seconds before that sweet voice asked, "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just peachy," he snapped. He winced as he heard the tone of his voice. "Sorry. I guess I'm not really doing so great. How's Kat?"

"She's sleeping," Emma told him. "She went straight to bed when we got here. She tossed and turned for a while, but now she's resting comfortably."

"Good," he sighed. "That's just what she needs right now so she can get better."

"What she needs is for you to be by her side, not picking fights with DJ!" she fired back at him, her voice rising in pitch.

'_Here it comes,' _he thought to himself and closed his eyes, trying to block the visions of Emma ripping off the topaz ring he had given her and hurling it at his head as she screamed at him with tears falling from her silvery gray eyes. He waited patiently for her to say the words that would shatter what little bit of normalcy remained in his life and send him on a one-way trip into total insanity.

Instead he heard her suck in a shuddering breath before she whispered. "Baby, what's wrong? You're not acting like yourself."

His eyes flew open in shock. "Wait! Aren't you pissed at me?"

"I'm upset, but I'm not mad," she said softly. "I'm worried about you though. It's not like you to lose your temper so easily. Please tell me what's going on. I can't stand to see you like this."

"Yeah, I usually leave the temper tantrums up to mom and Kat," he quipped, trying desperately to lighten the mood of the conversation. He groaned when he heard no answering giggle. "I don't know what's wrong, Em. It just seems like ever since last night I've been so angry. And whenever I see DJ it's like something snaps inside me and I can't help but want to beat the hell out of him. I feel like I'm punishing him for Kat getting hurt and that's not logical. I think I'm losing my mind."

"Oh, honey, it's probably just stress," Emma sighed. "I'm surprised we all haven't gone a little crazy by now. We've been sitting around for weeks waiting to see what's going to happen next, but I can only imagine how much harder it is for you, Katie, and DJ. There's so much riding on you three. And it's only natural for you to be overprotective of your sister. You two are very close. I would be more concerned if you didn't get angry on her behalf. But you're taking it a little overboard."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," he muttered. He still felt like there was something more serious going on, but for now he was grateful that Emma was taking this as lightly as she was. This way he could hold on to her for just a while longer. There would be plenty of time to say goodbye when his sanity finally snapped.

"You don't sound convinced. Did you want me to come meet up with you so we can talk about this face to face?" Emma asked him.

"No!" he blurted out. He didn't want anyone to see him broken like this. And with his moods being unpredictable it was probably best that nobody be around him, especially Emma. It would kill him if he ever hurt her

He took a deep breath and forced his voice to be lighter. "I'm probably just going to head home and go to bed. You stay there and keep an eye on Kat for me, okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll see you then," she agreed. Then she finished up with, "I love you."

His grip tightened around the phone. "I love you too," he replied in a cracking voice before quickly disconnecting the call. If he talked to her any longer he'd be blubbering like a toddler.

His sore muscles protested as he got up off the ground. Going home and getting some sleep was probably his best bet. He sure didn't feel like staying under this tree all night. And maybe he would wake up in the morning to find that this had all just been a bad dream.

He transformed and took off into the night. With the speed of his alter ego and his ability to travel by rooftop, he landed on the apartment balcony in just a few minutes. He slid the door open and walked inside, unsurprised to find Andrew and Jess sitting on the couch. Both sets of eyes swung to him when he entered.

He couldn't bring himself to look at them, so walked right by them without a word. It wasn't until he reached the door that Jess's voice spoke to him.

"Alex, honey, are you okay?" she asked gently.

For a moment he was thrown back in time to the days when he was little and he could run to his mother with every bump and bruise so she could kiss it and make it better. How he wished that he could turn around right now and curl up on her lap so she could make all of the bad things go away. But that was then and this was now, and he was dealing with something a lot worse than a skinned knee.

"I'm fine, mom," he said in as normal a voice he could muster. "Don't worry about me." And he continued on to his lonely bedroom.

Jess sighed and scooted around to lay her head in Andrew's lap. "He wouldn't even look at us," she whispered.

Andrew began stroking his fingers soothingly through her long, honey blonde hair. "He has some demons that he's facing right now. Let's just give him some time. He'll be all right."

"I sure hope so," Jess replied wistfully.

* * *

"So how are things going?" Chronos asked as he strolled into his chamber and saw the god and two goddesses that were standing in front of his time mirror.

Gaia shrugged. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances, I suppose. None of our little prodigies are speaking to one another at the moment, and that could be taken as a good sign."

"I'm still not sure about this," Selene mumbled in her bell-like voice. "Do you really think it's a good idea to push them like this instead of letting them come to terms with things on their own?"

Apollo snorted. "They're too wishy-washy. If we sit around waiting on them any longer they'll probably all be dead and Discord will be running rampant again. We have to get them to unlock the first part of the Trinity now if for no other reason than to stop this fight with Discord and Metallia before somebody gets killed. There are too many lives at stake."

Gaia sniffed daintily. "Maybe you are taking it a little far with that rage spell you put on the boy. You've got the poor dear thinking that he's gone insane. Perhaps you should let up on it a little before he accidentally succeeds in killing my little prince."

"Nonsense," Apollo scoffed. "The end result won't be nearly as satisfying if I take it easy on him. Those three kids need a swift kick in the butt to realize exactly how important they are to each other or they'll never be able to use our power to its full potential. As long as they come to their senses before one of them dies on that rooftop everything should be fine."

"And as long as Zeus doesn't find out that we're meddling in mortal affairs," Chronos said solemnly. "I just came from seeing him. I was able to smooth things over, but he seemed a little suspicious. I think someone let something slip. Probably Ares, that drunken bastard! Whoever heard of a god of war that was too intoxicated most of the time to even hold a sword properly? Not to mention that Hades is still moping about the souls that were stolen from him and the Fates are running around like kids in a candy store with their scissors out wondering whose lifeline they're going to get to cut."

"How dreadful!" Selene gasped. "I never have understood how those witches are able to revel in death so much. You would think that they would take more pride in the strands they weave rather than hacking them to pieces. It's disgusting!"

Gaia grinned slyly as she twirled a piece of her mahogany colored hair around her finger. "And let's not count out the Furies just yet. If they find out Mr. Sunshine over here borrowed some of their magic to help out in our little quest the consequences could be…_sizzling_."

Apollo glared at her. "Stick a sock in it, Mother Earth! I didn't hear you coming up with a better idea. Your boy's too busy running around wondering when he's going to score his first piece of a…"

"Ah, ah ah!" Selene carefully interrupted him. "There's no need to be vulgar. Besides, we have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with instead of talking about who's dilly dallying with whom."

"It looks like they're all sleeping now," Chronos commented as he looked in the mirror at the faces of the three slumbering teens. "I hope they get all the rest they need, they're going to need it. In less than twenty four hours we're going to find out if Earth has a future or if all is lost."

**A/N **Tick tock! The clock is swiftly counting down the minutes. I hope the little bit of humor injected into this chapter was enough to lighten the mood, because there's not going to be a lot of that in the next chapter. In fact, I was working on chapter 18 last night and had to walk away from my computer for a little while to clear my head. After indulging in a hot chocolate (it's been cold here the last few days) and doing a little yelling at my characters (yes, I talk to my characters as I write, call me crazy if you want to), Darien in particular was giving me a hard time. I'm all for the dashing prince rushing in to save the day, but he takes the cake. So after I calmed him down (he wasn't happy with me because of some of the things I wrote, you'll see why next chapter) I got back on track and things slowly began coming together. Here's hoping the rest of it falls into place. So coming up: Serena vs. Metallia, Darien and Beryl have a run in, Discord corners Jess, and a rooftop fight between DJ and Alex with Katie stuck in the middle. I'm actually pretty disgusted with the number of brushes with death, but at the same time it fills my need for drama. Enough out of me, I'll see you next update. Please drop me a review and let me know what you think. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~

P.S. Chapter 3 of Bad Boys went up a few days ago, and I'm hoping to have Chapter 11 of Rekindled up possibly sometime this weekend. I'm on a roll this week…LOL! Later!


	20. Domino Effect

**A/N **Please join me in a moment of silence as I mourn the loss of my beloved laptop that suffered an unexpected and untimely death about a week ago. That small piece of technology was my lifeline, and now I feel completely lost without it. On an equally somber note, this means that I'm back to having to use my old desktop computer that I share with the other members of my family, so I'm afraid this may have a bit of an impact on my stories since I can't just take my laptop with me wherever I go. It sucks, but I'm not giving up.

Okay, enough pity party. Time to move on. Let me give out my hugs to my reviewers for the last chapter. BIG HUGS TO:

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Over 400 reviews! YAY! Thank you guys so much. Your words are my inspiration and what keeps me going. You wonderful readers are the best! I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with it.

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 18

Domino Effect

Dawn was still a good hour or so away. And since it was a Sunday morning and most offices were closed the streets were unusually empty. There were a few joggers about and a couple of early risers heading to the newsstand to buy a paper, but for the most part the city was still and quiet, making it the perfect opportunity for the teenage girl to complete her task.

Katie walked briskly down the sidewalk, her tennis shoes muffling the sounds of her footsteps as she fought against the urge to break into a run. The few people she had come across had paid her no mind, but she still didn't want to do anything that would draw attention to herself. After all, what normal teenager got up before sunrise on a day when there was no school?

"This would have been a lot easier if I could have just transformed," she grumbled under her breath as she passed the closed arcade. She had briefly considered transforming so she could get this over with quicker, but then DJ and Alex would have felt her power spike and she sure didn't want them to know what she was up to, not to mention the ass chewing she would get from both of them for going out alone. As it was she was praying fervently that she would be able to sneak back into the general and scout's penthouse before anyone discovered that she was gone.

In all actuality she hadn't planned this outing. She had woken up in one of the guest rooms of the penthouse after a long, restful sleep that she was sure she could detect Helios's hand in, and had been lying there staring at the ceiling and thinking about the disastrous scene the night before between Alex and DJ when she had felt two faint auras briefly flicker on her mental radar. Deciding that she needed a few answers, and pretty sure that she knew where to find them, she snuck out.

Her steps grew faster as the middle school came into sight. She plunged headlong into the trees, but made an effort to make as little noise as possible. There was no sense in announcing her presence like a stampeding elephant. She felt a slight tingle as she passed through the protective barrier, and the moment she did she could hear shouting voices.

"I can't believe Pluto gave that to you! I told her not to unless…"

"Unless you died! Is that what you were about to say?"

"Shut up! And how many times do I have to tell you to stop stalking me? I don't want you here! Just go away and leave me alone!"

"Not happening, sweetheart! I'm in this whether you like it or not, so get used to it!"

"Why you self righteous bast…mmph…"

The voices cut off as Katie approached the clearing. Her mouth fell open and her eyes were as wide as saucers as she saw the couple that was obviously oblivious to her presence.

The future prince of Crystal Tokyo held her future self in his arms as she struggled violently against him. He didn't seem to notice the way she was shoving against him and beating her fists against his shoulders and back. He was too busy with other things.

_HOLY APHRODITE! _What a kiss! Katie felt her whole body heat up in a blush that went from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. As she stood there gaping at them she saw her future self give up fighting against him and throw herself whole-heartedly into the kiss, snaking her arms around his neck to tangle her fingers in the black silk of his hair.

Katie knew she had a choice to make. She could either announce her presence, or turn away and leave them in peace. The good manners that had been bred into her dictated that she leave them alone, but her heart demanded answers; and these two were the perfect ones to talk to.

She wiped her face clean of shock and replaced it with a smirk as she leaned casually against a tree. Then she cleared her throat. "Ahem! I was under the impression that you two couldn't stand to be in each other's presences. I guess I was mistaken."

Their reaction was so comical that she burst into hysterics despite her depressed mood. They tore away from each other and jumped at least six feet apart. Their faces turned as red as ripe tomatoes as they turned two sets of surprised, identically swirling, multicolored eyes on her.

"Omigosh!" Katie gasped for breath as she doubled over in laughter. "I wish the two of you could have seen yourselves. That was absolutely _priceless_!"

"I'm glad someone's amused," DJ grumbled at her as he turned slightly away and rubbed the back of his neck in a gesture that she knew from her DJ meant that he was embarrassed.

"Aww, don't be so sensitive," she teased with humor sparkling in her hazel eyes. "It was just a teensy, weensy, little kiss. It's no big deal."

Her future self, however, seem to be anything but happy at the appearance of her past self. She glared darkly at the teenage girl. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Katie glowered back. "I could be asking you the same thing. But since your psycho boss has gathered all of his little helpers together to launch an all out attack on Tokyo tonight, I'm just going to assume that you're here in this time as part of it."

Future Kat's (for the rest of this scene known as just Kat to avoid confusion) eyes widened just a fraction. "What do you know about the attack? Who told you?" She whirled furiously on DJ. "You just had to tell her everything, didn't you? You know, you really suck when it comes to subtlety."

"Pipe down, loudmouth! He didn't tell me a damn thing!" Katie snapped. "All he ever said was that a fight would be happening soon. He didn't give me a date or any other specifics."

"Then how do you know that there's going to be an attack tonight?" her future self fired back.

Katie thought about for a moment before replying, "A little birdie told me." She wasn't withholding her information source to protect Beryl. She could care less about the bitch. But Talon had been like an adopted uncle to her for her entire life, despite her father's barely tolerant feelings toward the man, and he had a pregnant wife and unborn child to care for. She wasn't going to drag him into this.

Kat growled low. "Now listen to me, little girl. You may think that you know what's going on, but you don't. The best thing you can do for yourself is turn around and prance yourself back to the others before you get yourself hurt again. I've got things to do, and the last thing I need is you getting in my way like a pesky little puppy that has nothing better to do than be underfoot."

Katie straightened up, her shoulders tense. "Just who in the hell do you think you're talking to? This may be your past that you're screwing around with, but it's my life and my brother on the line. If you think for one second that I'm going to sit idly over on the sidelines and trust you to take care of everything, then you're even crazier than I gave you credit for. After all, wasn't it your mistake that caused Alex to die anyway?"

Kat's face had grown steadily angrier as she spoke, but at her last words she snarled and sprang forward. "You little bitch!"

Katie jumped back from the enraged woman and transformed in a flurry of silver sparks. Now that she was shielded inside the barrier she no longer had to worry about her transformation being sensed by either of the guys. She summoned her powers and her silver rope whip appeared in her hands at the same time an identical one appeared in Kat's.

They both lashed out at the same time and the two attacks met in the middle with a thundering crash. But Sailor Eclipse sensed a weakness in her adversary's power and sent a pulse of silver energy through her whip.

Kat screamed in rage as her attack sputtered, turning red-orange for a moment and then gold before it disappeared. Multicolored sparks flew from her fingers as she reached for the sword at her side. A larger hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Let it go, Kat," DJ told her quietly. Then he turned a censuring look on Eclipse. "That was a little harsh, don't you think?"

Sailor Eclipse shrugged. "I'm just calling it like I see it. It's crunch time, and I don't have time to waste by pussyfooting around the issue. There's too much at stake for that."

"How dare you!" Kat hissed and tried to jerk away from DJ. "How dare you stand there and make it sound like Alex means more to you than he does to me! You and I may be the same person, but you have no idea what I've been through. I have cried enough tears to fill the oceans. I have bled buckets. And I have cut my own heart out time and time again in an attempt to save my brother. So don't stand there looking down your nose at me! If certain people," she rolled her eyes at DJ, "hadn't clued you in to what could happen, you would have made the same mistake that I did."

Eclipse's eyes flashed silver for a moment before turning to the icy color of frozen moss. "Maybe I would have. But the point is that now I know what has to be done and I'm better equipped to handle it than you are. Your power is too unstable and unreliable. For crying out loud, you can't even control your Moonlight Whip, and that is a basic attack. So I'm asking you, please, let me take care of things. I will save him."

Kat looked up into the sincere eyes of her former self and then shook her head. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I just can't trust anyone else with this. You sound sure of yourself, but what if you change your mind once you're on that roof and decide to break them up instead? I can't take that risk."

Eclipse folded her arms across her chest. "Then I guess we just have to agree to disagree on this subject. But I will be on that roof no matter what."

"You fool!" Kat muttered.

"Maybe I am," Eclipse replied. "But I know you would do the same if you were in my position. Anyway, that's not what I really came here to talk about."

"Well I'm not telling you anything else!" Kat snapped. "You already know far too much."

Katie let her transformation fade. "Please, just hear me out on this. It's about Alex. He's been acting so strange lately. I know Discord has the ability to get inside people's heads, I've felt it. I was just wondering if he's done something to Alex to make him so angry."

DJ's gaze swung to Kat. "I can't believe I never thought of that when everything was happening. I just thought Alex was being an asshole. But now that I think about it, he was acting way out of character. Do you think she's on to something?"

Kat's brow creased in concentration. "I don't know. I haven't heard of anything like that happening. But then again, Discord hasn't exactly been inclined to tell me a lot of things since he brought Metallia back. Anything's possible."

"Do you think he suspects you of trying to betray him?" DJ asked in concern. "That's all the more reason why you should let Katie…"

"Sure! Take her side!" Kat exploded. "I should have known. But if you two think I'm going to let you talk me into changing my mind, you're wrong!" She stomped away from them to the other side of the clearing where she threw herself under a tree.

"Geez, bipolar much?" Katie grumbled sarcastically. "People always said I was moody. I'm glad to see that it gets better with time."

DJ blew out a breath. "She's just stressed. It hasn't been easy for either one of us to come back here and see things repeating themselves. She tries to take on everything by herself and doesn't see her limits or the danger she's putting herself in." He grinned slyly at the girl beside him. "Of course you know all about that. How are you feeling by the way?"

Katie shrugged. "I'm good. I feel pretty much normal, but everyone keeps making a fuss over me and it's driving me crazy. I even heard my mom and yours talking about not letting me fight tonight." She paused for a moment, twirling a piece of her long hair around her finger. "Why didn't you tell me that I was the reason why you and Alex started fighting?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't supposed to tell you anything at all; Pluto's rules, you know. But think about it. Have Alex and I ever really argued over anything besides you?"

She thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "I guess not, but it was still a bit of a shock."

"I guess it was," he chuckled. Then his voice turned low and serious. "Look, I can't really tell you anything else or Pluto will come down on me. She'll send me home and take my time key. I don't know how things will play out exactly because things are happening a little different than what they did when I lived it. But if the events are even remotely similar you will be ordered to a reserve status tonight. When that happens just go with it, It'll make it easier for you when the time comes to act."

"How will I know when it's time?" she asked.

He smirked at her. "Trust me, you'll know. Just make sure you get to that roof when the time's right. I'll keep Kat out of your way. Don't tell her I said this, but I don't think she has the ability to pull it off. Like you pointed out, her powers are unstable. She's more liable to get herself killed than to save anybody."

She grinned conspiratorially at him. "You must be slipping in your old age. In a way, you just told her yourself."

"Smartass!" he grumbled good-naturedly.

A tiny giggle escaped her. "I guess I better go before somebody notices I'm gone and sends a posse out after me."

"Hey, Katie," he called after her as she walked away.

"Yeah?" she replied, looking back at him over her shoulder.

"Good luck," he said simply.

She smiled and waved at him, and then she hurried back the way she came. The sun was now making its appearance and there was more traffic on the street. The return trip seemed much quicker than her earlier walk, and before she knew it she was easing open the front door of the penthouse.

She replaced the keys that she had swiped earlier, Mina's from the look of the golden heart keychain, where they had been on the table in the foyer and quietly snuck through the ground floor. It took her a minute to get past the kitchen where Lita was busy cooking enough food for an army and she would have been busted by Kunzite coming down a hall if she hadn't dove into the shadows and used just a little bit of her shadow powers to blend in.

She finally made it upstairs and was reaching for the doorknob to the room she was using when a door down the hall opened and she heard Emma's voice. Panicked, she dashed into the room, closed the door as gently as she could, and jumped into the bed fully clothed. She had just pulled the blankets up to her chin when the door flew open and her brother's perky blonde girlfriend burst in.

"Ooo! You're awake!" she squealed and pounced on the bed. "You better get up, Miss Lazybones! Everyone's meeting here for an early meeting and Lita's downstairs making a scrumptious breakfast for it. I know she is because I could smell cinnamon and bacon all the way up here in the hall. So you better get your skinny butt up out of that bed or you're going to miss out on everything!"

Katie faked a yawn. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up. Geez, keep your panties on."

Gray eyes twinkled mischievously. "I will for now. But maybe later…" she trailed off suggestively.

"Oh, eww!" Katie screeched and slapped a hand over her eyes. "Are you trying to burn my retinas right out of my eye sockets? Please don't even hint about what you and my brother do when you're alone. I don't think my stomach can handle it."

Emma waved a dismissive hand. "Don't be a spoiled sport! It's spring and it's the season of love!"

"Make sure you stick with decaf this morning," Katie cautioned. "If you get any more bouncy you're liable to blow the whole roof off this place."

Emma stuck her tongue out with a "thhubb" sound and ran laughing from the room as she held a one-way conversation with herself about what to wear. "Now should I wear that cute little yellow skirt that shows off my legs and my black lace cami top, or my skinny jeans with that adorable pink baby doll tee?" She stuck her head back through the door. "Hey, Katie, which one do you think Alex would like better?"

Katie giggled and threw a pillow at her friend. "Does it really matter? You know he'll think you look _droolicious_ no matter what."

Emma waggled her eyebrows. "Ooo, I like that word. _Droolicious! _It has a slightly naughty undertone to it."

Katie groaned and pulled the covers over her head. "Get out of here, you freak! You've been hanging around Jayden and Jadeite too much. And don't come back until you've turned back into my _normal _friend. Well, normal for you anyway."

Emma shook her head. "You're too innocent for your own good, Kitty Kat. You know, guys like DJ don't just fall into your lap everyday. You ought to put some moves on him and see where it goes. I bet he could rock your world."

Katie's head popped up, her face as red as the skirt of Sailor Mars' fuku. "OUT!" she shrieked.

Emma stuck her nose up and sniffed daintily as she left. "I was just trying to give you some friendly advice. If you can't trust the love goddess about these things, who can you trust?"

Katie buried her head under a pillow to muffle her scream. Had the whole world gone crazy? There was a big battle tonight and she had to keep her brother from dying. She needed to be focusing on that and not on how hot and bothered her boyfriend made her.

Still, she thought with a smile, that had been one powerful kiss that she had witnessed between her and DJ's future selves, and it made her wonder what it would feel like if her DJ ever lost control and kissed her like that.

* * *

"Mmm…" Serena moaned. She was lingering in the cloudy realm between reality and dreams, not quite awake, but at the same time not exactly asleep. She focused on the calm darkness that would lull her back to dreamland, but the feeling of firm fingers stroking her back kept pulling her steadily closer to the real world.

She felt a breath brush her ear and then a soft, husky voice whispered, "It's time to wake up, princess."

She rolled away from the disturbance. "Just a few more minutes, Darien, please," she mumbled.

She heard him chuckle and then felt his hands on her as he rolled her back toward him. "You've said that the last three times I've tried to wake you up, Serena. If you keep this up much longer you won't have time for a shower before we go. And Lita promised to make breakfast this morning, remember."

Hmm…that was a tempting thought, but so was the idea of trying to catch some more sleep. Her dreams had been scattered with disturbing images all night, and as a result she didn't feel as well rested as she would have liked. She burrowed deeper into the covers.

Darien sighed. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you. Rini said that she's already come up with a plan to make you move if I couldn't get you up this time. I guess I'll just leave it to her."

Visions of ice water being dumped on her shot through Serena's head. She sat up quickly. "I'm up! I'm up! Don't you dare let that demon spawn anywhere near me!"

Darien tried to look shocked. "How could you talk about your own child that way?" Then he grinned as he looked toward the partially open bedroom door. "Sorry, Rini!"

"Dang!" Rini exclaimed on the other side of it. "I almost had her this time."

Then DJ's laugh filtered in. "I told you so. I guess you'll have to find some other use for that ice water now."

"It's going to be all over you in just a minute if you don't shut up!" she screeched back at him.

"And the sibling war is back on," Serena muttered and put a hand to her faintly throbbing temple. She glanced cautiously up at Darien. "Are you sure you want kids? It's not too late to change our minds."

Darien smiled broadly. "I wouldn't trade them or you for anything in the world. Besides, they're no worse than you and Sammy were, and I figure if your parents can survive raising you two then we should have no problem with Rini and DJ."

"I was just kidding," Serena grumbled a little irritably.

"Are you okay? You look a little paler than normal this morning," Darien asked, concern leaking into his voice.

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I just had a rough night. I kept having the strangest dream popping up over and over."

Darien was suddenly all seriousness. He had learned long ago to never casually dismiss dreams. "What kind of dream?"

Serena slid from the bed and padded to the closet. "It's not that big of a deal. It was just a dream."

"Serena," Darien growled. "Don't give me that crap. You know as well as I do that dreams can be a very big deal. And whatever it is has obviously knocked you off kilter this morning. Please, tell me."

Serena pulled a pale blue sundress speckled with pink flowers from the closet. She held it in her hands as she stared at the floor. "It was about my mother," she mumbled.

"Ah," he replied, comprehension lighting his eyes. "Was it the return of the mother of the bride monster?"

Her head shook slowly. "No. It wasn't about my mom, it was about my mother."

A feeling like ice skittered down his spine. "Queen Serenity?"

She nodded. "She was standing right in front of me, but when I went to hug her she…" she looked up at Darien, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "She pushed me away and screamed at me to stay away from her."

"Oh, baby," Darien sighed and pulled her into his arms as he stroked her hair lovingly. "You're right, that was just a dream. I'm sure it didn't mean anything. It was probably brought on by stress. Heaven knows we have enough of that lately. I wouldn't read too much into it."

Serena giggled softly and pulled back a bit to swipe at her damp eyes. "Thank you for that amazing psycho-analysis, Dr. Phil."

"That's Dr. Shields to you, missy," Darien grinned playfully and goosed her on the bottom.

She squealed and danced away from him. "Nuh-uh! You sounded more like a shrink than a medical doctor just then. Of course you still have all of your hair while he's missing most of his on top." Then she cocked her head and studied his thick, inky black tresses, her eyes widening in horror. "Omigosh! Is that a thinning spot on your head?"

Darien growled and lunged for her. "I'll show you thinning!"

She whirled away from him, laughing, and fled for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll be out soon."

He shook his head, chuckling as the bathroom door was slammed in his face. He was glad to see that her mood had improved. He whistled a tune as he quickly made the bed. When he was done with that he glanced at his watch and determined that he had time for another cup of coffee before they left and headed to the kitchen.

He snarled under his breath when he passed Rini room and heard both his future daughter's light voice and the smooth tenor of Helios. He didn't like the idea of them being alone inside a closed room together. His hand was raised and about to knock on the door when DJ's somewhat deeper voice reached him and caused him to relax. At least the smitten couple were well chaperoned.

He paused in surprise when he walked into the kitchen and found Andrew leaning against the counter staring pensively into a cup of coffee. "What's up?"

Andrew gave a hollow laugh. "I've gone into hiding to save both my life and my sanity. Trust me, only a person with a death wish would walk into my apartment right now."

Darien winced in sympathy. "Bad morning, huh?"

"You have no idea," Andrew groaned. "It was a bad night in general. Jess went to bed upset after Alex came in and gave us the cold shoulder. Then she had a nightmare in the middle of the night. It must have been a pretty bad one too. I woke up and found her crying in her sleep and about to rip the sheets to shreds. Then her powers began surging so I woke her up before she could level the building."

That caught Darien's attention. "She had a nightmare too? So did Serena. She said it was about Queen Serenity."

Andrew shrugged. "I don't know what hers was about. She clammed up pretty tight and said that she didn't want to talk about it. She couldn't go back to sleep after that, so now she's cranky. Then when she had to go tell Alex to get up for the third time he made some smartass comment about her being on the rag and they got into it. So I figured it was just best if I made myself scarce."

Darien chuckled. "Smart move. With the way tempers have been flying lately I almost feel sorry for the enemy come tonight."

Andrew grinned wryly. "Yeah, I have a feeling it's going to be like letting attack dogs off their leashes and giving them the order to kill."

* * *

Beryl watched from the shadows as her queen primped in front of the large mirror, adjusting her dress and smoothing her hair as if she were getting ready for a grand ball instead of preparing for a battle. Her fingers itched to grab the dagger that was strapped to her thigh under her dress and plunge it into the heart of the deceitful bitch. But unfortunately all that would accomplish would be to destroy the physical body that she inhabited, leaving the entity herself untouched and essentially signing Beryl's death warrant.

No, she needed to bide her time. She knew that she didn't possess the power needed to purify Metallia, but there was one who did.

_Serenity._ Just her name alone was enough to cause Beryl's stomach to churn with sour acid and make her blood boil with hatred. That damn moon princess with her porcelain skin, sunshine hair, and eyes as blue as the summer sky; she was the one that had ruined everything. If she hadn't cast her spell upon Endymion then he would have fallen into her arms centuries ago.

She suppressed a growl as she thought about her arch nemesis. She remembered that fateful day over six years ago when Serenity had stood before her, hardly more than a child, and had taken her by surprise when she unleashed the full power of the Silver Crystal and had destroyed both her and Metallia. It had been a quite a feat considering her naiveté and young age.

The Serenity that she faced now was much more like she had been in the past. She had grown and matured into a woman; and she had grown more powerful through the years thanks to the many battles that she had faced. But Beryl was counting on that power to help her.

When she'd told Talon of Metallia and Discord's plans she knew that Serenity would have no choice except to divide her forces to protect the city from multiple attacks, thus weakening the line of protection that normally surrounded her. There was still Endymion to consider. Beryl had no doubt that he would be close by to wherever his darling princess was, but she would take care of him. If she could keep him distracted long enough she hoped that that perhaps Serenity and Metallia could succeed in destroying each other. And that would leave the path wide open for her to take over the Earth.

She didn't perceive any resistance from Discord. He had made it clear that his only objectives were to destroy the threat of the Galactic Trinity and to claim the Celestial Crystal from the half blood princess. He had no further interest in the Earth other than that, so she saw no reason why he shouldn't turn the planet over to her.

She flicked a fang with her tongue as a feral grin lifted her lips. By the end of tonight this millennium long war could be over. If there was any justice left due to her, she would finally be able to claim her planet and her king. The people of Earth would worship her as their queen. And with Serenity out of the way she had no doubt that she would be able to sway Endymion to her side, Golden Crystal or not. He would be broken by the moon princess's death and his grief would make the perfect conduit for her to work her magic.

* * *

"That is my final decision," Serena spoke loudly to be heard over the protesting voices. "I've thought about it long and hard and I believe that this is the best way."

"I disagree!" Mina exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "If we do this you will be left virtually unprotected."

"What am I, useless?" Darien grumbled behind Serena.

Mina rolled her eyes. "I'm not doubting your ability to keep her safe, Darien, but you can't expect me to just let my princess go into a fight with only one person standing between her and the enemy. It's ludicrous!"

"She's right," Kunzite growled. "As leader of the generals I feel I must protest this as well. With Metallia and Beryl leading this attack themselves it would be unwise to allow either of you to be unguarded. You must know that you two will be the primary targets."

Darien crossed his arms across his chest. "We are well aware of the risks and are prepared to face them. Serena and I have talked this over and we both agree, protecting the people of this city must be our first priority."

Raye snorted. "That's all fine and good, but what's going to happen to the people of the world if something happens to you guys? If you die, then the future of the planet dies with you. Goodbye Crystal Tokyo! Hello hell!"

"Raye's got a point there," Lita hastily interjected. "I don't doubt for a second, Serena, that you could blast both Beryl and Metallia's asses into oblivion. You've already proven that. But their little lackeys are going to be running all over the place too. It's just too much to chance"

"I don't like it," Nephrite said from where he was leaning against a wall. "There are too many things that could go wrong."

Jess banged her hands down on the coffee table in front of her. "If everybody would just shut the hell up for a minute maybe they could explain the rest of the plan. For god's sake, you people sound like freaking flock of mother hens."

"Ooo, somebody put on her bitchy britches this morning," Jadeite taunted, ignoring the warning look Andrew shot him. "What's the matter, did the menstrual fairy decide to come and pay you a visit?"

A snarl erupted in Jess's throat. "You got a problem with me, dragon breath?"

"Not a good idea," Alex muttered. "I said something along those lines earlier and thought she was going to rip my head off."

Emma let out a startled squeak next to him. "You said that to your mother! Have you lost your mind?"

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I have." He glared across the room where his sister sat with her head resting on DJ's shoulder. She looked much better than she had the day before, but she was still a little paler than normal. She had seemed a lot like her old self when she hugged him when he arrived. She had wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and whispered. "Behave, please, for me."

The pleading tone in her voice and beseeching look in her eyes had gotten to him, and he had begrudgingly agreed. But that didn't stop the spike of anger he felt every time he saw DJ lean down to whisper in her ear or saw him smile at her.

Katie looked up, almost as if she had felt his gaze on them and met his glare head on. _'Please! You promised,' _he heard her voice echo in his head.

Of course DJ heard her silent plea thanks to their three-way telepathy. He looked up for the slightest moment, flicked a disinterested look over his former best friend, and then turned his attention back to the squabbling group of scouts and generals.

"_QUIET!" _Serena shrieked in a glass shattering tone.

All sound and movement ceased as all eyes swung to the now furious blonde. Her face was flushed with anger and blue sparks shot from her eyes. She pulled herself up to her full height, which was still several inches shorter than most of the people in the room, and then she glared around disdainfully.

"I don't believe you people," she said in a voice that was surprisingly calm. "I thought we were all adults here, but you are acting worse than children. I understand your concerns, and I am taking them into account, but I pledged myself years ago to keeping this planet safe, and that's what I'm going to do. You say that the world has no future without me? Well I have no future without the world. Sure, I could go back to the moon and revive my kingdom there, but the Earth is my home now and will fight until my last breath to protect it. Now I have a plan to help protect the citizens of this city. Those of you that are willing to help me need to sit down and listen to what I have to say. If any of you are too opposed to the idea then please leave. I would like to get this meeting over with without any further interruptions."

Mouths fell open in shock at her impassioned speech. After a moment of silence they began to settle. Mina and Lita sat down quietly while Kunzite went to go lean against the wall next to Nephrite. Jess released the stranglehold she had on Jadeite's collar and they both returned to their seats.

Serena gave a satisfactory nod. "That's better."

"Weird!" Rini and DJ whispered under their breaths.

"Sweet!" Jayden cheered as he jumped up and slapped a high five with Skye, who had also gotten to her feet and cried, "Now that's the Neo Queen Serenity that we know and love!"

Jess cringed into Andrew's chest and clapped her hands over her ears. "I'm having flashbacks, and not the good kind. I'm expecting her to turn around any minute and order me to bed without any dinner."

Serena whirled and wagged a finger at her. "I still might do that, missy, if you don't start behaving yourself. Now is everyone ready to hear the plan?"

Heads nodded silently around the room.

Darien unrolled a map on the coffee table. It was covered with a series of overlapping different colored circles. "Okay, this is what we came up with. No matter what enemy we've ever fought, and the scouts and Andrew can confirm this, they have always stuck with the Juuban and Azabu districts. So we're hoping that this time will be no different. It definitely gives us a smaller area to concentrate on. We'll split up into pairs and each pair will be assigned an area. As you can see by what I have mapped out the edges of each area overlaps the areas around it. So even though we're going out in smaller groups, help will be nearby if anyone gets overwhelmed."

"Hmm…" Zoicite mused as he studied the map. "This is actually very well thought out. I do feel a little offended though, I always thought I was the strategist of the group."

"Speak for yourself," Amy told him as she shouldered him to get a better look at the map. "I could outmaneuver you on my worst day. You shouldn't be surprised that Darien would come up with something like this. Didn't you teach him yourself back during the Silver Millennium?"

Darien rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know whether to be insulted by Zoicite's lack of faith or embarrassed by Amy's praise. But I can't take credit for all of it, Serena came up with the basic idea."

Serena flushed as several sets of eyes flicked to her curiously. "What? I'm not exactly stupid. I did graduate from high school with a 3.9 GPA after all. So you guys don't have to act like it's such a surprise. I am perfectly capable of rational thought."

"Oh yes, you're just full of surprises," Raye said snidely as she leaned over Amy's shoulder to get a better look at the map.

Lita snapped a piece of bubble gum loudly in her teeth. "So what's the plan, boss lady?"

Serena pointed to a green circle that covered the park plus a several block radius around it. "Lita and Nephrite will be here. The park always seems to be a hot spot, so I figured you guys would like that. Now Amy, Zoicite, Raye, and Jadeite will be here and here, keeping watch over the medical center district and the Cherry Hill area."

She paused and waited until she received nods of approval for what she had said so far, and then continued. She pointed out a pink circle. "Rini, I want you and Hotaru to keep an eye on the old neighborhood and my parent's house. Amara and Michelle won't be far away. I have them stationed only a few miles away in the industrial area."

"So the outers will be back in time?" Mina asked.

"Yes," Serena replied. "I spoke to them earlier. Hotaru and Sammy are on their way back from their camping trip and Amara and Michelle's plane should be landing in a few hours. Trista's the only one I haven't been able to track down so she must be busy with something else."

"Right," Mina mumbled and chewed at her bottom lip. "So I noticed that you haven't mentioned me yet. Where do I fit in to all of this?"

Serena smirked and pointed to the orange circle that overlapped a silver one. "I knew that you and Kunzite would probably throw a fit if I put you too far away, so I'm keeping you near me. In the past I've noticed that the enemy usually has a bad habit of returning to the site of what they see as being their last victory, so we are going to cover the bay area. I want you and Kunzite up on the bluffs. We don't want any more accidents if at all possible."

Katie flushed as Serena turned a half amused, half exasperated look on her. "I didn't do it on purpose," she grumbled.

"Oh sweetie, I know you didn't," Serena hastily reassured her. "But a lot of people go up there and I don't want to see anyone else get hurt. That whole area is busy at this time of year because of the nice weather and the festivals that are going on. So Mina and Kunzite will take the bluffs, Darien and I will take the pier, and I want Jess on Drew on the bridge."

"What about us?" DJ spoke up then. "I know you're not even thinking of leaving us out of this."

Serena wrinkled her nose at him. "No I'm not, Mr. Impatient. I was just about to get to that. Alex and Emma are to take the Crown and the rest of the business district. DJ, I want you and Jayden stationed at our apartment building to keep an eye on the surrounding area. And Skye and Hannah will work from here. I'm depending on you, Alex and Hannah, to keep Amy informed of any developments since both of you have mini computers that can communicate with hers."

Katie felt a flash of irritation when she saw Serena's eyes land on her for a second and then look away guiltily. As if she hadn't noticed how conveniently her name had been omitted. Of course she had suspected it, and after her earlier conversation with the future DJ she had fully been expecting it. She was prepared to accept it since he had told her that it would make it easy for her to slip away later, but to not put up some kind of an argument just went against her nature. Not to mention that it would look highly suspicious if she didn't.

She sat back with a huff and folded her arms across her chest. "Excuse me. I didn't catch where I would be."

Serena turned a questioning look on Jess, who shrugged and said simply, "Because you're not going anywhere. You are going to stay right here and out of this fight. I don't want you to even think about transforming and fighting unless the damn freaks they set loose get inside this building."

Katie jumped up to glare at her future mother. "That's not fair! How come everybody else gets to join in except me?"

"Honey," Andrew tried to placate her calmly. "It's nothing against you. We all know what a wonderful fighter you are. But you are still recovering from the last attack. You lost a lot of blood. And even with your accelerated healing that's not something that you can just bounce back from in just two days. You need a couple of more days before you're back to 100%."

"But I feel fine!" she protested shrilly. "I can fight. Why are you treating me like a baby? I'm not helpless you know!"

"I'm well aware of the fact that you're not helpless. But the bottom line is that you're not at the top of your game right now. So unless you want me to tie you up with duct tape, you will stay here on standby unless told otherwise," Jess said with a note of finality in her voice.

Figuring that she'd pressed her luck as far as she should, Katie sat back down with a pout. "Fine! But I am _not_ happy about this."

* * *

The youma knocked timidly on the chamber door before opening it cautiously. "Your majesties, Lord Discord has arrived." She stepped aside to allow the black-cloaked man and the woman following him to enter the room.

"Ladies," Discord greeted in what was a warm voice for him. "Are you ready to get our little show on the road?"

"Of course," Metallia answered as she stood from her throne. She shook nonexistent wrinkles from her long dress and smoothed a hand over her perfectly styled hair. "We _are _ready, right Beryl?"

The red haired woman bit back a snarl and pasted a smile on her face. "Yes, my queen. Our youma are ready and waiting."

Discord clapped his hands together. "Excellent!" Then he turned to his companion. "You know what to do, Eclipse?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes sir."

"Then I leave those three to you," he said in amusement. "If you play your cards right then your tormented existence will disappear this night. Just think of the relief you will be giving yourself when you kill your past self. It will be as if the last fifteen years of your life never existed. Now go get into position."

She inclined her head, and then teleported away without a word.

"Beryl, you should probably move our forces into place as well," Metallia instructed. "The sun has almost completely set and the time is upon us."

Beryl bowed low. "As you wish, your majesty." And she vanished in a puff of smoke.

Discord offered his arm to Metallia. "Would you care to accompany me, my lovely?"

A sinister smile marred the otherwise beautiful face that the evil queen had adopted as her own. "I would be honored."

* * *

Tears streamed down Katie's cheeks as she locked her arms tightly around her brother's neck. "Please promise me that you'll be careful out there. I don't think I could live with myself if something happened to you. He squeezed her tightly for a moment before pulling back with an attempt at his usual teasing grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Hey, stop blubbering all over me. I'll be fine. We're just doing clean up duty on the little guys. Mom, dad, and the others will take care of the heavy hitters."

She scrubbed at her eyes, but the tears continued to flow. Her knees were shaking so badly that she felt like she was about to sink to the floor at any moment. She gripped the lapels of his long black duster in both hands in an attempt to steady herself.

"I mean it," he said as he tried to smooth the tears from her face. A bit of his old warmth leaked into his voice. "Everything's going to be all right, Kat. I promise. And I won't be far away if you need me, just right across the park, okay."

Yeah, everything was going to be all right. She was going to make sure of it. She made herself let go of him and forced a watery smile onto her face. "You're right, Lex. I'm just being overly sentimental. Maybe there's something in that nasty tea that Zoicite keeps making me drink that turns me into an emotional wreck."

He grinned and chucked her under the chin. "Yeah, that's gotta be it. It's probably a good thing that you're not fighting tonight. You'd probably end up just crying all over the monsters."

She giggled faintly and pushed against his shoulder. "Get out of here. I don't have to take this emotional abuse from you."

Laughing, he pulled her close for one last quick hug and whispered, "See ya," before letting her go and stepping away.

Then soft arms were around her and Emma's voice said quietly to her, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him."

Katie grabbed Sailor Ishtar's hand as she turned away and gave it a squeeze. "Thanks, Emma."

The blonde scout nodded and smiled before joining Phoenix at the edge of the roof where they jumped away into the rapidly darkening night.

The next few minutes passed in a blur as Jess and Andrew each took turns hugging Katie and repeating their instructions for her to stay put. Jess threatened her again with duct tape if she didn't behave. Serena gave her a hug as well and Darien warned those of them remaining to be careful. Then the four of them were gone.

"Let's go, DJ!" Jayden said excitedly as he transformed in a burst of flames.

"Give me a minute, would you," DJ muttered as he took Katie by the hand and led her away from the others.

Jayden grinned widely and gave an exaggerated wink. "Oh, suurrre! But try not to get too wrapped up in the hanky panky. We've still got a job to do."

"I may end up killing him before this night's over," DJ growled as he pulled Katie around a corner and out of sight. "The little punk is just lucky that he's a good fighter or I would have vehemently protested being stuck with him."

"I wish I was going with you instead," Katie murmured as they came to a stop and DJ brought her into the circle of his arms.

He gave her that familiar, crooked grin of his that made her heart stutter. "This will be over before you know it. You'll see. Beryl and Metallia won't know what hit them."

Katie bit her bottom lip as she felt even more tears spring to her eyes. Geez! She really was turning into a sentimental disaster. "I sure hope you're right."

He cupped her cheek in his palm. "Hey now, no more tears. Just sit tight here and I'll be back before you know it. I'm not going that far, so I can be back here in two minutes if anything happens."

She flung her arms around him and buried her face in his neck as the dam broke and scorching hot tears flowed thickly down her cheeks. "Please be careful," she sobbed.

She felt his lips against her hair as he whispered. "I will be. You watch out for yourself too."

She leaned back to look up at him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied with a smile.

She forced out a giggle and swiped at her wet cheeks. "I must look hideous right now."

He drew her closer and dipped his head down. "You look beautiful," he said softly against her lips. And then he kissed her.

He had meant for it to be a sweet, gentle kiss, but the moment his lips touched hers a spark flared between them. She rose up on her tiptoes, her mouth eagerly molding to his as their breath mingled and their tongues tangled. His arms tightened around her waist and lifted her up so that her feet dangled a couple of inches above the ground and every bit of her body pressed tightly against his.

"Hey Romeo!" Jayden's voice called out. "Let's get a move on! You'll have plenty of time to kiss the pretty girl later."

They pulled apart slowly, their lips clinging until the last possible moment. He set her back on her feet and pressed his forehead against hers as they stared into each other's eyes.

"I have to go," he whispered.

"I know," she choked, closing her eyes in resignation. She felt his lips brush her brow gently and then a loss of warmth as he released her and stepped away. A fissure ran through the air, followed by a snap and a fluttering sound. She opened her eyes just in time to see the end of a black cape disappearing around the corner.

She suppressed a sob and ran to the corner to look around it. The black tuxedoed form of Phantom was striding quickly toward the red suited Flame. "Let's go," he said in a gruff voice.

"Hey, Jayden?" Hannah called after them.

The blonde boy glanced back over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

She swallowed hard. "Don't do anything stupid out there."

He grinned widely. "Aww, I didn't know you cared."

"Just forget I said anything!" she screamed back at him, her face surpassing red and going straight to purple as she swelled with indignation.

He dashed to her side in an instant. "You're so cute when you're angry," he said quickly and kissed her cheek. He was gone in a flash and already on the neighboring roof before she realized what had happened.

She stood there; open mouthed, for a few seconds before she yelled after him, "I hate you, Jayden! I hope a sentinel chews you up into kibble!"

Phantom chuckled and shook his head as he looked back and shared one last poignant look with Katie. And then he was gone.

Skye groaned. "Just great! I'm surrounded by love drunk idiots. Now even the younger ones are hooking up. When is it going to be my turn?"

"Ex…excuse me!" Hannah sputtered. "I most certainly am not love drunk! And I am not hooking up with anyone; especially that demented pervert!"

"Sounds like denial to me. What do you think?" Skye mumbled to Katie as she joined them.

Katie nodded. "Yeah. Now let's hope it doesn't take them as long to figure it out as it took DJ and me. When I think about all the time we wasted fighting with each other when we could have been together I feel like kicking my own ass."

"But I don't like him!" Hannah wailed.

Katie and Skye looked at each other and smirked. "Definitely denial," they said in unison.

"You two are delusional!" Hannah snapped. She probably would have said more, but her computer chose that moment to start beeping. She flipped it open and began typing rapidly. Her green eyes swept back and forth swiftly as she studied the screen.

"Looks like the party's starting," she muttered. "It seems old Beryl was telling the truth after all. About twenty wormholes just popped up and youmas, sentinels, and guardians are coming through them in fairly high numbers. The good news is that it appears that they're doing exactly how we hoped and are only showing up in Juuban and Azabu."

Skye's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the feeling that there's some bad news too?"

Hannah frowned as she stared at her computer. "I was expecting to pick up two stronger energy readings from Beryl and Metallia, but I'm not."

"So how is that bad? That means that either they're weaker than we thought or they were too chicken shit to show up," Skye replied smugly.

Hannah blew a piece of blue hair out of her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I mean that I'm not just picking up two powerful energies…my scans are showing me four."

* * *

The three fates hovered excitedly over the four long strings that were spread before them, their scissors in hand as they debated over which one they would cut. They were triplets with identical faces, but they were easy to tell apart by their different hair colors.

The oldest, Atropos, was blonde. She gestured to the bright white string. "I saw we sever the moon princess's life. Zeus knows she's had more chances at life than anyone has a right to. It's time for her to die already."

"No. I say we cut that one," the red haired, middle triplet, Clotho demanded, pointing to the dark blue one. "Half breeds irritate me."

"Well she's not a half breed anymore. She's fully human now," the youngest, Lachesis, rebuked as she shook her dark head. "Anyway, I vote we cut the silver one. That little girl is an annoying brat. I would have ended her life the other night if Selene hadn't found out and interfered."

A feline smile curved Atropos's lips. "Did either of you notice that none of us picked that one?" she asked, pointing out the burnished bronze string

Clotho bounced enthusiastically on the balls of her feet. "That's because the sun boy is such a cutie. It would actually be a tragedy to cut his life short."

"He is absolutely delicious," Lachesis agreed, nodding rapidly. "But that means that if we want him to live, then we can't cut the blue string because she is his mother."

"Oh, you're right!" Atropos exclaimed. "Then let's go with my choice and cut the moon princess's string." Her scissors were above the white string.

"Wait!" Clotho screeched. "We can't kill her! The little earth prince is a honey bun too. If you kill off Serenity then he'll never be born. And I like him!"

Atropos rolled her eyes. "You like anything male and even remotely handsome. Fine! We'll take out Sailor Eclipse, agreed?"

"Yay!" Lachesis cheered, thrilled that her choice won. "Let's do it all together, okay."

All three of them converged on the shiny silver string and positioned their open scissors around it.

"On three," Atropos said. "One…two…"

"What are you up to, my pets?" Hades asked as he strolled into the room.

"Ooo…Hades, you broke my concentration!" Lachesis whined with a pout.

Hades patted her on the head. "I'm sorry, Little Bit. Were you in the middle of something important?"

"We were about to cut Sailor Eclipse's lifeline," Clotho gushed in excitement.

The god of the Underworld turned pale under his tawny skin. His black eyes glittered like two shiny chunks of obsidian as he gently moved the women aside and observed the four strings laid out on the table behind them.

He sighed. "My darlings, you're going to have to let this go for now."

"But Hades!" they all cried.

He held up a silencing hand. "I know I said that I wanted one of their lives, and I still do. But we're going to play this one by the rules. If one of them manages to get fatally stabbed, knocked off a bridge, fall from a building, or mauled by a mutant tiger, then you may sever their life. But not before."

The three Fates all crossed their arms and glared petulantly at the god. They may be eternal beings with centuries upon centuries of existence behind them, but personality-wise they were hardly more than spoiled, unruly children; deadly, dangerous children.

Hades knew that he was mostly to blame for that. He had taken the three of them under his wing when they were children and it was discovered that they held the power over life and death. Their mother, Themis, the goddess of justice, had been at her wit's end at how to handle her unusually gifted triplet daughters, and had been grateful that Hades had taken an interest in them; even if it had only started as a diversion to distract him during the long, lonely months when his wife, Persephone, was away. He had treated them like they were his own daughters and had spoiled them endlessly. Sometimes that had a bad habit of coming back to bite him in the ass.

He looked at them sternly. "As much as I relish the thought of welcoming such powerful souls into my domain, the sad fact is that all four of those particular souls play a huge part in the future of the Earth. And while humans hold little interest for me, Zeus has a particular fondness for them, and the last thing I want is to bring the big guy above ground down on us. So we will wait and see what happens. If one of them are critically injured then we will be able to justify the severing of their lifeline."

"Fine," all three of them sighed in perfect synchronization and set their scissors down. "We will wait and see what happens."

He grinned and ruffled each of their hair. "That's my girls! I know you will do me proud." Then he strode from the room actually humming a tune under his breath.

Lachesis cocked her head and stared after him with a look of confusion. "What's wrong with him? He seemed…_happy_."

Clotho rolled her eyes at her sister. "I think it's pretty obvious why he seems to be up on cloud nine."

Atropos nodded. "I'd heard the rumors that Persephone had been able to sneak away from Demeter last night and pay her hubby a surprise visit. Evidently she left him in a good mood."

"Men!" Lachesis sniffed daintily. "They get a little sexual satisfaction and they turn into wimps."

"I guess there's nothing more we can do except wait," Clotho sighed unhappily as she sat down.

"This stinks!" Atropos cried and buried her head in her arms on the table where the four strings remained intact.

* * *

"Oh, I don't think so you stupid slug!" Sailor Mars screamed at the youma that she had met halfway up the steps to the Hikawa Shrine. Her flaming bow and arrow appeared in her hand and she took aim and fired. The slime covered youma burst into ashes.

A snarl came from behind her, and she turned around just in time to see a cougar sentinel spring at her from the top of the stairs. There was no place to go and no time to fire an attack at it. She was stuck.

At least that was what she thought until a tall, broad figure holding a sword with a blade of flames stepped in front of her. The sword made a swishing sound as Jadeite swung it around and swiped it neatly across the throat of the sentinel. It made a gurgling sound before it crumbled into dust.

The sword disappeared from Jadeite's hand as he turned and gathered the red suited scout in his arms. "Are you okay, Raye?"

She nodded against his chest. "I am, thanks to you. I'm just so glad that my grandpa isn't here tonight. There's no telling what kind of trouble he would have gotten into."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, he's spunky for an old guy. Well, I think that was the last of the enemy inside our area."

She closed her eyes for a moment and concentrated. "I believe you're right. I'm not sensing any more. We must have gotten them all."

She flipped her communicator open. "This is Sailor Mars. Cherry Hill is secure."

* * *

"Oak Evolution!" Sailor Jupiter called out as she spun in a fast, tight circle and razor sharp, energy charged oak leaves shot out in a wide arc around her. The guardian and the youma that she had been battling for the last few minutes screamed in pain, and then disintegrated.

She looked around expectantly, and then her face fell. "Aww, man! Don't tell me that's all of them. I was just getting warmed up good."

Several yards away from her Nephrite chuckled. "What's the matter, Sparky? Haven't had enough yet? You've taken out at least twenty of them."

She kicked at a rock on the ground. "But they've all been weak. I thought this was supposed to be some massive fight, but it's been nothing but a joke."

"Well did you want the honor of taking this last one?" he asked as he absently flicked a crackling energy charge at the mutant wolf he had been toying with for the last few minutes.

She shook her head. "Nah! It's not worth the effort. You might as well go ahead and finish it."

"I guess you're right," Nephrite sighed and summoned his sword to his hand where it glowed and snapped with energy. In a lightning fast move he lunged at the sentinel and buried the blade in its chest. The wolf howled and burst into dust.

"I guess that's that," Jupiter said as she switched on her communicator. "Jupiter calling. The park is clear."

"Gotcha, Jupiter," Skye's voice answered. "Sailor Moon wants everyone to hold their positions for now. There are still a few skirmishes going on and she wants all areas cleared before we regroup."

"I read ya," Jupiter answered. "How are things on your end?"

A deep sigh huffed over the line. "Deadsville! Only two youma have wandered into our area so far, and a normal five year old probably could have handled them. This sucks!"

"My feelings exactly," Jupiter returned. "See ya soon."

* * *

Sailor Saturn swung her scythe in a wide arc and neatly severed the head off of the charging leopard sentinel. The body flopped to the street and the head rolled several feet before they both exploded in a shower of dust.

She grinned in triumph and wiped a hand across her forehead as she spun toward the house behind her and waved at the young man that was watching her from a second story window.

"Explosive Wave!" Crescent Moon cried from two houses down as she swung her wand around and took out the guardian she had been fighting with a blast of pink energy. She jogged back to Saturn's side and rolled her eyes.

"Showing off for Sammy?" she asked slyly.

Saturn giggled and bumped her shoulder against her friend's. "Maybe. Of course it's not like I've really had to do much. These guys are pathetic."

"That's true," Crescent Moon agreed. "I wonder if they've gotten weaker somehow. It's never been this easy to beat them before."

Saturn flicked back a piece of her dark hair with a finger. "This is probably all they have left. We've beaten everything else they've sent at us and they were more than likely the strongest. That just leaves the weaklings behind."

Crescent Moon shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. It would also explain why they sent out so many at once. They were hoping quantity would make up for quality."

Saturn snorted and looked around at the assorted piles of dust. "Yeah, right. Sorry to disappoint them, but I don't think it's working. We cleared our whole section without hardly breaking a sweat."

"Oh well, at least that means we can hurry up and get this over with," Crescent Moon replied as she reached for her communicator. "This is Crescent Moon. The Tsukino's neighborhood is clean."

* * *

"Eeekk!" Sailor Mercury squeaked and ducked as she looked up from her computer screen to see a sharp metal spike flying at her head. It struck the concrete wall behind her with a quivering thud as it embedded itself at least two feet deep.

The guardian that had shot the spike at her jerked suddenly and looked down to see a blade of what appeared to be pure ice protruding from its chest. Soundlessly it crumbled into dust, revealing an extremely furious, wheat-blonde haired man with snapping bright green eyes.

"Take that, you bastard!" he snarled and spat on the pile of dust. He was at Mercury's side an instant later and hauling her into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, pushing back her blue hair so that he could see her eyes.

She nodded shakily. "I'm fine, Zoi. I should have been paying more attention to what was going on around me instead of trying to keep up with what's going on with everyone else."

"Yeah, you should have," he muttered. "But now that the immediate threat has been neutralized, how are the others doing?"

"They're all fine," she told him. "In fact, they've just about taken care of all of the enemies. But it's just not making sense. This attack hasn't been anywhere near as bad as we thought it would be. My scans are showing that Metallia and Beryl, along with two other strong energies are here, but they're staying hidden for now. I'm not sure what they're waiting for, and it bothers me."

Zoicite nodded. "It is odd, but I think they might be testing us. Think about it, Ames. These fighters that they've sent out have not been their strongest. I think they sent them as pawns, trying to see how many of us there are and how far we're stretched out. We should be prepared for more to come."

"I'm sure you're right," Mercury said softly. "There's no way that we're going to win this one this easily. We have to remain watchful."

* * *

"I can't believe we came rushing back for this," Sailor Uranus grouched from where she was perched on the roof of a warehouse. "This whole situation has been nothing more than child's play. The others could have easily handled this without us."

"Oh hush, Amara!" Sailor Neptune scolded. She was studying her mirror with a frown on her face. "I don't think this is over. Not by a long shot."

Uranus heard the concern in her voice. "Are you picking up on anything?"

"I'm not sure," Neptune answered worriedly. "It's like the mirror is trying to show me something, but it's so blurry that I can't make it out. I can't seem to shake this feeling though. I think Serena's in danger."

"Of course she is!" the shorthaired blonde snapped. "She's got Beryl and Metallia out there gunning for her and nobody with her but Darien. All I have to say is that Mr. Princey-pants better keep her safe or he's going to get up close and personal with my fists."

Neptune blew out an exasperated breath. "You need to set your man hating aside, dearest. You know as well as anybody that Darien will do everything in his power to protect Serena."

Uranus shook her head. "He's just so…male. I still don't see why we have to stay here. We took care of the threat in this area. I think it would have been a better idea for us to regroup instead of staying apart."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," the aqua haired scout responded distractedly, her eyes still glued to the mirror. "Like I said, I don't think this is over."

There was a bright flash of light and Uranus looked over the edge of the building. She turned back to Neptune with a grim smile. "I guess you were right, sweetheart. It looks like round two is about to begin. A portal just opened up and there are more of the little bastards flooding in. These guys look to be a step above the ones we fought earlier, so we might actually get to have a little fun this time."

She let out a whoop and jumped from the roof down into the swarm of new enemies that had just appeared. "World Shaking!" she cried the instant her feet touched the ground, and she slammed a yellow orb of energy into the earth.

Neptune was right on her heels, jumping down to get her partner's back. She called out, "Deep Submerge!" and shot her attack at the assortment of youmas, guardians, and sentinels.

A couple of them stumbled, but none of them were destroyed by the blast. It looked like Uranus had been right; it was time for the next round, and this time their opponents knew how to play the game.

* * *

"Well this turned out to be a huge bummer," Skye, moaned as she sat on the edge of the roof with her legs dangling over the side. "Two stinking, pansy-ass youmas is all I got to beat on, and now the fight is almost over. I could have been cruising the mall. Ya know what I mean?"

"Mmm hmm…" Katie murmured absently. Earlier there had been different colored flashes of light all over the city as the different battles commenced, but they had died off as the calls had come in from each team declaring their areas clear. Now all was calm.

Her eyes darted about, scanning the city for even the slightest sign of a disturbance, but she couldn't sense anything out of place. This disturbed her. She had seen the way that this night was supposed to go, and it had been nothing like this. In her vision there had been panic in the streets as people had fled for their lives from the snarling packs of monsters. And during all the mayhem, a teenage boy had been viciously killed on a rooftop far above.

Had something changed somewhere? Perhaps the interference of her and DJ's future selves had already impacted the events of this time. The night was moving on, and there were no monsters filling the streets. The battle seemed to be pretty much wrapped up, and her brother was still alive.

A little bit of relief began to seep into her. Maybe time had changed and the fight between Alex and DJ would never happen. Oh how she hoped that would come true. If so she vowed to herself that she would get to the bottom of what was bothering her brother and bring him back to his senses. She didn't care if she had to hogtie and gag him to get it done.

"Give it a rest girl," Skye said to Hannah, who was still busily typing on her computer. "The fight's over."

The blue haired girl shook her head. "I don't think it is. I'm still reading those other four energies, but none of them have made a move yet. It's really weird. I thought the whole point of this attack was that Metallia and Beryl were out to take over the world. So why haven't they acted? What are they waiting for?"

Skye laid back against the hard concrete roof and barked out a laugh. "Who the hell knows? They're probably hiding somewhere and pissing their pants about how easily their little minions got their asses kicked. They know it would be suicide for them to show themselves now."

Suddenly the communications link in Hannah's computer crackled to life and Sailor Uranus's brusque voice came over. "Everybody watch out! They've just been toying with us. Neptune and I have a second round of incoming and they aren't the same pushovers we were fighting before." There was a yell, and then the line went silent.

Katie and Skye both scrambled to their feet and looked out toward the industrial district. Sure enough, there were new flashes of yellow and aqua lighting up the night sky.

"Holy shit!" Skye exclaimed a portal opened in the street below them and a horde of youmas, guardians, and sentinels came pouring out of it.

"They're getting in the building!" Katie cried as she whirled for the door that led to the stairs. She reached up and grasped her transformation pendant tightly, and in mid stride she transformed in a burst of silver sparks.

"Hey!" Skye called as she ran after her, lightning crackling around her, as she became Sailor Callisto. "I thought you were supposed to be on standby."

Sailor Eclipse grinned back at her over her shoulder. "My mom said if the enemy made it inside this building that I could fight. Well I think this qualifies."

* * *

Sailor Venus looked at her communicator in confusion as she tried to make out all of the garbled voices that had suddenly come on the line. From what she had been able to make out, several new portals had opened up and most of the others were now engaged in a fresh round of fighting with the new arrivals.

"This is crazy," she muttered to Kunzite as she looked down from their perch at the top of the bluff toward the bridge that spanned the bay and pier that was barely visible on the other side. All seemed quiet in both locations.

She switched to a different frequency. "Serena? Are you hearing what I'm hearing?"

Sailor Moon's response was immediate. "Yeah, I knew things were going too easily. I figured Beryl and Metallia had to have something else up their sleeves."

"Should we go and try to help them?" Sailor Shadow asked as she joined in the conversation. "There's nothing going on around here."

Venus and Kunzite spun as a fissure went through the air and saw a portal open up behind them. At least a dozen lackeys spilled out of it.

"Speak for yourself," Venus quipped. "Looks like Kunzite and I have a little company. I'll catch you girls later."

Her Love Chain appeared in her hands as she stood back to back with her platinum haired fiancé. "Darn! I was hoping to get this over with quickly so I could go home and indulge in something more…_pleasurable_."

Kunzite manifested a sword of pure, humming energy as he chuckled. "I'll make it up to you later."

She smiled impishly at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to hold you to that. Now do we take them together, or divide and conquer?"

The sounds of distant explosions had them both looking quickly back out over the bay. Smoke now hung heavily around both the bridge and the pier.

"Damn it! This is what I was afraid of," Kunzite hissed. "Metallia and Beryl must be making their move on Serena and Darien. And it looks like they're trying to make sure Jess and Andrew are kept away as well."

Venus snapped her chain impatiently. "Well then, I guess that means that we need to hurry up and take care of our little visitors here so we can get down there. I don't care what they said, I'm not leaving them alone without back up."

"Sounds good to me," Kunzite growled. "Let's get to it."

* * *

Phantom slammed his sword into chest of a guardian and sent a pulse of power rushing down the blade. It gave a short scream and exploded. A flash of heat behind him had him jumping out of the way as a dragon made of fire flew past him and incinerated a youma.

"Damn, Jay! Do you think you could watch where you're shooting that thing? My idea of being lit up usually involves something of the alcoholic variety, not having my ass set on fire!" Phantom exclaimed with a glower.

"Sorry, sorry!" the blonde boy hastily apologized as he waved his hands and the dragon disappeared. "I didn't think it would get that close to you. I guess I just got so excited that the fight is back on that I jumped the gun. My bad!"

"Well try to curb your enthusiasm a little," Phantom growled. "I'm sure there's plenty more around for you to charbroil."

They had thought that the fight was over and had been sitting around and waiting for the order to stand down when everything had blown sky-high. A portal had sprung open in the middle of the street, bringing a slew of fresh enemies along with it, and the battle began again. And according to the calls they had heard coming over the communicators they had been given, they weren't the only ones in this situation.

"You're supposed to be psychic. Do you see any more?" Phantom asked Flame as he looked around and reached out with his senses to see if he could locate any.

Flame shrugged. "It's hard to say. There's so much going on that it's hard to pinpoint individual monsters." Then a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he grinned. "Ah ha! Got one!"

He took off after it and found a wolf sentinel slinking around in the darkness on the west side of the park. He charged up a fireball in his hands and was about to throw it at the creature when a bolt of lightning hit it and fried it to ashes.

"Oh you suck, Jupiter! That was my kill!" he cried in indignation at the green suited scout that appeared on top of the wall that surrounded the park.

She tossed her auburn head and laughed. "Hey! You snooze, you lose! And this is where our two territories overlap, so it was fair game."

Phantom shook his head as he watched the playful banter between them. But a sudden lurching of his stomach wiped all traces of humor from his face. "Hey, Jay," he ground out in a terse voice. "I think the girls are in trouble."

The blonde boy's laughter abruptly stopped and his face paled a little. "You mean Hannah, Katie, and Skye?"

Phantom nodded, his eyes fixed in the direction of the apartment building that he couldn't see.

"You two get out of here and go help them. Nephrite and I can cover this," Jupiter demanded.

That was all they needed to hear. "Thanks, Lita!" they both called as they took off like rockets.

* * *

A harsh grunt whooshed out of Phoenix's lungs as a youma snuck up behind him and jumped on his back. Her body was soft and stretchy like rubber, and she wrapped herself tightly around him, making it almost impossible for him to breath.

"Ooo…" she cooed in his ear. "You're a cutie pie, aren't you? It's almost a shame to kill you. But, orders are orders."

He felt like gagging as she ran a hand down his cheek in an obviously intimate gesture. "You wish, Gumby! I'm not going down that easily," he managed to choke out.

"Let him go, bitch!" an ice-cold voice snarled.

Sailor Ishtar stood about ten yards away. Her long blonde hair swirled around her and her normally bright gray eyes were as hard as flint as she glared at the demonic woman. She had her bow in her hands, notched with a golden arrow and pulled back, ready to fire. And it was aimed right at them.

"Oh, what do we have here?" the youma crooned as she laid her chin on Phantom's shoulder. "Am I invading your territory, sweet cheeks? Well that's just too bad, isn't it?"

"Take the shot," Phoenix ground out as he caught his girlfriend's gaze.

Her eyes flickered with uncertainty for a moment and her aim wavered. "Alex," she whispered brokenly.

"Take the shot," he repeated softly. "I trust you, Em. I know you can do it. Don't worry about me."

The youma cackled gleefully. "She won't do it. She won't take the risk of hitting you. I don't blame her though. You really are delectable."

Anger sparked in Ishtar's eyes as she raised her bow back into firing position. "Close your eyes," she said quietly to Phoenix.

He smiled and did as she asked. A few seconds later he heard the snap of the arrow being released and the swish of it flying through the air. There was a rush of wind by his face and then a thud. His body was released as the youma crumbled around him.

He opened his eyes to find the youma gone and Sailor Ishtar still standing in the same spot, her bow held limply at her side as she stared at the ground. He rushed to her immediately.

"Em?" he said gently as he reached for her.

A sob broke from her as she threw herself against his chest. "I was so scared!" she cried. "If I had been off by just one inch…"

"Shh," he shushed her as he set her back a step and cupped her tear-drenched face in his hands. "I had complete faith in you. I knew you would take her out."

"But…but…" she stammered.

He silenced her with a kiss. He plundered her mouth with his until he felt her go limp in his arms. Finally he pulled back and looked down into her dazed face. "Feeling better now?"

She tried to look annoyed, but she couldn't hide the small smile on her lips. "Contrary to what you think, your kisses don't solve everything, mister!"

He grinned cockily. "Yeah, but you can't say you don't enjoy them."

She slapped playfully at him. "Arrogant jerk!"

He chuckled, tempted to pull her back for another kiss. But before he could act on it his heart jumped in his chest and began pounding against his ribcage. He knew what that meant.

"We have to go!" he exclaimed suddenly as he grabbed Ishtar's hand and began running, pulling her behind him.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they ran.

His voice was strained as he answered. "It's Kat! She needs help!"

* * *

"Oh hell yeah!" Sailor Callisto cheered as blasted a guardian through the lobby doors and out into the street where it exploded into a cloud of dust.

Sailor Eclipse grinned at her friend's enthusiasm. "Are you having fun now?"

The tall, auburn haired scout looked like she was on cloud nine. "You better believe it! I thought I was going to die of boredom sitting up on that roof doing nothing."

"Well there's more where they came from," Sailor Caloris said as she looked up from her computer. "They're running rampant out there." She gestured through the doors to the street outside.

"Let's get to it then," Eclipse replied.

"Wait a minute!" Caloris exclaimed. "Aren't you supposed to be on reserve only?"

"Aww, let the girl fight," Callisto drawled. "She's already helped us clear the building and she's obviously fine."

Eclipse nodded. "You're crazy if you think I'm going to sit out now that I've gotten a taste of the action."

Caloris shook her head. "Your mother will skin you alive."

Eclipse waved a hand. "Don't worry about her. I can handle her."

The three scouts ran out into the street and began tearing into the youmas, guardians, and sentinels that seemed to be everywhere.

Sailor Eclipse felt exhilarated as she quickly took out a youma, two guardians, and sentinel. Callisto and Caloris were having just as much luck as she was, and the crowd was already beginning to thin.

"See, I told everyone I was okay," she grumbled to herself as she summoned her whip to her hand and drew it back so she could snap it at nearby youma. But before she could fling it, something grabbed it and yanked hard, sending her slamming into a wall before she fell to the ground.

As she lay there trying to catch her breath, she felt something looming over her. She opened her eyes to the sight of the same panther sentinel from the bluff. It stood over her with wild eyes and furiously gnashing teeth that were only a few feet from her face.

A scream lodged in her throat as she lay there frozen, unable to move a single muscle. _'DJ…Alex!' _her mind screamed as the cat lunged in for the kill.

* * *

Sailor Shadow coughed, choking on the smoke from the explosion that had rocked the bridge a moment before. Luckily the structure seemed to still be intact and hadn't plunged into the bay. It was also a good thing that it had happened when there were no cars or people trying to cross.

"Drew," she hacked, blinking her eyes rapidly as she tried to see through the thick veil of smoke to locate her fiancé. They hadn't been right next to each other when the explosion hit, so now she had no idea which direction he was in.

"Jess," his voice came from somewhere to her left. "Are you okay?"

She heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

She heard him cough. "A little choked up, but I'm fine. Just stay where you are. I'll find you."

"Okay," she called back, and then reached out with her aura to tickle his lightly and lead him in the right direction. She waved a hand in front of her face, trying to clear a little pocket of air so that she could take a decent breath.

She wasn't sure what made her turn around. All she knew was that she felt a shiver of unease race down her spine and turned just in time to see a sword blade come slashing at her out of the smoky darkness.

She jumped aside quickly, but not quite fast enough. A pained breath hissed through her clenched teeth as the sharp edge sliced through her side just under her ribs. She stumbled and fell to the ground as she felt hot blood instantly soak into her fuku.

"How disappointing. You weren't supposed to move, princess," a deep, demonic sounding voice said in what was an almost amused sounding tone.

She looked up and saw the blurry shape of a black-cloaked figure as it came closer through the smoke. Her mind raced as it tried to comprehend what was happening. She knew that voice. It was the same one that had haunted her nightmares for almost two years.

He came to a stop a few feet away from her and chuckled. "Dearest Melody. What was that you said to me right before you shoved a sword through my stomach? Oh yes, 'payback's a bitch, isn't it', that's what you said. Now let's see how you like it."

"Jess!" Andrew's concerned voice drew closer. "What's going on?"

She panicked, knowing that Andrew would be able to sense that something was wrong through their bond. She scrambled to get up, gritting her teeth against the pain as she slipped in the small pool of her blood that had gathered under her.

"Ah, here comes your little solarian protector," Discord cackled. "This is quite a little reunion. I owe him a little something for his part in my defeat as well."

Fear for Andrew slammed through her as she finally stumbled to her feet. She backed away a few steps, her eyes wild as she stared in disbelief at the creature in front of her. Though it went against every instinct in her body, she whirled and ran.

"Run, Drew!" she screamed as she dashed in the direction that she felt his aura. "It's Discord! He's here!"

* * *

Tuxedo Mask shoved off the pieces of debris that had fallen on him when the pier had exploded and sat up. He looked around quickly, searching for his blonde fiancé that had been separated from him during the blast.

"Serena!" he yelled, not caring if there were any civilians around to hear him using her real name or not. Though the chances of that were unlikely since most of the people had left earlier when the pier had been attacked. "Serena, where are you?"

He tried to reach for her through their bond, but his emotions were so chaotic that he had a hard time trying to direct his energy. He rolled to his feet and searched for any sign of her through the thick smoke that hung in the air.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a muted flash of gold and recognized it as being the long streamers of hair that were trailing down from buns and pigtails in Sailor Moon's trademark hairstyle. She was on her feet and seemed to be unhurt, but she was also moving away from him.

"Serena!" he cried out as he hurried after her as quickly as he could in the limited visibility. He could barely make out her shape through the smoke and called out her name again.

After several times of him calling to her she finally stopped and turned toward him. When he approached her she let out a squeal of happiness and launched herself into his arms.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she gushed. "I was lost in all the smoke, and then I thought I saw something that might be a youma so I followed it. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. "What about you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a little shaken up. I wasn't expecting that explosion."

"Neither was I," he agreed. "That took me completely by surprise."

She glanced around nervously. "Maybe we should get out of here. I'm getting some really bad vibes."

He pulled back to look at her, puzzled. "What happened to sticking to the plan? I thought we agreed to hold our position no matter what."

She tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, but that was before someone tried to blow us up. I would just feel better if we got away from here."

A feeling of unease began to settle over him, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Something felt off about this whole situation. Serena wasn't normally the type to want to run away in the middle of a fight. She usually stood her ground until the very end.

But the fear that was clearly etched on her face made him give her the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, we'll go. How about we go get Jess and Drew and then grab Venus and Kunzite? Maybe you'll feel better with them around."

She shook her head. "Let's just go. They're big boys and girls and can take care of themselves. I'm sure they'll catch up with us in a little while."

Bingo! That was all he needed to hear. Now he knew why this conversation felt so wrong. The Serena he knew would never blow her friends off like that. In fact, considering that they had both seen the explosion on the bridge a few seconds before the pier blew up, he was surprised that she didn't want to race over there to check on Jess and Andrew. He clamped a steel hard hand around her upper arm.

She flinched in pain. "Ouch! That hurts! Why are you squeezing my arm so tightly?"

"Drop the charade, Beryl," he snarled. "It's not working."

"Damn!" the Sailor Moon he was holding muttered as the illusion fell away to reveal the red haired witch. "You caught onto that faster than I would have liked, Endymion. What gave me away this time?"

He smirked at her. "You suck at impersonating Serena. She would never run away from a fight and her friends just to save herself. She has higher morals that that."

Beryl jerked angrily away from him. "Of course she does!" she spat. "Saint Serenity with her bleeding heart and her goody two shoes ways. Everybody falls at her feet and adores her. It's enough to make me sick! Why couldn't that little brat stay dead?"

Tuxedo Mask took a threatening step toward her. "You better shut your stupid mouth while you're ahead, Beryl. I'm sure you remember that if there's one surefire way to get me mad, it's to talk badly about my princess in front of me. And in the mood I'm in right now it wouldn't take much to push me over the edge. Nothing would give me more pleasure right now than to bury my sword in your heart the same way you did mine a thousand years ago."

Beryl's red brown eyes flared with indignation. "That was an accident. You wouldn't have even been scratched if you hadn't thrown yourself in my way."

His dark blue eyes raked her in disgust. "What the hell did you expect me to do? You were trying to kill my wife!"

Her look turned almost gleeful. "Well she took care of that for me when she took her own life. I was there. I saw it all. I don't think I've ever seen a more wonderful sight than that of the mighty moon princess brought to her knees and broken beyond repair. The sound of her screams and the dead look in her eyes as she picked up your sword and impaled herself with it have kept me going. It was a beautiful thing to see."

A growl erupted out of Tuxedo Mask's chest as he lunged at the now laughing witch. "I warned you to shut the hell up!" He reached for her throat, his fingers itching to wrap around her scrawny neck and squeeze the life from her.

She disappeared before his fingers could close around her and rematerialized behind him less than a second later. She wrapped her long, skinny arms around his waist and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "You always were a bit of a hothead, Endymion. Your fire and passion were the second things I admired about you, after your devilishly handsome good looks of course."

"Of course," he muttered sarcastically as he shook her off. "I feel so flattered by your compliments. Now you answer something for me. Where is Serena?"

Beryl shrugged. "I really don't have a clue. Getting you away and alone was my only mission once the two of you were separated by that blast. Metallia said she would take care of the rest."

Fear jammed down his spine like a spear of ice. "What do you mean?"

Her look turned gloating. "I'm not sure exactly what she has planned, but I'm fairly certain that your precious Serenity doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

Sailor Moon sputtered, spitting out water as her head broke through the surface of the bay. She began swimming, fighting against the pull of the current that was trying to sweep her away. From what she could tell, she had already been carried several hundred yards away from the pier she had been standing on only a few minutes before.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief when her feet finally touched bottom and she trudged her way up to the bank. She stood there with water streaming down her body as she anxiously scanned the water for any signs of Tuxedo Mask. She knew he was a strong swimmer, so when she didn't see his dark head anywhere she turned back toward the smoke covered pier. Tuxedo Mask had been farther up the pier than she had when the explosion hit, so he may have been blown back toward the land.

"Please be okay, Darien," she whispered as she headed in that direction to see if she could find him. She had only gone about ten steps when a voice made her pause.

"Serenity," a clear, soft-spoken voice called to her.

She turned and her breath caught in her throat as Queen Serenity appeared in a glimmer of white light.

"Mother," she barely breathed. "How…how are you here?"

The queen smiled gently at her. "You know that if there is any way possible for me to be here for you I will be. I felt your distress, so here I am."

Sailor Moon's vision blurred as tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm scared, Momma," she whispered brokenly. "I don't know what to do. I know I have to fight Beryl and Metallia, but I'm so afraid that one of my friends may be hurt…or killed. They all look to me as a leader, but right now…I feel so helpless!"

"My poor darling," Queen Serenity crooned. "Don't worry, I'll help you. Now come here." She opened her arms wide.

A sob broke from Sailor Moon as she stumbled toward her past mother and felt herself be wrapped in soft, caring arms. She sighed in contentment as gentle fingers smoothed her wet, tangled hair. The nightmare that she'd had the night before had haunted her all day, and when the queen had first appeared she had been afraid that she would reject her. But instead she had been welcomed fully. It felt like coming home.

"I'm so glad you're here," she mumbled as she laid her head on Queen Serenity's shoulder. "It makes me feel so much better."

She didn't see the twisted smile that suddenly appeared on the moon queen's face or the unholy glint that appeared in her lavender eyes. She closed her eyes, unaware of the sharp crystal spear that had appeared behind the queen's back.

Queen Serenity removed one arm from around Sailor Moon and reached for the spear, whispering, "Don't worry, little princess. It will all be over soon."

**A/N **I know, evil me, another cliffhanger. It just sort of happened that way. So we have Katie in danger, Jess has been confronted and injured by Discord, Beryl has Darien off alone, and Serena has fallen into Metallia's trap. Ooo, what's going to happen next? More action to come next chapter. Please drop me a review and tell me what you think. Happy Holidays everyone! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	21. A Stitch In Time

**A/N **Hiya guys! You know what this means, it's update time! I don't really have a whole lot to say, but I do want to take a moment and thank all of you wonderful reviewers. I never thought that this story would even come close to surpassing its predecessor, _Lunar Princess_, as far as reviews go. But it is closing in fast. Thank you so much for all of your inspiring words and for pointing out when I slip up and make careless mistakes. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm only human. So on that note, let me give out my hugs for chapter 18's reviews. BIG HUGS TO:

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

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Thank you so much everybody! Now I know I left you with a cliffhanger last time, so I'm going to let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 19

A Stitch in Time

Sailor Eclipse screamed as the sharp, gleaming teeth of the rabid looking panther slashed down toward her neck. At the last possible moment her seemingly paralyzed body sprang to life and she shoved both of her hands up under its jaw, stopping its deadly assault only a few inches away from her skin. The large cat snarled and snapped, obviously furious that she had decided to fight back.

A sob welled in her chest as she shoved against it with all her might, hoping to push it off balance enough that she would be able to roll away from it. She knew that she could blast it off of her, but she was afraid that if she diverted her attention, even for just a fraction of a second to concentrate on her powers, that the beast would rip her throat out.

So here she was stuck fighting physically against the creature. And while all the training she had endured in her life had made her stronger than the average sixteen-year-old girl, she was still at a huge disadvantage against an enemy that easily weighed four times as much as she did.

She wondered briefly if Sailor Callisto or Sailor Caloris were aware of the predicament she was in. After all, they had been fighting nearby only a few moments before. But things had been so hectic with them trying to eliminate the horde of evil beings that had suddenly appeared that they probably didn't have a clue. She was sure that her friends would have come to her aid by now if they knew.

Her arms began to shake under the pressure of holding up the beast and its claws dug into her shoulders. She could felt the sting of its venom as it started seeping into her body, but she wasn't concerned about that. If she could just keep the thing from shredding her to ribbons she would be able to find either DJ or Darien and be healed.

Adrenaline spiked through her body as she got angry. There was no way that she was going to lay here on the concrete and die, damn it! She had a mission to accomplish and dreams to fulfill. She was going to fix this problem between her brother and DJ, and then the three of them were going to take care of Discord so that they could move on with their lives. She wanted to expand her musical horizons. She wanted to see the world. And if she was lucky she hoped to one day marry her prince and share her life with him. She didn't want to die, and she sure didn't want to turn into the tortured, bitter creature she had witnessed her future self to be.

_Never allow your emotions to override your control of your powers. _That was the one lesson that had been pounded into her head over and over as far back as she could remember. It was one that she had struggled with all of her life; one that she had grown up watching her own mother battle against.

Crystals bonded with their carriers at an extremely deep level. It had even been debated in centuries gone by whether crystals that were powerful enough to bestow supernatural powers on their carriers were sentient, but no proof of this was ever found. And while some crystals attached themselves to their bearers psyche, some delved inside the emotions of the ones they resided inside.

Sailor Eclipse, like her mother before her, was one of the ones that had an emotional attachment to her crystal. While she had inherited some of her father's level-headedness, she had also been passed on a good deal of her mother's infamous temper. And right now the rage and anger inside of her was as much of a snarling and snapping beast as the one that was pinning her down.

Fortunately for her and the billions of other people on the planet, her power wasn't connected to the Earth in any way. But unfortunately for the sentinel on top of her, that only meant that if she lost control of her powers that the planet wouldn't go kaput the way it would if her mother went psycho for five minutes.

Desperate and at the end of her rope, she let her anger flow through her. She was sick of this shit! She was tired of feeling like her only purpose in life was to obtain her share of a greater power so the bad guy could be defeated. She wanted her life back damn it!

Tendrils of silver power began snapping around her, crackling like electricity. This way of releasing her power required no thought, so her attention never wavered from the sentinel. With every ounce of strength she possessed she shoved up against the giant cat. Her eyes turned to a blazing silver and her back bowed up from the ground as her power reached its zenith. Then, completely out of her control, her energy arced out from her in a brilliant flash of light.

It was so bright that even she had to close her eyes lest she be blinded by it. She felt a whoosh as the energy rushed from her body, and then the weight disappeared from on top of her body. Her back slammed down into the ground with such force that she could have sworn that she felt the individual vertebrae rattle. There was also a light tickling sensation as small particles rained down on her skin, and she sobbed a relieved breath knowing that her attacker was destroyed.

"Katie!" she heard a voice shriek her name, and a smile appeared on her face as she opened her eyes and rolled to her side to push herself up into a sitting position. Sailor Callisto and Sailor Caloris were sprinting toward her.

"Damn, girlfriend! What the hell did you do?" Callisto asked as she hunkered down next to her.

Eclipse shrugged. "I got mad. That thing was only inches away from trying to finish what it started the other night."

"Nice!" Callisto drawled and gave her a high five.

"No! Not nice!" Caloris interjected. "Katie, you know that you should never give anger free reign over your power. What if you had damaged any nearby buildings? There are people in there!"

"Save it, Hannah!" Eclipse snapped, but not unkindly as she staggered to her feet. "I never said that it was smart. But I was in a sticky situation and it was either kill or be killed. So I really didn't have much of a choice. I just had to hope that I didn't take down a city block in the process."

The blue haired scout sniffed daintily and then grimaced at the spots of blood on the shoulders of her friend's fuku. Her computer was instantly in her hand. "It was still a reckless move! Anyway, you've got some sentinel poisoning in your system that needs to be addressed. I better call DJ and tell him to get over here and patch you up."

"He's already on the way," Eclipse grumbled ruefully. She could feel not only his aura speeding toward her, but that of her brother's as well. Both of their voices were yelling in her head and she took a moment to pop off a mental _'I'm fine' _to both of them and send a wave of reassurance flowing through their bond so that they would both chill.

Callisto looked around and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well I think you took out every baddie in a five block radius with your little light show. Hell! You may have even cleared our whole area as well. Thanks a lot for taking all the fun for yourself!"

Caloris looked up from her computer. "They're not all gone. I'm still picking up a few running around. But they're erratic and hard to track. That could indicate that they are high level enemies."

"Sounds like my kind of guys!" Callisto exclaimed as she pounded her fists together. "We should probably go take care of them."

Caloris nodded. "You're right." Then she turned to Eclipse. "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

Eclipse chuckled. "Go on! I won't be alone for long. In fact, in about another minute or so I'll probably have more company than I need."

The other two girls nodded and then jumped away to take to the roofs to look for any more of Discord's disgusting little pets that needed to be eliminated.

Eclipse sagged against a brick wall and then slid down to sit on the sidewalk. She was starting to feel a little woozy from the sentinel venom and knew that the best thing she could do was to sit calmly until help arrived. A slight wave of nausea and dizziness swept through her and she buried her face in her pulled up knees. She counted off the seconds as she prayed for it to pass.

She had just reached sixty when a low growl caught her attention. Her head came up slowly and her eyes widened as she saw a wolf sentinel step out of a nearby alley. It must have somehow slipped past Callisto and Caloris and come to investigate the power surge that had destroyed its comrades.

Its glowing red eyes were fixated intently on her and she forced her sluggish body to stand, though she would have fallen over if it hadn't been for the wall behind her. Her heart pounded despite her efforts to remain calm. She knew that an increased heart rate would only pump the poison through her system that much faster. She gathered her energy together and summoned her silver whip to her hands as the wolf crouched in preparation to attack.

Things suddenly seemed to turn fuzzy and slow down to a crawl to her. She saw the sentinel leap toward her, and it was gliding through the air. She forced her hands up, but they moved so slowly. She knew that there was no way that she would ever be able to launch a counterattack against it before it got to her.

Something gold and shiny flew past her vision and hit the wolf between the eyes. It knocked it back several feet and sent it slamming to the street. But it also moved it out of the line of fire of a second, bright red-orange attack that followed only a second after the first.

Eclipse caught a glimpse of the white rose that crackled with golden energy that was embedded in the wolf's forehead before it shook it's head hard, dislodging the rose, and bounded away down an alley.

Then she felt herself grabbed up and hugged tightly against someone. A low voice growled in her ear, "Holy shit, Kat! Are you trying to give me a heart attack on purpose?"

She pulled back slightly and pushed her brother's light brown hair away from his dark blue eyes with shaky fingers before whispering, "Sorry about that, Lex."

His eyes were hard as they looked her over. They narrowed as he took in the bright spots of blood where the cat's claws had dug into her shoulders. "I really can't turn my back on you for a second, can I? I leave you alone for an hour and come back to find you beat up again. You are an absolute train wreck!"

"Thanks a lot for your words of concern!" she snapped back as sarcastically as she could. She gathered her fledgling strength and used it to pull herself out of his confining grip. She glared at him for a moment before turning to the one that had saved her from the wolf.

Phantom was sheathing his sword as he walked toward them in his long legged stride. He also checked her over visually, but instead of chastising her he only sighed and shook his head before he whispered, "Come here," and pulled her to him.

She couldn't stop the moan of relief that escaped her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and felt his healing golden energy seep into her body. The stinging of her wounds disappeared and a few moments later the dizziness and nausea vanished as well.

She felt his lips against her hair as he said softly. "What were you thinking? You promised Jess that you wouldn't leave the building."

Now that she felt energized and more like herself, she looked up to give him a mischievous grin. "No. I agreed to stay out of things unless the enemy invaded the building. Once they came inside all bets were off. Skye, Hannah, and I pushed them back outside, but there were so many. I couldn't leave them alone to go up against a force that size."

He crushed her close to him in a massive hug. "No. I guess you couldn't," he muttered.

"They could have handled it without you," Phoenix snarled. "Once you cleared the building you should have stayed put. You are not at the top of your game right now. That sentinel could have turned you into filet mignon easily. I'm just glad we got here when we did. I had a bead on the sucker, but somebody," he glowered at Phantom, "beat me to the punch."

Phantom shrugged. "I told you I had it."

"And I told you that I would take care of it!" Phoenix fired back. "But oh no! You had to give into that massive ego of yours and turn into a show off in front of my sister. As if you don't already have her drooling and panting over you as it is!"

Eclipse went ramrod stiff. "Hey! Take that back! I don't drool and pant over anybody!"

Sailor Ishtar, who up until now had remain a passive observer, quickly covered Phoenix's mouth with a hand as he prepared to return with what she was sure would be a scathing comment. "Okay! Down children, before I send you all to time out! Katie, which way did Skye and Hannah go?"

Eclipse pointed toward the east. "That way. They were going to check the rest of the area because Hannah was having a hard time tracking the enemy threats on her computer."

She nodded firmly. "Hey, Jay! I think that perhaps it would be a good idea if we go after Skye and Hannah to make sure they don't need our help. And maybe that will give these three knuckleheads a chance to ah…talk things out."

The blond boy had been watching the whole exchange in wide-eyed disbelief, but he quickly snapped to attention. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. How about we do that. I don't want to get stuck in the middle of this domestic dispute if things turn ugly."

Sailor Ishtar pulled her hand away from her boyfriend's mouth and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before hurrying away with Flame to find their friends.

This left the two teenage boys and the girl standing in the middle of the street, glancing at one another awkwardly as they each cautiously weighed the tension between them. It flowed as thick as hot lava between the two glaring males while the blonde girl felt like a bobbing sailboat between them, quickly going up in flames as she once again found herself stuck in the middle of their combativeness.

After several long, tense moments, Phantom made the first move. He took Eclipse by the arm lightly and murmured, "Come on, Kat. Let's go back to the penthouse so you can kick back. You've seen quite a bit of action tonight."

Immediately Phoenix was by her side and had her by her other arm. "I will take her back to the penthouse and keep an eye on her. You can feel free to go see if anyone needs help."

Phantom pulled lightly against her, making her take a step toward him. "I am perfectly capable of escorting her back myself, without a chaperone. So why don't you go and check in and see how your parents are doing or something?"

Phoenix tugged her back toward him. "Why don't you go and check in with mommy and daddy? You're parents are out there too in case you've forgotten."

Eclipse was yanked back in the other direction again. "I just meant that Kat might like an update on your parent's fight. I'm sure she's worried about them."

She was pulled off balance once again. "My parents can handle themselves. Right now my biggest concern is making sure Kat is safe and okay."

They were both tugging on her at the same time now. And it made her feel like a splinter of wood that had been wedged between them that they were both trying to yank out. She felt helpless between them as they argued, and then her temper bubbled to the surface at them talking about her and treating her like an inanimate object.

She jerked away from both of them with a growl. "Would you two knock it off! I happen to be standing right here! And the last time I checked I was plenty old enough to make my own decisions. _If _I feel like I need to go and rest, then _I _am perfectly capable of going back to the penthouse myself. I _don't _need you guys fussing over me like a couple of mother hens! I am _not _made out of spun glass, and I _can _take care of myself! You guys are driving me crazy with this insane power play and I'm sick of it!"

She stomped several feet away from them and then whirled back. "I can't stand having the two of you fighting like this! I feel like you are forcing me to choose between you, and I can't do that!"

Tears were running down her face now and she turned away from them to walk down the street. After about twenty steps, the horror of what her words may have just triggered between her twin brother and her boyfriend hit her hard and she spun around.

But all she saw was an empty stretch of concrete. Both of the guys had disappeared.

Her knees shook, and then gave out as she slumped to the ground. It seemed that the time she had been dreading had finally come. And it was all her fault.

* * *

Sailor Shadow clutched at the pain in her side as she ran. Discord's eerie laughter echoed in the smoky gloom around her and sent shivers skittering down her spine. She saw the shape of a figure ahead of her and felt like crying in relief when she realized that it was Andrew. She blew past her fiancé without pausing, grabbing his hand to pull him with her.

"Jess! What's going on?" he demanded as he fell into pace beside her. "Did I hear you say something about Discord?"

"He's here!" she gasped. "He tried to ambush me under the cover of the smoke. He's coming after both of us for revenge for what we did to him before. We have to find Serena, Darien, and the others quickly!"

"You're hurt!" Andrew exclaimed as he saw the blood on her fuku and on the gloved hand she had pressed to her side.

"It's just a scratch," she said tightly. "He snuck up behind me like a coward and tried to run me through. I jumped out of the way, but I wasn't quite fast enough."

"That's more than a scratch," he argued. "That cut looks pretty deep and it's still bleeding."

"I'll get over it!" she insisted. "Darien will be able to fix me right up as soon as we get off of this bridge and down to the pier."

"What's left of the pier, you mean," an amused voice said as the smoke before them swirled and Discord appeared. "Metallia and Beryl blew it up at about the same time I set off the explosions up here. And all of your little friends are scattered across the city fighting for their lives as we speak, so there's no one to come to your aid. It's just you and me."

"What do you want?" Sailor Shadow ground out between clenched teeth.

Discord laughed evilly. "Straight to the point, eh? What do you think I want from you, princess? I want the same thing that I've always wanted. I want your power. With it there will be nothing in the universe that will be able to stop me. I will resurrect the rest of my children and we will continue our path of carnage and destruction that we began so long ago."

Sailor Shadow put a hand to her chest where she could feel not only her heart pounding but also the thrumming of power from the Celestial Crystal. She glared at the evil being before her with malice spitting from her eyes. "You can't have it!"

He waved a bony hand arrogantly. "Rest assured, dear Melody, that crystal will be mine. I will take it from you by force if I have to and then kill both you and your solarian lover. It will be like killing two birds with one stone. Not only will I gain the power that I have craved and rid myself of your bothersome presence, but your death will also ensure that two other little nuisances will be removed from my hair. That is if my little pet doesn't take care of your brats first."

Andrew had heard enough. He pulled Sailor Shadow behind him and stood protectively in front of her. Copper colored light surrounded him as he powered up to his true form. The long black duster faded away to reveal the bronze armor of a solarian officer.

"I'm sick and tired of you threatening my family," he hissed as he unsheathed his sword. "You have made multiple attempts on my future wife's life and sent my children running from their home."

Discord tilted his head to the side. "And what are you going to do about it? You don't have the power to take me on and your princess can't unleash her full power without devastating the planet. Your hands are tied."

"No they're not," Shadow spoke up softly. "There was a time that I would have fought against you with as much power as I could without destroying the planet with total disregard for my own life. But now I know that all Andrew and I have to do is survive so that our children can be born. As long as we live and Serena and Darien live, you don't stand a chance."

Discord's eyes were two glowing spots of red inside the darkness of his hood. "That's where you are mistaken, princess. Even if you miraculously managed to somehow escape me, I can assure you that those little bastards will not survive the night. I will not allow the threat of the Galactic Trinity being awakened to continue. No matter which way you look at it, you will lose."

He snapped his fingers and two guardians, a male and a female, appeared by his side with swords drawn. "Take care of them for me. Kill the man, but try not to mess up his body too bad. I have plans for him. And do not kill the princess. That honor belongs to me. Bring her before me."

They both bowed. "Yes sir!" Then they attacked swiftly.

Andrew barely had time to raise his own sword to meet the blade that the male sent slashing at him. As he blocked and prepared a counterattack he sent up a prayer of silent thanks that Darien and Kunzite had been working with him over the last couple of years. He'd already be shish kabob if they hadn't. He heard the sounds of a scuffle behind him as the female attacked Sailor Shadow and he worried about her fighting with her injury. He fought against the urge to turn around and check on her, knowing that it would mean instant death for him if he took his eyes off of his opponent. So he stayed focused on winning his fight instead.

Sailor Shadow ignored the burning pain in her side as she ducked and dodged the sword that the guardian kept lunging at her with. She kept jumping back, trying to put enough distance between them that she would have time to get off an energy blast at her attacker, but the female mirrored her every step and didn't give her an inch.

She saw an area that was dark with shadows and began backing toward it, knowing that this was just the advantage she needed to get the drop on this demon woman. As soon as she entered the darkened area she pulled the shadows around her tightly and seemed to disappear. While the guardian stood there in stunned disbelief, she scurried back several feet in the darkness. She called upon the powers of her crystal and shot a blast of blue energy. The female guardian screamed as the power hit her, and then crumbled to dust.

She spun around just in time to see Andrew slip under his attacker's guard and send his blade into its chest. She breathed a short sigh of relief as her eyes darted around, searching for the one that was the biggest threat. But Discord had disappeared.

Then a breath brushed her ear as a voice spoke next to it. "You're not the only one that likes to play in the dark, princess."

She turned with a shriek that was cut short as a skeletal hand closed around her neck with surprising strength and lifted her several inches off the ground. She choked and gasped for breath as she struggled to try and pull the hand free. She heard Andrew cry her name, but with the force almost crushing her windpipe she couldn't answer.

"Stay back! Or I'll snap her like a twig," Discord warned her would be savior. Her vision was beginning to turn black around the edges as she heard him whisper, "I finally have you." And then he placed his other hand against her chest.

She would have screamed if she could. It felt like the blood in her veins had turned to fire and the ripping and tearing sensation in her chest was so great that she almost lost the battle to stay conscious. War was raging inside her body as Discord tried to force her crystal out of her body with his dark energy and the natural protective powers of the crystal fought back.

She knew he had to be feeling almost as much pain as she was, but he held on tenaciously. Even when ribbons of blue energy began to radiate out from her to crackle around him his hold never lessened.

Then there was one final surge of pain as she felt something tear free from her chest. There was a flash of blue light, and the torture was over. The Celestial Crystal was outside of her body, floating just inches away from her. Her fuku faded away to jeans and a t-shirt as Discord finally let her go and she fell to the ground.

"It's mine at last," the evil entity laughed. "After centuries of plotting and planning the Celestial Crystal is mine. Now I hold the power that will allow me to rule the universe, undisputed!"

He used a foot to roll over the woman at his feet as she lay gasping for air. He chuckled as she glared up at him and her breath rasped in her chest. "You're not so high and mighty now, are you? Without your power you are no more than a pathetic human, and you've definitely outlived your usefulness to me. Goodbye."

He was preparing to blast her with dark energy when he was hit with a wave of swirling solar energy. He grabbed at the blue, star shaped crystal, but his fingers only batted at it as he stumbled back and the crystal flew in a high arc toward the side of the bridge.

"No. No. NO!" Jess screamed and shot unsteadily to her feet to lunge after her crystal as it went over the side and began to fall. She leaned over the railing as far as she could and reached for it, but it was to far away.

Discord had chased after the crystal as well, and his body slammed into hers. She flipped over the rail and began the long freefall toward the dark waters below.

* * *

Tuxedo Mask heaved a sigh and once again tried to step around the woman that kept blocking his path no matter which direction he turned. But once more her skeletal body was in his way. "Give it a rest, Beryl. I've told you a hundred times that I'm not interested in you. How many more times do I have to say it before it finally sinks into that thick skull of yours? Now get out of my way! I want to go find Serena."

The red haired witch crossed her arms across her surprisingly ample chest and sneered down her long pointed nose at him. "I asked you a question once, centuries ago, and you never gave me an answer."

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Okay, Beryl! I'll bite! What question do you want answered so badly?"

Satisfaction gleamed in her red-brown eyes at his acquiescence. "Do you remember that day that you came into your room at the palace and I was there waiting for you? You had been out training with your generals and you were glistening with sweat."

He rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Yes I remember. I also remember that I tossed you out on your ass."

She hissed at him. "I wasn't going to bring that small misfortunate event up. I just merely remembered the words I said to you after you yelled at me and called me a whore. I told you that I hoped you weren't still pining over your broken engagement to the moon princess. Of course I didn't know at the time that you had eloped with her. But when you told me to mind my own business I asked you what Serenity had that I didn't. And then you threw me out without answering me."

He removed his mask and pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Fine! You want to know what I see when I look at her? I see someone that actually has a heart. I see a woman that's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Her love and compassion know no boundaries. She would give the shirt off her back to a stranger if they needed it. She has her dreams and ambitions, but she would never step on anyone else in order to achieve them. She is without a doubt the purest person that I have ever met."

"Enough!" Beryl snarled. "All this talk of goodness and light is making me nauseous. So she's a sweet little princess. Who cares? Queens have to be strong and firm or their subjects will walk all over them. She will never be the kind of queen you need to rule at your side. I, on the other hand, am exactly what this planet needs to bring it back to its former glory. Think of the great things you and I could accomplish together, Endymion. We could make the Earth one of the greatest planets in the universe."

He shook his head. "Now I see why Serena always felt a little bit of pity for you. You've thrown away your life for a delusion that will never happen. I think you would have had a happy life if you had left things alone. You were a princess in your own right. Your clan respected and followed you. You were already a powerfully magical being as well. And I truly believe that Talon loved you at one time. You had a lot going in your life, but you threw it away in your insane quest for more power."

"Shut up!" she screamed, shaking with rage. "Don't pretend that you know me, Endymion! I knew from the first moment that I saw you that you were the only one for me. And I will have you no matter what I have to do to get you."

A dark crystal glittered in her hand. "The happiest time in my existence was when I had you all to myself. Sure I had to brainwash you to get you there, but it was worth it. And I'll do it again. I will immobilize you so that you can't fight back and rip that infernal Golden Crystal from your body. Then I will pump so much dark energy into your body that you will know no one but me. And without your precious little Serenity around to break the spell this time, you will be all mine!"

She lunged for him, the paralyzing crystal poised to plunge into whatever part of his body she would be able to reach. Her eyes were wild and crazed and her face was twisted into a grotesque mask of bitterness.

He grabbed her wrist and twisted it, making her drop the crystal, and then bent her arm behind her back. "You know, Beryl, I've never been the type to condone violence against women, but you are seriously beginning to try my patience. This sick obsession you have for me has gone on long enough. I never have been and I never will be yours, so you need to get over it. Now I'm telling you one last time to get the hell out of my way before I drag you off by that Medusa hair of yours and throw you to the sailor scouts. I'm sure you know as well as I do that they would enjoy turning you into confetti."

"Oh, please!" Beryl retorted angrily. "Those little girls do not frighten me! Now let go of me! You're starting to make me mad, and you don't want to see me mad!"

Tuxedo Mask snorted and shoved her away with enough force that she stumbled and fell. "No, Beryl. I'm the one that you don't want to see lose their temper, and you're pushing me dangerously close to my breaking point. You can fall into the deepest pit of hell for all I care. I'm going after my princess."

He stepped around her and walked away; already reaching through the bond he shared with Serena to locate her presence. And then he felt the malicious presence behind him, accompanied by a rush of air, and he spun.

In a flash of golden light he transformed into Prince Endymion, complete in his black and silver armor. In less than a second he had pulled his sword and lunged, and it met with resistance.

"I didn't want it to be like this, Beryl," he said solemnly. "I thought that perhaps there may still be some small spark of humanity left in you that would allow you to let this go. I even foolishly thought that you might be ready to start a new life. Serena would have used the Silver Crystal to purge you of Metallia's evil power. You could have gone back to your people and had a fresh start. Instead you let your greed and obsession rule you."

Beryl looked down in shock at the sword that was buried in her stomach. Black blood flowed around the blade and stained her lips as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. The manic light in her eyes was slowly dying. "Why, Endymion? I would have given you everything. I love you."

His sword made a sickening _shlurp _sound as he pulled it out. She fell back to the ground where she lay as he stood over her. True pain and sadness shown on his face.

He shook his head. "No, Beryl. What you felt for me was never love. I was nothing more than another rung on the ladder of power that you were so desperate to climb up. I am sorry that things have turned out the way they have, but I have to protect my family."

Her eyes fluttered closed and he turned away from the woman that had caused so much misery for him and every person that he held dear to him. His armor faded back into his tuxedo and he slid his mask back into place over his eyes. He honed in on Serena's presence and began following it down the rocky bank of the bay.

He tried contacting her telepathically, but was unable to get in touch with her. The link between them was full of static like a bad cell phone reception. That did little to ease his mind and he picked up his pace, zooming at super human speed toward where he felt a dim speck of her aura.

By his estimation, he had probably gone close to two miles when he rounded a bend and finally saw her. He skidded to a stop. Her golden hair glinted wetly in the night light and she was locked in a tight embrace with…_Queen Serenity?_

He was confused for a moment. He'd thought that the only time that the moon queen could take a physical form was during the phase of the new moon. That was when moon magic was at its strongest. He looked up at the half moon and shrugged. Well whatever had brought about her sudden appearance, he was glad for it. Queen Serenity was a very wise soul and she may have some helpful advice for them.

Then the moonlight glittered off of something and caught his attention. He saw Sailor Moon step back from her former mother with a perplexed smile on her face. The queen smiled back at her and moved a hand from behind her back. He saw then that what had sparkled so brightly was a long spear of crystal.

Adrenaline kicked him back into motion. His feet pounded on the rocks and he yelled, "Serena!" as loud as he could. She spun around to face him just as the queen thrust the spear forward.

"Dare…" was all she got out of her mouth before he barreled into her, covering her body with his. A sharp, stabbing pain hit him in his back and exploded through the left side of his chest less than a millisecond later.

They hit the ground hard and rolled several times before coming to a stop. He landed on top of her and raised his heavy head to look at her blearily. She stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay," he mumbled. And then darkness swallowed him.

* * *

Tears streaked Sailor Pluto's face as she slowly reached toward the time mirror to trace the tears that were streaming down her princess's face as she held her severely injured prince's head on her lap.

"I know it seems like history is repeating itself, Serenity," the scout of time murmured. "But I promise you that this time will be different. You will not lose your prince. You two have too much ahead of you for your lives to end now."

An arm settled around her shoulders and she turned to look at her grandfather. The tall, dark green haired god gave her a small, commiserating smile. "I know this is hard to watch, Junebug. But ensuring that Endymion arrived in time to save her was the only way to keep Serenity from dying."

Pluto swiped at her cheeks. "I know. I just hate seeing either one of them in pain. They've been through so much already and they have more challenges that they will face in their future if they make it through this."

Chronos patted her gently. "They'll be fine. The earth prince will be hale and hearty in no time." He slid a glance toward the three people crowded around the other side of the mirror. "At least he will be once the Three Stooges decide to get their asses in gear."

Gaia looked over her shoulder at him and stuck her tongue out. "I know you're not particularly known for your patience, Chronos. But could you at least try this once to control your impulsive nature? The time is almost right for us to act."

Selene wrung her hands worriedly. "Do we really have to let them fight between themselves? I hate to think of those two sweet boys knocking each other around like punching bags. It's absolutely terrible."

Apollo snorted. "They're not really going to hurt each other all that much. But they need this wake up call to stop taking one another for granted and realize how much they mean to each other. It will make for a strong bond between them. One that even Discord won't be able to shatter. Need I remind you of the uncertainties that that monster was able to implant in Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward when they faced him?"

The silver haired goddess shook her head. "No. I remember clearly. You're right, Apollo."

"I just wish they'd hurry up and get on with it!" Gaia grumbled. "This suspense is killing me."

Chronos nudged Pluto and whispered loudly, "And she is the one who was preaching to me about patience just a few moments ago."

Gaia twirled around in a swirl of long mahogany hair and put her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to deliver what was sure to be a scathing comeback, but she was interrupted as the large double doors to Chronos's chamber flew open with a bang.

Every person the room fell still and silent as the new arrival walked in. He was tall, standing close to seven feet, with long silvery-white hair that fell to just below his shoulders. His skin was bronzed as if he had been sunbathing on a beach, and it contrasted sharply with his fair hair and extremely light blue eyes. He appeared to be no older than his early thirties and was dressed in a pair of black leather pants with a flowing white tunic.

His almost colorless eyes flicked over every occupant of the room before he spoke. "So, I see my suspicions have been proven correct. There has been something going on behind my back."

Chronos swallowed hard. "Zeus…I…"

The king of the gods raised a silencing hand. "Easy, brother. I didn't come here to condemn you. Despite my hardass reputation you should know by now that I'm not a complete bastard. I'm actually very thankful that you lot have tried to take care of this problem without bothering me with it. I've had to put up with so much whining and crying from the rest of the court lately that I've come severely close to gouging out my own eardrums with a red hot poker just so I don't have to listen to any more of it."

He turned a hard stare on Sailor Pluto. "So, young Setsuna. Discord took over the time gate and the timeline spun out of control, huh?"

She bowed her head meekly. "Yes, your majesty. It's all my fault."

"No, Setsuna," Chronos interjected. "It's not all your fault. Zeus, she was simply trying to preserve the timeline the way it should be. But Discord made some unexpected moves and created an alternate future. We have been trying to fix the glitch and set things back on track."

Zeus nodded slowly. "And are things going the way you had hoped?"

Chronos spared a glance to the mirror where it showed three teens scurrying across the rooftops of Tokyo. "We believe so. We should be finding out in the next few minutes."

Zeus grinned and sat down in a chair before propping his feet up on the table. "Excellent! I could use a little entertainment. Pour me a glass of wine, brother, and we'll watch and see how your little soap opera plays out."

* * *

Sailor Eclipse jumped blindly from roof to roof. She swiped at her eyes to rid them of the tears that were clouding her vision. Below her in the streets the fight was raging on. She wasn't sure whose area she was in now, but she had seen a flash of light blue light a few moments before and assumed it had come from Sailor Mercury. And considering she was only a few blocks from the hospital it seemed like a safe bet.

She paused for a moment, glancing around anxiously. She knew without a doubt that the angry words that she had tossed out earlier had provoked her brother and boyfriend into the rooftop showdown that she had seen twice now, once in a dream and once when DJ's future self had taken her to see it firsthand. But now that she was up here surrounded by the tall buildings of the city she couldn't figure out which direction to go.

"Where are you guys?" she muttered to herself as she sent out a silent message to them. Just as it had the last twenty times she'd tried in the past few minutes, her plea crashed into what felt like a brick wall and bounced right back at her. It infuriated her that they were both blocking her.

She felt a slight flare of aura off to her left and her head jerked in that direction. Ah ha! It had been very faint, but it definitely been Alex and DJ. She grasped hold of the fading tendrils of aura and quickly wrapped ribbons of her own around it. Light flared to life on the roof of a tall building several blocks away.

She sobbed in relief as fresh tears spilled over. "Gotcha! You two can't hide from me."

She headed in that direction, her heart pounding so hard that it felt like it was about to leap from her chest. She prayed harder than she ever had in her life that she wouldn't be too late.

'_Hold on guys! I'm coming! I'm going to save us all. Alex, I won't let you die!'_

As she ran and leaped things became more familiar to her. Details of the dream she'd had weeks ago the night of the disastrous hospital benefit came rushing back to her in vivid clarity. She was two roofs away from the fight, and she was ready. She took ten running steps and spun without breaking stride and shot a blast of energy at the wolf sentinel that was waiting to ambush her. It howled and crumbled.

She sensed him fall into step beside her and turned her head to grin at him.

"I was going to take care of that for you," he said in a teasing tone.

"I'm sorry. Did I steal your glory?" she quipped back to the future version of her prince.

He smiled his crooked smile. "Nah! The less I have to do, the better. Are you ready for this?" he asked as they jumped to the next roof.

"Oh yeah! I'm ready! Let's do this!" she stated firmly and pushed off from the edge. She flew up through the night sky to the roof of the taller building and landed silently.

The woman standing twenty feet from her spun with a snarl, her swirling eyes snapping with fury. "You! I told you to stay out of this."

"Too bad!" she growled back at her future self. "I told you that I wasn't giving up."

A black blur shot by her and tackled her future self to the ground. The DJ from the future straddled the now screaming woman and held her pinned down. "Go!" he demanded. "You can stop this!"

Galvanized into action she ran toward the far side of the building where the two teenage boys were facing off. They were both looking slightly disheveled from their scuffle so far. Phantom's lip was split and swollen and blood trailed down Phoenix's chin from his busted nose.

Eclipse noticed these tiny details as she ran toward them. She wanted to cry out to them, but knew that they were beyond hearing in their rage. It would just be a waste of her breath.

Phantom wiped his mouth with the back of his hand with a growl. "I've had enough playing around with you. I'm about to knock you on your ass!" He began glowing gold.

"Bring it on!" Phoenix shot back as his red orange power began to surge around him.

Eclipse saw a flicker of movement in the shadows and knew it was the tiger sentinel, crouched down and prepared to spring. Every instinct in her body screamed for her to ignore the cat and stop her brother and boyfriend from fighting, but she fought against it. She knew that if she gave in to that urge that it would mean nothing but death, pain, and misery.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl for her. She saw Phoenix launch a wave of solar flames at the same time a blast of golden light erupted from Phantom's hands. As hard as it was to do, she turned away from them and faced the sentinel that was already soaring through the air toward them.

She panicked for a millisecond, and then felt a peaceful calm fall over her. She raised her hands and then gasped as the largest surge of power she had ever felt without losing her temper flowed through her. She heard the clash of energies behind her as silver exploded all around her. The tiger let out a roar, and then vaporized.

She lurched as the building rocked beneath her and then settled. She sucked in a breath, realizing that she'd done. She'd stopped the death of her brother! She spun around to face the boys, a triumphant smile on her face. Her satisfaction quickly disappeared though when she remembered the next part of her dream.

Her brother was standing near the edge of the roof and she could she the spiderweb of cracks in the concrete under his feet. Even as she watched, the cracks split and grew wider.

"Alex! Move!" she screamed and dashed to his side. She grabbed him by the sleeve of his coat and flung him several feet away where he fell and rolled across the roof. Then she felt the concrete crumble beneath her and she plunged straight down.

Something grabbed her hand, and her momentum halted for the tiniest fraction of a second before she slipped down a few more feet and jolted to a stop. A scream was stuck in her throat as she looked down at the street many stories below her. Her arm twisted painfully as she dangled like a fish on a line. She looked up to see why she had stopped.

Phantom was hanging off the side of the building, holding on to the edge with only one hand while he held onto her with the other. He had obviously jumped after her when she fell.

"DJ!" she gasped. "What were you thinking?"

His face was strained with the effort of holding both of their weights suspended. But he managed a tight smile. "Well now, I couldn't have you up and dying on me, Tinkerbell. You may be a fairy, but I don't think you can fly."

"Kat! DJ!" a voice called from above, and they both looked up to see Phoenix's anxious face looking over the edge at them. "Thank god!" he groaned when he saw them. "Are you both trying to kill me? I about had a stroke when I saw you guys fall."

"Nah! We just thought we'd hang out for a while," Phantom gritted out. "Do you think you could give us a hand?"

It took a couple of minutes of huffing and puffing, but finally Eclipse and Phantom made it back over the edge where they both collapsed, panting for breath. Phoenix stood next to them, shuffling nervously from one foot to the other.

"Are you two sure you're really okay? That was kinda intense," he said hesitantly.

The backlash of everything that had happened in the last several minutes hit Eclipse hard and she climbed unsteadily to her feet. Tears burned her eyes as she stared at both boys with a look that made them uncertain whether they should comfort her or run for their lives.

She reached down and hauled Phantom up by the collar of his tuxedo jacket to stand next to Phoenix. Then she burst into sobs and threw her arms around both of them as they looked at each other questioningly over her head.

"What's gotten into her?" Phoenix muttered.

Phantom shrugged. "I have no idea. Maybe she took a hit to the head that we don't know about."

She reared back to glare them. "You two are the stupidest…the most idiotic…assholes! You don't have a clue what I've been through! I could kill both of you myself! What were you thinking? All of this fighting…it's driving me crazy!" Then she collapsed back against them.

"Definitely a head injury," Phoenix said with a grin.

Phantom grinned back and then sobered. "Thanks for pulling me back up. I figured as mad as you were at me you would have let me fall."

Dark blue eyes flared wide. "Man I'm…I'm sorry. I know that doesn't begin to make up for the way I've been acting the last couple of days. I've felt so weird and out of control. But the moment I saw the two of you go over the edge of the roof it was like a fog had been lifted off of me. Dude, you're my best friend, my brother. I would never want to see you dead. I can't imagine going through life without my partner in crime."

Phantom looked choked up at his impassioned words. He threw an arm around Phoenix's shoulders. "Friends?"

Phoenix's arm returned the gesture. "Best friends!" he corrected.

Eclipse let out a muffled sound that sounded something like a cross between a laugh and a sob and her arms tightened around both of their waists. A few seconds later her head snapped up and her mouth popped open in shock. Without a word she let them go and ran away.

They both followed her until she came to a stop on the other side of the building where she started pacing around like she was looking for something.

"Kat, what are you doing?" Phoenix asked in confusion.

She muttered to herself like she didn't hear him. "Where are they? I left them right here. Where did they go?"

"Where did who go?" Phantom asked as he took her by they shoulders to stop her frantic movements.

She gave him a quick, wild eyed glance and stammered, "Oh…um…it's kinda hard to explain."

"They're no longer here, little one," a soft voice said as a bright light flashed.

Selene, Apollo, and Gaia appeared before them.

Eclipse stepped toward the moon goddess who had spoken. "What do you mean they're no longer here? What happened to them?"

Selene smiled gently. "When you successfully completed your task time reset itself. So now the two that you are looking for have been sent to their proper place and time."

Eclipse sighed in relief. "So it worked? Everything has been set back on the right path?"

"As much as it can be at this moment," Gaia confirmed. "As your dear Sailor Pluto is so fond of saying, the future is never set in stone. But for now time is flowing as it should again."

"Yeah, yeah, la-ti-da!" Apollo grumbled. "Everything is peachy at the moment, but it could all change again in about two minutes if we don't quit all this jabbering. These kids have got work to do."

"Wait a minute. I'm confused," Phantom said bewilderedly. "Have you been keeping something from us, Kat?"

She chewed on her bottom lip. "It's…complicated. I promise I'll tell both you guys about it later. Right now I think we have more serious things to discuss."

Selene clapped her hands. "That's right! The important thing is that you three have finally advanced enough to reach the first level."

"The first level?" Phoenix grouched. "You mean there are levels to this like a game? I thought the whole point of us coming here was for us to try and advance our power so that you would give us the Trinity."

"Cool your jets," Apollo admonished. "You didn't expect us to just come and drop everything in your lap did you? What kind of deities would we be if we just went around giving our power away to every halfway talented kid we found? You three needed time to grow and mature, both individually and as a group. Your powers are already commendable, even without ours, but we had to make sure that the ties between you are as strong as possible. You have proven tonight that you are ready to stand as a united front."

"Hold up a sec," Phantom growled. His analytical mind was racing to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Did you guys have something to do with why Alex has been running around like a rabid ferret on crack the last few days?"

"Oooo! That's my boy!" Gaia cheered. "I've always said that my earthlings could give the Mercurians a run for their money when it comes to intelligence. He hardly took a minute to figure it out." She pointed a finger at Apollo. "You can blame him for it. Selene and I had no idea that he was going to put a rage spell on Alex until he'd already done it."

"You put a rage spell on my brother!" Eclipse shrieked as her temper shot sky high. "Why in the hell did you do that? I thought Discord was screwing with his head or something just to drive us all batty. And now I find out that it was you all along!"

"I had my reasons!" Apollo thundered. "We want to get rid of Discord as much as you do. We would take care of it ourselves, but our hands are tied and you are the next best thing. The first time we attempted this didn't end so well, so we want to be absolutely sure that we have picked the best people for the job this go round. I wanted to be sure that there are no doubts or uncertainties between you. Alex proved that the friendship and trust is there when he threw off that spell on his own. And that was not an easy feat to accomplish."

"Well at least now I know that I wasn't going insane," Phoenix drawled. "I was wondering that there for a while."

There was a flash of pink light as Sailor Pluto appeared. "Are you all going to stand around gossiping all night? In case you've forgotten we have a couple of emergencies that need to be taken care of."

"What kind of emergencies?" Phantom demanded.

Pluto didn't mince words. "Your parents are in danger and that puts the future in peril. You must hurry and help them or the world will be lost. Crystal Tokyo and your very existences are on the line."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sailor Eclipse exclaimed and whirled away.

"Wait!" Selene called after her. "We have something for you first."

Each of the deities stepped forward and gave their chosen one a strip of inch wide black leather that would buckle around their wrists like watches. Phantom's had the symbol of Earth, a white circle with a black dot in the center, on it. Eclipse's bore a silver crescent moon. And phoenix's sported a blazing sun.

"These will allow you to channel our powers," Gaia told them. "The powers of god's can be hard to control. Work with them and learn them. Once you've become comfortable with them you will be ready for the Trinity itself."

"Great! Can we go now? I'm worried about my parents," Phoenix ground out as he, Eclipse, and Phoenix all put on their newest accessory.

Apollo chuckled. "Just close your eyes and think about where you want to go."

All three teens closed their eyes, and a few seconds later they vanished.

* * *

"Darien!" Sailor Moon screamed as she shook the man that was lying on top of her. "Darien! Answer me!"

Then she heard a cackling voice. "So once again the mighty prince throws himself into the path of danger to protect his precious princess. How disgustingly sweet! You would think that he had learned his lesson the first time."

Sailor Moon became aware of a wet warmth that was starting to spread across her chest and hands. She pulled one of the hands that was wedged between their bodies free and saw that the white glove was soaked in blood.

In a panic she shoved her fiancé off of her so that he rolled to his back and scrambled up to kneel beside him. She gasped when she saw the gaping hole in his chest and the amount of blood that was spilling out of it.

She glared up at the woman that was standing several yards away. "What have you done?"

The vision of Queen Serenity smirked. "With all due respect, princess, I was aiming for you. I can't help it if your _one true love_ decided to interfere. Whatever happens to him is his own fault."

Sailor Moon carefully shifted her prince's head to her lap and held him close. She gasped as his transformation faded and he was left in the jeans and button down shirt of his civilian form. She reached out instinctively through their bond and sensed that he was still alive, but his heartbeat was growing fainter with every pulse. She bowed her head as tears sprang to her eyes.

"Poor little Princess Serenity," the fake queen crooned. "Surely by now you realize that history is destined to repeat itself. Will you do what you did before and take your own life, or will you allow me that honor this time?"

Memories of that horrible last day on the moon filled Sailor Moon's head. But through all of the agony that those memories invoked she could pick out the differences. Her prince was not dead yet. He was still clinging tenaciously to life. And their young daughter was not splayed dead across his chest with her blood running out of her tiny body to mix with his in a pool around her. This was different. It had to be. This time they knew they had a future.

She lifted her head to stare defiantly at the woman. "You're Metallia, aren't you?" she asked flatly.

Lavender eyes appraised her begrudgingly. "Very good, Serenity. I never dreamed that you would figure it out so quickly. I was under the impression that your reincarnation was somewhat…dimmer than your past self. Yes, I wanted a human form instead of existing as mere vapor. And Discord was kind enough to manufacture this body for me. I couldn't think of a better form to take than that of my greatest enemy. It's not quite as good as the original, but as long as I keep my energy intake high it serves its purpose. Once Discord has the Celestial Crystal in his hands he'll be able to resurrect Queen Serenity's real body for me. That will be nice."

Sailor Moon leaned her cheek down to Darien's silky hair. "You're sick!" she grated out in a harsh whisper. "Discord will never get his hands on that crystal and I will never let you defile my mother's body by taking control of it."

Metallia shrugged elegantly. "We shall see. Our plan seems to be working out well so far. You didn't think that this was a random attack, did you? There was a method to our madness. We wanted your forces spread as thin as possible so that we could employ our triple threat."

"Triple threat?" Sailor Moon murmured uncertainly.

Metallia tossed back her head and laughed. The demonic sound seemed very strange coming from such a beautiful person. "Of course, dear Serenity. We are taking out every threat to us at once. Beryl and I are to take care of you and Endymion. Of course it looks like she failed on her end, foolish woman!" She waved a careless hand in the direction of the bridge. "Discord said that he would deal personally with the little mutant half breed and her solarian lover. And he sent his most skilled assassin to eliminate the Trinity bearers. Although her role is minor since one of the little brats will cease to exist the moment the prince dies."

"I wouldn't bet money on that if I were you," a voice said as there was a soft flash of gold and a new figure appeared. The newcomer stared at his hands for a moment and whispered, "I teleported! Cool!"

Sailor Moon felt dizzy in relief. "DJ!"

He turned around at the sound of her voice. "Mom! Dad!" He hurried to their side. "What happened to dad?"

"She happened," she forced out through clenched teeth. "That evil bitch stabbed him while he was trying to protect me."

DJ spared a quick glance up from examining Darien's wound. "Wait a minute! Isn't that…?"

"She's not who she appears to be," Sailor Moon interrupted. "That is merely the form she took in an attempt to deceive me."

Metallia snickered. "And it worked for a little while too."

"Bloodthirsty old bitch!" DJ snarled under his breath. Then he gasped as he felt lightheaded for a moment, almost as if he were going to float away.

Sailor Moon grabbed his hand. "Honey, are you okay? You looked like you were going to disappear on me there for a second." Then she took a closer look at him. "You're not transformed!"

He glanced down at himself. "Hmm…I was before. Maybe it faded when I teleported, or perhaps it happened when I put this on." He held up his wrist.

Sailor Moon stared at the black leather band for a second. "What is that?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Gaia gave it to me. She said that it would help me channel her powers."

She nodded. "It's your powers I need right now, DJ. I need you to heal your dad since he can't do it himself. Can you do that for me?"

He looked down at the injured man. "I sure hope so. I've never tried to heal such a serious injury before. I think his heart has been nicked."

"I have complete faith in you," Sailor Moon told him as she laid Darien gently back on the ground and stood up.

"Where are you going?" DJ demanded.

She gave him a bright smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm just going to take care of a little problem." She cocked her head toward Metallia.

"By yourself?" he asked incredulously.

She giggled. "Well sweetheart, if you would hurry up and get your daddy back on his feet I won't be alone, now will I."

He rolled his eyes, but grinned at her. "Let me see what I can do." He went to work on Darien, his healing golden power flowing from his hands as Sailor Moon turned to face Metallia.

Metallia clucked her tongue. "Honestly, Serenity! You don't seriously mean to face me head on, do you?"

Sailor Moon's firm blue eyes met hers squarely. "I did it once before, and I can do it again. Just remember Metallia; I'm not the same fourteen-year-old girl that defeated you before. My power has grown thanks to the challenges that I have faced over the years."

Metallia smirked. "And I think you will find that I am not exactly as you remember me either, moon princess. Discord not only resurrected my existence, he also granted me a share of his powers as well. So I think I am well prepared to handle you, little girl. You don't even have your scouts here to fall back on for support."

"That's where you are mistaken, Metallia!" a high, clear voice rang out.

DJ's head jerked up and he breathed an audible sigh of relief when he saw Venus and Kunzite coming around an outcropping of rock, both looking a little battered, but otherwise unhurt. He had been torn between healing his father and standing up with his mother. But now that back up had arrived he redoubled his efforts to heal Darien.

Venus went to go join her princess while Kunzite made his way toward his fallen prince. He looked toward the younger prince, who was already sweating and shaking from expending his energy and asked, "How's it going?"

DJ gritted his teeth together to keep them from chattering. "I don't know. The wound was fatal. I've never dealt with anything like this before. He's still breathing, so I guess I'm doing something right."

A large hand reached up and grabbed his and a second later Darien's eyes flew open. "Serena!" he gasped, his eyes darting around.

Kunzite put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down. "She's fine. Now lie still and let DJ finish patching you up."

Darien groaned and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and smiling up at his future son. "Take a break. I think I've got the rest of it from here."

DJ sat back, tired but jubilant, and watched as Darien began glowing with his own energy while Kunzite brought him up to speed. "It looks like Serena and Metallia are going to start tearing into each other at any second. Mina's with her and Raye and Jed are on the way. Lita, Neph, Amy, and Zoi are still tied up with the attacks, as are Amara and Michelle. I figured you didn't want any of the kids involved so I didn't try to contact Hotaru since Rini's with her. Of course it does look like one junior member managed to make it here."

"Oh, yeah," DJ chuckled hesitantly as he put his hand behind his back. "It's kind of a funny story actually."

Darien sat up and reached for his arm. "Let me see that." He took DJ's wrist in his hands and trailed his fingers over the band with the earth symbol on it. He sighed, "You teleported, didn't you?"

"Impossible!" Kunzite scoffed. "No one can teleport alone. It usually takes at least four people to have enough energy to do that without the aid of a portal."

"Not as long as he's wearing this," Darien stated. "It means that he has been chosen by the goddess Gaia to wield her powers. I saw a drawing of it in one of my past father's journals once. He wouldn't say much about it, but he did tell me that much. There were also pictures of two others, one with a moon and one with a sun on them. I assume that Katie and Alex have them."

DJ nodded. "Gaia, Selene, and Apollo came and gave them to us. They said that we would have to learn to use these powers so that we would be able to use the Trinity. It was kind of vague if you ask me."

"Then it sounds like you have some more training to do," Darien said, clasping his shoulder fondly before lurching to his feet. There was a bright flash of white light and he shook his head. "I'll help you as much as I can, but first I need to go keep your mother from overdoing things. Try to stay back and out of the way. You've done enough for one night."

DJ grumbled to himself about being treated like a child, but he did as he was told and retreated back some. However he stayed close enough that he would see the action. He had asked his mother once what she had looked like when she was a princess. Neo Queen Serenity had laughed and told him that she had looked a lot like she did when she was dressed in her official royal attire.

Now DJ could see what she meant. Princess Serenity now stood in front of Metallia. Her long golden hair was done up in the traditional style of the lunarian royal family and her crescent moon birthmark glowed softly on her brow. The white gown she wore was similar to Neo Queen Serenity's, except that it had small capped sleeves and the skirt was flowing and billowy instead of slim and fitted. She held the Silver Crystal before her, cupped lightly between her palms.

A flash of gold heralded the arrival of Prince Endymion as Darien and Kunzite walked toward Serenity and Venus. DJ found this transformation much more fascinating. In his lifetime King Endymion never had to transform. Since being crowned the rulers of Crystal Tokyo both of his parents had retained their ultimate forms. He was used to seeing his father in suits and tuxedos when he was dealing with business and jeans and t-shirts when he was in his down time, so seeing him in full-blown armor was kind of mind blowing.

"Wow!" he whispered in awe as he watched Endymion reach Serenity and draw her back against him. He saw the sheen of tears in Serenity's eyes as she tilted her head back to look up at her prince and smile. Endymion smiled back as he leaned down and brushed a quick kiss over her lips.

There was the sound of running footsteps, and then Mars and Jadeite appeared, closely followed by Jupiter, Nephrite, Mercury, and Zoicite. It seemed that they had all finished with their tasks and hurried to aid their prince and princess.

DJ grinned as he saw the first flicker of fear cross Metallia's face. Oh yeah! This was going to be good. He had been raised on stories of how his parents and their friends had banded together in the past in order to defeat powerful enemies. Now he would get to see it firsthand.

However, a minute later he was highly disappointed. Metallia had put up a resistance to the power of the Silver Crystal, but in the end she hadn't stood a chance. Serenity hadn't even needed the help of the scouts to vaporize the demonic entity.

"Aw man! Is that it?" he complained.

Serenity turned to look at him in confusion. "What do you mean, is that it?"

"Come on!" he drawled. "All my life I've heard these stories about how you guys team up and take out the bad guys. I've had to listen to Rini brag about getting to witness some of it for years. And now I finally thought I was going to get to see all of you break badass on someone and it's all over in less than a minute. One little burst and poof, it's done."

Endymion chuckled. "I think you've let our son down by making it look easy."

Serenity rolled her eyes as she powered back down into Sailor Moon. "Easy! There was nothing easy about it! You try holding on to that crystal and feel it sucking the energy right out of you." Then she spun and poked the now powered down Tuxedo Mask in the shoulder. "And you! What were you thinking? You almost died on me again! What if DJ hadn't been here? You jerk!"

Tuxedo Mask held his hands up. "I'm sorry! But in my defense I did it to save you. That bitch was about to run you through."

Sailor Moon jerked. "Speaking of bitches, I wonder where Beryl is. I figured she'd be hanging around here somewhere."

"Beryl won't be a problem anymore," Tuxedo Mask mumbled softly.

Sailor Moon's eyes widened. "Did you…?"

He nodded. "It was either me or her. She didn't leave me a choice."

Jupiter pounded a fist into her palm. "You mean you didn't even save her for us? Man, DJ's right! What a disappointment! I may as well have just stayed at home and painted my toenails tonight since I've been useless."

Nephrite put an arm around her. "Down, Shocker! You seem to forget the fifty-odd other riff raff we've taken care of tonight."

She snorted in a bored way and crossed her arms with a huff. Mercury shook her head at her as she pulled out her computer and muttered, "It's almost over. My scans show that there are only a few scattered monsters left, and the others are all over them. But there is this one reading that I can't understand."

"Let me take a look," Zoicite said as he leaned over her shoulder. Then his expression turned confused. "What is that? It almost reads like Jess and Andrew, but something's muddling it."

"Oh crap!" Sailor Moon moaned. "I can't believe I forgot! Metallia said something about Discord going after Jess's crystal again."

Mars growled low in her throat. "Where are they? Still on the bridge?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a flash of solar fire from the bridge. And then there was a small speck of blue light plummeting toward the water…followed by a dark shape that looked like a body.

"Momma!" the faint scream was carried to them on the wind.

"Katie!" DJ gasped. He screwed his eyes shut, and a second later he vanished.

"Holy shit! Did he just teleport alone?" Jadeite screeched.

* * *

Two sets of tennis shoes pounded the concrete, one several feet in front of the other.

"Slow down, Kat!" Alex complained. "Not everybody can give a cheetah a run for their money you know!"

She made an irritated sound, but her steps slowed until they were running side by side. "Why do you think we can't transform all of a sudden?"

He shrugged and held his wrist up. "It probably has to do with these. The good thing is that it doesn't seem to be messing with our other powers. We're moving just as fast as we would if we were transformed."

Katie thought about this for a second. "That's true. And the teleporting thing was kind of cool. I just wish that we had landed closer to mom and dad."

Alex snorted on a laugh. "We probably would have if you hadn't been latched onto DJ's aura so tightly."

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that. I just thought that Jess and Drew would be with Serena and Darien by now so I followed him. We blew right by them before I realized it. I guess we could try to teleport again."

He chortled again. "It's probably best not to chance it until we learn how to do it better. We could end up further away by accident. And besides, we're almost there."

"I guess so," she agreed as their feet hit the end of the bridge. She shivered at the irony this bridge, while not the same one that existed in her time, was in the exact same spot where she, along with her family and friends, had confronted Discord on that night months ago when Alex and DJ had saved her from a cold, watery death.

They ran in silence for several seconds, following the path of their parent's auras, and then faltered and stumbled to a halt as the presence of another aura hit them like a slap to the face.

"Who is that?" Alex hissed.

Katie's breath hitched in her throat. Memories of three days and nights, concealed in damp darkness while she suffered in physical pain from the multiple cuts on her body that had crusted over with blood and mental pain as that horrible, sneering voice tore through her mind and made her doubt not only herself, but also every person she had ever cared about hit her hard. And then she had been dragged from her prison and been thrown at Discord's feet like a rag doll. To this day she remembered the roiling, pitch-black aura that had spun around him; the same one that she felt now.

"That bastard!" she spat, and took off running again at her top speed.

"What the hell! Kat!" Alex yelled as he followed her in his slightly slower pace. "What's going on?"

"Discord is here!" she snarled back over her shoulder to him. "He's right on top of mom and dad!"

Their feet kept up a steady rhythm as they ran uphill. The bridge was not flat. It curved in a wide arc over the bay, so they couldn't see what was happening on the other end. A sudden flash of blue light almost brought them up short again, but then spurred them on.

They crested the top of the hill, and then they did grind to a halt. The scene before them was almost incomprehensible.

Andrew stood frozen in what appeared to be shock, he was in his pure solarian form, complete with his full bronze armor and long copper cape with it's dark blue lining. His arms were at his side; one hand holding his sword tightly while the other was clenched into a tight fist.

Approximately twenty yards away, Jess lay at the feet of a dark cloaked and hooded form. A blue, star shaped crystal that they had only heard descriptions of, but had never seen, floated above her and in front of the figure. Then the cloaked person held a hand toward her and dark energy began gathering in his palm.

"No!" Andrew yelled, and shot an attack at him.

Things moved quickly. Discord was caught off guard. He stumbled back a few steps, clawing desperately toward the crystal. His fingers hit it, but he was unable to grasp it. It sailed away toward the side of the bridge.

"No! No! NO!" Jess screamed and jumped up unsteadily. She ran after the crystal, leaning far over the railing to try to grab it as it began the long descent down.

Discord had dashed after the crystal as well. He didn't check his speed as he reached the edge. His body crashed into Jess and she was thrown off balance and flew over the railing. There was nothing now between her and the dark, dangerous waters several hundred yards below her.

"Jess!" Andrew croaked out in a cracking voice.

Katie didn't stop to think. "Momma!" she screamed, running so fast that she was barely a blur. In one fluid movement she slung Discord out of the way and flung her hands out, not even thinking about the fact that she was not transformed.

It didn't matter. The tiny moon on her new bracelet flashed for a moment, and then her silver rope flew from her hands just like it had before and sped over the side and straight down. Barely a second later she was jerked hard as the rope wrapped around Jess and stopped her fall.

"Momma!" she shrieked again in a voice so loud that pain tore through her vocal cords. The weight had pulled her far over the railing, and she was in danger of going over herself.

For one, heart stopping second she felt weightless. She saw her hands flicker and turn translucent before turning solid again. She slipped.

A pair of large hands covered hers, helping her bear the burden. She looked over her shoulder and met a pair of eyes that were so much like hers.

"Daddy," she whispered. "Please don't let me drop momma."

Andrew gave her a smile. One that she had seen on his face thousands of times in her life. And it gave her hope. "Don't worry sweetheart," he said softly. "We'll pull her up together."

She felt a flare of heat behind her and knew that Alex was running interference, trying to keep Discord off of them while they rescued Jess. She felt torn. She knew that saving her mother was the most important thing right now, but the thought of her brother facing that monster alone scared her senseless.

Then she felt the flare of another presence and then a voice asked, "Have you guys got this?"

Her knees almost buckled. DJ had come to help

Andrew nodded. "We're fine. Why don't you cover Alex's back while we pull her up."

Katie and Andrew began the process of hauling up the rope, hand over hand. Katie was grateful for Andrew's strength. This would be almost as hard as trying to push that panther off of herself earlier if she were doing it alone.

After a minute of this, she risked a glace over the edge and almost laughed when she saw Jess grinning up at her from only about ten yards below. Another twenty seconds, and they were pulling her over the railing.

Andrew gathered her up in an intense, but careful embrace. He didn't say a word. He just buried his face in her hair. Katie saw a suspicious shimmer in his eyes and realized that her strong, rock solid father had been shaken to tears.

Jess closed her eyes for a moment and leaned in against his chest. Then she looked to her future daughter and teased, "I didn't know you were training for the rodeo. That was some impressive roping skills."

Katie made a choking sound, not sure whether to laugh or cry. She was about to throw her arms around both of her parents when she saw the blood on Jess's shirt. "You're hurt!"

Before Jess could reply there was a burst of power behind them. They turned in time to see Alex and DJ stumble back and fall to the ground.

Discord stood before them, quivering in outrage while his red eyes flashed furiously under his hood. "You little brats are not going to interfere with my plans! You should be dead by now! Why are you still here? Why won't you just disappear?"

"I've heard enough of this bullshit!" Jess growled. She leaned over the side of the bridge and whispered something in a language that Katie vaguely recognized as being ancient lunarian.

A geyser of water shot up out of the bay and a blue streak flew up to land softly in Jess's palm.

This caught Discord's attention. Those glowing, blood red eyes fixated evilly on her. "So you still defy me, Melody? You must realize by now that it is a lost cause. Now why don't you be a good girl and hand the crystal over to me?"

Jess tossed her head back and laughed as she pressed her hand to her chest. "Why don't you go roast in hell, you bastard! The only way you're getting my crystal is when you pry it from my dead, rotting corpse!" There was a small flash of light as the Celestial Crystal shimmered and then faded into her body.

"That can easily be arranged!" Discord roared and shot a burst of dark energy toward her.

Andrew jerked her behind him and threw up a wall of solar energy in front of them. He waited for the crash of the attack to hit his defense, but it never came.

Three teenagers jumped in between them and the oncoming attack. Just when it seemed that they were going to fall victim to Discord, light flared to life around them, bright silver, gold, and red-orange. There was no explosion as the dark energy bore down on them. The black, crackling power simply dissipated.

A feral hiss tore from Discord. "Nooo! I will be damned if I let those meddlesome gods thwart me again! I will end this before it even begins. You will never make it back through the gates of time. I will destroy your home while you are stuck here and unable to do anything. What good will the Galactic Trinity do if it is trapped a thousand years in the past?"

A portal opened behind him and he stepped through it. Cries of anger came from the three teens and bursts of energy shot from them toward him. But he vanished before any of them could impact him.

"Come back and fight, you bastard!" Katie screamed and then fell to her knees.

DJ and Alex were beside her in a flash, both of them putting their arms around her as she began rocking and moaning, "No…mom…dad…everyone…our home…everything gone!"

Jess slipped out from under Andrew's arm and hurried to the huddled teens. She heard shouts and running footsteps and knew that the cavalry had arrived, but her attention was fixed on her suffering daughter.

She sank down in front of her, wincing at the pain in her side, but she ignored it and put her hand on the light blonde head. "Katie, sweetie."

The girl looked up and she gasped. The normally clear, hazel eyes were shining pure silver and a silver crescent moon glowed softly on her forehead. Okay, that was freaky. A quick glance at Alex showed that his blue eyes were now a bright red-orange and a golden sun was on his brow. DJ was in a similar state, with glowing golden eyes and the symbol of Earth prominent above his eyes.

"Momma!" Katie cried, tears spilling from her silver eyes as she shook the boys off and flung herself at Jess, who bit back a groan of pain and held her future daughter close. Others gathered around them, but Jess closed her eyes and combed her fingers through the tangled blonde ponytail hanging down the younger girl's back.

"What in the hell happened to them?" she heard Jadeite yowl. "I didn't know the circus was in town." He broke off with a whoosh of breath. Someone, probably either Mars or Nephrite, must have elbowed him in the stomach.

"DJ!" Sailor Moon shrieked, and Jess opened eyes just as her friend came down beside her and pulled her dark haired future son into her arms.

An arm settled around her shoulders, and she turned her head to see Andrew on her other side with his free arm around Alex.

Then Sailor Pluto appeared with her usual dramatic puff of smoke and flash of dark pink light. She surveyed the three teens with a rare, wide smile. "Well, well, I admit I had my moments of doubt, but you three managed to pull out a small miracle and send Discord packing for now."

Suddenly all three of them were on their feet, surrounding the time guardian and all speaking at the same time.

"You have to send us home right now!"

"Please, Trista! Everyone's in danger!"

"There has to be some way to get us back through the time gate!"

A throaty laugh rumbled in Pluto's throat. "Calm down! Things are not as serious as you imagine they are. We have time, and you need to use this time wisely. Crystal Tokyo is in no immediate danger. Discord lost most of his forces tonight, and he isn't the type to act alone. He likes to have his pawns to stand between him and his enemies until he has a chance to assess the situation. He will take some time to try and pull himself together."

"Well doesn't that make it the perfect time for us to do something?" DJ insisted urgently.

Pluto shook her head. "You three are not ready yet. You're on the right path, but you still have a little farther to go. But be proud of yourselves, you have him running scared right now. He knows that you now pose a real threat to him. He'll be watching his steps carefully from here on out. So rest easy for now."

Their protests died, and then Katie looked up with a frown. "I have a question." She held up her wrist where the tiny crescent moon on the black band was flashing furiously. "How the hell do I turn this damn thing off? If I look anything like the guys do right now then I'm sure I look just like a circus freak like Jed said."

Laughter rippled through the group at her words and Pluto smiled. "You do look a little out of place here; much like Selene herself in fact. But to return your looks to normal you just need to concentrate on it. Then you will stay that way until the next time you invoke the goddess's power."

Alex cocked his head. "It's that simple?"

Pluto nodded. "It's as easy as that. You three now control the powers of deities. If you wish to return to your usual forms then you will."

The three of them glanced at each other, and then shrugged before screwing their eyes closed tightly. A few seconds later they each flashed with their respective colors and the symbols on their foreheads faded away. When they opened their eyes they were back to normal; two sets of blue, one dark as sapphire and one the color of the summer sky, and a pair of soft, mossy hazel.

Alex looked at his sister and best friend and grinned widely. "You know guys, I think these new powers just might be way cool!"

**A/N **Yay! Another chapter down! Things are starting to come together now. Our treacherous trio is whole again and they are about to embark into a whole new world. Everybody came through the fight alive, although there were a few scares. But seriously, I would never kill off one of my beloved characters. They all have to make it to Crystal Tokyo and they can't do that if they're dead. Discord's running scared, and now he doesn't have Metallia, Beryl, or future Katie to fall back on. But alas, as all evil beings do, he's already plotting his next move. He isn't quite finished yet and he still has a trick or two tucked up his sleeve, or should I say a couple of people. Hmm…I don't dare say any more lest I give away too much for the next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this. Don't forget to drop me a review and let me know. Gotta run! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	22. Birthday Sweetness

**A/N **Yay! Another snow day! I'm getting to where I really like getting out of work because of the weather. I'm not a big fan of the cold, but it gives me an excuse to devote some quality time to my little obsession here. This chapter is very long, probably one of the longest ones I've ever written. I started to split it into two, but then I decided that it would hurt the flow. There's not really any action here, but there is tons of fluff! So if you're not in the mood for sickening sweetness, I would suggest reading this later. This chapter really reads like a collection of drabbles, but it all ties in together. With that being said, I guess I should give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**SailorMoon20114486**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**ashleigh**

**Seredhiel05**

**sabina21**

**SammyAtHome**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**.lyingtonguesareclumsy.**

**YingYing**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Tiny2008**

**Chibi Kitt**

**KageNoNeko**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**anime-lover10**

**S dot Serenity**

**rainbabie**

**ailzzzz**

**Lilcala**

**godsgurl9871**

**Moon's Saviour**

**Luthien Morgon**

Thanks a lot you guys. I write my stories for my own personal gratification, but I love the fact that you seem to enjoy them too! You definitely keep me inspired! Now I'm going to let you get on with it!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 20

Birthday Sweetness

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

The woman lying on the bed blinked her eyes open and sat up slowly as she looked around in confusion. She was in a room that she knew well, but it was also a room that she hadn't seen in fifteen years.

Bright yellow sunlight streamed in through the windows to highlight the room that would be any little girl's paradise. Shelves held enough toys to stock a toy store, a tiny table was set with a miniature tea set, and a massive dollhouse took up one whole corner of the room.

This was the room in the Elysian Golden Palace that had belonged to Princess Melody once upon a time back during the Silver Millennium. It was also the room that Jess, Melody's reincarnation, had passed on to her daughter, two millennia later, for her to stay in during the countless visits the family had there.

Katie slid from the bed, racking her brain as she tried to figure out how in the world she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered was that she had been in the past trying to save her brother from dying. Then they had shown up.

DJ had tackled her to the ground and held her down while her past self had sprinted toward where the two boys were fighting. She had clawed at her prince, screaming and crying as she fought to escape him, desperate to make sure that Alex survived. She had seen her past self jump between the two boys and the charging sentinel, and then light had exploded all around them.

Things went blank after that. Now suddenly she found herself here. What did it mean? Had her past self been successful in stopping the sentinel? Had she failed? Perhaps they had all died and this was just some crazy afterlife that her mind had created.

Then her stomach growled and she giggled, sounding almost hysterical. If she were dead then certainly she wouldn't feel hungry. She also felt an urgent need to visit a bathroom, so she must be alive.

She left the room and crossed the hall to the bathroom. When she finished there she was going to get some answers. Helios or Dawn had to be around here somewhere. They could tell her what was going on.

She took care of business quickly and then washed her hands in the sink. She splashed some cold water on her face to refresh herself and then looked up into the mirror.

A strangled shriek tore from her throat as she staggered back against the wall. The eyes staring at her from her reflection were not the swirling, tri-colored orbs that she had become accustomed to seeing for the last fifteen years, but clear hazel green instead. They were the eyes that she had lost on that fateful night so long ago.

She clamped a hand to her shoulder and then looked down, expecting to see that hideous mark that Discord had branded her with when she sold herself to him, a triangle crossed through with an X. But instead all she saw was lightly tanned, unblemished skin.

Shaken, and more confused than ever, she reached for a towel and patted her face dry before venturing back into the hall. She stood at the top of the stairway, wondering what she was about to descend into. And then, she heard his voice.

"Kat," he said, barely above a whisper.

She clenched her eyes closed tightly out of habit, scared that if she saw him she would feel the overwhelming urge to rip his throat out. "DJ?" she replied brokenly.

Silence reigned for several eternally long seconds. Then she felt his aura, pure and gold, reach out to wrap around her. She gasped and spun around. Her eyes flew open.

And there he was. Standing in the middle of the hall staring at her. His shiny black hair hung down stubbornly over his eyes as always, his soft, beautiful, sky blue eyes.

And she didn't feel the urge to kill him. His mouth quirked up into that crooked grin that had never failed to melt her heart.

"Tinkerbell," he said sardonically.

"DJ!" she screeched and ran to him. She jumped into his waiting arms, wrapping her arms around his neck as she locked her legs around his waist.

He was caught off balance so he stumbled forward until her back was resting against the wall.

"Does this mean that she did it?" she barely breathed. "Does this mean that my past self changed everything?"

He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. He stared into the eyes that he had missed for so long and replied softly, "I don't know. One minute I was with you on that roof, and the next I woke up in my room here. I thought I might be dreaming. But if I am I never want to wake up because I'm never letting you go again."

Then his mouth was on hers, hot and insistent, and she threw herself into the kiss with as much reckless abandon as he did. At least until a door down the hall banged open.

"How the hell is anyone supposed to get any sleep around here with you two causing all that racket?" a male voice yelled.

They both froze, lips still locked, but eyes wide as they stared at each other. There was something familiar about that voice. It was deeper than they remembered, but it was still achingly familiar.

"Of course!" it continued. "I should have known that I'd find you two making out. Sheesh! You guys never change."

Katie tore her mouth from DJ's and turned her head to look at the man that was lounging against a doorframe. He was tall and broad shouldered and looked to be in his mid twenties. He had shaggy, light brown hair and eyes that glittered like sapphires.

The blood drained from her face. "Alex?" she whispered, hardly daring for this to be real.

Tears sparkled in his eyes as he smiled at her. "Hiya, sis! It's been a while."

A sob burst from her as she untangled herself from DJ and flew to her brother. He caught her up effortlessly in his arms and spun her around like he had so many times in the past. Her arms snaked around his neck in a stranglehold of a hug as she cried into his shoulder.

Alex chuckled unsteadily. "Gee, I never thought I'd get such an enthusiastic welcome. Maybe I should die more often."

Katie reared back in his arms and began slapping him on the arm, choking out between hiccups, "Don't you…_hic_…even joke like that…_hic_…Alex, or I'll…_hic_…kill you myself!"

He laughed and folded her into a bear hug. "Okay, okay! Don't blow a gasket, Kat! Damn! I'm only alive for barely twelve hours and I'm already getting death threats."

Then his eyes met those of his best friend over his sister's shoulder and his laughter died. DJ was pale faced and staring at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief burning in his eyes.

He set Katie carefully over to the side and walked slowly toward his friend. When he reached him he stared down at the floor nervously, not sure what to say. The last words they had spoken to each other had been in anger. "DJ…man, I'm…"

His words broke off as he found himself pulled into hug, DJ's hands pounded him on the back in the universal way that men seemed to always use to show affection to one another. He returned the gesture, and when they broke apart they were both grinning goofily.

DJ mock punched him in the shoulder. "I agree with Kat. If you ever do something stupid like die on us again, I'll kill you myself!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Wow! I feel so loved with all of these death threats flying around."

Katie ran up and threw her arms around both of them. "You two are both so stupid!"

"Look who's talking!" Alex scoffed. "Like I don't know what you've been up to. Were you out of your mind? How could you trade yourself to Discord like that?"

"I was out of my mind!" she snapped back angrily. "I was in pain and I panicked. I was confused by everything that had happened so I acted on instinct. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Alex shook his head, but his eyes shown with happiness. "Well, I guess it all worked out in the end."

"Did it?" DJ asked, looking around. "I'm still trying to figure out what we're doing here. If time has changed, shouldn't we have been sent back to our proper time and place?"

"Oh that!" Alex waved his hand dismissively. "I can explain that. I had a nice long talk with Pluto when she brought me here after my life was returned. To make a long story short, we're under house arrest until everything calms down. The way she put it is that while the past has been changed, the alternate timelines haven't completely disappeared yet. It all depends on how things turn out with our past selves. She would have gone into more detail, but with Discord still parking his ass at the time gate it's difficult for her to see everything. But she was afraid that since you two have had so much fun playing around in the past that it would be safer to keep us all here so that we wouldn't be tempted to interfere."

Katie crossed her arms petulantly. "She would! So what are we supposed to do, just sit around and twiddle our thumbs while we wait to see what happens? That sucks! I was hoping to get my shot at Discord now that I don't have to worry about him killing me with just a thought."

"You're still just as bloodthirsty as ever, aren't you?" Alex laughed. "Yeah, I'm afraid we're stuck here for a while. But hey, we can treat it like a vacation. I'm sure you two could use one after all of these years. That was why Helios put you both to sleep as soon as you got here. He said you were suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation and needed the rest."

"And just how long have we been here?" DJ asked him.

"Um," Alex checked his watch. "About twelve hours or so. Of course that's Elysian time. Only a few hours have passed in the outside world."

"I wonder how our past selves are doing now," Katie wondered out loud.

"Pretty good the last time I checked," Alex said. At their wide-eyed looks of shock he hastily continued. "Oh yeah! Did you guys know that Helios has a viewing portal that he can look through to see what's going on in the outside world? He said that we could use it as much as we want since what happens in the past is now our past and it's okay for us to know about it. It's pretty neat, better than watching TV. Our past selves are still in Tokyo for now. They wanted to go running back home after a pretty intense run in with Discord, but everything calmed down for now. You guys should take a peek. It's a riot."

There was a scuffling sound from the doorway behind him, and then a tousled haired blonde woman draped in a men's black button down shirt appeared there. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she mumbled, "Alex…"

"Emma!" Katie and DJ exclaimed together.

Alex turned and swept her into his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'm right here, baby."

"Good," she sighed against his chest. "I got scared for a minute that I only dreamed that you came back."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised her fervently as he held her close.

Then she raised her head to look at their two speechless onlookers with dancing gray eyes. "Well you two certainly look better than I've seen you look in years. It's nice to see you back to normal."

"What in the world are you doing here?" Katie shrieked as she ran over and jerked the woman that was one of her closest friends out of her brother's arms to hug her tightly.

Emma laughed and said mockingly, "Honestly! Love goddess, remember? You didn't really think that my baby could come back to life and I wouldn't feel it, did you? I sensed it the moment his soul sparked. I thought I had finally gone insane when Pluto suddenly appeared and told me to come with her."

Alex chuckled. "Pluto thought I'd might like some company besides you two idiots since we'll be stuck here until time decides which way it wants to go."

A loud grumble had everyone's eyes turning to Katie, who blushed and folded her arms across her stomach. "I guess I'm a little hungry. I don't even remember the last time I ate."

"I believe it," Alex said with a smirk. "You always were skinny, Kat, but now you look like a stick. And I can't believe you cut your hair off!"

"It'll grow back," she grumbled as she fingered the hastily chopped off ends of hair that fell to just below her shoulders. "Thanks for all the compliments, Lex. I don't know how many more I can take. Food hasn't exactly high up on my list of priorities the last fifteen years."

DJ wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side as he kissed the top of her head. "I think you're perfect just the way you are."

"Gag! Mush alert!" Alex groaned. "You two really haven't changed in fifteen years, have you?"

Katie looked up at DJ and grinned when she realized that her brother was right. "Nope! We haven't changed at all. But I may be the next one to die if I don't get some food in me soon. All of this excitement on top of hunger is making me light headed."

"I think we can do something about that," DJ said as he lifted her up into his arms, bridal style.

"DJ, you caveman, put me down!" she squealed. "I can walk, you know."

He just smiled at her. "Not right now you can't. I've waited too long to do this again."

"We'll join you in a little bit," Emma told them as she tugged Alex toward the bedroom. "I'm not exactly dressed for socializing at the moment. Oh, by the way, you two be careful downstairs. Rini's here too."

DJ closed his eyes and groaned. "What is she doing here?"

Emma giggled. "Well considering that she and Helios have been married for fourteen years and she lives here part of the time, it's not that surprising." She pulled Alex into the room and closed the door.

"Right," DJ ground out and then looked down at the woman in his arms. "So are you ready to go down and face the music. You know she's going to go off on us."

"Poor baby. I'll protect you," Katie cooed before she pulled his head down to kiss him.

He pulled back a minute later and shook his head. "If you keep that up the only place I'm going to carry you is straight to my bed."

She batted her lashes and smiled innocently at him. "Honey, if you get me fed and reenergized I'll follow you anywhere."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

'_Are there any T's?'_

'_Yes, one.'_

DJ sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He had spent all of class trying to block out the mental game of hangman that was going on between Katie and Alex, but trying to do that and pay attention to what their Trig teacher was trying to say was becoming nerve racking.

'_Would you two knock it off! I can't concentrate!' _he mentally growled.

The voices in his head abruptly broke off and looked up to see two pairs of eyes, one hazel and one blue, looking guiltily at him.

'_Oops! Sorry!' _they chorused together.

"Well now," Miss Haruna said in a bored tone that clearly stated that she would rather be someplace else. "Let's see if any of you have actually retained any of the information I have given you today. I need someone to come up and work the problem that is on the board."

Alex and Katie, along with a few other students in the class, slumped down in their seats, trying to avoid being detected by her.

It had the opposite effect. Her sharp eyes passed over the wary faces, finally settling on the cringing twins sitting in the back row. She grinned evilly. "Mr. Morgan, why don't you come up and show me what you've learned?"

DJ flinched and Katie almost slapped her hands over her ears as loud, expletive curses began ringing in their heads. Alex got up slowly from his seat and shot his best friend a pleading glance.

DJ sat back and crossed his arms with a smug look. Let the guy sweat it out for minute. He watched as Alex approached the board and stared blankly at it.

'_DJ,' _her voice whimpered in his head. He turned to look at Katie and found her staring at him with a desolate expression. Her lower lip trembled and there were even a few tears in her eyes.

'_Oh, for god's sake…' _he began, and then broke off as her expression became shattered looking. Inwardly he sighed. _'Fine!' _He started mentally walking Alex through the process.

Two minutes later Alex sat the dry erase marker down and turned toward Miss Haruna with a broad grin.

"Correct," she admitted grudgingly. Then she snapped, "I guess it's a good thing that you are such good friends with Mr. Shields. I'm sure he's been tutoring you since I know you rarely ever pay attention to my classes."

Then the bell rang and the classroom exploded with activity as the students began gathering their things to rush from the room.

"Okay, class!" Miss Haruna shouted over the noise. "I know everyone is excited because Spring Break is next week, but we still have one more day of classes to go. So for tonight's homework I want you to do page 348 in the textbook. And it's due tomorrow!"

"Geez, now I see why Serena calls her Dragon Lady," Katie was grumbling to Rini, Skye, and Emma as Alex rejoined them and grabbed his belongings up and stuffed them into his backpack.

Rini nodded jerkily. "Her latest boyfriend must have broken up with her or something. That always sets her off."

Emma eyed the red headed teacher critically as they all filed out of the room. "You may be right, Rini. There is definitely the aura of a broken heart around her, but it isn't too serious. She'll get over it soon."

Alex flung an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "I just wish she had gotten over it before she assigned homework for tonight. We already have that stupid write up we have to do for chemistry. Lit and French better not give us anything. We'll probably be up half the night with just those two assignments since Nebula has been insisting on daily practices."

"I say we poison her tuna and get it over with," Katie growled. "I thought she was bossy before, but now she's turning into a major drill sergeant."

Skye winked flirtatiously at a boy that was eying her before commenting, "She has been working you three really hard for the last few days. Maybe she'll let you slide today if you tell her that you have a lot of homework."

"Not freaking likely!" Alex snorted. "I think she secretly takes pleasure from our pain."

"I don't know," DJ mused. "We may be able to get out of it; especially if we can win Luna over to our side. Nebula usually listens to her."

"I can talk to Artemis for you and get him to talk to Luna," Emma piped up. "He absolutely adores me, so I know he'll do it if I ask."

"Everybody adores you. Don't you know that by now?" Alex drawled and leaned forward to kiss her.

Skye quickly shoved a binder between their faces. "Uh uh! No smoochy-smoochy during school hours. What if a teacher sees you? You'll get both of your asses landed in detention if they do."

"Since when did you become a member of the PDA Squad…?" Rini's voice faded away as Katie stopped at her locker to swap out books.

DJ leaned up against the locker next to her. "How are you feeling?"

She let out a small growl of irritation. "You ask me that at least ten times a day. I feel exactly the same as I felt the last time you asked me and every other time before that. I'm fine! It's been six days since we were attacked on the bluff. I've been a good girl and taking my medicine like I'm supposed to. So if I haven't keeled over by now I don't think I'm going to."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry! I just worry about you. A lot has happened since then with the citywide attack and our little run in with Discord. Now Nebula isn't giving you a moment's peace either and working you just as hard as she is Lex and I. I just want to make sure you're recovering okay."

She pulled her French book out and closed the locker before turning to him and giving him a smile. "I know you worry about me, and it's sweet, but really, I'm okay. I'm just glad that you're not mad at me for keeping things from you before."

All of the teens had missed school on Monday following Sunday night's fight, and they had all gathered together to discuss the events of the night before. Katie had begrudgingly told them about the visitors from the future. They had all been dumbfounded at how close their lives had come to changing drastically. They had still wanted to go home and make sure everything was okay, but Pluto had made it safely through the time plane and back, a pretty easy feat right now she said since Discord was curled up and licking his wounds, and she had brought letters back from all of their parents that assured them that all was well and that they were to stay put until the time was right.

DJ shrugged as they began walking to his locker a short distance away. "I guess I was a little mad at first, but I got over it. Once I thought about it I can see why you kept everything to yourself. I just wish I could have helped you."

A tiny giggle escaped her as she thought about his future self. "In a way you did. He wasn't exactly you, but he wasn't a stranger either. Does that make any sense?"

He twirled the lock on his locker. "I guess so. I think I feel a little jealous though; you running around with an older man and all."

She smacked him playfully on the arm. "I was not running around with him! I can count on one hand the number of times that I saw him and still not use all of the fingers. I'm just glad that I didn't have to deal with my future self much. She was a real piece of work!" She shuddered a little.

He chuckled as he swapped out books. "Well she did seem a little mentally unbalanced the couple of times that I saw her, but she still looked pretty good; a little skinny maybe, but still good. Did I age as well as she did?"

Katie's eyes went wide. "Are you asking me if your future self was good looking?"

He grinned as he closed the locker. "Yeah, I guess I am."

She sighed. "Yes. He was extremely hot…except for the eyes. Those weirded me out."

He leaned in close, pinning her against the lockers. "My eyes don't weird you out, do they?"

She swallowed convulsively as she stared into his soft blue gaze. "No. I love your eyes. I don't mind it so much when they turn gold when we're practicing, but I like them better when they are blue. Those are the eyes I fell in love with."

He reached up and cupped her cheek. "I know what you mean. There's something exotic and almost hypnotizing when yours turn silver, but they're not half as beautiful to me as when they are hazel. I feel like I could drown in them every time I look into them."

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really," he answered softly as he began to lower his head.

"Okay, lovebirds, break it up!" Skye's voice shattered the moment as she appeared beside them. "Honestly! I feel like all I'm doing today is keeping you disgustingly happy couples from making spectacles of yourself. It's a good thing that Helios isn't here posing as a high school student. It would take a crowbar to pry him and Rini apart."

"Hey!" Rini cried indignantly. "Helios and I are not that bad! Plus we like to keep private things private."

Skye rolled her slate blue eyes. "Suuurree you do! Why don't you go tell someone who might actually believe you? I saw you two when he was here the other night. You could barely keep your hands off of one another."

They walked off, still bickering at each other, and Alex and Emma took their place.

"What's got her in such a mood?" Alex grumbled.

Emma sniffed delicately. "She's ticked because she found out that some guy she wanted to ask her to the prom already asked someone else."

"So what?" DJ growled. "Prom is still a couple of weeks away. We may not even still be here then. Besides, why would she want to start seeing someone from this time? It would give a whole new meaning to the term 'long distance relationship' when we go back home."

"Boys!" Emma sighed. "They just don't get anything. It's a woman thing. You wouldn't understand."

"And you girls can be scary sometimes," Alex retorted. "Come on, DJ, let's get to class before we're late."

"Just promise me that you and Kat will pay attention in this class instead of playing games," DJ groaned. "Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on what's being taught with you two jabbering away inside my head?"

Alex snorted. "It's not like you don't already know all this stuff anyway."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Contrary to what you think, I don't know all of it. And even if we aren't still here when graduation time comes we'll still have to face Amy and Zoicite's final exams if we hope to start college in the fall."

They walked away while the two girls followed a little bit behind them.

Emma fanned a folder in front of Katie's face. "Girl, if you could see your face right now! You look hot enough to melt."

Katie slapped her hands to her burning cheeks. "Do I?"

Emma sighed. "Good grief! What did he do to get your temperature up so quickly? I'm telling you, you better hurry up and jump that boy soon before you both spontaneously combust."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Katie grumbled sarcastically as they entered the classroom and slid into their seats just as the bell rang. She ignored the questioning looks she got from her brother and boyfriend and breathed a sigh of relief when neither one of them barraged her with mental queries. She opened her textbook and focused on paying attention to the class. It helped take her mind off of her highly hormonal thoughts.

That class and the Literature class they had next passed swiftly, and then it was lunchtime. The group trooped out to the tree in the courtyard where they preferred to eat on nice days, only to pull up short at the sight of the two people already there.

Something had changed between Jayden and Hannah the night of the fight. Emma and Skye had both told the others that there had been a hair-raising moment when a guardian had gotten the drop on Hannah and was about to kill her. Before they could react Jayden had exploded in fury and had roasted the guardian until it was nothing but ashes. They hadn't fought with each other since then.

Now Jayden was sprawled on his back under the tree with his head resting in Hannah's lap. He was reading a manga while she had her head buried in her history book. The slim fingers of her free hand played gently in his golden curls.

"Great!" Skye groaned. "Now even the younger ones are rubbing their relationship in my face. I can't catch a break no matter what."

Emma patted her shoulder reassuringly. "There, there, everybody has a soul mate out there. But you're not going to find him here. He hasn't been born yet."

The auburn haired girl snorted. "So you keep telling me. But in the two years since you said that you figured out who mine was you have yet to tell me who it is."

Emma shook her head. "You know I can't do that. You two have to figure it out on your own."

Skye sighed in defeat. "Well at least tell me that he's strong and good looking. I don't want to get stuck with some slouch."

Emma thought of the young man with the dark flashing eyes and hair the color of dark chocolate that she had sensed had a bond with her friend and grinned. "I don't think you'll be disappointed at all."

"Well, I guess that's something," Skye grumbled as she hefted the bag of food she carried. "My time will come, I suppose. I just wish that it would hurry up and get here. At the rate it's going we're going to get home and find out that Nick and Ryssa are a couple now too."

They had gotten close enough to the couple under the tree that Jayden heard her last words and he sat up in a rush. His eyes flashed furiously. "Did you just say that your brother is chasing after my little sister?"

Everyone dissolved into laughter.

* * *

Serena waved at the little girl as she left, holding her mother's hand, and sighed deeply. It was Friday afternoon and the last of her students had gone home for the day. She thought about what she would do with her evening now that she was free as she gathered her purse and told the two teachers that were still at the preschool goodnight.

Darien probably wouldn't be home from the hospital for hours. Fridays always seemed to be tricky for him. He saw his private patients in the morning and then worked in the ER in the afternoon. And it never failed on Fridays that just as he was about to go off duty that the ER would explode with activity and he would be stuck there hours later than he intended. But that was the life of a doctor.

Jess had a late afternoon class on Fridays and usually went to meet up with Andrew afterward at his office so that they could go grab dinner somewhere. She had an open invitation to join them, but she didn't feel like being the third wheel.

She was sure that the kids were all busy. Rini usually had plans with Helios or Hotaru, and Nebula had kept DJ, Katie, and Alex busy all week with training exercises, with the exception being last night when they had begged for a night off to do homework. Since the feline was the only one that had been around when the original Trinity holders had used it, she'd been the obvious choice for the job, much to the teen's dismay. Serena was pretty sure that the cat would keep them busy tonight since they were now officially on Spring Break.

"Looks like it's just me, a pint of triple chocolate chunk ice cream, and the TV tonight," she grumbled as she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Then she saw him. He was on the curb, leaning up against the blue motorcycle. His jet black hair glinted softly in the dying rays of the sun and her eyes drank in the sight of his athletically built body dressed in faded jeans and a black t-shirt.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him in surprise.

Darien pushed away from the bike and walked toward her with the grace of a stalking predator. "The hospital was quiet for once. So I figured I'd get while the getting was good and see if perhaps my princess would care to accompany me to get some dinner and perhaps catch a movie."

Her heart leaped in her chest as he came to a stop in front of her and the light breeze blew his unique scent toward her. She inhaled deeply, breathing it in. She smelled the crisp, clean scent of his favorite shampoo and soap. And underlying that, as always, was the lingering hint of roses, chocolate, and fresh brewed coffee.

It was an intoxicating mixture, but she shook it off to smile impishly at him. "And what if I already had plans for the night?"

He took another step toward her, making her have to crane her head back to look at him. At the age of sixteen she had begrudgingly reconciled herself to the fact that she was never going to grow any taller that the 5'4" that she had been stuck at for at least two years. She had been the petite one in the group for so long that she didn't care anymore. But a late growth spurt in high school had pushed her up to 5'7" and she had been thrilled. She was still shorter than Lita and Jess's 5'11" and Raye and Mina's 5'9", but she had surpassed Amy by one inch. In any case, she was still seven inches shorter than her 6'2" fiancé, and she felt dwarfed by him when he stood so close to her.

Midnight blue eyes twinkled down at her teasingly. "Well if you really don't want to break your date with Ben & Jerry tonight, I suppose I could take a rain check. I'll just head out on my own I guess. There's this little Italian place that one of the radiologists was telling me about and he said that they do brick oven pizzas that are to die for."

Serena grimaced as she felt her stomach rumble in response to his words. The smirk that appeared on his face let her know that he heard it. She glowered up at him. "You don't play fair! Some gallant prince you are!"

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "All's fair in love and war. I'm just strategic enough to exploit my enemy's weakness. So what do say, my little moon princess? Would you care to join me for a quiet dinner full of sinfully delicious food? I'll let you pick the movie afterward. I don't even care if it's one of those sappy chick flicks. Just spending time with you is enough."

A faint blush colored her cheeks, but her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. "I guess it has been a while since we've had a date with just the two of us. Very well, your highness, I accept."

He took her hand and led her to the motorcycle where he handed her a helmet. As she was putting it on she told him, "It's been a long time since we've ridden on this thing. It seems like ever since DJ showed up he's been using it. I hope he didn't have plans for tonight."

"I seriously doubt it," Darien snorted. "I passed the kids on the way out of the apartment, and they were not a happy bunch. It seems that they had quite a showdown with Nebula about how much of their vacation is going to be dedicated to training. She wanted a solid twelve hours a day out of them, but they threw back their heads and howled. They told her that they would devote the time that they normally would to school to training, but that was it."

"Good for them!" Serena cheered. "I know their training is important, but they need some free time too. They're only teenagers after all. Even Luna gave the girls and me some time off back in the beginning when we were first learning everything."

"I think they'll get their way," he replied with a chuckle as he got on the bike and pulled her on behind him. "From what I understand the twins threatened to sic Jess on Nebula if she didn't compromise with them."

She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his back. "That would do it. I'm sure they're coming along fine with their training anyway. But enough about all of that for now. I believe I was promised a date."

He turned his head to grin at her before he flipped down the face shield of his helmet. "Hold on tight." The bike roared to life and they shot off down the street.

* * *

Deep in an isolated corner of the time plane Discord sat, unblinking and unmoving. The handful of guardians and sentinels he had left at his command moved around carefully, scared that if they made a noise or any sudden moves that they would be vaporized the way their brethren had.

The ancient entity was beyond anger, beyond rage. There were no words to describe the way he was feeling. His plan had been perfect; attack several points in Tokyo of the past and force Serenity and Endymion's group to separate and target the moon princess, her prince, Melody, her solarian, and those three brats and take them out. It should have been simple.

But something had gone wrong. Instead of being caught by surprise his enemies had been ready for him, causing him to have to exhaust more of his resources than he had wanted to. And in the end it had spelled disaster for him. His army was severely depleted. Metallia had gotten herself killed. Eclipse was no longer under his control. The Celestial Crystal had literally slipped right through his fingers, and worst of all, those three little bastards were now a bigger threat than ever. He needed to find a way to take out at least one of them before they actually figured out what they were supposed to do with their newfound power.

With a feral snarl that sent his subordinates cowering away, he pushed himself to his feet and stalked back toward the time gate. Another growl ripped from his chest as he approached it and he sensed that Sailor Pluto had passed through recently. He had upped the protection around the gate in hopes of preventing the Trinity holders and their rag tag bunch from returning to Crystal Tokyo, but Sailor Pluto was the guardian of time and knew all of the secret backdoors that she could slip through. The good news was that she could only travel like that with a few people at a time, so it would be impossible for her to transport all of the teens back at once, but he was furious with himself for losing focus long enough to allow her to get by him without him noticing. He needed to pull himself together.

The guardians and sentinels that he had stationed around the gate did not quiver in fear the way the others had as he approached the time gate, but they all bowed respectfully. These were his pride and joy, his elite warriors that he had spent well over a decade carefully cultivating. He had engineered them with only the highest quality genetics and had created them using the strongest energy he had been able to acquire. He had been well pleased with the test run and how easily one of his pets had taken down the earth and moon Trinity bearers. It had been a shame to lose it in the fight.

But he had been smart enough to keep the rest of his little army a secret from Metallia, Beryl, and Eclipse. These beings weren't meant to wreck havoc in the past. They only had one purpose, and that was to conquer Crystal Tokyo. But before they could do that he knew he had to make sure that there was no chance of the Galactic Trinity being used against him.

He looked into the river of time and scowled as a vision of Crystal Tokyo appeared. The tall, shining palace stood at the center while the pristine city spread out around it. He hated everything it stood for, the light, the happiness; but most of all he hated the symbol of power that it was. Earth had been the only planet that he'd ever had trouble destroying. Every other planet that he'd ever set his sights on had fallen easily to his destruction, but not this swirling blue and green world. And now Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion sat inside their crystal fortress surrounded by their own little army of friends. He wanted them all dead.

The vision twisted and morphed, showing him another scene. His rage flamed higher for a moment as he took in the two people that he could see sitting on a stretch of emerald grass by a lake in Crystal Tokyo's largest part.

Then his anger melted away as a grin unfurled across his face. "Well, well," he mused with a low chuckle. "I guess when one plan fails it's always best to go back and start over from the beginning."

* * *

Jess groaned. Something was tickling her neck and dragging her from sleep, and she wasn't ready to wake up yet. Without opening her eyes she reached for the covers and pulled them over her head. She heard a laugh and then felt a whoosh of air as the sheet and blanket were whipped off of her.

Then a warm breath brushed her ear. "Happy Birthday to you," a teasing voice sang lightly.

She moaned and rolled over onto her stomach to bury her face into the pillow. "Nooo! It's not my birthday! I refuse to acknowledge it!"

Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a firm body. "Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but it is most definitely April 14th. It's not so bad being twenty, is it?"

She lifted her face from the pillow to glare at Andrew. "I couldn't give a damn about turning twenty! That doesn't bother me. Serena is my only concern. She always makes such a big deal over stuff like this. I swear if she springs another surprise party on me like she did last year I'll strangle her with her own hair!"

He chuckled and rolled to his back, dragging her with him so that she was draped across his chest. "She does seem to take things like birthdays seriously, doesn't she? But don't worry about it, I had a nice little talk with her and she promised not to go over the top this time. I think her mind ran away with her last year because it was your first birthday with us. She promised that there wouldn't be any dramatics tonight. Raye is closing off the upstairs of the club for us and Lita is making you a cake. That's pretty much the extent of it. Darien helped back me up on this, so there shouldn't be any surprises."

"Good!" she sighed as she laid her head on his chest. "I hate surprises and I get really uncomfortable when people make a fuss over me."

"Hmm…" Andrew mused. "I can think of one surprise that you didn't have a problem with." His fingers toyed with the silver, gold, and sapphire ring on her left hand.

She tilted her head to look up at him. "That was different. A woman expects to be surprised when she's being proposed to. I wouldn't change a single thing about that moment."

"Except for the fact that we were both freezing to death at the time," he replied with a laugh.

"No," Jess insisted. "As much as I hate cold weather, I wouldn't trade your winter wonderland proposal for all the money in the world. It was perfect."

His hazel eyes twinkled at her. "So I did good, huh?"

She scooted up and kissed his lips gently. "You did great."

He put a hand around her neck and pulled her down for a longer, lingering kiss. "I love you," he murmured several seconds later when their lips parted.

"I love you too," she sighed back, sounding a little dazed. Then she grinned impishly. "In fact, I was thinking of maybe turning the tables on dear Serena and popping a surprise of my own tonight."

"Ooo…you're so cute when you're being devious!" Andrew said with a grin. "What did you have in mind?"

She moved her lips to his ear where she whispered softly to him. He pulled back sharply at her words to stare at her with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a voice that cracked with emotion.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm positive."

Joy spread across his face before he let out a whoop of glee and sat up swiftly. He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly. "Are you really serious?"

She took his face between her palms. "I'm really, _really_, serious."

"Oh man! My mom is going to freak!" he crowed.

"Just wait until after the party to tell her," Jess cautioned. "If you tell her, she'll tell Serena's mom, and then she'll tell Serena and it will kill the surprise. I know you have a tendency to blurt everything out, but please wait until tonight. Then you can scream it from the rooftops if you want to."

"My lips are sealed," he promised her fervently and then swooped down to kiss her thoroughly.

"Knock, knock!" a duo of voices called from the other side of the closed bedroom door. "Is it safe to come in?"

Jess pulled away from the kiss with a giggle. "Yes, you two. Everybody's decent."

"Thank god," Katie muttered as she pushed the door open. "I never know what to expect with you guys."

Beside her Alex snickered. "Yeah, it's amazing that we grew up to be as well rounded as we are considering we were raised by you."

Jess stuck her tongue out at them before bursting into laughter that the rest of them quickly joined in with.

"Happy Birthday!" Katie squealed and then bounced onto the bed to give her future mother a hug.

Alex followed at a more sedate pace and sat on the edge of the mattress. He handed Jess a small, rectangular, gift wrapped package.

Jess felt tears prick her eyes. "You guys didn't have to get me anything," she protested.

Katie waved her off. "It's nothing big. Just a little something that we wanted you to have."

Jess carefully removed the wrapping paper and then gasped at what she found inside. It was a candid picture that someone must have shot of the four of them at the arcade. In it they were all laughing together and seemed to be having a great time. It was in a beautiful light wood frame that had vines and flowers burned into the wood.

"We just wanted you to have something that you could look back on and remember us once we're gone," Alex said quietly.

"Yeah, you know, until we actually show up when we're supposed to," Katie added with a shaky laugh. "There's more to it. Open up the back of the frame."

Jess flipped it over and undid the tiny clasps with trembling fingers. When it opened she found a second photo. This one was of just the twins in their transformed states. They stood back to back; Alex in his long black coat and sunglasses and Katie in her black skirted, silver bowed fuku. They were both looking at the camera with confident smiles on their bright faces.

Katie cleared her throat. "We knew you couldn't display a picture of us transformed so we hid it in there."

"Emma took the other picture a couple of weeks ago and gave it to me," Alex told her. "We thought you might like it."

"I love it!" Jess squealed and pounced on both of them to give them hugs.

"All right, all right! Enough with the drama fest!" Katie cried a minute later and wrestled herself free. "I have to go finish up breakfast."

"You're cooking?" Jess asked, astounded.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Unlike some people around here I know my way around the kitchen. I am half Furuhata after all."

"And all smartass," Alex muttered, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

"Just for that, you don't get any!" Katie snapped.

Alex turned puppy dog eyes on her. "But…but…you're making Belgian waffles and…"

"Those are my favorite!" he finished together with Jess and they laughed.

"Sweet!" Andrew crowed. "Are you using my recipe?"

"Duh!" Katie drawled. "Is there any other way to make them? Give me some credit here. I haven't spent my whole life watching you in the kitchen and not picked up on things. Besides, I think it's like genetic or something."

"At least something besides my eyes was passed on. I was seriously beginning to wonder if I contributed anything to the gene pool," Andrew mumbled.

"Oh puh-lease!" Jess snorted. "I know Katie takes a lot after me, bless her heart, but Alex is so much like you that it's not even funny. With the exception of his little temper tantrum last week, he's content to sit back and play peacekeeper just like you."

He chuckled. "I guess you're right. So, Birthday Girl, what do you want to do today? The sky's the limit."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

The strawberry blonde haired girl sighed and pushed a stray curl behind her ear. She turned an exasperated look on the black haired boy beside her. "Do you have to hum so loudly?"

Jack looked up at Sasha and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just going over this song. There are some lines that I just can't seem to get to sound right. What are you so high strung about? It's a beautiful day out."

She frowned at the pad in front of her. "I was trying out that new shading technique that Jess showed me, but it's not coming out like I thought it would."

Jack sat up from where he had been lying on his back on the grass and looked over her shoulder at a drawing of the lake in front of them. "It looks good to me. Besides, you can't expect to be perfect at it right away. It takes practice."

A brow arched over one of Sasha's jade green eyes. "Like you don't get frustrated when you're learning a new piece of music. Need I remind you of some of the temper tantrums I've witnessed over the years when you can't untangle your fingers and you key a sharp rather than a flat?"

He tugged a strawberry curl. "Hey! I don't throw temper tantrums! I simply voice my displeasure."

She giggled and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I didn't mean to bruise your manly ego."

He smirked at her before attacking her ribs with tickles, sending her falling over backwards as she shrieked with laughter. He followed her down.

The almost two months since they had arrived on the doorstep of the Crystal Palace had passed quickly. It had taken some time to break through the ice with the king, queen, and their friends, but things had finally settled down into a routine. They had spilled everything they knew about Discord and tried to be as much help as they possibly could. In time Michelle had offered to begin instructing Jack on the piano again and Sasha, who had always been fascinated by fashion, had struck up a friendship with Mina. Drawing was also a hobby of hers and that had broken down the final wall between her and Jess.

They were still living in the palace, but were kept under surveillance. They knew that it was to make sure that they weren't there to double cross them, but Neo Queen Serenity also insisted that it was to keep them safe in case Discord decided to take revenge on them for leaving him. Even now while they were enjoying an afternoon in the park, they could sense the eyes of their assigned guards watching them.

Jack finished his assault and rolled onto his back again. "Hey, Sasha, are you still glad that we came here?"

She turned onto her side and propped her head on a hand. "Yes. For the first time, I feel like we are getting a chance to live regular lives."

That was certainly true enough. Their early childhood had been anything but idyllic since they had spent most of the time hiding from their drunk and often high mothers. And after the two women had dumped their kids on the side of the road that led to Crystal Tokyo and Discord had found them their lives had revolved around him. Now they were free to pursue their own interests. They had both been tested by Amy and Zoicite and had qualified for college. Depending on how things turned out with Discord, they were planning on getting an apartment in the city and starting classes at Crystal Tokyo University in the fall.

Wanting to put some closure to their past, they had gone to King Endymion one night and had asked him if there was a way that they could find out what happened to their mothers. Endymion had agreed to help them and had put Kunzite on the case. Barely two days later the head general had reported back that the two women had died in a fire only two months after leaving Japan for the United States. Not surprisingly, they had been in a run down hotel that had been known for prostitution.

Jack had borne the news stoically, but Sasha had broken down. He'd held her through the night as she cried for the mother that she barely remembered and had feared so much as a young child. During those long, dark hours they had come to realize how deep their emotions for each other went and confessed their love to one another.

So here they were at the threshold of a new life, waiting to see how things would play out. Would they get a happily ever after, or would everything blow up in their faces?

"I wonder what they're doing right now?" Sasha whispered.

Jack looked at her in confusion. "Who?"

"DJ, Katie, and Alex," she answered softly. "They are the ones that Discord was always so afraid of. I heard through the grapevine that DJ and Katie made up after my attempt to break them up. I'm glad. They need to be strong to go up against that monster."

"I'm sure they're doing fine," he replied, and then smirked. "So you're glad that your ex-boyfriend is going out with my ex-girlfriend, huh?"

She slapped playfully at him. "It wasn't like that and you know it! Don't get me wrong, DJ is handsome and all, but he is totally not my type. He's into all of that sciencey stuff that I could never begin to comprehend. I like my guys to be a little looser and artistic. What about you? Do you ever miss Katie?"

"Sometimes," he mumbled, and then quickly backtracked as he saw his girlfriend's eyes flare in anger. "But not like that! I meant purely from a musical point of view. Her ear is ten times more attuned than mine. I bet she could work out the lines in that song that I am having trouble with in about two minutes. But other than that I can only think of her as a friend. She was a nice girl before Discord screwed her up. I think DJ is the only one that can put her back together again and I'm happy for them. Besides, you know you're the only girl for me."

She smiled at him. "Now you're just sweet talking me."

He rolled to face her with a grin. "Yeah, and I can tell it's working." Then he leaned in to kiss her.

Their lips had barely touched when a voice interrupted them. "Oh how sweet! My little protégés have fallen in love with each other. That makes my job easier."

A portal flashed open in front of them and Discord stepped out of it. The couple on the ground jumped up and prepared to run. Quick as a wink, Discord teleported behind Sasha and jerked her against him. A blade of pure dark energy appeared in his hand and he pressed it to her throat.

Shouts went up behind them as Sailor Mars and Jadeite began running toward them from where they had been keeping watch from a distance.

"Stop, or she dies!" Discord bellowed. He sensed several other auras fast approaching and knew that he only had a short time to act before the other scouts and generals would be on top of him. Sailor Mars or Jadeite must have been able to sound an alarm. The two heroes ground to a halt, still several yards from him

He fixed his ruby gaze on Jack. "Now, my boy, you have a decision to make. I need your assistance. Either you choose to help me, or I will kill her right here and leave her corpse for you to cry over. What is it going to be?"

"Don't do it, Jack," Sasha pleaded in a broken voice. "Don't let him control you again."

"She's right," Sailor Mars said softly. "Don't give everything up just when you finally started living. There has to be a way around this."

Jack stared at Sasha and saw the fear in her eyes. He saw the way she trembled in Discord's grip. She flinched a little and a tiny whimper escaped her as the blade nicked her skin and a small trickle of blood ran down her throat. That sealed his decision.

He turned a grim face to Mars. "I'm not going to let him take her from me. My life is nothing without her. If you can get a message to Katie, Alex, and DJ, you better tell them to step up their game."

Then he turned to Discord with fury burning in his brown eyes. "I'll go with you. But you better not hurt one hair on her head."

Discord inclined his head to the portal, and Jack stepped through. He followed a second later, dragging Sasha with him.

"Oh great! Now we are in a world of shit!" Jadeite groaned.

* * *

**_Tokyo - Present Day_**

Mina frowned at the three dresses she had laying across the bed. "Kunzite, which one do you think I ought to wear to Jess's party tonight?"

Across the room the platinum haired man sighed but didn't look up from the papers he was studying. "Wear whichever one you like best, Mina. I know you'll look spectacular just like you always do."

"But I like them all," she grumbled. "The gold one is sophisticated. The orange one is fun. And the black one is sultry. It's too hard to choose."

Kunzite pinched the bridge of his nose and finally turned his attention on her. "Sweetheart, you could wear a potato sack and you would still be the most beautiful woman there. Does it really matter what you're wearing?"

She looked aghast. "Of course it matters! What kind of a silly question is that? This is a momentous occasion."

"Mina," he groaned. "We're just meeting up with friends at the club like we have done a dozen times before. The only difference is that this time a birthday cake will be involved. I don't think Jess or anybody else will care which dress you are wearing. Now I really need to get some work done before we go."

Mina stuck her nose up in the air. "Work, shmork! It's Saturday! You need to loosen up some. I know! I'll try on all three dresses and you can give me your honest opinion." She reached for the belt of her silk robe.

"Mina…" he begged again, but the sound of her name broke off on a groan as the tangerine silk hit the floor. Goddess of love was the wrong name for her. She should be called the goddess of seduction.

"What?" she asked innocently, seeming to be completely oblivious as to what the sight of her in her black lace bra and panty set was doing to him. But the sparkle in her blue eyes said that she knew very much what she was doing.

She pulled the first one on. The slightly metallic gold material shimmered lightly all the way down to her knees. It was form fitting without being tight and had short, capped sleeves.

Kunzite tilted his head slightly. "You look stunning, but I think it might be a little much for a night of dancing."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're right. This is more suited for a business dinner function. I'll just hold onto it. I'm sure you'll have something coming up soon that I can wear it to." She stripped that one off and pulled on the spaghetti strapped dress with a flirty skirt made out of several layers of light chiffon in different shades of orange, ranging from soft melon to the color of the setting sun.

"Better," he conceded. "It definitely suits the occasion more. But before I make my final decision I need to see the last one."

She smiled, clearly enjoying herself as she removed that dress and stepped into the last one. Slowly she walked to him and presented her back. "You'll have to zip me up."

He slid the zipper up and she turned around. He took one look at her in the tight fitting, low cut, short-skirted black dress and pulled her across his lap. "I think we have a winner."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You like this one the best."

His gray eyes heated up as he drank in the sight of her. "I definitely like this one the best. That's why I think you should wear the orange one instead."

A tiny frown of confusion crossed her face. "Why?"

He tapped the tip of her nose. "Because Jadeite is a sucker for long legs, and I'd hate to have to kill one of my closest friends tonight for ogling my fiancée. But you can feel free to wear it for me anytime you want to." Then he pulled her into a long, deep kiss.

She moved back several seconds later and scrambled off his lap with a laugh. "Easy there, general! I thought you said that you have work to do."

He was on his feet in a flash. "What was that you said earlier, work, shmork? I'll take care of it later." And he scooped her up into his arms.

* * *

"If you stick your finger in that bowl I will zap you so hard that your teeth will still be rattling a week from now," Lita growled menacingly.

Nephrite jerk his hand back guiltily and then grinned. "I was just going to test it and make sure it tastes okay."

Her dark green eyes flared. "Are you doubting my cooking abilities?"

"No," he reassured her hastily. "I just thought a second opinion could sometimes be helpful."

She sighed and eyed the bowl of deep red raspberry cake filling. "Fine! You can have one taste. But for god's sake use a spoon and not your fingers. I'll be serving this cake to all of our friends tonight and I'm sure they don't want to share your germs."

Nephrite laughed and walked around the center island of the penthouse's kitchen to get a spoon out of a drawer. He dipped it into the filling and took a taste. His face scrunched up. "It tastes a little bitter. Are you sure you put enough sugar in it?"

"What?" she shrieked and ran to get a spoon of her own. "It better not be bitter! Dark chocolate raspberry is Jess's favorite. I can't mess her cake up. That would be a disaster."

Her hands were shaking so badly that Nephrite took the spoon from her and scooped up some of the sugary berry mix. He held it to her open mouth, but instead of putting the spoon inside her mouth her smeared the filling across her lips and then leaned down to join their mouths, using his tongue to lap up the mess he'd made before letting it sweep inside her mouth where they shared the raspberry flavor.

He finally pulled back and stared down into her dazed eyes. "Nope. I guess it must have been my imagination before. It tastes nice and sweet now."

"Ooo!" Lita fumed. "I should have known that you were up to something! You have a one track mind!"

He snickered. "But you love this one track mind."

"When I'm not busy with something else!" she retorted and turned away from him. She laid the first layer of devil's food cake on a giant cake plate and began spreading dark chocolate frosting over it.

Nephrite came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He propped his chin on her shoulder as he watched her add a layer of the now infamous raspberry filling. She ignored him and reached for the second layer of the cake and repeated the process.

When she finally settled the last layer on top he spoke. "Am I forgiven?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then a soft giggle escaped her. "Of course you're forgiven, you big lummox. Now back off a little so I can get this finished."

He reluctantly released her and moved back to the other side of the island where he perched on a stool and watched while she covered the entire triple layer cake in thick, gooey frosting. When she was done with that she picked up a pastry bag and began decorating it with dark blue flowers. This may have been a painstaking process for some people, but her sure hands made quick work of it. She finished off by writing _Happy Birthday Jess _in swirling letters and declared herself done.

Nephrite clapped his hands. "And another masterpiece is completed. I'm sure Serena will be thrilled. I know it normally would matter what the birthday girl thinks, but chances are that Serena will beat her to the cake by a landslide."

Lita laughed as she untied her apron and hung it on a hook. "I'm sure you're right. That girl is a magnet for sweets. But right now I have a bone to pick with you."

His slate blue eyes were wary as she sauntered over to him. "Oh yeah, what about?" he asked with a gulp as she pressed herself right up to him. He never saw her hand reaching toward the bowl that was still sitting on the counter.

She grinned at him mischievously. "Payback," she said softly and smeared raspberry filling across his lips with her fingers. Then she leaned in to remove it with her mouth.

* * *

Zoicite sighed heavily as he pushed open the door to his office. He was already pulling the stethoscope from around his neck and shrugging out of his lab coat as he entered the room. He had been on duty since the night before and could use a hot shower, some food, and a nap, preferably in that order.

He was hanging his coat on a rack when a cold sensation skittered down his spine, alerting him to the fact that he wasn't alone. He turned his head, and sure enough there was someone sitting at his desk.

Sensible black flats were propped on the corner of the desk and led to slender legs that disappeared under a modest beige skirt. His visitor wore a lightweight, short-sleeved summer sweater in light blue and had her face hidden behind a book.

Then the book lowered a few inches to reveal soft blue eyes. "Well, well, doctor, are you finally getting out of here?"

He walked over and propped his hip on the edge of the desk next to her feet. "If I can manage to get out of here before some other catastrophe happens, I may have a chance. I'm at the point where I'm running on energy vapors. How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Amy replied as she closed the book and set it down. She stood up and walked around behind him where she started massaging his stiff neck and shoulders. "I stopped by to talk to mom for a minute and I figured you would be wrapping up soon, so I decided to wait for you."

He groaned as he felt her cool fingers begin to ease away the tension. He reveled in it for a few minutes before he took one of her hands in his and kissed her fingertips. "Let's make our escape while we can."

She nodded in agreement and put on her jacket before picking up her purse and a sack.

Zoicite bit back a moan as a heavenly scent invaded his nostrils. "That smells delicious."

Amy giggled. "I figured you would be hungry, so I stopped by that little café that we like and picked up some soup and sandwiches to take home."

"You are an angel!" he declared fervently.

"I know," she said with an impish smile on her pixie face and snagged the keys that he held in his hand. "I'll drive. I walked here, so I don't have to worry about my car."

Normally he insisted on driving when it was the two of them, but he was too tired to think at the moment. They made it down the hall and into the elevator without incident. A couple of minutes later they were entering the doctor's parking garage.

Zoicite frowned at the sight of the red BMW parked next to his black Mercedes. "I thought Darien was off today."

"Oh, he is," Amy told him as she hit the button to unlock the doors. "I ran into him earlier and he said that he had a patient that he wanted to check on; a little boy that was in a car wreck with his parents. You know how sensitive he is about cases like that."

"Yeah, I do," he sighed as he opened the passenger door and got inside. "Did everything turn out okay?"

Amy set the bag on the backseat and then slid in behind the wheel before answering. "Yes. They were lucky. The father had some minor head injuries, the mother broke her leg in two places, and the little boy was banged up quite a bit, but their prognosis is good."

"That's good," he murmured and let his head rest against the back of the seat as his eyes closed. He heard the car start, and then felt the gentle motion of movement. He must have dozed off because it seemed like only a few minutes later that Amy was nudging him and saying, "We're home."

He blinked and looked around. Sure enough, they were in the private parking garage that they rented under their building. Amy's light blue Honda Accord was parked next to them. He quickly took stock of the vehicles to see what kind of gauntlet he would have to run to reach the sanctuary of his suite.

Kunzite's black Highlander and Mina's orange Miata were there. That wasn't too bad. Nephrite's black Titan and Lita's green Camry were there as well. That could pose a bit of a problem if he couldn't get by them without them seeing him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jadeite's black, flame emblazoned Ferrari was missing. Raye's fire red 280 Z was still there, but she might be out with Jadeite.

He stumbled from the car and to the elevator with Amy at his side. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, but finally Amy was easing open the door to the penthouse. She looked around quickly, and when she didn't see anyone she whispered to him, "You hurry on up. I want to make sure the soup is still hot and I'll join you soon."

He nodded his thanks and headed up the stairs. Luck stayed with him and he encountered no one. Once inside his suite he went straight into the bathroom where he turned on the shower as hot as he could stand it. It would probably still be cool to some people, be it felt like a sauna to him as he stripped down and stepped inside to let the water beat down on him.

After a few minutes he reached for the soap and quickly finished cleaning up. All he needed now was food and sleep and he would be as good as new. He towel dried his now shoulder length, wheat colored hair and pulled on a pair of cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt before leaving the bathroom.

Amy turned with a smile from where she was setting their lunch out on a table. "You already look a little more human. Now eat up and get some sleep. You don't want to be falling over at Jess's birthday party tonight."

"Yes ma'am," he said humorously and then attacked the food with a vengeance that would have made Serena proud. Within minutes he had devoured the chicken noodle soup and club sandwich and felt full and very sleepy.

"Come on," Amy told him and pulled him by his hand to the bed. She turned back the covers and made him lay down before kicking off her shoes and climbing onto the bed beside him. She stroked his damp hair for a few minutes until his breathing indicated that he was asleep.

Feeling well satisfied with herself, she kissed his forehead gently before she scooted slightly away from him and reached for her laptop that was on the bedside table. Now that she had made sure her man was taken care of she could hopefully get some work done on a paper for class.

* * *

Raye looked up as Jadeite walked into her office behind the bar. "Did that delivery get here okay?"

He nodded as he closed the door. "Yep! Everything's present and accounted for. Amanda and Logan are out there restocking the bar as we speak."

"Thank goodness," she muttered and rubbed her temples. "I was getting worried about not getting that shipment in time. What kind of club would this be if we ran out of booze on a Saturday night?"

"You would have figured something out," Jadeite told her as he walked around behind her and swept her long black hair aside so that he could knead the tight muscles in her neck with his hot hands.

She let out a loud, long moan and leaned into him. "That feels sooo good."

He chuckled and put his lips to her ear. "Careful, Firefly. You keep making noises like that and your employees will think we're up to something besides inventory in here."

Another moan escaped her as he pressed on a particularly tender spot. "I don't care! Don't stop!"

He couldn't help but nip at her earlobe. "You know, you're giving me some pretty vivid images right now."

She tried to snort, but it came out more like a groan. "Leave it to you to find something perverted about a neck rub. Behave yourself!" Then she flinched as he hit a bunch of knotted up muscles. "Oh yeah, right there!"

He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly as dry as the desert. "Raye, you're really not helping matters any."

"Just shut up and rub me!" she snapped, and then let out the loudest moan yet. "Harder, please…harder!"

His self control snapped like a rubber band. He spun her around with one arm and swept her day planner and inventory book from the desk with the other. He only caught a glimpse of her surprised violet eyes before he lifted her onto the desk and plundered her mouth with a kiss so hot that there was probably steam rising from their joined lips.

There was a quick knock on the door and it opened. "Miss Hino, I…" then a startled gasp. "I'm sorry! I…I…"

Raye whipped her head around just in time to see the door closing again behind her female bartender. Then her glittering eyes swung back to Jadeite.

He stepped back and waited for the tongue lashing that he knew he was about to get. But he was surprised when she began giggling. It soon turned to full blown laughter as she lay back on the desk and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Oh my gosh! Did you see the look on her face?" she gasped out, wiping tears from her eyes.

Jadeite shuffled nervously. "You mean you're not going to yell at me about my out of control hormones this time?" he asked hopefully.

She pushed herself up on her elbows and tried to glare at him through her smile. "Normally I would, but I take all the blame this time. I knew I was egging you on and what would happen if I kept it up. You know, you're kinda cute when you go all dominant like that."

A cocky grin appeared on Jadeite's face. "So you goaded me on purpose, huh? Is that your way of saying that you have some fantasies you want to live out in this room?"

She sat all the way up and pushed him lightly away. "Dream on, general!" But a blush crept up her cheeks. "Okay, so you did turn me on a little. But I've also noticed Amanda eying you the last couple of weeks and I wanted to show her that you are completely off limits. She's a good bartender and I'd hate to have to fire her."

Comprehension sparked in his blue eyes. "You were jealous!"

"Maybe just a little," she grumbled as she slid off the desk.

He laughed and pulled her against him. "You don't have to worry, Firefly. I'm all yours and you know it. I'm not saying that I don't like to admire other women from a distance, but what it all boils down to is that you're all the woman I want or need."

Raye smirked up at him. "Slick talk like that just might win you some brownie points with me, general. So what do say? I still need to go home and get ready for tonight's party, and I might need some help getting changed."

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her behind him, growling under his breath, "Let's get out of here before I have second thoughts and decide to put that desk to good use after all."

Raye just laughed and waved at her open mouthed employees. "I'll be back later! Hold the fort for me."

* * *

There was a flash of light in the rose garden of Elysian as Rini appeared. She took a moment to get her bearings and then headed up the path toward the shining golden palace. She reached the large front doors and pushed one open. It swung open easily on silent hinges and she stepped inside. Since she was a regular visitor here and the place practically belonged to her family, she felt no need to knock and announce herself.

She was walking across the grand entry hall when a figure came out of one of the many rooms on the ground floor. The woman pulled up short when she saw the princess.

"Oh, Rini!" Aurora gasped. "You must have been as silent as a church mouse. I didn't hear you arrive."

"Sorry, Dawn. I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized. "I was looking for Helios. Is he upstairs?" That was a stupid thing to ask. She knew he was up in his room because she could sense him. But she was trying to be polite.

"Yes, dear," Aurora told her. "He was going up to get ready for Jessie's party, but that was some time ago now. He should be about ready. You look very nice yourself."

"Do you like it?" Rini squealed as she spun to show off her simple, short sleeved, white cotton dress that buttoned down the front and had different colored wild flowers around the knee length hem. "I brought the dress with me from home, but Mina wanted to try out a new embroidery machine she got so I let her do the stitching."

"It's beautiful," the priestess assured her. "Another one of my babies is growing up. Where does the time go?"

"You're coming to Jess's party tonight too, aren't you?" Rini asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Aurora said with a smile, although there was a suspicious glimmer in her eyes. "It seems like yesterday she was just a little baby in my arms. And now…twenty!" She waved Rini toward the stairs. "You better go up and get Helios. He can be worse than a woman sometimes when it comes to getting ready for something. He'll be up there all night trying to decide what to wear if you don't watch it."

"Okay!" Rini laughed as she darted up the stairs. She passed the second floor and went straight up to the third where Helios has his own set of rooms. She crossed his sitting room to knock lightly on his bedroom door.

It flew open before she'd even lowered her hand to reveal a bare chested Helios dressed in nothing but a pair of white slacks. Rini giggled at the sight of his mussed silvery hair and panicked amber eyes.

"I know, I know! I'm running late," he said quickly when he saw who his visitor was. "I'm having a wardrobe dilemma."

Rini stifled another giggle as she pushed past him and into the bedroom. She never could understand how a man that wore nothing but white and very light pastels could have a problem trying to figure out what to wear, but somehow he did it. He always claimed that was why he preferred his priest robes. That way he didn't have to coordinate anything. But he needed to wear modern clothing tonight.

She dug through the pile of shirts that was on the bed until she found one that she liked. Then she turned and handed it to him. It was a very pale, icy blue that gave his hair just the slightest blue sheen.

"Leave it untucked," she told him as he pulled it on. She went to his closet and dug through it until she found a pair of jeans that she had bought for him in Crystal Tokyo that were a few shades darker than the shirt. She threw them to him and then began rummaging through his shoes. She selected a pair of comfortable, brown, slip on loafers and then turned around.

Helios stood by the bed, jeans riding low on his hips and his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open. A cross little frown was on his face. "Rini, I'm centuries old. I don't need you to dress me."

She sighed and flitted to his side to kiss his cheek. "Sweetie, I'm not dressing you. I'm just trying to speed you up a little so that we're not hours late. Besides, if I were dressing you I would be doing this…" She started fastening the buttons of his shirt.

He smirked at her. "Well this is a change. Usually you're doing the reverse."

She gave him a sultry smile and lean stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips across his ear. "Maybe later," she breathed.

Then she rolled his sleeves back a few times and then messily finger combed his already tousled hair. "There! You're all ready."

He turned to look at his reflection in a mirror. "Are you sure? I feel a little underdressed."

She grinned at him. "I'm positive. You look like a total college guy. This is a group get together at a nightclub, not a black tie ball. Now get your shoes on and let's go."

He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "As you wish, my princess."

* * *

"Whoo hoo! Look at you, Miss Hotpants! You're sizzling tonight!" Amara teased as Hotaru walked into the room.

"Is it too much?" the younger girl asked as she looked down at her short, flouncy black skirt that she had pair with a purple tank top. Over the tank she wore a small, short-sleeved jacket of a darker purple that shimmered with silver sparkles under the light.

"Nah! You look perfect," Amara told her. "Sammy-boy better watch himself tonight. You're a regular dude magnet!"

Hotaru's face flushed dark red. "Please don't embarrass me when he gets here. You are so bad about that."

The tall blonde tried to look indignant. "I would never embarrass you, my little munchkin!" Her navy eyes twinkled.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Hotaru groaned and then jumped as the doorbell rang. She hurried into the entry hall to find Michelle opening the door.

"Good evening, Sammy. My, don't you look dashing tonight," Michelle greeted Serena's younger brother.

"Hi, Michelle. You look nice too," his smooth voice replied.

"Oh, this old thing? I've had it forever," she said, smoothing her hand down her aqua blue dress. "But thank you for the compliment. You are such a gentleman. Are you sure you're related to Serena?"

"Please, god, just kill me now!" Hotaru muttered as she grabbed her purse and almost shoved Michelle out of the doorway. "Hey, Sammy! Let's go!" She practically dragged him off the front porch to his car.

"You two be careful!" Michelle called after them in a sickening sweet voice.

"Yeah!" Amara yelled as she joined Michelle at the door. "And don't worry about rushing her home tonight. Keep her all night if you want to. I remember what it was like to be your age."

Hotaru dove into the passenger side of Sammy's Mitsubishi Lancer and slumped down in the seat. Her face felt like it was on fire. "Just get me out of here," she grumbled as he slid in behind the wheel.

Sammy grinned as he started the car and put it in gear. "At least you don't have a curfew tonight."

"Are you kidding," she growled. "With the way they're acting I may not ever come back at all."

Amara and Michelle watched the car drive away before they burst into laughter. Michelle wiped tears from her eyes before saying, "I feel a little bad about doing that to her. But she's so darn cute when she gets embarrassed."

Amara flung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I know. But if we keep it up we may wake up one night to find her standing over us with her glaive. It would probably take years for anyone to find our bodies with the way her devious little mind works."

"I guess we should start cutting her some slack," Michelle sighed. "If she ends up marrying Sammy that would make her Serena's sister-in-law. That could put her in the perfect position for revenge if she wanted to take it."

"You're right. I guess our little girl has grown up," Amara agreed. "And I'm happy for her. She could do a lot worse than Sammy Tsukino. He seems to be a fairly intelligent kid. He did get one thing right. You do look beautiful tonight."

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them and they looked up to see Trista standing at the top of the stairs. Her garnet eyes were grave.

Amara groaned. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. Break time's over, right?"

The time guardian shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. It may end up being something big, but then again it may turn out to be nothing. But we should be watchful just in case. My garnet orb is having trouble tracking all of the events and possible outcomes. I need to return to Mount Olympus and consult Chronos's time mirror. I will meet up with you later."

She transformed and waved her staff. She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Well that didn't sound good, did it?" Amara muttered.

* * *

"The guest of honor has arrived. I repeat, the guest of honor has arrived," Jayden's voice came clearly through the communicator.

"Stop with the dramatics before I come up there and beat it out of you," Katie growled back. "Can't you just say that my parents are here and leave it at that?"

"Fine!" he grumbled. "Your parents are here. Happy now?"

"That little smartass!" she snarled, curling her fingers around the communicator like she was envisioning it to be the blonde haired boy's head and she was crushing it.

"Easy, Killer!" Alex teased with a laugh as he extracted the communicator from her grip and spoke into it. "Captain Sunburn to Private Campfire, what's the twenty on those targets, over!"

"Oh my god," Katie groaned and buried her face in DJ's shoulder. "I knew all of those video games would fry his brain one of these days."

DJ kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "I guess it would've been easier if we had just gone up on the roof to keep lookout ourselves."

"But that would involve walking, and my screaming muscles prefer to stay still for now," she complained. "Psycho Kitty is going to kill us yet."

DJ pouted just a little. "Does this mean that I don't get to dance with you tonight?"

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Oh, I think I may be able to scrounge up enough energy for a dance or two."

The communicator crackled to life in Alex's hand, cutting off Emma and Skye's laughter at his and Jayden's antics. "Captain Sunburn, this is Private Campfire. The targets are still in the car. I repeat the targets are still in the car." Then he laughed. "Dude! I don't know what they're doing, but it must be pretty steamy. The windows are fogging up."

"Ewww!" both Katie and Alex exclaimed and pushed away from the table they were sitting at. They warily eyed the communicator that Alex had dropped on the tabletop like it was a poisonous snake. At the same time they could hear Hannah shrieking, "Jayden! I can't believe you told them that."

"What's going on?" Serena asked as she appeared beside them.

DJ grinned. "Jess and Andrew are here, but they're taking their sweet time about coming in."

Skye snorted. "Tell it like it is, Tux Boy! They decided they wanted to get frisky in the parking lot."

"Oh god, I'm gonna hurl," Katie moaned and laid her head down on her folded arms.

Alex was in a similar state across the table where Emma was whispering to him and patting him on the back.

"They're coming! Get ready!" Hannah announced as she ran in, dragging Jayden by his collar.

A few minutes later Jess and Andrew appeared at the top of the stairs that led to the loft and everyone cried, "Happy Birthday, Jess!"

Jess seemed genuinely pleased since she had known in advance this time that a party was coming and she hadn't been taken by surprise. She milled through the crowd, which was quite substantial considering that there were about thirty people in attendance, and let herself be hugged numerous times.

When things finally calmed down a little, Lita brought forth the humongous cake that she had made, and Jess blew out all twenty candles in one breath. Then she stood up and pulled Andrew up beside her.

"Okay guys!" she called to make sure she had everyone's attention. "Andrew and I have a pretty big announcement to make."

You would have been able to hear a pin drop if it hadn't been for the pounding music from the club below and the snickering coming from the table full of teens.

"Holy Aphrodite! You're pregnant, aren't you?" a slightly tipsy Mina shrieked.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Mina, why is that always the first thing you assume when somebody says they've got something important to say?" She cut a quick look at Jess. "You're not, are you?"

"What? No!" Jess exclaimed. "If someone could manage to keep Miss Love Potion #9 quiet for a minute I could finish what I was going to say. Now I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've really been debating it since Sunday night. I guess being stabbed, strangled, feeling like your chest has been ripped open, and getting tossed off a bridge has a way of putting things into perspective. So…"

She squeezed Andrew's hand and he squeezed hers back. Then she turned toward Serena and Darien. "I hope you two don't think I'm trying to steal your thunder, but I've decided to go back to my original plan. Andrew and I are going to get married this summer."

Silence swelled for a minute, and then the squealing started.

"That is so amazing!" Serena gushed as she threw her arms around both of them.

Jess hugged her back. "You mean you don't mind? I mean us getting married so close to you. If it bothers you…"

"No, no, no!" Serena interrupted. "It doesn't bother me at all! I'm so excited for you both!"

Andrew chuckled. "Besides, it's not that close anyway. Our date is two and a half months before theirs."

"What is the happy date?" Darien asked as he clapped Andrew on the shoulder.

"July 15th," Jess said softly. "That was my parent's wedding day."

"Ooo, that will be fun!" Serena said. "You know, I was a July bride myself once. But I decided to shake things up a bit and go with September this time around."

"July 15th! That's only three months away!" Mina moaned. "I'll have to work double time in order to have all the dresses made by then. And yours…well thank goodness I still have all of your measurements from making your maid…make that matron of honor dress."

"No!" Jess exclaimed, and then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Mina, but I have my mother's wedding dress, and that's what I want to wear to get married in. I don't want this to be a big flashy occasion. I'd rather keep it small and intimate. You guys are my family now, and that's all I need with me."

That declaration pulled at everyone's heartstrings, and all of the scouts, except for Amara, burst into tears. But even she had a suspicious glimmer in her eyes. All of the men eyed the crying women warily and slowly began backing away from the estrogen fest toward the table of snickering teens.

"Thank goodness she got that situated," Katie was saying. "I couldn't believe it when Jess said something about her and Drew not tying the knot until November. I thought something really messed up had happened with the timeline. But then I remembered one time when my mom told me the story about this party and how she how she changed her mind."

"Yeah, but mom failed to mention that we were here for the momentous occasion," Alex chuckled.

"Well she couldn't exactly tell you at the time that you were going to travel back to this century, could she?" Emma said. "Just like my parents didn't tell me that I would be able to witness my dad acting so uncharacteristic and getting down on one knee in the middle of a crowded restaurant to propose to my mom. I almost had a stroke!"

The eavesdropping men grinned at each other and then burst into laughter when Kunzite leaned down next to Emma's ear without her knowing and said, "Uncharacteristic, was I?"

Emma let out an ear-piercing shriek and jumped about three feet out of her seat. Only Alex's steadying arm kept her from tumbling to the floor. "What the hell, dad! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Kunzite smirked. "First you accuse me of trying to give you a stroke, now a heart attack. Do you have some crazy idea in your head that I'm trying to kill you or something?"

Emma just glared at him with snapping gray eyes. "You are so…weird!"

He looked taken aback. "I am not!"

"Yes you are!" Jadeite and Nephrite chorused together.

"Nobody asked you two!" Kunzite bellowed, which brought Mina flying to his side. The situation was quickly diffused.

People began breaking off into couples and groups, some sitting around talking and some heading downstairs to hit the bar and the dance floor. Jayden and Hannah seethed at being told they had to stay upstairs, but since they weren't at least sixteen the authorities could revoke Raye's license if they were found partying in the club. Jayden moaned over the fact that his fake ID that had allowed him the spend many nights clubbing in Crystal Tokyo was no good in this time.

Serena, Darien, Jess, and Andrew had all gone downstairs along with most of the others. But Amy and Zoicite seemed content to sit around and talk with Lita, Nephrite, Amara, and Michelle. Rini had bailed on the teens a while back, dragging Helios with her, and Skye had taken off as well to go guy hunting.

This left DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma sitting at their table since Hannah and Jayden had gone to stand by the railing to glower at all of the fun that was going on below. Katie had her head resting on DJ's shoulder while Emma bounced in her seat in time to the music.

Alex finally took pity on her. "Come on, Em! Let's go check out the dance floor."

She shook her head in protest. "No! You're tired. I'm content to just listen to the music."

He stood and took her by the hand to pull her up beside him. "Oh, I think I've got a few song's worth in me."

DJ watched them walk away before glancing down at Katie. "Are you game?"

She smiled up at him. "I am if you are. I'm warning you now; if I fall out I'll have to be carried home. But I did promise you a dance."

He grinned and helped her up. "Don't worry, I'll help keep you upright."

"Not if you feel half as drained as you look," she scoffed. "Aren't you tired from all of this training we've been doing?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm bone dead tired. But this is a party and we should take advantage of it."

He led her downstairs and they stepped onto the dance floor just as the music slowed down. Grateful to be spared the fast songs, Katie stepped into his arms and let him wrap them around her waist while hers snaked around his neck

"This is nice," she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah it is," he agreed softly and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. "Just think of how many times we could have done this in the past if both hadn't been so hard headed and fought with each other."

"I don't want to think about that," she told him. "All that matters is that we're together now."

"You're right, we're together now," he breathed against her hair as they swayed to the music.

One slow song melted into another, and they continued to dance. Since they had both grown up in the royal court they were very accomplished dancers, but tonight they didn't do anything fancy. They were just content to hold each other.

The song was coming to an end when she tilted her head up to look at him. He was so captivated by her clear hazel eyes that he dipped his head down and kissed her. She sighed softly into the kiss and allowed her lips to part so that his tongue could tangle with hers. They barely realized when the song ended and the pace picked back up.

"Geez, you two, get a room," Emma's voice broke in on them. "DJ, I would have figured you to be smart enough to not kiss a girl like that when her father is only ten yards away. You're lucky Andrew didn't see you or you would be running for your life right about now."

They broke apart guiltily and looked up to find Emma looking at them in amusement and Alex smirking.

"I…I…I…" Katie stammered.

"I think it's time for us girls to go freshen up." Emma declared and grabbed Katie away from DJ to haul her toward the women's restroom.

"Girls!" Alex snorted. "I don't know why they always have to take someone with them when they go to the restroom."

DJ shrugged. "Beats me! Now they'll probably be in there for at least fifteen minutes."

Alex clapped him on the back. "Well let's head back upstairs and get something to drink. I'm dying of thirst."

* * *

"What were you thinking?" Emma demanded. "I know I told you to jump the boy, but I was thinking something a little less private than a crowded dance floor."

"Shhh!" Katie shushed her and looked around at the handful of women that were milling around and primping in front of the mirrors.

"Please!" Emma exclaimed as she produced a tube of lip-gloss from a hidden pocket and leaned toward the mirror. "I'm sure they all know what sex is."

Katie felt mortified and slid own the wall to sit on the tile floor. She buried her burning face in her hands.

"Don't do that! You'll smudge your make up," Emma chastised as she knelt down next to her friend and pulled her hands away.

"Just stop, Em," Katie groaned. "Don't make such a big deal about. Yes, DJ and I are attracted to each other, but that doesn't mean that anything is going to happen. He is a freaking prince, remember!"

"And your mother is a reincarnated princess!" Emma hissed softly so no one would hear. "Not to mention in his former life your father was technically a minor prince in the royal solar family! So don't start bringing pedigrees into this. I didn't want to tell you this before to keep from complicating things, but you are DJ's soul mate. You two are connected on a very deep level. Maybe even more than your twin bond with Alex."

Katie's head snapped up. "You're shitting me! I'm DJ's soul mate? But we couldn't even stand each other until a few months ago!"

Emma shook her head. "I would never joke with you about this. I can see the bond you share with him as clearly as I can see any other. You guys are meant to be together. Just because you two were too stupid to see it before and fought against it doesn't change that fact!"

"So we have a chance," Katie whispered. "I mean, really have a chance. I thought the connection we shared was only because of the damn Trinity. But we could actually have a shot at our own happily ever after."

Emma smiled. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Now get up off that floor and touch up your lip-gloss. We have a party to get back to."

Katie got up and took the tube from Emma. She studied her reflection closely in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. Hope welled up inside of her. She was going to grab up her prince and hold onto him tightly and never let him go.

"Let's go," she told Emma, and they left the restroom.

The hallway was fairly crowded and they had to walk single file. Emma had pulled ahead of Katie, so she pushed her way through the people to catch up.

Just as she was about to step back into the main part of the club, Katie felt an arm wrap around her waist and she was pulled back into the darkness. A hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her scream and she was pushed against a wall.

A mouth was near her ear and a hot breath whooshed past it as a voice whispered, "I need your help, Katie. I didn't know where else to turn."

**A/N **Ooo…it looks like things are about to get crazy again. Like I said before, I know there wasn't really any action in this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed some of the fluff that went on be between the couples. I wanted to take a break from all the angst and give all my little characters some screen time. But now the angst monster is rearing its ugly head again, so who knows what will happen. I know I usually update _Bad Boys _after this, but I was looking through my rough drafts and the next chapter of _Rekindled _is in much better shape, so I may do that one next. I'll just have to wait and see which way it goes. Don't be shy, drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Now I'm off to do some more work. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	23. Matters of the Heart

**A/N **Yes, it's me again! I've finally got this chapter whipped into shape enough that I feel comfortable posting it. It's been a bit of an off week for me. I had both my husband and my son sick at the same time, so I've been going a little crazy. But everyone is on the mend now and things can get back to normal. I think the DJ/Katie fans will be pleased with the outcome of this chapter and there's some Sere/Dare hotness going on too. It's nothing too explicit; you guys know I try to keep things fairly clean for the younger readers. But some hot and heaviness will definitely be implied, just to warn you. Okay, time for my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**sabina21**

**GoldenDragon326**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Chibi Kitt**

**anime-lover10**

**S dot Serenity**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Luthien Morgon**

**SailorMoon20114486**

**godsgurl9871**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Tiny2008**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**nileena**

**gots2luv**

**YingYing**

**Lilcala**

**ailzzzz**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**Puella Pulchra**

**KageNoNeko**

**SlackerDee**

**jade2nightwing**

**FanaticArmy**

99.999999 million, billion, kajillion thank yous to all of you. You guys keep me going! Now, on with the story!

_**ENJOY!**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 21

Matters of the Heart

"I need your help, Katie. I didn't know where else to turn."

Those words took a few seconds to penetrate her panicked brain, and then it was another few seconds before it finally registered to her that she knew that voice. She tried to rear her head back only to send it slamming into the wall behind her.

She twisted her head from side to side rapidly until she finally succeeded in dislodging the hand that was covering her mouth enough to gasp, "Jack!"

Her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light enough for her to make out his features. His long black hair was still smoothed back into an impeccable ponytail and, though his eyes were shadowed, she could see that they were still the same warm, puppy dog brown.

There was a sad twist to his lips as he quirked a grin at her. "How's it going, Katie?"

She jerked her head completely free. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He sighed. "Please, just hear me out, okay."

"I don't want to listen to anything you have to say!" she spat. "I've had news from home. I know that you've convinced everyone in Crystal Tokyo that you've gone on the straight and narrow, but that doesn't mean shit to me, buddy! You sold me out to Discord! You fed him information about me for months so that he would know the best way to beat me down once he had his sick little paws on me. Hell! You were probably there the whole time he held me locked up in that dark room and tortured me!"

His head dropped. "You're right," he said softly. "I did sell you out. I told him all of your weaknesses; your fear of the dark, your insecurities about your power, hell, I even told him how you were in love with DJ."

That snapped her temper and she managed to send a fist slamming into his gut. He wheezed and doubled over and she broke away from him. She had only taken two steps when his fingers locked around her wrist and dragged her back to pin her against the wall again.

"Please," he choked out. "I'm in a hell of mess, Katie!"

"Let her go, Jack!" a cold, deadly voice cut through the air.

Jack cringed at the sound of the prince's murderous tone and he said ruefully to Katie, "You didn't waste any time sounding the alarm did you?"

She gave him a triumphant grin. "What can I say? I never go anywhere without my boys."

He heaved a sigh that was so deep that it sounded like it came up all the way from his toes, but he let her go.

Katie ran to DJ and threw herself into his arms.

"Did he hurt you?" he demanded as he pushed her hair away from her face to get a good look at her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Alex asked from where he stood beside DJ.

"I'm positive," she insisted. "You guys got here fast."

"I'm sorry," Emma piped up from behind Alex. "I thought you were right behind me. I didn't realize that you were gone until the guys came barreling past me."

The other people in the hall, sensing the tension between the teens, began easing their way back into the club.

Jack leaned up against the wall clutching his stomach. "I think I'm the only one that got hurt around here. You've got one hell of a punch, Katie."

"You're lucky that's all I did!" she snapped back. "You're lucky I didn't knock your freaking head off, you bastard!"

"What's going on here?" Darien asked as he, Serena, Jess, and Andrew appeared.

"Just a little rodent problem, that's all," DJ growled.

"So what do we do now?" Alex asked as he cracked his knuckles.

DJ grinned evilly. "I say we drag him out back and beat the shit out of him."

"Sounds good to me," Katie agreed.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Serena demanded. "I think a little explanation is in order here." She studied Jack for a minute before she gasped, "You're the one that attacked us in the park a couple of months ago; you and that girl!"

Jack bowed his head. "Yes ma'am. My girlfriend, Sasha and I had been duped into helping Discord. You see, he took us in when we were abandoned as kids and fooled us into thinking that the royal family and their court were the bad guys. We didn't know any better so we believed him. When we got up older he sent us to spy on the Trinity holders."

"And then you sold me out!" Katie screamed as she twisted in DJ's arms. "I trusted you and you handed me over to him on a silver platter. Everything that night was planned, wasn't it? Sasha conned DJ into dancing with her, knowing that it would piss me off and then she staged that kiss she gave him on the terrace where she knew I would see it and go running home where you had the trap waiting for me. Am I right?"

DJ stared at her in shock. "You saw that?"

"Hell yes I saw that, you idiot!" she yelled. "Why else do you think I left the party so early? You had kissed me right before I went onstage to perform and then I turned around just a couple of hours later to find you kissing her! I was upset, so I went home and that guardian jumped me."

Jack slid down the wall to sit on the floor. He buried his face in his hands. "Yes, it was all planned. Discord wanted to cause a rift between you, and I told him that I'd figured out that you two had feelings for each other. That was when he told Sasha and me to move in on you guys. We honestly thought we were doing the right thing, but we found out later that he was just using us. So we escaped to Crystal Tokyo where we have been living under the king and queen's protection ever since. But Discord ambushed us and now he's holding Sasha to make me work for him again."

"Oh cry me a river!" Alex scoffed. "You expect us to feel sorry for you after what you've done to us? You must be out of your mind! Come on, DJ! Let's show him what happens to people that screw with us." His eyes had taken on a faint reddish tinge.

Tiny golden sparks were exploding like fireworks in DJ's eyes. "I'm with you. Let's do it."

Katie stared at the distraught young man sitting on the floor and was surprised to feel a twinge of pity for him. This was not the intelligent and talented boy that she had spent hours with at Michelle's home while she instructed them in the fine art of piano playing and composition, nor was he the brash and cocky person that she had dated in rebellion in an attempt to run from her feelings for DJ.

He was broken. It shown in his eyes as he lifted his head to regard the two furious teenage boys standing before him. "Go ahead," he said lifelessly. "I won't fight you back. Just do me a favor and kill me while you're at it. If you don't then I'm sure Discord will. I was stupid to think that there was a way to save Sasha now. We're in too deep."

"Works for me!" DJ growled and he went to set Katie aside, but she gripped his sleeves tightly and wouldn't let go.

"Wait a minute," she pleaded softly and stepped away from him.

He grabbed her arm quickly. "Uh uh, Kat! No chance in hell! You are not going near him again."

"Let me go, DJ," she said calmly and evenly. "What can he possibly do to me with everyone here?"

Serena put a hand on her future son's shoulder. And when he turned to look at her she gave him a small smile and a nod. He let out a derisive snort, but dropped her arm.

A strangled sound of protest tore from Alex's throat, but Emma and Jess both put restraining, calming hands on him.

Darien and Andrew watched silently, but both were tense, ready to step in at the first sign that this boy was up to something tricky.

Katie walked slowly over to Jack and knelt down beside him. His head flew up as she gently took one of his hands in both of hers to stare at her in a mixture of shock and surprise. She looked deeply into those sad brown eyes, eyes that she could have fallen in love with if her heart hadn't already been taken, and took a deep breath.

"You love her, don't you?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "More than anything."

"And you swear to me that you're not here to try to backstab us again," she insisted.

"I swear to you, Katie!" he declared in an impassioned voice. "I admit that I am here on Discord's orders right now because he wanted me to observe you and see how far you've progressed. I wasn't supposed to make contact, but I had to take this chance. It may be the only one I get. I ran into Sailor Pluto earlier and she told me that she would do something to keep him from seeing this conversation so I could talk to you. I don't care what happens to me. I just want Sasha to be safe."

Katie sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'll help you." She made a cutting motion with her hand to stop the sounds of protest coming from DJ and Alex.

Then she opened her eyes and they flared bright silver as a silver crescent moon appeared on her forehead. She put a forearm against his throat and shoved him back against the wall. "But if you screw me over this time I promise I will make you regret it! Got it?"

""I got it! I got it!" he hastily promised. "Geez! Why do you always have to take everything to the extreme?"

She smiled and her eyes turned back to normal as the crescent mark faded. "I just wanted to make sure we understand each other. This doesn't mean I like you, but even I am not cruel enough to kick a dog when it's down. Now what can you tell us?"

Jack shook his head. "He just told me to stay out of sight and watch you. He's going to set a guardian and a sentinel loose in the park across the street in about an hour. He wanted me to follow you and look for any weaknesses in your defenses. After that he wants me to make a plan to kill at least one of you. He swears that he'll let me and Sasha go after that, but I don't believe him."

"So he wants to see what we're capable of," Katie mused as she stood up and turned to DJ and Alex. "I think we can handle that."

Both boys grinned at her in return.

* * *

"What a night!" Serena groaned a couple of hours later as she finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair and turned her face up into the spray of hot water. "I'm kind of glad it's over. I don't know if I can take any more drama tonight. It being Jess's birthday was exciting enough, but then she and Drew made their announcement, that Jack kid showed up, and then the attack at the park. I'm surprised I can even still think straight."

Warm arms wrapped around her waist from behind as a hot mouth pressed a kiss to her neck. "It has been a busy night," Darien agreed. "Not that we really had to do anything. The kids did all of the work. I don't think I've ever seen any enemies taken down in less than thirty seconds before."

"They've gotten strong," she murmured. "Incredibly strong. I just wonder if it's enough to take care of Discord once and for all. It's scary to think of them going up against that monster. I know my future self has to be even more concerned. I've only known DJ for a few months. She's known him his whole life. She's the one that gave birth to him and held him as a baby. She rocked him to sleep at night, sat next to him when he was sick, and kissed his bumps and bruises to make them feel better. And Rini's involved in this too, to a point. Neo Queen Serenity has got to be going crazy."

"Probably," Darien whispered against her ear. "But at least she's got a caring and supportive husband to stand by her side."

She giggled softly. "You sure are complimentary of yourself, aren't you?"

He frowned in mock hurt. "Hey! What else would I be besides a loving husband?"

She turned in his arms and kissed the tip of his nose. "I'm just picking on you. I know I'll always have you right beside me. Where would Neo Queen Serenity be without her King Endymion?"

He smirked. "The same place Sailor Moon would have been if Tuxedo Mask hadn't come to her rescue that first night, up a creek without a paddle."

She swatted at his arm. "You are never going to let me live down the early days, are you?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. But you were kinda cute the way you used to stumble around, wailing at the top of your lungs, right into danger's path. Then I got to play the dashing hero and swoop in to save the day."

"Humph!" she sniffed, sticking her little nose up in the air. "Did you ever stop to think that I might have overplayed it just a little so that I would have an excuse to be in your arms?"

His eyes widened a little at her words. "Oh did you?"

She held up her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart. "Maybe just a little. What? I thought Tuxedo Mask was cute! Of course I thought you were way hotter, but you were always such a jerk. So I always pretended that Tuxedo Mask was you and got in what flirting I could. I was fourteen! What did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know if I should feel complimented or insulted," he grumbled.

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Aw, sweetie, don't feel that way. I love you, no matter what." Then she pulled him down into a searing kiss.

He moaned when he felt her tongue swipe at his bottom lip and opened to her invasion, letting her take control for a minute…but only for a minute. When she pressed closer to him and a kittenish mewling sound echoed from her mouth to his, it set him on edge. He was after all a healthy, red-blooded male.

He lifted her off her feet with one arm, never breaking the contact of their lips as he took control of the kiss. With his other arm he reached behind her and turned off the water. Then he moved his lips from hers to travel to her jaw and then down her neck.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she gasped in a breathy whisper.

A primal grin curled his lips. "I am if you're thinking we should move this to the bed."

"You read my mind," she purred.

She was still purring a half hour later as she curled up next to Darien's side and laid her head on his chest. She felt as limp and lazy as a well-fed kitty. If she never had to move from this spot again, that was okay with her.

Then she heard the one sound that was sure to interrupt her tranquil moment, the ringing of her dear doctor's cell phone. She rolled over and looked at the clock as he scrambled to reach the phone on the table. It was almost midnight, so that could only mean one thing. It was time for him to go to work.

He was already getting out of bed as he answered. "Hello." As he listened to whoever was on the other end he was striding to the closet. "I'm on my way. Have you called Zoicite?" Another pause as he pulled out a shirt and a pair of slacks. "What's the ETA?" He was now at the dresser and grabbing a pair of socks and some boxers. "I'll be there in fifteen." He hung up and tossed the phone on the bed.

"An emergency?" Serena asked as she watched him hurry into the bathroom.

"Yeah, a fire at a shipping warehouse," he called back. "The night crew was there when the fire broke out and they're transporting in several people that were trapped inside until the firefighters got to them."

She slipped out of bed and pulled on a short silk robe as she padded to the bathroom door where she watched him hurriedly get ready. "Sounds like you'll be there for a while then."

"I probably will," he replied as tucked his shirt into his pants. "I'm on duty in the morning already, so I don't know when I'll be home." He ran a comb through his hair and swept by her back into the bedroom where he grabbed his phone and shoes.

Then he looked and saw the pensive expression on her face and threw them back down again so he could take her in his arms. "I'm sorry."

She gave him a supporting smile. "No, it's okay. This is what you do. Now go! Save lives!"

He grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too," she giggled and gave him a little push toward the door.

He grabbed his things and left. As he passed Rini's room he could hear her babbling away on the phone to Hotaru. He smiled at how much she sounded like Serena when she was on the phone with one of her friends. He paused in the entry hall to slide his shoes on and snatch up his keys and jacket and he was out the door.

As he passed the oblivious couple in the hallway that were currently locked in a pretty heated kiss against the wall he warned, "Be careful. If Andrew sees you kissing her like that you're a dead man."

DJ jumped, startled at the voice. "Dad! Hey! Where are you going?"

"Emergency at the hospital," Darien called back as he ducked inside the elevator.

* * *

Katie growled as she rolled over for what felt like the eightieth time and punched her pillow into what she hoped was a more comfortable shape. Then she glared at the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock. 1:24 AM. Why couldn't she go to sleep?

She knew the answer to that. Her body was physically tired; it had been all day since Nebula's nightmare training session. Thankfully Jack had warned them about the attack Discord had planned tonight and they had eliminated the guardian and sentinel he'd sent without hardly having to lift a finger.

But her mind was wide-awake, whirling with everything that had happened tonight. Between her talk with Emma, Jack's unexpected arrival, and DJ's bone melting kisses her brains felt like scrambled eggs. It had taken a full ten seconds after Darien had disappeared into the elevator after catching her and DJ making out in the hallway earlier for her to even process the fact that she was embarrassed.

Just remembering the way he had kissed her and held her close against him made her feel warm and flushed, so she kicked her covers off. She wished she had someone to talk to so she could distract herself until her over wound brain calmed down enough to let her sleep.

But Alex was gone. He'd snuck out a half hour before to meet up with Emma just like they always did on non-school nights. So that counted out talking to Emma too. Rini would be in Elysian with Helios by now like she was on most nights and Skye was more than likely asleep already.

She could sense DJ hovering at the fringes of her mind, fuzzy and sleepy, but not quite into dreamland yet. But talking to him right now wouldn't exactly be conductive to helping her relax since he was the main reason for her feeling so wound up.

'_You are DJ's soul mate!' _Emma's words from earlier that evening kept replaying over and over in her head.

It was a bit overwhelming, but at the same time she was ecstatic. There were millions of skeptics out there in the world that would argue that there was no such thing as fate; that there wasn't just one special someone out there for each person on the planet. But she was a believer. She had been raised with these beliefs and had witnessed it every day of her life by watching her parents, Serena and Darien, and all of the members of her extended family.

She had even seen it with her own brother. Emma had never come right out and said that Alex was her soul mate, but Katie knew that they just had to be meant to be. Emma would never have gotten as involved as she had with Alex if they weren't soul mates.

Katie snorted and buried her head in the pillow. And right now the two of them were off somewhere together and…well, she knew very well what they were doing. She wasn't stupid after all. Technically she may be an innocent, but she wasn't naïve. She'd noticed the subtle changes in her brother and Emma's relationship back several months ago; the way the looks shared between them lasted just a little bit longer and were more heated, and the way the casual touches between them seemed to become softer and more intimate. It was the same way her parents and every other disgustingly happy couple around her acted.

'_I'm telling you, you better hurry up and jump that boy soon before you both spontaneously combust.' _More of Emma's _"helpful"_ advice echoed in her head.

"What am I supposed to do, go crawl into his bed and have my way with him? I don't think so," she grumbled into her pillow.

'_Why not?' _a little voice that sounded like her own spoke up in her head. _'You know you want him. So go get him!'_

'_No, no, no!' _another voice that sounded like hers popped up. _'That makes her seem desperate.'_

The first voice snickered. _'Desperate, my ass! She's sexually frustrated and DJ can give her exactly what she needs.'_

"Enough!" she groaned. She felt just like one of the characters from those old cartoons she'd seen when she was little that had an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other as their conscience battled out what was right and wrong.

It didn't matter anyway. She didn't have enough guts to sneak into DJ's room and get into bed with him, did she? Granted it would be simple enough to accomplish. Alex wouldn't be home until at least dawn and by the way Jess and Andrew had been acting earlier she knew that there was no way they were leaving their room until morning. So why was she laying here all alone when her seriously ripped and hot boyfriend was in the next apartment over with nobody else there but a future mother that could sleep through an atomic explosion?

Her angelic side melted away in that moment as a new bolder, more devious side took over. She was out of bed in a flash and easing open her bedroom door to look out into the hallway to make sure the coast was still clear. Jess and Andrew's bedroom door was closed and she could see the flicker of candlelight through the crack under it. She heard the muffled sound of voices and then a smothered giggle followed by a low chuckle and rolled her eyes. Yeah, they would never know she was gone.

She turned and checked her reflection in the mirror real quick. She had showered earlier before bed and her hair was down, falling in a strawberry scented, silvery-gold sheet straight to her waist. Her black silk dorm shirt may not be the classiest of nightwear, but it was better than some of the t-shirts and sweatpants she wore sometimes.

Figuring that she was as good as she was going to get, she padded from the bedroom on silent, bare feet, carefully closing the door behind her, and made her way into the dark living room. She slid open the glass door and stepped out onto the balcony. She pulled the door closed and looked over toward the neighboring balcony.

She acted quickly before she had a chance to think and talk herself out of this. In one second she was perched on the railing. In the next she had jumped the ten feet to her destination. Another second found her inside another dark living room. She moved fast, relying on her memory of the furniture layout to keep from crashing into anything. Before she knew it she was slipping inside the first room in the long hall.

She closed the door and then leaned up against it, her chest heaving slightly and her heart pounding. Her eyes went immediately to the bed and the boy lying across it. To look at him one might think that he was asleep, but she knew better. She knew he was still awake and perfectly aware of her presence in his room.

Sure enough his light blue eyes blinked open a few seconds later and he looked at her with a small smile on his face. "Am I dreaming?"

"If you are then I guess we're both having the same dream," she replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time," he said as he propped himself up on an elbow.

She forced herself to move away from the door and walk toward the bed where she sat on the edge next to him. "No, I guess it wouldn't be. But at least this time it's not a nightmare."

"That's true," he answered. "So what brings you here."

She shrugged. "I was lonely. I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see you. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," he told her. "In fact I was hoping you would."

Her eyes widened. "You were?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. I could tell that you were keyed up and couldn't sleep. So I was hoping that you would come to me."

A warm feeling fluttered in her stomach. She didn't stop to think as she almost launched herself at him, pushing him onto his back as she kissed him. Her upper body was across his chest as their tongues dueled and she boldly brought one of her legs up to lie across his hips.

He pulled back with a sharp hiss of breath. He stared up at her with stormy eyes. "Are you sure about this, Kat? I've been waiting because I didn't want to scare you away. But if you want to wait I…"

Her fingers were at his lips. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life." And then she kissed him again.

He groaned into her mouth as he hooked a hand under her bent leg and rolled them so that she was under him. When they broke for air a minute later he stared down at her in wonder. "Once we start, there's no going back."

She stroked his cheek lovingly. "I don't want to go back. I only want to go forward with you."

"Is it safe to do this?" he had to ask.

She smiled and nodded, glad now, more than ever that Amy had put her on birth control for painful cramps when she was fourteen. In the future there was a shot available that protected a woman from unwanted pregnancy for a full year, and she had just gotten her booster on her birthday in November.

"No worries," she told him.

That was all he needed to hear. He pulled her tightly against him as his fingers began undoing the buttons of her shirt. His breath was hot against her ear as he whispered, "I love you, Katie."

Tears stung her eyes as she threaded her fingers through his silky black hair. "I love you too, DJ."

* * *

Sasha jerked at the confining bonds of dark energy that kept her tied up to a post beside the time gate as she glared at the so called man that had raised her for half of her life. Hatred burned hot and thick in the pit of her stomach as she hissed, "Why are you doing this?"

Discord regarded her evenly. "You know why, little one. I've always told you that I meant to take my place as the true ruler of the Earth."

"Liar!" she screamed. "I know what you really have planned. I know what you really have up your sleeve. You plan to destroy the Earth and absorb the power of Jess's crystal before you go off to destroy more worlds. You were never supposed to be the ruler of the planet. That's Darien and Serena's job!"

Discord clucked his tongue. "It's sad that you've been tricked into believing the popular lies. You used to love and trust in me. Melody and the Celestial Crystal should have never existed. If time had gone the way it was supposed to then neither Endymion nor Serenity would have been born either. If it hadn't been for those meddling gods I would have conquered the Earth long ago. I would have slain the earth queen while Endymion still grew in her womb and then I would have taken the moon before Serenity was ever conceived. This galaxy would have been reduced to nothing and I would have moved on."

"You're sick!" Sasha sneered. "How can somebody be demented enough to want to do nothing but destroy everything? What did the Earth ever do to you?"

Discord shrugged. "It didn't have to do anything to me. It existed, and that was enough. I was created solely for the purpose of keeping the balance between positive and negative energy. The gods believed that I had overstepped my bounds and that the darkness was swallowing up the universe, so when this bright little solar system caught my eye they decided to eliminate me. Unfortunately for them it didn't quite work out the way they planned. And I won't let them win this time either."

Angry emerald sparks spit from Sasha's eyes. "I hope DJ, Katie, and Alex kick your ass!"

The ancient entity only smirked. "They can try, dear heart, but they are only infants yet. The original Trinity holders trained for well over two years once they received their full power and they still failed to destroy me. And they were supposed to be some of the most powerful beings in this galaxy. The magic that gods wield is the strongest around, but it is ludicrous to expect mere mortals to be able to use that power with any satisfying results. Mortals give into the euphoria of the feeling like they are ones that rule the universe. They are consumed by it until they believe that they themselves are gods. They forget their mortality and become cocky and overconfident, and that's when they make the mistakes that allow me to live on."

"If you're so sure that they can't beat you, then why are you so intent on killing them now?" Sasha spat.

"My darling girl, do use your head," he cooed in a saccharine voice. "Those brats may not be a threat to me yet, but if I let them continue they will become stronger and possibly evolve into admirable opponents. And I would like to avoid that kind of confrontation if at all possible."

"So why not go after them yourself? You're certainly powerful enough. Why did you have to drag Jack back into this?" she countered. Then comprehension lit her face. "Oh, I get it. They are under the protection of Serena and the others and you're scared to go near them because you're afraid that they will seal you away again like they did before if you try to kill one of the Trinity bearers."

Discord snarled in outrage. "You always did have a big mouth for such a little girl. I sometimes find it amazing that I let you live past age ten. If it wasn't for the fact that I need you alive at the moment to ensure Jack's help I would kill you now for betraying me."

Sasha glared at him venomously for one long, hate-filled moment before resolutely turning her head away, but she wisely kept her mouth closed.

A few minutes later a time portal opened and Jack stepped out of it. His brown eyes immediately sought Sasha's green ones to assure himself that she still remained unhurt. He took one step toward her, but was brought up short by Discord's voice.

"Well, what did you observe?" he demanded.

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's just as it has always been. None of them are ever alone. They move in pairs or small groups and everyone is constantly watching each other's backs. It would be almost impossible to catch any of them alone. And even if I were to catch one of the Trinity holders off guard, what chance would I have against them? I'm just a normal human with no powers. They took care of that guardian and sentinel you sent to the park tonight with hardly more than a flick of their pinky fingers."

"I'm well aware of the fact that you have no particularly admirable talents," Discord sneered. "I am also aware that the gods' little puppets' powers have grown exponentially. But they are not impenetrable. Being born under the blessing of the Silver Crystal may have granted them a virtually infinite lifespan, but they are still only mortals, and mortals can die. Not even one of them would be able to survive, let's say, a dagger to the heart."

Jack's mouth fell open in shock. "You're talking about straight up murder?"

Discord grinned. "I am indeed. The forward approach will not work with them. If they see you coming they will be ready for you. But if you could manage to slip up behind one of them, well it could be fairly simple."

He flicked his hand and an ornate dagger appeared in mid air. It had a heavily carved golden hilt set with a giant ruby and its razor sharp steel blade glinted brightly in the dull light of the time plane. It floated over to Jack and landed in his palm.

"I really don't care which of three you kill," Discord told him nonchalantly. "I would really prefer to see all three of them dead, especially that little moon bitch. But if you could manage to take out Crystal Tokyo's prince with that dagger I believe it would be most fitting. I found it in Beryl's belongings when I investigated the Dark Kingdom lair. She must have picked it up on the final day of the moon kingdom before she was sealed away."

Jack studied the weapon in his hand and saw an inscription carved into the blade right under the hilt. It read, _To Endymion – You are the prince of my heart – Serenity_.

"This is from the Silver Millennium?" he whispered in surprise.

Discord shrugged. "I'm assuming so. It must have been a gift from the fair moon princess to her husband. I was surprised to see that Beryl kept it considering it had Serenity's name on it. But I guess it was sentimental to her because it was the only thing she had that had actually belonged to Endymion. She was obsessed with him after all. I just thought that it might be a little nostalgic if the young prince was killed by something his mother's past incarnation gave to his father."

"You're sick!" Jack ground out through clenched teeth.

Discord chuckled darkly. "My dear Sasha and I have already had this conversation and I really don't care to repeat it at the present time. You have your orders. Now if you will excuse me, I have some other matters to attend to." He turned and walked away.

Jack was at Sasha's side in an instant. Although her hands were tied she managed to get her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked huskily as he ran a hand over her tangled strawberry curls.

Her head nodded against his neck. "Yes. I'm just scared. He's crazy, Jack. He's going to end up killing us both."

"Maybe not," he whispered to her as he held her close. "Sailor Pluto helped me get a chance to talk to Katie, DJ, and Alex, and they said that they would help us."

Sasha sniffled a raised her head. "What are they going to do?"

He quirked a grin at her. "I have no idea, yet. But knowing those three it's going to be huge. We'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Jess growled and looked up from the photo album in her lap to glare at the orange cat that was attempting to sneak past her to the hallway. "You leave them alone and let them sleep, Nebula!"

The feline sniffed imperiously. "It's already noon. They should be up by now."

Jess's dark blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "And I said let them sleep. They are not training today, and I'm putting my foot down this time. They could barely enjoy my birthday party last night because they are so worn out. Let them get some rest for now. They're out of school all of this week so you'll have plenty of time to run them ragged."

Nebula's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. I'll let them have today off." Then she jumped up on the arm of the chair that Jess was sitting in. "What are you looking at?"

A grin curved Jess's lips. "Oh, I was just looking at some old pictures."

There was a knock at the door and she set the album down to go and answer it. On the other side she found Serena, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy. "Come in," she greeted them.

All of the women filed in and a few minutes later they were all settled around the living room sipping glasses of lemonade.

"Okay, so why the impromptu meeting?" Serena asked curiously.

A mischievous smile appeared on Jess's face. "I figured I'd save myself the headache of fielding all of your curious phone calls and questions that you were sure to heap on me later by calling you all here and discussing my wedding and what I have planned."

That caught everyone's attention and they sat forward eagerly. Serena and Mina were even rubbing their hands together like a villain from an old black and white movie and looked as if they might break out into evil cackles at any moment as their blue eyes gleamed maniacally.

Jess rolled her eyes at them and sighed. "I guess it would be best to start at the beginning and tell you the whole story, that way you'll understand why I want to do things the way I do."

She picked up the photo album and flipped it to a page before setting it down on the coffee table and pointing to a picture. In it, a blonde haired teenaged boy had his arm thrown casually around the shoulders of a blushing brunette girl. They stood in front of a school building that Serena and the others immediately identified as being Juuban High School where they had all graduated from.

Jess began. "My mom and dad met when they were both juniors in high school. My dad was the younger son of a very well to do family and my mom was the only child of a single mother whose dead beat husband hadn't stuck around past mom's first birthday. To make a long story short, it was the classic _'rich boy falls in love with the girl from the wrong side of the tracks' _kind of story. Anyway, they began dating and continued all through high school and into when they both started attending Tokyo U.

Now this is where the story gets tricky. My mom's mother was thrilled that mom had landed herself such a good catch, while my dad's parents were much less enthusiastic. I guess they figured that dating my mom was just some kind of phase that dad was going through and that it would wear off eventually because they had plans for him to marry someone in their social group. Well dad blew the lid right off that idea when he asked mom to marry him during their junior year of college and she said yes.

My paternal grandparents threw an absolute fit. They threatened to disown my dad and leave everything to my uncle if he went through with it and actually married mom, and dad told them to go right on ahead and do that. He even went as far as to move out of the family home and moved in with my mom and grandma."

Jess paused here and pointed to another picture that showed her young mother and father both standing with their arms around a youthful looking middle aged woman that amazingly looked a lot like Jess herself. Her hair was a couple of shades darker and her eyes were nowhere near as dark of blue as hers, but the resemblance was there.

"Anyway, maybe it was rebellion, I'm not sure, but they snuck off a few months later and got married the summer before senior year. It took some time, but everyone finally came around and my grandparents eventually welcomed mom into the family, or so I was told. They both died before I was born. Grandmother Alexander suffered from a stroke right after mom found out she was pregnant with me. And Grandfather died of a heart attack only three months later. I was lucky enough to Grammy Morgan around for a while before she passed away from cancer when I was four."

Jess waved a hand in front of her face as she felt tears prick her eyes and took a deep breath. "The point is, I always heard mom and dad talk about their wedding and how perfect it was since it was small and just them, Grammy, and a few close friends. And that's what I want. I would even love to get married in the same spot as they did, but unfortunately I don't know exactly where their wedding took place."

Jess flipped to another page where a picture showed a beaming Kimberly in a white dress smiling up at a grinning, dark suited, Joshua Alexander as they stood under a cherry tree. There were several more pictures of them with different friends, but the location could be hundreds of different ones around Tokyo.

Suddenly Raye choked on a sip of lemonade and began sputtering and coughing. Lita pounded her on the back until she regained her breath.

"Raye! Are you okay?" Serena asked in concern.

Raye waved her off and scrubbed a few tears from her eyes before jabbing a finger at a picture in which the radiant bride was hugging a dark haired woman. "That's my mother!" she choked out.

Gasps flew around the room.

"Are you serious?" Jess shrieked.

Raye nodded frantically. "As a heart attack! That is most definitely my mom buddying up to your mom. Do you know what this means?"

Jess's eyes sparkled wildly. "I need to talk to your grandfather right away!"

Mina jumped up from her seat. "Yay! Mission time! To the shrine!"

The six women were in the process of hurrying from the apartment when a bleary eyed Katie stumbled down the hall. "What's going on? You guys were screeching like the place was on fire or something."

"Nothing, nothing! Sorry we woke you. Go back to sleep," Jess babbled as she blew by her future daughter and paused long enough to press a hasty kiss to her forehead as she and the others ran out the door.

Katie stood still for a whole ten seconds in silent shock before turning to Nebula and grumbling, "What the hell did I miss?"

The rust colored feline snorted. "I have no idea. I'm just a cat after all." And she vanished in a flash of white light.

"Psychotic animal," Katie muttered and then giggled as her stomach rumbled. It was time for a shower and some food. She grinned as she remembered the night before and wondered which way she should wake up her boyfriend and convince him to take her to lunch.

* * *

Grandpa Hino sat back with a smug smile on his face as he took a sip of his steaming tea and surveyed the anxious faces of the six young women around him, finally focusing on the tall blonde with the glittering blue eyes. "So you're Kim Morgan's daughter, huh? I can't say I'm really all that surprised. Now that I look at you, you remind me a lot of your grandmother, Elaine."

"So my mom and your daughter were friends?" Jess pressed on excitedly.

Grandpa nodded. "Yes. They were very close at one time. Your grandmother used to come here a lot to enjoy the peace and solitude after your grandfather ran off and left her alone with a baby. She would bring Kim with her and spend hours wandering the grounds. My Hisana was the same age as your mother and as they grew older a friendship formed between them. They went to school together and had sleepovers. When your mother started dating your father he became a regular visitor around here as well."

Jess was practically bouncing in her seat. "Do you know where they were married? I really want to find out so that Drew and I can be married in the same spot."

Grandpa's dark eyes twinkled merrily. "Well you don't have far to go. Just step out my backdoor and walk to the sakura grove out back and you'll be there."

Jess looked like she was about to faint for a moment. "Are you serious? They were married here?"

"That they were," Grandpa chortled. "Of course the law doesn't recognize a Shinto ceremony, but from time to time a couple will request permission to have a minister marry them on these grounds. Your parents came to me and asked if they could be married here and I gave them my blessing. I thought your father's parents were being completely unreasonable and I wanted to see them wed. Not long after that Hisana married as well. She and Kim stayed in contact, but unfortunately their lives took different paths after that. They did manage to see each other from time to time. In fact…"

He got up from his seat and walked over to the bookshelf where he pulled down a dusty photo album and flipped through it. "Ah ha! I thought it was in this one. You girls take a look at this."

He set the album down and everyone crowded around it to take a peek at the picture of two toddler girls sitting in a sand box. One was clearly older with shoulder length black hair and flashing violet eyes while the smaller one sported a mop of golden curls and laughing dark blue eyes.

Raye and Jess stared at each other for a minute and then exclaimed together, "Is that us?"

Grandpa laughed. "Indeed it is. I guess you were about two and three years old at the time. I used to keep that old sandbox out back for Raye whenever she was here. One day your moms met up here for a visit and you two played all afternoon until you fell out from exhaustion. You only saw each other a few times and you were very young, so it's not surprising that you don't remember. A few years later Kim and Josh moved to America and then a few years after that Hisana got sick."

"Wow! Talk about a small world," Jess mumbled. Raye nodded her agreement.

"Look at little Raye and little Jess! Weren't they cute?" Mina cooed.

Lita yanked on a strand of her hair. "Ditz!"

"It is amazing how these things work out sometimes," Amy ventured quietly.

"Yes it is," Serena said softly as she stared at the little blonde girl in the picture, her mind reeling back a thousand years to the same little girl, just in a different life. In her mind's eye she could see Melody sitting on the emerald grass in Elysian and laughing as she played with her toys.

"Hey," Jess nudged her in the ribs. "You okay?"

Serena giggled. "Yeah! I guess I just got caught up in the moment."

"So did you want to see the exact spot your parents took the plunge?" Grandpa joked.

"Absolutely!" Jess squealed.

* * *

Andrew shook his head to clear it and then eyed the hyperactive girl in front of him with a mixture of humorous indulgence and irritation. "Okay, run that by me again, and try to make sense this time. Why isn't Jess answering her cell phone?"

Katie sighed as she leaned her elbows on the arcade counter. Then the barrage of words came spilling out in a rush. "She probably left it at home because she ran out so quickly. All I know is that I woke up to a bunch of squealing and shrieking. I didn't know what in the world was going on so I got up to see. Jess, Serena, Mina, Lita, Raye, and Amy were all there and they were running out the door like a pack of cracked out ninja rats were chasing them with gnashing teeth. I asked Jess what was going on, but she said it was nothing and for me to go back to bed. But I was awake by then and hungry so I decided I'd rather eat than sleep. But before I left I noticed that she had left one of her old photo albums out and it was turned to a picture of grandma and grandpa's wedding so I guess she's doing some wedding planning. But I can't be for sure because she didn't tell me."

She finally ran out of breath and stopped. She took a long slurp of the iced caramel latte before her.

Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. I think I got most of it that time. Did you guys understand her?"

Alex on one side of Katie and DJ on the other just shrugged.

Andrew stifled a chuckle at their perplexed expressions. "So she left her phone at home because she ran out on a mission. She must have gotten a lead that she wanted to follow. She told me that she wanted to track down where her parents got married because she thought it would be nice to get married in the same spot."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Well duh! If that's what she wanted to know she could have just asked us where you guys got married. And would have told her flat out that you guys got married at…"

Alex slapped a hand over her mouth. "Geez, Kat! Way to almost spill the beans! You know we're not supposed to say anything! Let them figure it out on their own…Ew! You licked me!" He yanked his hand away with a glare.

She snapped her teeth at him. "You're lucky I didn't bite you! Don't be such a Debbie Downer!" She pouted into her latte.

Andrew leaned across the counter toward DJ. "How many of those drinks has she had?"

The black haired boy shook his head. "I lost count."

"That's her fourth," Lizzy spoke up behind Andrew. "And I'm cutting her off after this. She's already bouncing off the walls like a ping-pong ball. I wouldn't be surprised to see her hanging from the ceiling and doing a Tarzan impersonation next."

Katie stuck her tongue out at her future aunt and clutched her precious drink close to her chest. "Fine! All of you pick on me! I don't care! I'm going to go play a game and beat up some bad guys." She flounced away.

"Good grief! How do you stand living in the same house with both her and Jess in it?" Lizzy muttered.

Andrew smirked. "I survived living with you and mom, didn't I?"

She shook her red head. "Mom and I were never that bad. I'd think twice before marrying Jess if I were you. There's something seriously whacked out in their gene pool. Could you imagine what your kids together might turn out like?" She shuddered.

Andrew shared a conspiratorial grin with Alex. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

Lizzy snorted. "Then you're a stronger man than I gave you credit for. Don't get me wrong, I love Jess to death, but she's a handful."

"She's not that bad," Andrew protested.

Just then the arcade doors slid open and Jess flew in. In just a few seconds she was across the room and had hopped over the counter where she flung herself at her fiancé, screeching, "Omigosh, Drew! You will never believe what I found out today! It is positively the wildest, most mind-boggling thing you could ever think of. I can still barely believe it myself. I would have never dreamed this up in a million years!"

Lizzy crossed her arms, looking smug. "I rest my case."

Andrew shot his sister an exasperated look as he led Jess toward the stairs that went up to his office. As her excited voice faded Alex turned to DJ.

"I'm going to pick up Em," he told his friend. "Have you got Hurricane Kat under control?"

DJ waved him off. "I've got her. Get outta here."

After Alex left he wandered toward the back corner of the arcade where his girlfriend was pounding on the controls to the Sailor V game.

"Stupid youma!" she grumbled as the tiny sailor scout on the screen died and the words _Game Over _flashed on the screen.

He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Knowing that nobody could really see them back there he swept her ponytail to the side and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to her neck.

She shivered and moaned softly as her head fell back to his shoulder. "Someone's been thinking about last night," she whispered.

He moved his lips to her ear. "Well, technically it was this morning, but yeah, I've been thinking about it. Haven't you?"

A sly grin curved her lips. "Oh, it pops up every now and then."

A low growl reverberated in his throat and spun around the stool she was sitting on until she was facing him and he was standing between her knees. "Every now and then?"

Her coy smile didn't change, but her legs tightened on each side of his hips. "Maybe I need to have my memory refreshed."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I think I've created a monster. Maybe we should get out of here and find someplace a little more…private."

She trailed her fingers down his chest and watched him shudder. "That works for me. How about one kiss for the road?"

Her lips had barely brushed his when a voice interrupted them. "Oh good! I found you two. I need to speak to you immediately."

They broke apart, guilty blushes staining both of their cheeks red as they looked toward the intruder. "Trista!" they exclaimed together.

The time guardian shook her head. "You two can have alone time later, but right now I need you to focus on work. I'm calling a meeting with everyone. Head to the practice clearing by the middle school. I'll fill you in once everyone's there."

* * *

"So Pluto didn't tell you guys anything either?" Amara growled to Mina just minutes after she and Michelle arrived at the clearing. "God, why does she have to be so freaking vague all the time?"

"Shh!" Serena shushed her harshly from where she sat under a nearby tree with a sleeping Darien's head on her shoulder. "If you wake him up I swear I will pull out the Silver Crystal and blast you before you can say race car."

"Ooo, my kitten has claws!" Amara said with a hiss and a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows. "I like that."

Michelle elbowed her lightly. "Quit flirting and be serious, Amara! I'm sure Trista must have a good reason for calling us all together so suddenly."

"I wish she'd hurry up already," Katie mumbled around a yawn. "We've been here for over an hour and my caffeine buzz is starting to wear off."

"That's what you get for pounding four lattes in a row," Andrew teased her.

She just wrinkled her nose up at him, feeling too tired to retaliate in any other way.

"He's got a point," Alex piped up.

"Shove off!" Katie muttered and bared her teeth at him.

Emma pushed playfully at Alex's shoulder. "Don't pick on her! Can't you tell she's tired?" She winked at her friend and cocked a suggestive eyebrow toward DJ before flashing her a covert V sign.

Katie buried her burning face in DJ's shoulder. Of course Emma would be able to tell that something had changed between her and DJ. How had she forgotten that? She just prayed that Emma was smart enough to not let anything too incriminating slip out. The last thing she needed was her overbearing brother or her overprotective future father casting a shadow over what had been the most magical night…er, morning…of her life.

"You okay?" DJ asked her quietly.

She nodded. "I'm fine."

He put his arm around her and drew her gently to his side where she snuggled up against him contentedly. Andrew frowned when he saw this, but Jess quickly diverted his attention after sharing a knowing smile with Serena.

A flash of light heralded Pluto's arrival, but to everyone's surprise she wasn't alone. Three other people accompanied her.

"Well it's about time!" Amara grumbled. "What are they doing here?"

Talon gave her a mocking bow. "It's a pleasure, as always, to see you too, Lady Uranus."

Jess snickered at Amara's disgruntled look but directed her words to her former foe. "Back for another butt whipping so soon, Talon?"

He grinned widely and gave her a flirtatious wink. "I'm ready anytime you are, princess."

"That's not why we are here," Pluto interrupted their bantering. "We have serious business to discuss."

"Then maybe you can start off by telling us why he's here," DJ growled as he indicated Jack, who was half hidden behind Pluto, with a jerk of his head. "I thought this area was protected from scum like him."

"DJ! Behave yourself!" Serena scolded from where she had just nudged Darien awake from his nap. "I thought we settled this last night. He needs our help."

The dark haired prince crossed his arms and glared. "I don't remember actually saying I'd help him."

On his other side Alex nodded. "Me neither."

"Oh, both of you stop it!" Katie exploded as she jumped to her feet. "You're acting like a couple of five year olds. I said I was going to help him, and that's what I'm going to do. Besides, Jack knows what's going to happen to him if he betrays us again. Right, Jack?" She smiled and batted her eyelashes innocently at him.

"Ri…right!" he stammered.

"Anyway," Pluto raised her voice in irritation. "The point is that Discord has given Jack the order to kill either one or all three of you and we have to take action soon. If we don't he's going to kill Sasha and Jack both. Time has not settled down onto a set path yet and there are still alternate timelines branching off from the main one. They are slowly disappearing as different events happen and certain decisions are made. But in order to keep time on the correct path we must save Sasha and Jack from Discord's control."

Kunzite snorted derisively. "And how exactly do you expect us to do that?"

Her garnet eyes narrowed on the no nonsense general. "Easy. We're going to storm the time gate."

Just about everyone gasped, but Nephrite, Jadeite, Lita, and Amara chuckled in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Raye snapped.

Pluto shook her head. "No. I am quite serious. The time has come to push him from the time gate."

"But that's suicidal!" Jess protested. "He sees everything. There's no way that we can get inside the time plane without him seeing us coming. He'd be ready for us and it wouldn't be pretty."

"She's got a point, Trista," Darien said as he stretched and stood up. "We could stand against him, but the only way we could win would be if we sealed him away again. And that would undermine everything that the kids have worked so hard for if we sealed him away before they had their shot at him. Not to mention that he would probably just break free again at some point in the future and come back like a reoccurring nightmare."

Pluto nodded. "You're right. We could seal him away a hundred times and he would just keep finding ways to break the seal and keep coming after us over and over again. He is obsessed with destroying this planet, and he won't give up until he has accomplished it. Of course Jess could go supernova on him and kill him if everyone doesn't mind dying when she takes the whole planet with her."

Jess shuddered. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'll pass on that. I kinda sorta like being alive if you catch my drift."

A rare chuckle escaped the time guardian. "I had a feeling that you would say that, so I discussed it with Talon and Anya and we came up with an alternate plan. One that I think could knock even Discord's socks off."

Serena shook her head. "Okay, you've got my curiosity piqued. I'll bite. What is this grand plan?"

A scary, almost feline looking smile appeared on Pluto's face. "We drop a bomb on him. We hit him with a secret weapon that he won't see coming until it's too late."

Rini nudged Hotaru and said in a very loud whisper. "Uh oh, I think Puu's been hanging around the college campus scoping out hot guys again. I warned her to never buy any baked goods from the students because you never know what's in them. But she must have gotten a hold of something chronic because she's definitely off her rocker."

Both girls dissolved into giggles and several other sets of lips twitched in response to the joke.

"Very funny," Pluto drawled sarcastically. "Could we try to be serious for a few more minutes, please?"

Darien turned a stern eye on the still giggling Rini, who immediately choked back her laughter, before addressing Pluto. "So what is this secret weapon you're talking about?"

"It's quite simple, actually," she replied and turned to point at DJ, Katie, and Alex. "It's those three."

All three teens snorted at her words.

"Yeah right!" Alex barked with a laugh. "Like we're really some kind of a secret."

"For real!" DJ agreed. "He's only known about us all of our lives."

Katie laughed derisively. "And like Jess said, he'd see us coming. There's no way that we could surprise him."

Talon smirked and crossed his arms. "Oh you could get the drop on him alright…if he thought you were dead."

All the laughter died.

* * *

Jess almost screamed in frustration as she ripped the sheet off of her giant sketchpad, balled it up and shot it toward the trashcan. It bounced off the edge and landed on the floor where it joined about a dozen other identical paper wads. Her hand slashed furiously as she began drawing on a fresh sheet.

"Honey, we have to talk about this," Andrew spoke up from where he was sitting next to Serena and Darien on the old couch Jess kept in her studio.

The pencil snapped in her fingers as she spun around on the stool at her drawing table. Her eyes blazed brightly. "What is there to talk about? You already know my views on the subject. I don't like it! But my opinion doesn't matter because it's not my decision to make."

Serena met her angry glare steadily. "No, it's not our decision to make. Only the kids can decide if they want to go through with this or not. All we can do is support them and help them as much as possible."

"Bullshit!" Jess screeched. "Do you think your future queenly self would just be sitting around calmly in her pretty little palace if her child had just come to her and said _'Mom, I'm going to fake my death so I can get a shot at going after a monster that wants to kill me'_? Have you lost your freaking mind, Serena?"

Darien stood up and walked toward her. "Jess, you need to calm down. You're reading far too much into this. It's not going to be as dangerous as it seems. We'll all be right there with them the whole time. Discord won't be able to touch them. Now could you please take it down a peg or two? You're making both me and the planet very jittery."

She clenched her teeth and drew in several deep breaths. Darien felt relieved when he sensed the minute tremors under the Earth's crust settle down.

"Do you think Discord will fall for it?" she asked in a much calmer voice.

Darien shrugged. "Probably. I don't see why he wouldn't. Talon may not be one of my favorite people in the world, but I do have to give him credit where credit is due. The man is one hell of a talented sorcerer. If anybody can pull it off, he can."

"He's still an asshole," Andrew grumbled. "But even I have to admit that it's a good plan."

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

"What do you mean if he thought we were dead?" Katie asked after several seconds of silence.

Talon gestured to them. "You three come here."

They looked at each other and then shrugged before going to stand beside him.

"Now close your eyes and release all of your mental defenses," he instructed them.

"Hold the phone there for a minute, buddy!" Jess protested. "You're not going to go monkeying around in their heads are you? Cause it really sucks when you do that."

"Don't go getting yourself so hot under the collar, princess. "I'm not going to hurt them," he quipped lightly as he took his wife's hand. "Just sit still for a minute and watch the master at work."

He and Anya had both begun glowing as they shared magic together. Then there was a bright flash of light that caused everyone to shield their eyes. When it faded gasps were heard all around as they saw that where once there were three teens there were now six.

"Holy shit! How did you do that?" Katie screeched as she jumped away from what could only be described as a perfect clone of herself. DJ and Alex both scrambled back from their copies as well.

Talon chuckled. "Do you like them? They are very realistic, don't you think?"

"You can clone people?" Serena gasped in shock.

He shook his head. "They are not clones. They are merely illusions. They feel solid and can act lifelike, but they don't really exist. They are nothing more than bundles of magical energy that I can mold into any appearance I want."

"And exactly how is that supposed to fit in with the master plan?" Jess asked.

Talon's lips curled up in a twisted smirk, making him look like the evil villain he had once been. Quick as a wink he had his sword unsheathed and sent the steel slicing across the throats of the three so-called _illusions_.

Shrieks and shouts went up from his audience as what appeared to be very real blood gushed from the slit throats to run down the front of his victims before they fell lifelessly to the ground. With a snap of his fingers they disappeared.

"What the hell, Talon?" Jess screamed with tears burning in her eyes. "That was not cool at all!"

"I think you better explain yourself," Darien demanded while he patted Serena's back to calm her as she buried her face in his neck.

"And you better start talking real quick before I decide to just go ahead and kick your ass!" Andrew yelled.

Talon remained unfazed by their outbursts or the fact that the scouts and generals looked to be about two seconds away from ripping him apart. "It's simple. We fake the deaths of the little Trinity bearers. Then once the rest of you engage Discord at the time gate they can pop in and scare the shit out of him. With any luck he'll flee the time plane and Sailor Pluto will get her post back. And hopefully we'll be able to rescue Romeo's girlfriend at the same time." He gestured to Jack. "But everything is going to depend on him and those three."

His hand swept toward DJ, Katie, and Alex where they were standing still, staring at the spot on the ground where their doubles had laid dead just a minute before.

DJ looked up, determination burning in his eyes. "What do you need us to do?"

"What? No!" Serena exclaimed, tearing herself out of Darien's arms. "DJ, you are not doing this! There has to be some other way. Besides, you three aren't ready to face Discord yet. You'll get yourselves killed!"

Sailor Pluto stepped forward and said softly, "With all due respect, your highness, it's their decision to make."

Katie and Alex both looked up at DJ and they appeared to have a silent conversation for a moment before they all nodded their heads and declared together, "We're in."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

"Of course Talon's an asshole!" Jess retorted. "And it may be a good plan, but he can go experiment with someone else's kids and leave ours alone!"

She threw a piece of the broken pencil in her hand across the room with enough force to spear a blank canvas that was leaning against the wall.

"Nice aim," Darien chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Jess wrapped her arms around herself like she was physically trying to hold herself together. Then she sniffled as the tears started falling. "I'm being selfish, aren't I?"

Serena jumped up and ran over to pull her into a hug. "No, sweetie! You're not being selfish at all. It's just your protective maternal instincts coming out. They are your kids even if you haven't given birth to them yet. So it's only natural that you would want to keep them safe."

"It's not just Katie and Alex," Jess mumbled as she scrubbed at her wet eyes. "It's DJ too. We may not be biologically related, but he is like the annoying little brother I always wanted. I don't want anything to happen to any of them."

"Then we just have to make sure nothing happens to them," Serena told her firmly. "When the time comes and they come face to face with that demon we'll be right there by them."

Jess let out a shaky laugh as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Are you kidding? I'm going to be on them like superglue. One day soon they'll be able to take that bastard on, but until then he's going to have to go through me to get to them."

Serena beamed a bright smile. "Now that's the fighting spirit I've come to expect from you. He's going to be beaten eventually, we just have to keep believing that."

"I sure hope so," Andrew inserted. "He's getting desperate and playing some pretty wild cards right now. That makes him even more dangerous than he already was. And for him to bring that dagger into it…well, it's just sick!"

Serena and Darien both shuddered a little at the mention of the dagger. They had been shocked into speechlessness earlier when Jack had pulled it out. It had been a gift from Serenity to Endymion the first Christmas after they had married and he had always worn it at his belt. It had surprised them to see it in pristine condition.

Serena had wondered what had happened to it once, after they had gotten back all of their memories of the Silver Millennium, since she had never seen it in the times that Darien had assumed Endymion's form. His armor was the same as it had been on that last day and his sword was still intact at his side, but the dagger had been missing. She had assumed that it had been lost and was now buried under the rocks and dust of the moon. Now she knew that Beryl had taken it as some sort of a memento.

"He is sick!" Jess snapped. "That crazy, whacked out, sadistic…well, you get the picture. He's just trying to screw with our heads. But he's about to get a taste of his own medicine, and I can't wait."

Andrew chuckled. "You are so bloodthirsty sometimes! Just a few minutes ago you were against this whole idea, now you're practically relishing it."

She tossed him a saucy grin. "Well, I figure if the kids are insane enough to attempt this ambush I might as well go ahead and jump on the crazy train too. Maybe we can all be locked up in the same padded room together when it's all over."

* * *

"So that's all you need us to do?" DJ asked Talon in surprise. "It's that easy?"

"That part is," Talon told him. "Faking your deaths is the simple part. What happens once you teleport into the time plane…well, that's up to you and the others. Discord is a crafty old bastard. But I really think we can fool him if the timing is right."

"So we just hang around until Jacky-boy here kills off our doubles and then teleport back here to the clearing so Discord can't sense our auras and thinks that we're dead? That seems almost too simple," Alex retorted.

Anya shook her head. "Sometimes simplicity is the best way to go. Discord will be looking for a much more elaborate form of retaliation, so this will slip right under his radar. Talon and I can simulate your bodies and make them talk and act like you, but we can't replicate your auras. I'm sure the old geezer will be watching closely, so you'll have to stay in fairly close proximity to your copies. Once Jack strikes them down and you come to this safe area he'll believe that you are dead. After that he will more than likely immerse himself in plans for his next move. Chronos is keeping an eye on things and he will tell Pluto when it's the perfect time to act. Once the others have engaged him you can teleport in and shock the hell out of him. He'll probably run with his tail between his legs."

Katie fixed her eyes on Jack, who was staring down at the ground with a troubled expression on his face. "Jack, are you okay with this? You look a little green."

His startled eyes flew up to meet hers. "I don't like the idea of killing anyone, even if they aren't real people. But if this can give us a chance to get Sasha away from that bastard I'm willing to do it. It will just feel really creepy doing it."

"You didn't seem too concerned about hurting people when you set up my sister's kidnapping!" Alex snarled.

"Lex, let it go!" Katie snapped. "What happened before is in the past. What I'm more concerned about is the future. If Discord leaves the time gate I'm sure he'll head straight back to our time. And I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel ready to take him on yet if he tries to attack Crystal Tokyo."

"But that will be the good thing about having Pluto back at the time gate," DJ told her. "She'll be able to see what's going on and give us some kind of an idea of how much time we have to work with."

As if his words had conjured her up, Sailor Pluto appeared before them. "Jack, I won't be able to cover your absence for much longer. Discord is under the impression that everyone stayed home today and that you've been watching them from a neighboring building, but my energy is almost at its limit."

He stood with a nod. "I guess I'll head back then and tell him that I couldn't get near you guys today. So, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," the other three teens agreed together.

"Just don't screw it up," DJ warned as the other boy disappeared.

Alex made a growling sound in his throat. "Can't we turn the tables and fake his death instead. Maybe we'd get lucky and _accidentally _kill the real one instead of the clone…OW!"

Katie had smacked him on the back of the head. "Alexander Andrew Furuhata! I can't believe you! He hasn't done anything to hurt us."

"Yet," Alex grumbled. "What is with you, Kat? Being a bleeding heart is usually Serena's forte, not yours. So why the change from cast iron bitch to Dolly Do-good all of a sudden?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I feel sorry for him. Discord took him and Sasha when they were just little kids and warped their heads. I know what that feels like, and believe me, it's no walk in the park. Besides, I don't think Jack is all bad. He and I actually had some fun times together when he first started working with Michelle. I have deep respect for him as a fellow musician."

"As long as that's all he thinks of you as," DJ ground out. "He just better keep his distance if he knows what's good for him."

Katie's eyes widened. "Are you jealous?"

DJ's eyes darted away, but he couldn't hide the flush that crept up his neck to his cheeks. "No. Why would I be?"

Katie put her hands on her hips. "Exactly! Why would you be? It's not like I'm interested in getting back together with him. Unless you're jealous over the fact that it's your ex-girlfriend that he's trying so desperately to save. Could that be it?"

"Absolutely not!" he fired back. "I don't see why you're making such a big deal over…mmph!"

Emma had inserted herself neatly between the two of them and had put a hand over each of their mouths. "Okay, lovebirds! I think that's enough squabbling from you. Why don't you concentrate on enjoying the night ahead instead of bickering? Tomorrow will be stressful enough, so you should have fun while you can."

Anya giggled and nudged her husband. "She's definitely Venus's daughter all right." Then she yawned widely.

Talon swept her off her feet to cradle her in his arms. "It's time to get you home and to bed. You're used to taking a nap during the afternoon and you've been up all day. I know you've got to be worn out."

She sighed and rubbed the rounded curve of her stomach. "It wouldn't be so bad if this monster baby would quit kicking me so much. I swear he or she is training to play pro soccer."

Katie looked up in surprise. "You mean you don't know if the baby is a boy or a girl?"

Talon grinned. "We want it to be a surprise. I'm hoping for a little Abigail, but Anya's convinced it's a boy."

The mother-to-be winced and patted her stomach. "It sure feels like a boy. I've always wanted a little boy I could name Kyrian, after my father. But honestly, I don't know if I can put up with another two and a half months of this."

Talon kissed her forehead. "You'll do fine, sweetheart. Well, I guess we're off. You three meet me here tomorrow and we'll make the final arrangements." They teleported away.

Katie and Emma burst into giggles.

"That was so hard not to tell them," Katie gasped.

"I know," Emma agreed. "Poor Talon. He does get his little Abigail eventually, but not for a good long while. He's got to make it through Kyrian, Taylor, and Julian first."

Alex shook his head. "Poor Talon is right. Don't you guys remember Christmas five years ago when they came for a visit and Anya was pregnant with Abigail? That was scary."

DJ nodded. "She was way moody. Anya's always seemed super nice to me, but that night…" He shuddered. "Well, I've always heard that hormones make pregnant women act crazy."

Katie's brow wrinkled. "I don't really remember much of that. I was too busy watching Kyrian chase Skye around and her playing hard to get. I always thought the two of them would make a cute couple. He kinda has that bad boy look she tends to go for."

She pictured Talon and Anya's oldest son in her mind. He was tall, standing well over six feet, with dark brown hair that he wore long and fell over his deep, jet black eyes. Katie had to admit that she'd had a tiny crush on the older boy herself back during her early teens. He was an exceptional fighter and a gifted sorcerer, and he was very well put together from years of training and working out.

Then her mouth fell open as a thought struck her. She pulled Emma close to her and whispered in her ear, "I won't say anything, but I've gotta know. Skye and Kyrian?"

Emma rolled her gray eyes and whispered back. "Duh! It's not that hard to figure out. They'll put two and two together eventually, just like you and DJ did. By the way, congrats on claiming your man. It's about time."

Katie blushed bright pink and then jumped a second later when her brother spoke right next to them. "What are you two over here conspiring about?"

"Just girl stuff," Emma said smoothly as she looped her arm through his. "Now, didn't someone mention something about pizza earlier?"

"If you're looking for a good place to go, Darien was telling me about this Italian place he and Serena went to the other night and had brick oven pizzas. He said it was great," DJ told them.

"You guys want to join us?" Alex offered.

"Oh yes! Come with us! The more the merrier I always say," Emma squealed.

DJ cocked a brow at Katie. "Well?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Why not? I'm always down for pizza." _'As long as Emma keeps her big mouth shut. I swear I will strangle her with my bare hands if she says anything embarrassing.'_

DJ put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side as they followed the other couple out of the clearing. He kissed her temple gently. "Are you okay?"

She managed a smile. "I'm worried and scared, but I'm dealing with it. I just want this whole thing to be over already so we can move on with our lives."

He stopped walking and turned to face her. "It's coming, baby. I can feel it. We're going to beat this and get our lives back. And it will be better than before we left home because we're together now. Big things are coming for us. We've got college and the rest of our lives to look forward to. And we're going to face it together. I promise you."

She looked up at him and nodded. "I believe you." But internally she had her doubts.

Things would be different once they returned home. They were practically done with high school. They would be moving on to other pursuits after that. She knew DJ's dream was to go to Harvard like his father had and study medicine, but he had seemed to reconcile himself to staying in Crystal Tokyo and going to college there for political science. She wasn't sure exactly what Alex's plans were. They hadn't really talked about it. But she was sure his and Emma's decisions would revolve around each other. And she had always thought that she would try to get into Julliard. They could end up scattered all over the world by the time all was said and done. That thought saddened her.

DJ chucked her under the chin. "Hey! If you believe me then what's the sad face for?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I can't think far enough ahead to picture the future yet. Maybe once all of this mess is behind us I can."

He leaned his forehead against hers. "I can picture the future, and it looks great. Everything's going to work out fine."

She couldn't help but smile. "You usually act a lot like your dad, but then sometimes some of your mom comes out in you. You sounded just like Serena when you said that; like everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows."

"And roses," he said softly, flicking his wrist to produce a snowy rose.

Her fingers entwined with his around the stem. "And roses," she breathed.

They stood there, completely still, eyes only inches apart as they gazed at each other. But of course the quiet moment couldn't last.

"Come on, you guys! You'll have plenty of time to get lost in each other's eyes later!" Emma called back to them.

They pulled away from each other reluctantly.

"I'm going to strangle her yet," Katie vowed.

DJ chuckled. "I guess we should be sociable for a little while. But later…" He let his voice trail off.

She placed a quick kiss on his lips a whirled away with a laugh. "Definitely later!"

**A/N **Yay! Now DJ and Katie are closer than ever! Now I know some of you may frown over teenagers doing the deed, but I did warn everyone way back at the beginning that my little babies would be dealing with some sexual issues. Besides, it's not like I went into details with any of the more heated scenes. This story isn't a lemon after all. Although some people (cough, cough…Mina-chan…cough, cough) has been begging me to change the rating of this story ever since I let her read a deleted scene from _Lunar Princess _about Serenity and Endymion's wedding night. I'd rather let people use their own imaginations so I can keep this available to a broader audience. If you're old enough to know what goes on between boys and girls, then you don't need me to explain it to you.

On a different note, things are going to heat back up in the next chapter. It's time the get Discord away from the time gate and return some semblance of order to Pluto's realm. This will not, however, be the final battle with Discord. That will be coming up later and will take place in Crystal Tokyo. I'm setting things up to move into the final battle though. I can't say for sure how many chapters are left because I'm not sure. We are on the downslide, but I have a lot of things left that I want to cover, happy things…like weddings! But we've got to get this other drama out of the way first. Well that's enough out of me for now. You guys are always awesome with your reviews, so by all means, feel free to drop them on me. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	24. The Festival of the Dead

**A/N **Hiya guys! Forgive me for keeping this short, but I've got a cold right now and I'm not exactly at the top of my game. This chapter may also be a tiny bit shorter than normal, but I know you've been waiting and I wanted to get it out for you. I'm also very fuzzy headed from medication, so I apologize if the editing is really off. If it's too bad I'll go back later and fix it. I still want to give out my hugs though. I promise I won't pass on my germs…LOL! BIG HUGS TO:

**saveme57**

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Thank you for pushing GT to over 500 reviews! I love you guys so much! Now I'm going to bed and I'm going to let you get on with the story.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 22

The Festival of the Dead

* * *

Katie murmured sleepily as she felt a pair of warm lips press a kiss to her forehead. Then the mattress beneath her shifted as the weight that had been lying next to her moved away. She heard a soft rustle and blinked her heavy eyelids open.

"Are you leaving?" she whispered softly.

DJ looked up from where he had just pulled his jeans on. He knelt down next to the bed and brushed some hair back from her still flushed cheek. "Yeah," he answered in a soft, husky voice. "I figured I better get back to my bed before someone realizes I'm gone. Not to mention the fact that Alex would probably short circuit if he came in and found me here."

Katie nodded, turning her face until she could kiss the palm of his hand. "I'll miss you."

He chuckled lightly. "I'll just be right next door. And you'll see me again in a few hours."

She sighed and closed her eyes, but her lips pouted. "I'll still miss you."

He grinned and picked up the silky sleep shirt that he had carefully removed from her body earlier. "Come here," he said as he pulled her into a sitting position. He put her arms through the sleeves and began buttoning up the front.

At one time Katie would have pushed him away and snapped that she was a big girl and was capable of dressing herself. But now she reveled in the feeling of having someone looking after her. It made her feel special, cherished, and loved.

He laid her back against the pillows and pulled the covers up over her. "There! Now you won't give your poor brother a heart attack when he comes in. I'm sure the last thing he wants to see is his sister passed out naked across the bed."

"It would probably blind him for life," she choked out in agreement as she muffled a giggle in the blanket.

He stood and shrugged into his shirt, buttoning it quickly. Then he turned to sit on the edge of the bed. He leaned down and kissed her swollen pink lips gently and then pulled away. "Get some sleep, baby. We have a busy day ahead of us."

She whimpered softly at the loss of contact, but nodded, rolling onto her side and curling up into her favorite sleeping position. Her eyes were already flickering shut. "Mmm…'kay. Love you."

He couldn't resist kissing her cheek one last time. "I love you too." Then knowing he needed to get going before someone discovered him there, he picked up his shoes and quietly left the room.

Once in the hall he saw that the door to Andrew and Jess's room was closed tightly and he heard a low, muffled snore from behind it. There was a light shining under the door to Jess's studio, but he could hear her humming; which meant she probably had her earbuds in and listening to music as she worked on something to battle insomnia.

He sighed a relieved breath and quickly made his way out of the hall and across the living room. Once he was safely on the balcony he put his shoes on.

He knew that he was too keyed up to sleep just yet, so instead of jumping over to the neighboring apartment, he leapt up to the roof. Maybe a few minutes of fresh air would help him wind down.

As he stood on the edge of the roof, breathing in the balmy, early spring air, he felt a blazing hot, solar aura approaching. A minute later Alex landed lightly on the roof not too far away from him.

"What's up? Couldn't sleep?" the brunette greeted him jovially.

DJ shook his head. "Just catching some air."

His best friend stepped up next to him, and he heard him draw in a deep breath. A second later he felt a spark of irritation sizzle through the air. He turned to find dark blue eyes pinned accusingly on him.

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise.

Alex ran a hand through his hair. "Oh man! Now I know what some of Emma's comments from earlier meant and why she was snickering all evening. You smell like strawberries!"

It took DJ a couple of seconds to comprehend what Alex was trying to imply, and then he had to fight back a goofy grin. Yeah, he probably did have the scent of Katie's shampoo all over him. He had luxuriated in the smell as he had buried his face in her hair to muffle the moans that he couldn't hold back earlier. And he could still feel Katie's face pressed to his neck as she tried to contain her own sounds of passion. Her gasps and almost incoherent whispered pleas and words of love whispered through his head.

But the dark haired prince wasn't going to let himself be bullied about this. He wrinkled his nose and retorted back, "So what? You smell like apples, so you don't have any room to talk."

Alex had the grace to flush and look away. Then he shook his head and turned back to his friend. "Look, it's none of my business what goes on between you and Kat. That's between you guys and I don't want to know about it. But she is my twin sister, and her happiness means a lot to me. So just promise me that you're not ever going to hurt her again."

DJ clasped him on the shoulder. "I promise. Her happiness means everything to me, and I want her to stay happy. She's had enough darkness and depression to deal with."

Alex blinked, and then laughed. "Dude! We totally just had an Oprah moment."

DJ groaned and shoved him away. "Argh! I always knew that there wasn't something right about you. I think your brain is warped."

Alex waved a hand. "Nah, it's just twisted a little, and there's nothing wrong with that. But seriously, man, take care of my sister. I depend on you to be the one that's there for her when I can't be."

"You planning on going somewhere?" DJ asked, quirking a brow at him. A tiny shiver ran through him as he remembered the story that Katie had told them about the alternate timeline where Alex had died and both of their future selves had gone off the deep end. He couldn't imagine going through life without his best bud and partner in crime.

Alex smirked. "Hell no! But you're crazier than hell if you think I'm going to hang around the bedroom with you two. I'd like to keep my eyesight, thank you very much!"

DJ laughed and punched playfully at him. Then he sighed. "I guess we better try to get some sleep. It's going to be a hell of a day."

Alex grimaced. "You're probably right. I know we can trust Talon. We've known him our whole lives. I just hate having to work with that prick Jack!"

"Yeah, me too," DJ agreed. "But Kat believes him for some reason, and I'd rather give her a hand with this rather than chance her sneaking off and doing something crazy."

"And she would too," Alex snorted and then yawned. "I think I'm going to hit the sheets for a while."

"Sounds like a plan to me," DJ agreed now that he was beginning to feel tired.

The two boys dropped from the roof to their respective balconies.

"Hey, DJ," Alex called in a loud whisper. "I don't really smell like apples, do I?"

DJ smirked. "Let's just say that it would definitely be in the best interest of your life to shower before you go near Kunzite. It's a pretty unique scent and that man is liable to go loco on you if he smells it."

"Shit!" the brunette grumbled and then smirked himself. "You better make sure to take your own advice. If my dad thinks that there's even a hint of something serious going on between you and Kat…well, I don't even know if my mom will be able to hold him back."

With those parting words Alex let himself into the apartment. It was dark, but he knew his way around. He made his way across the living room and into the hallway in just a few seconds. He slipped inside the room that he was sharing with his sister and closed the door silently behind him.

The blanket covered lump on the bed shifted. "Lex, is that you?"

"It's me, Kat. Go back to sleep," he told her gently.

The covers moved and her tousled blonde head appeared over the edge of the blanket. Her eyes were hazy with sleep but her smile was genuine as she looked toward him. "I'm glad you're home safe and sound. I always worry when you go out alone."

He chuckled and approached the side of the bed where he reached out and patted her head softly. "Yeah, I'm all in one piece. There's nothing for you to worry about. Now get some shut eye."

He watched as she nodded slowly and closed her eyes. He stood there for a moment looking at her. The moonlight that came in through the partially opened curtains gave her the appearance of being fragile and delicate, but he knew that underneath that deceptive appearance beat the heart of a fierce fighter.

But no matter how tough he knew his sister could be, he still couldn't help but think about how he wished she didn't have to be involved in this fight. But she was in this just as deep as he was, maybe even deeper because of all the pain that she'd had to deal with. It wasn't fair that she'd had to go through all of the mental and physical anguish that she had in the several months.

Hell! As much as he didn't want to admit it, even Emma was involved in this fiasco to a point. If he had his way he would take both Katie and Emma and lock them up somewhere far away from the fighting. But he knew that was never going to happen.

Tired, and feeling a little discouraged, he shuffled over to the futon and kicked off his shoes before falling on it fully clothed. And despite all of the thoughts running through his mind, he was out like a light in just a few minutes.

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

Sailor Pluto knelt on the hard marble floor with her head bent down as waited to receive an answer to her request.

Zeus sat on his throne; his light, almost colorless eyes narrowed on the woman before him as he pondered her words. "So, young Setsuna, you want me to grant amnesty to Chronos from a law that has stood for centuries so that he can meddle in the lives of humans. I put that law into place to protect the humans from the rather…intense side effects that our presence and our power had on the mortal world."

Pluto's head snapped up. "Please! I'm begging you to consider my request. Besides, I'm not asking that he be allowed to go to Earth or even come into contact with any humans. But him lending me a hand on the time plane should not be out of the question. He is the god of time, is he not? Therefore shouldn't he have the right to help see it returned to its proper state?"

"Setsuna…" Hera muttered in a warning tone as she laid a hand on her husband's arm. She wasn't sure how he would react to such outspokenness.

Most people avoided doing or saying in front of the king of the gods that might anger him because he had such a volatile nature that they never knew how he would take it.

Zeus shrugged off his wife's hand and sat forward to prop his elbows on his knees as he glared at Pluto. "Are you questioning my authority? If I am not mistaken it was supposed to be your job to protect the gates of time and ensure that the timeline proceeded the way it was supposed to. You knew that Discord would find his way there, and yet you took no precautions to defend your post. In fact, you almost lay down in front of him like a sacrificial lamb."

She jumped to her feet and threw her hands up in frustration. "So I screwed up, okay! I admit it. If the alternate timeline had appeared before Discord had made his move and I had known about the repercussions it would have on this timeline I would have never let him get that far. But in the timeline I saw it showed that I was supposed to let him overpower me, so that's what I did. If you want to blame somebody for this debacle you should point the finger at Apollo. I haven't been able to pinpoint it exactly, but I'm pretty sure that little stunt he pulled on Alex with the rage spell had a lot to do with throwing everything off kilter. Discord never would have been able to do half the damage that he did if Katie hadn't joined him in an attempt to save her brother's life. And let's not even mention the fact that Selene, Apollo, and Gaia have bent your rule about no contact with the human world since they have to communicate some with the Trinity bearers if we want Discord finally taken out for good."

She stopped for breath, panting slightly as she kept her garnet eyes fixed on the god before her. The silence between them seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Finally, Zeus spoke. "What exactly are you proposing to do?"

Relieved that he was at least willing to listen to her, she quickly lined out the plan that she and Talon had concocted to trick Discord into believing that DJ, Katie, and Alex were dead.

"So you see," she said after she concluded the explanation. "For this plan to be believable and to lure Discord into a false sense of security an illusion will have to be placed over the timeline to make him think that the future has changed. He'll never believe that the children are dead if he looks into the future and sees them there. I would do this myself if I could, but I'm afraid it exceeds the limit of my power. Even though I hold the garnet orb in my possession, I am only a quarter goddess. I need Chronos's power in order to pull this off."

Zeus lapsed into silence again as he as he thought over all that she'd said. Then suddenly a big grin appeared on his face. "Now I see why you irritate Hades so much. He has always claimed that you were argumentative, and now I see that he was correct. But you have brought up many good points. Very well, Chronos has my permission to assist you in this matter,"

Pluto blinked hard in surprise. She hadn't expected such a quick capitulation. "Are you serious?"

He burst into booming laughter. "I am quite serious. After the entertaining show your three little friends gave me the other night when they sent Discord running away like a dog with his tail between his legs I've found myself intrigued by the whole scenario. So if it helps keep them alive so that they will have a chance to face that useless waste of space, I'm willing to bend the rules this one time. I look forward to seeing what they do next. Their drama is better than eavesdropping on human television."

"I…I don't know what to say," the usually confident time guardian stammered.

Zeus chuckled and stood from his throne. He descended the few steps down from the dais to stand before her. "Why don't you just say thank you and leave it at that."

"Thank you," she replied quickly.

He gave her a grin and a wink. "Oh! And let's keep this little arrangement just between us, okay. If word got out that I allowed Chronos to do this I would be hit with petitions from all of the others. I already have to deal Ares' drunken ass at least twice a week begging me to let him have just one day of fun. All of the wars and civil unrest on Earth have been fueling his bloodlust. If he found out about this I would probably get no rest from him for the next millennium."

"My lips are sealed," she promised him.

"Very good," Zeus said with finality. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have to go have a heart to heart with Demeter. It seems that Persephone snuck away a couple of weeks ago to visit Hades against her mother's wishes and now the accursed woman is refusing to allow spring to come to a few regions. I need to go and set her straight so those poor people can thaw out."

"Nicely executed, Setsuna," Hera complimented Pluto as she came to stand beside her and watched as her husband walked away. "Not many people have the guts to stand up to him the way you just did."

Pluto shook her head. "It wasn't guts, it was loyalty. I've sworn to my queen to take whatever steps I have to take in order to help protect the life of her son, daughter, and the children of her reincarnated daughter. I also pledged a vow to her queen mother centuries ago when I first accepted my role as Sailor Pluto to help ensure that the royal lunarian bloodline continued on. And I take my vows very seriously."

Hera was the antithesis to her husband in looks. While he was extraordinarily tall with his pale hair and eyes and bronzed skin, she was of average height with dark chocolate colored hair and eyes with skin so fair that it almost appeared to be translucent.

She turned those dark eyes on Pluto now. "Your loyalty to your liege is commendable. That is not a trait that one sees as often as we used to. Sadly it seems that loyalty, chivalry, and nobility are slowly dying out."

Pluto smiled softly. "I believe they'll make a comeback. If time is willing we'll see a resurgence of some of the old ways."

Hera arched a brow. "You're speaking of Crystal Tokyo?"

The scout of time nodded. "If all goes as it should, then the time is approaching for Earth to have a makeover. My princess and her prince will rise to take their rightful places in this universe and the Earth will flourish."

The queen of the gods giggled. "How lyrically you speak sometimes. Are you sure you wouldn't be interested in retiring your position of being the time guardian and a sailor scout and coming to live here? You would cause quite a sensation in the court and we have several handsome, unattached demigods that would all be vying for a chance to sweep you off your feet."

Pluto smiled, although it was a little sad. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I must decline. My place is with my queen and guarding time." Then her eyes misted over and she whispered, "Besides, I believe that everyone has one true, great love. And I was fortunate enough to experience mine."

"You have loved and lost," Hera observed wisely.

Pluto nodded slowly. "It was when I was still a very young woman. I had already become Sailor Pluto, but I had not become guardian of the time gate yet. I split my time between the moon and my home on Pluto. While I was at home for a visit my twin brother, Nathaniel, introduced me to a friend of his."

Her breath hitched in her throat as the memories of coffee colored hair and a laughing face with bright green eyes flowed through her mind. "His name was Tristan and his parents were members of my parent's court. There was an instant connection between us and before I knew what was happening we fell in love. We had two glorious years together and were talking seriously about marriage when he suddenly became ill with a rare virus after a visit to the outer rim of the solar system. I was on the moon when I received word that he was sick and I hurried back to Pluto to be with him. The best healers from Mercury had been called in to attend him, but his life slipped away the day after I arrived at his side."

Tears shimmered in Hera's eyes. "That explains so much to me. I have often wondered why a woman as young as you were would agree to devote her life to guarding the time gate. And it also tells me why you adopted the name Trista when you needed a civilian identity after the reincarnation of your princess."

Pluto shrugged. "I had to find new commitments in my life after losing him, so I threw myself into my duties as a sailor scout. And when grandfather approached me about taking over as time guardian I jumped at the chance. It gave my life purpose again."

Hera patted her arm gently. "I understand. You are a very strong woman, Setsuna, stronger than I am anyway. I don't know what I would do if Zeus was ever taken from me. And now you better go tell your grandfather your good news so you can get back to work protecting those that you care about."

Pluto gave the queen a tremulous smile as she dabbed at the few tears in the corners of her eyes and left the chamber to go find Chronos.

Hera watched her leave with sympathetic eyes and whispered. "What a shame for one so young to have to endure such heartbreak. Such is the way of the universe I suppose. But don't give up on the possibility of ever finding love again, Setsuna. As Aphrodite is so fond of reminding all of us, love is a very mystical and overpowering thing. You may be able to see the future of those around you, but your own remains a mystery. I will always keep up hope that there is more in store for you than a long, lonely existence."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"Nebula, calm down," Luna pleaded as she watched her sister stalk back and forth across the length of Andrew's desk in his office above the arcade. At one time it had been his apartment, but it had been remodeled along with the rest of the arcade and with all of the walls taken down it was now one large space.

"Calm down! _Calm down!_" the rust colored feline shrieked. "Do you honestly think I could calm down after what I have just heard?"

She stopped her pacing to glare at Jess, who was perched on the edge of the desk next to Andrew, who was sitting back in his cushioned chair. "I can't say I'm all that surprised that you would agree to this, Jessica! I have always said that you were the most headstrong, rebellious person that has ever graced the face of this planet. Do you never stop to think things through properly? I know you have some brains inside that head of yours, and I had hoped that as you got older that you would learn to use them. But I can see know that you are exactly the same as you were when I met you at thirteen, stubborn and hotheaded!"

Jess merely smirked at her. "Did you really expect me to change that much, Bula?"

Nebula rolled her amber eyes before fixing them furiously on Serena, who was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk with Luna on her lap. "But you, Serenity! I expected a lot more common sense out of you. What do you think your sainted mother would say if she were here right now? I'll tell you what she would say; she would say that you are delusional! I thought you wanting to marry Endymion was the craziest thing to ever come out of your head, but this takes the cake!"

"Hey!" Serena snapped, sitting up straight and hitting the cat with a glare of her own. "I may be guilty of doing some impulsive things in both of my lives, but I can assure you that my mind is in perfect working order. And as for what you think my mother would say, I think that she would support me on this. Things are getting way too intense, and desperate times call for desperate measures."

Nebula's gaze swung back and forth between the two women. "Even at the risk of your own children's lives? I can see you putting your own lives on the line if you're that insistent on doing something, but to use the children…I thought better of both of you. Do neither one of you have a shred of maternal instinct in your bodies?"

Gasps came from Andrew, Serena, and from Darien, who had been sitting quietly next to Serena this entire time, but Jess's infamous temper shot right up through the stratosphere. She stood and whirled around to slam her hands down on the desk so hard that the solid wood piece of furniture trembled. Her eyes flashed bright blue for the briefest of moments before the light bulb in the desk lamp exploded in a shower of sparks. Andrew reached for her, but was knocked back in his seat by a surge of energy coming off of her.

Nebula cringed away from both the fiery sparks that threatened to singe her fur and the livid woman that was staring at her with eyes that shown coldly from underneath the emblem of a silver crescent moon and a golden rose that had flared to life on her forehead.

But instead of screaming, Jess's voice maintained a tight control as she hissed. "Let's get one thing straight, kitty. I never asked to be a sailor scout. I resented the fact that it was pushed on me from the very first day that you showed up and opened your mouth. I hated your preaching and your rules. I hated every ache and pain I felt in my body after every training session you made me suffer through. But over time I got over the resentment and started listening to what you had to say. And somewhere along the line I found the sense of duty that you were trying to instill in me. Now obviously somewhere in the future that gets passed on to my kids, so who am I to stand in their way when they are trying to fulfill a duty that life has put before them. I may not like it, but I understand where they are coming from and I will support them in this. And as far as my maternal instinct goes, believe me, it definitely exists. Defensive mother bears don't have a damn thing on me when it comes to wanting to keep my kids safe. I would rather take a bullet to the heart than see either one of them hurt. I may not have given birth to them yet, but they are my children and I love them. So don't accuse me of casually risking their lives, because I'm not!"

Her voice finally broke on the last few words and tears began streaming from her eyes. She turned away and stomped toward the far end of the long room where she leaned her shoulder against the window frame as she stared out at the late morning city.

Nebula stayed transfixed for a moment before shaking her head and looking at Serena. "You feel the same way that she does?"

Serena nodded. "I do. I'm sure the kids never asked to be put in this type of a position, but unfortunately this is the hand that fate has dealt them. I have to say I'm proud of them for stepping up and being mature about all of this. Most high school kids would run if they found this much responsibility dumped on them."

"You didn't run," Luna reminded her gently as she stretched up and bumped Serena's chin with her head. "You have stood strong and faced every obstacle that life has thrown at you."

"I wanted to run sometimes," Serena replied with a giggle. "I could probably use all of the fingers and toes of everybody in this room to count the number of times that I wanted to run away from it all and never look back and probably still not have enough to cover all of them."

"But the point is that you didn't run," Darien said as he reached for her hand. "Sure you may have been scared, but you fought back your fear as hard as you fought the enemies and you won every time. Not to mention the fact that you scared the hell out of me on a few occasions."

Nebula sighed deeply. "Is there no way that we can talk the kids out of this? They're just not ready to face Discord yet. They're getting there, but they need just a little more time to get a handle on how to direct their powers. Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward worked for a solid two years before they went to face Discord, and they worked almost nonstop. In fact, I remember hearing Queen Althea joke about how she thought it was a miracle that she had ever gotten pregnant with Endymion since she rarely ever saw her husband."

"Well that just shows you that they knew how to make the most out of the time they had together," Jess quipped as she walked back over toward them. Her insignia was gone from her forehead and her eyes were dry, though still slightly reddened. She eyed the cat warily for a moment before plucking her up off the desk. "Come on! I think you and I are way overdue for a little chat."

Nebula yowled and stared pleadingly at her sister as Jess carried her away. But Luna just rolled her cinnamon eyes. "You brought it on yourself, Bula. I've been known to say some harsh things before, but that was way harsher than anything that I could have come up with. And you're always going on about Jess and her temper, so you should have thought about that before you said something so stupid."

"You don't think Jess will hurt her do you?" Serena murmured. "I mean, I don't think she would. But she was really upset and people do crazy things when they lose their tempers."

Andrew kicked back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk. "Nah! They'll be fine. Those two have some sort of strange love/hate thing going on. It's almost like a parent/child relationship. Nebula is the domineering, overbearing mother and Jess is the rebellious, out of control teenage daughter. I've seen them go through this a lot of times in the almost two years that Jess and I have been together. They get mad at each other, words are said, and then the next thing you know they are the best of buddies. I quit trying to keep up with their mood swings a long time ago."

True to his word, Jess reappeared less than ten minutes later with Nebula sitting contentedly on her shoulder as they discussed various tactics that could be used against Discord.

"I think it would be best if the kids just pop in and unleash everything they can at Discord at once," Nebula was saying. "It will be a bit draining on them, but it's a surefire way to send Discord running from the time gate like a scared little girl. It will also buy us some more time since I'm sure he will hide away and try to regroup himself before he makes any other moves."

Jess nodded eagerly. "That's what we were thinking as well. If we blindside him and hit him hard and fast we can have the whole thing over with in just a few minutes."

"Where are the kids at? I need to talk to them," Nebula asked.

Jess grinned. "They're at the training clearing finalizing their plans with Talon."

Nebula bristled a little at the sorcerer's name, but kept her composure. "Then I'm going to go speak to them before they put this crazy plan into action." She jumped from Jess's shoulder and scurried out a partially open window to the fire escape.

Andrew chuckled. "Did you get her whipped into shape?"

Jess snorted. "Oh please! Like I would let that mangy fleabag order me around. She might like to think that she's the boss of me, but I quit taking orders from her years ago. I just let her know real quick that the kids were old enough to make their own decisions and that if this was what they wanted to do then I would stand by them. She gave in pretty quickly after that."

"And I'm sure no begging and pleading from you was involved in your little conversation," Andrew snickered evilly.

"As if!" Jess huffed as she stuck her tiny, slightly upturned nose up in the air imperiously. "I would prostrate myself in front of Discord himself before I begged that rabid feline for anything."

Serena laughed and then glanced at her watch with a sigh. "Two hours until the show begins. What are we going to do until then?"

Darien squeezed her fingers. "There's nothing we can do until then except wait."

* * *

One of the best things about being in Tokyo during the springtime was all of the festivals that took place. For about three weeks every year there was a festival going on in some part of the city every day.

Juuban had a reputation for always hosting one of the best festivals. It lasted for three days and took over not only the park, but also several surrounding blocks. Many streets were closed to motor traffic to make way for all of the attendees, food vendors, merchants, and game booths. There was also plenty of music, dancing, and live shows.

The festival planners always tried to schedule the event at the time when the sakura trees would be in bloom. Some years they got it wrong when it had been an unusually long winter, but this year they had struck gold. Pink blooms were everywhere and provided the perfect idyllic backdrop on this warm spring day as hundreds, if not thousands of people, milled around looking at crafts or playing games while munching on candy apples, funnel cakes, and all sorts of other goodies.

But there was one person in the midst of the crowd that was oblivious to all of the revelry. A tall young man with a black ponytail slipped through the crowds of people feeling like a hunter in search of his prey. And in reality that was what he was. The festivalgoers all around him were so caught up in the fun and excitement that none of them paid attention to his stealthy ways or the deadly serious look on his face.

He was on a mission, one that could mean life or death. He didn't care about his own life. What mattered to him was the tear filled green eyes that had taken up a permanent residency in his mind. He would do this for _her_.

He was becoming frustrated when he was unable to locate the ones he was looking for when suddenly there was a break in the crowd and he saw them, two boys and a girl. One of the boys had hair as black as a crow while the other was light golden brown. The girl wore her fair, silvery gold locks tied back with a silver ribbon and was laughing as she watched the boys competing in a shooting contest.

The hunter sat back and observed them for a while. He needed for them to separate so that he could get them alone and to a remote area away from prying eyes. Then he would kill them.

He didn't want to kill them. He wasn't a murderer. But to save the woman that he loved he was willing to become one.

After about ten minutes of watching he caught his first break. The black haired boy set down the pellet gun he held and turned to leave as he said something to the other two. They acted as if they were going to join him, but he waved a hand at them in a gesture that told them to stay and have fun. And then he walked away alone.

The stalker followed with his heart pounding in his chest. He pushed his way through the crowd, even rudely shoving people out of his way as he tried to keep the black haired boy in sight. They left the park and crossed the street to the outer fringes of the festival. Then the boy cut down an alley as a short cut to get to the next street without having to go around the block.

The would be attacker followed him in, and once they were a sufficient distance away from the busy street and alone, he pulled an ornate dagger from his pocket. He may not possess superpowers, but he knew how to handle a weapon. He took careful aim at his would be victim's back and drew his hand back before letting the dagger fly.

His aim was true. There were no sounds other than the muted thud of the blade as it buried itself high in the left hand side of the boy's back and a slight gasp from the victim before he fell to the ground and remained motionless.

The killer rushed to the victim's side and pulled the dagger out. He wiped the blood off the blade with the dead boy's black shirt before dragging him behind a dumpster where the body wouldn't be seen.

He leaned against a brick wall to catch his breath, severely shaken by what he had just done. Nausea churned in his stomach and he had to swallow hard to fight down the bile rising in his throat. He couldn't afford to lose his focus now; he still had two more people to take care of. Technically he could stop now since his master had only requested that one of the three be eliminated, but he wasn't going to take any chances. The evil entity he served wanted them all dead, so he hoped that killing all three would ensure the safe release of his love.

With a shaking hand he stuck the dagger back into his pocket and hurried back the way he came. He panicked for a moment when he reached the spot where he had left the other two and didn't see them anywhere. Then the sun glinted off of something light and he spun to see the girl standing in line at an ice cream vendor not too far away. He knew the other boy wouldn't stray far from her side, and sure enough he spotted him only two booths away looking at some items on display there.

The assassin noted with grim satisfaction that the booth was backed up to a heavy clump of tall bushes. It could prove to be the perfect place for an ambush. He snuck around in a wide circle and crawled his way through the foliage until he was right behind the booth. Peeking through a gap in the leaves he could see his target less than ten feet away. All he needed was for him to move a few steps closer and he would be in striking range.

Almost as if the victim heard him, he took several steps to the right, still perusing the merchandise, and unknowingly putting himself an arm length away from death.

The killer didn't stop to think about his actions. He just reached out from his hiding spot and grabbed the boy by the arm. He gave him a quick, hard jerk that sent him falling into the thick leaves and branches to land on the ground on his back. The killer was on him before a sound could leave his mouth and he buried the blade in the victim's chest, striking the heart with same swift accuracy he had used on his first victim. The light of life faded from the blue eyes.

The murderer barely had time to catch his breath when he heard the girl's voice very close to him. He peeked out through the leaves and saw her standing just on the other side of the natural wall.

He was ready to get this over and done with and he figured that this was as good of a shot as any, so he reached out, clamping a hand over her mouth because he knew that she wouldn't be as quiet as the boys had, and hauled her into the bushes.

His hand muffled her scream and she struggled against him as he pressed his front against her back. He knew he had to act swiftly before she really began to fight him, so he drew the blade of the dagger across her throat.

A horrible, wet gurgling sound came from her as she began to sag in his grasp. And in what was only a few seconds, but felt like hours, it was over. He dropped her limp body next to that of her brother, being careful to keep his gaze adverted from her. The last thing he wanted to see were her dead hazel eyes staring at him blankly.

Weak, sweating, and shaking, he summoned a portal and stumbled through it, trying to escape the mental images of what he had just done. He felt disgusted and dirty, but he hoped and prayed that his actions would pay off.

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

Deep down, in Chronos's subterranean chamber, five people stood in front of the massive time mirror watching the events.

Sailor Pluto flinched as she saw Jack fling the blade into the back of the duplicate DJ. Even though she knew it was all a ruse, she could still hear a voice screeching in the back of her head that sounded a lot like Neo Queen Serenity's. She shrugged it off and watched with a grim smile as a blonde haired boy that was really DJ in disguise disappeared from a nearby roof where he had witnessed his clone's death.

She turned to her grandfather and gave him a tight nod. He gave her a conspiratorial wink as his hands began to glow subtly and tendrils of power began to flow from them into the mirror where it began to infect the timeline with illusions.

Gaia shuddered. "Look at that little parasite hiding the body behind a dumpster like a common everyday thug."

Apollo chuckled. "Makes you miss the old days when we could just curse or kill any humans that we didn't like, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes," the earth goddess replied with a toss of her head. "People certainly acted better back then for fear of incurring our wrath."

"Oh please," Selene scoffed. "Like the two of you ever had anyone killed. We usually left that up to Hades, Ares, and their little cronies."

Apollo shrugged. "The point is that we could have if we wanted to. And don't pretend to be so sweet and innocent, your moon-ness. I've heard some of the stories about the trouble you, Eris, and Aphrodite caused back in the day. I heard that no man was safe from you three witches when you banded together."

Selene waved a slender hand. "Stories tend to become exaggerated over time. Ooo…it looks like your boy is up next, Mr. Sunshine."

Pluto rolled her eyes and leaned close to Chronos to whisper to him, "Now I see why Zeus is in such a bad mood most of the time. This is more like a preschool than the home of the gods."

Chronos chuckled lightly. "Tell me about it. Why do you think I stay down here most of the time? It's the only way I can keep my sanity."

"Ha ha!" Gaia drawled dryly since she was the closest to them and had overheard what they had said. "Not everybody is as fond of being as reclusive as you are Chronos, except for perhaps Hades. And the only reason why he's like that is because he spends half of the year screwing his wife and the other half moping about her not being around. You two close yourselves up down underground for centuries on end. I think you guys should get a life."

Chronos rolled his garnet eyes. "I'll think about it." Then he increased the power flowing into the mirror as he saw the fake Alex die in the reflection.

Apollo shifted his weight nervously and even looked a little concerned as he looked at what appeared to be his prodigy lying dead. "So do you think this will work?" he asked Pluto.

She shrugged as she saw the real Alex, disguised as a boy with red hair, vanish from the branches of a tree. "All we can do is hope. The kids want to get into the time plane to try and save Sasha and I need Discord out of there before he causes more trouble than he already has. This was the best plan we could come up with."

"They're not ready to face him, though," Selene said in her bell-like voice and then muttered, "Oh, you monster!" as she watched Jack slice open the throat of the Katie clone.

"I know they're not ready to battle him to the finish yet, but I think they can handle this much," Pluto answered as she watched the disguised girl with chocolate colored hair disappear from her hiding spot behind a bush. "They have made a lot a progress in a short amount of time. I believe that they are powerful enough to scare the crap out of Discord and send him running, at least for now. I'm confident that by the time he gets around to making his final move that they'll be ready for him."

"Here's hoping," Chronos said as one last large burst of power left his hands and entered the mirror. "Well if that bastard looks into the timeline now he should be very pleased. The illusion will stay in place until you regain your position at the time gate and activate the garnet orb, Junebug."

Pluto stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, grandfather. Now I better go and meet with the others so we can finalize our next move."

He gave her a brief, one-armed hug. "Good luck."

"Yeah, and don't go getting our little guys killed. We have plans for them," Apollo called after her as she left the chamber.

Pluto closed the door behind her, shutting out the sound of Gaia and Selene scolding the sun god for his insensitive way of putting things, and leaned up against it with a huge sigh. Now it was time to get ready for phase two.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

Discord threw back his head and let out a booming evil laugh as he saw Jack kill the prince of Crystal Tokyo and he felt that shining, golden aura disappear. Finally! One of those little bastards had been taken out of the picture.

He quickly turned from the small pool that he used to spy on his enemies to look into the river of time to check the immediate future and smiled broadly at what he saw.

_Sailor Pluto appeared in the throne room of the Crystal Palace with the body of the dead prince and laid it before the king and queen. "I'm sorry, your majesties. I have failed. I thought I could keep him safe, but Discord got to him."_

"_DJ!" Neo Queen Serenity screamed, jumping up from her throne and running to her dead son where she threw herself on top of him to sob into his chest. "My baby! My poor little baby!"_

Discord felt another surge in the timeline and swung back to the pool to see that shockingly Jack had also managed to take down the son of Melody's reincarnation as well. His smile only widened when the moon brat was dead at his hands only a minute later.

The time stream began swirling and flashing rapidly as events began realigning themselves due to this unexpected turn of events. There were too many changes for him to keep up, but he focused on the ones that caught his eye.

_Jess pulled a sapphire ring from her finger and held it out to Andrew with tears running down her face. "Here, take it."_

_He shook his head. "Why are you doing this?"_

"_You know why!" she snapped back. "I can't marry you. Why should I marry you now? You want children, and I refuse to have any with you. Why should I go through bearing your children when I know what their fate will be? I will not become a mother knowing that I will have to bury them someday. I can't take that!"_

_Andrew crossed his arms and stared at her coldly. "So you would rather them not ever exist at all?"_

"_Yes!" she shrieked. "It's better this way."_

_He turned his back on her. "I feel like I don't even know you."_

_Her eyes hardened. "Maybe you never did. Goodbye, Andrew."_

_She sat the ring on a table and walked to the door where she picked up a bag and walked out._

Another one grabbed his attention.

_Neo Queen Serenity sat in a rocking chair, carefully cradling a pink haired infant to her chest. The door flew open with a bang, making her jump and the baby cry out at the sound._

_King Endymion stalked in, looking furious as he clenched a paper in his hand. He pinned his wife with a chilling blue glare and hissed, "You spineless little coward! How could you?"_

_Serenity stood and lay the baby down in a nearby crib before turning to face him. "How could I what?"_

_He was on her in an instant, shoving her against the wall as he waved the paper in her face. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. That trip you took to Los Angeles to take Rini to visit Jess was all a cover up for what you were really up to. You secretly went to a doctor there and had a hysterectomy!"_

_She shoved him back hard. "So what if I did? It's my body and I will do what I want with it. And how dare you go through my personal papers!"_

_He raked a hand through his hair. "I only looked because I was worried about you. But I never expected this! You killed our son's chance at life!"_

_Serenity straightened to her full height. "No. I saved him from a short, pain filled existence. Neither his soul mate nor his best friend will exist, so it's probably better this way. So enjoy your daughter, Endymion, she's the only child we're ever going to have."_

Then she swept from the room, leaving the speechless king behind.

Discord cackled gleefully and rubbed his hands together, ecstatic at what he saw. So the Trinity bearers would never be born at all. That was even better than what he had hoped for. He looked forward farther in time. Crystal Tokyo still existed, but it would be easy to take without the threat of those little brats. The city was no longer the shining place it had once been. Instead it seemed dull with a dark, melancholy feel that hung over it as heavy as the gray clouds in the sky.

A quick peek showed him nothing but sadness and despair. It seemed that he wouldn't even have to worry about the possibility of being sealed away this time either. Endymion sat in his office nursing a glass of whiskey as he stared into the fireplace with bloodshot eyes. Serenity was passed out across a bed in a wrinkled gown with a half empty bottle of vodka and sleeping pills scattered on the bedside table. The young, pink haired princess was sneaking out her window, dressed trashily in a tube top and black leather miniskirt. And the solarian was knelt by a grave in the courtyard that bore the name "Jessica Elaine Alexander". Under that it said simply "Melody Rose".

There was a muted flash of light as a portal opened and Jack stumbled out of it, looking disoriented and confused.

Discord was by him a heartbeat later and pounding him on the back. "Well done, my boy! Well done! I always knew you had it in you! I sent you to take out one, and you delivered the deaths of all three to me. I couldn't be prouder."

"I'm so glad you approve," Jack muttered sarcastically. "I did what you asked, now it's time for you to live up to your end of the deal and let me and Sasha go."

"Now, now, let's not jump the gun," Discord said jovially and gestured to the girl still tied up next to the time gate. "See, your ladylove is just fine. I believe we have time for a short chat first."

"I have nothing more to say to you!" Jack spat furiously. "You told me that if I killed at least one of the Trinity holders that you would let us go. I did better than that and killed all three. So now I want you to let us go like you promised."

Discord stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Now why would I want to do that? You've proven to be very useful to me. Besides, you really don't want to return to Crystal Tokyo. Your actions today have had some very…interesting effects on the timeline. I seriously doubt that you would be welcome there anymore, if anybody there even remembered you in the first place. It's not exactly the utopia that you recall."

"I don't care," Jack snarled. "We had a deal. I take care of your little problem and Sasha and I are free to go. That's what you said."

Red eyes narrowed on him. "Well perhaps I've changed my mind."

"You bastard!" Jack yelled, throwing a punch at him.

Before he could blink he found himself tied up with the same ropes of energy that held Sasha and thrown to the ground beside her.

Discord sneered down at him. "You just sit there for a while until I have time to figure out what to do with you. Right now I have more important things to deal with. I must make my plans for striking Crystal Tokyo, and I'm fairly certain that my enemies from the past will not let the deaths of their children go unchallenged, so I should prepare for a possible confrontation with them as well." He spun away with a swish of his cloak.

Jack sighed. This was no more than he had expected from Discord. He had known all along that the evil entity had no intentions of letting them walk away. All he could hope for now was that help arrived before he and Sasha were both killed.

He sat up and reached for his girlfriend, who had been quiet through his discussion with Discord, and frowned when she scuttled away from him before he could touch her. "Sasha, what's wrong?"

She stared at him with a mixture of fear and revulsion as she whispered, "You killed them!"

It took him a few seconds to process her words and realize what she meant. He had not confided in her about the plan before for fear that Discord would use his powers to break into her mind and find out what they were plotting.

But he couldn't bear to have her thinking badly of him, so he pulled her protesting form to him until he could loop his bound arms around her and hold her close. Then he leaned down to say softly in her ear, "They're not dead. It was all a trick to fool Discord."

She stopped struggling and looked up at him hopefully. "They're still alive."

He nodded. "Yeah. You didn't really think that I would kill them, did you? I know I've been accused of being a bastard from time to time, but I'm not a murderer. Although I do kind of feel like one at the moment."

"But how…" Sasha began and then shook her head. "I don't understand. Discord believes that you killed them. You should have heard the way he started carrying on when he saw them die. What happened?"

Jack kissed the top of her head and mumbled. "I knew he wouldn't let us go, even if I killed Katie, Alex, and DJ, so I enlisted Sailor Pluto's help. She tracked down that guy that used to work for Discord, Talon, and they came up with an idea." Then he laid the plan out for her.

Her eyes were shining with tears when he was done. "So you didn't really kill anyone?"

He shook his head. "No. It was all an illusion to trick Discord. Now all we can do is sit tight and hope that the rest of the plan works out."

Sasha looped her bound arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you. I knew deep down that there was no way that you would do anything so horrible."

He settled back against the pillar their restraints were tied to and held her against his chest. "Now we just have to pray that the cavalry comes charging in before he remembers that we're here."

* * *

**_Tokyo -Present Day_**

As DJ rematerialized in the clearing he felt the magical disguise that Talon had placed on him disappear. Barely a second later he was hit by a flying body as his sister barreled into him locked her arms around his waist as she buried her face in his chest.

"You're okay!" Rini cried, her voice muffled in his shirt.

Rather than being annoyed, DJ returned her hug and quipped, "Aww, Bubblegum Brains, I didn't know you cared so much."

She reared back and began punching him in the shoulder. "Of course I care you stupid jerk! How many brothers do you think I have? Not to mention the fact that mom and dad would go into cardiac arrest if something happened to you, and I do not want to be around for that."

"Ow!" he yowled, pulling back from her. "Chill out a little, sis! Geez! I think I'd rather face Discord than put up with you like this."

Serena laughed as she nudged Rini aside. "Okay, out of the way! Future mother butting in here!" Then DJ found himself pulled into another tight embrace.

"Everything okay?" Darien asked as he joined them and clasped his future son's shoulder.

"Yeah," DJ replied. "It all went smoothly. Jack caught my double in an alley and knifed him in the back. I guess right about now he's heading back to ambush Katie and Alex's clones. It was kind of scary to see though. I never thought the bastard had so much talent with a weapon. But he knew what he was doing."

Serena released him and stepped back. "Well, he was raised by Discord, so it's only natural to expect him to know his way around weapons."

DJ snorted. "He did a good job of hiding it before. I used to hang out with him quite a bit, but I never suspected him of being able to hold his own. It's kind of creepy."

"He just better remember the ones that are taking all the risks to help him," Jess growled from where she was pacing. "If that boy makes one wrong move I'll be on him so fast that he won't even know I'm there until it's too late."

Andrew grabbed her arm to stop her frantic movements. " Would you calm down. You're starting to make me nervous. I'm sure the kids will be fine. Right Talon?"

The sorcerer nodded from where he sat on the ground next to Anya while they both glowed with magical power as they manipulated the clones' movements, but he didn't open his eyes since he was able to see through the eyes of the decoys. "As a matter of fact, Alex should be joining us at any moment."

The words had barely left his mouth when a red-orange flash heralded Alex's arrival. His disguise faded, leaving him looking troubled.

"Damn," he muttered. "I know Jack said that he had taken some martial arts, but he never said that he could move like a ninja. That was freaky."

"Oh, thank god!" Jess sighed and pulled him into a hug.

"And here comes our last little contestant," Talon said as silver flashed and Katie appeared. She looked a little shell-shocked and had her hand pressed to her throat.

DJ was the first one to her and caught her up tightly against him. "Are you okay?"

She pressed her face to his shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, just a little weirded out. It's not everyday I get to see myself die."

"Well congratulations," Talon said as he stood and carefully helped Anya up. "As of now you three are dead in Discord's eyes and completely off his radar. As long as none of you step foot outside this barrier it should stay that way. And if Pluto managed to work out everything on her end he should be feeling pretty full of himself right about now."

"Of course I worked everything out," Sailor Pluto snapped as she appeared in her usual burst of smoke and pink light. "Believe me, Discord is probably doing back flips right now with all of the images that Chronos has been feeding into the time stream."

"Exactly what is he making him see?" Serena wondered curiously.

"It's of no concern," Pluto said hastily. "Let's just say that they're not very pleasant when you look at it from our side and leave it at that. None of it would ever come true anyway. You are all too strong to give into such darkness. But since Discord likes to think that he is so superior and humans are so weak Chronos and I thought it was best to cater to his idea of perfection."

Jess rolled her dark blue eyes. "Ooo, how ominous! What did you do, kill everybody off?"

Pluto smiled grimly. "Not everyone. But I refuse to say anymore on the subject. Like I said before, it's of no concern. What does concern me now is trying to figure out what our next move should be."

She held her staff before her and stared intently into her garnet orb. A small frown marred her features as she muttered, "I hate not being able to see clearly. I can't wait to get that conniving cobra out of my realm so I can see again. This is so frustrating!"

Serena placed a comforting hand on her arm. "Just calm down, Trista. It will come to you. You've never let us down before, and I doubt that you're going to start now. And we're going to do everything we can to get the time gate back for you."

Pluto gave her an indulgent smile. "Still the cheerful optimist I see. Is there nothing that will ever bring you down?" Then she returned to her scrutiny of the orb.

Haziness swirled in it for several moments before it cleared enough to show her a vision. She saw the time gate. She could see Discord huddled with all of his hellish creatures as he tried to come up with a plan of when and how to launch his next move. And she also saw Jack and Sasha tied up to a pillar situated next to the time gate.

"I mustn't rush into to this," Discord was mumbling to himself. "I have all the time in he world to work with now. Crystal Tokyo is weak and if I time it just right that stupid queen, king, and all of their little friends will be eliminated before they can even figure out what is happening. I must plan this carefully. I will watch them for a day or so and catch them off guard at their lowest moment. I also need to watch for any retaliation from the past. They could prove to be dangerous despite the deaths of the Trinity bearers. But they will be riddled with sorrow and that could prove advantageous to me. Hmm…so much to think about."

Pluto pulled out of the vision. "We have time. He's not planning any sudden moves just yet, but he is aware of the possibility that we may try to move in on him so we'll have to proceed with caution. He did exactly as I suspected he would and has taken Jack prisoner as well. He and Sasha are unharmed, but they are tied up right by the time gate."

"So we need to make plans," Darien said solemnly. "It's time to call everyone in. Should we hold the meeting here so that Discord doesn't catch wind of it?"

Pluto shook her head. "That is not necessary. With the cover that Chronos is providing Discord will not see what is actually happening if he looks toward this time."

"And what are we supposed to do while everyone else is plotting and planning?" Alex grumbled.

Pluto pinned them with serious eyes. "You three are going to sit tight and do nothing."

"That's not fair!" Alex, Katie, and DJ exclaimed together.

But the time guardian stood firm. "Nevertheless, that is what you will do. Try to rest and reserve as much energy as you can. You're going to need it."

* * *

Jadeite tossed back the last of his drink and growled, "I don't see what all of the debating is about. I say we go in blazing hot and roast the hell out of him!"

Nephrite rolled his eyes. "Oh sure! That's always your solution to everything, isn't it? You'd rather shoot first and ask questions later."

"We will have to exercise some caution," Amy spoke up in a slightly louder voice than usual to be heard over the arguing men. "Fighting in the time plane will be different than fighting here because the atmosphere is different. Do you girls remember what it was like when we went through there that time on our way to Crystal Tokyo and ran into that droid?"

Raye nodded. "You mean that freak show that was able to reverse time around herself and sent our attacks right back at us?"

Lita cracked her knuckles. "She got hers in the end when we took her out with the sailor planet attack."

Amy waved a hand. "Yes, yes, that's the one, but I'm not really talking about the droid itself. I noticed a difference in our attacks while we were there. I never stopped to take a reading at the time, I guess I should have, but due to the heavier pressure there it seemed like our attacks moved marginally slower than they normally do."

"How much slower do you estimate?" Zoicite asked her.

She shrugged. "It's hard to say with accurate readings, but if I had to guess I would say a second, maybe two."

Kunzite hissed. "That may not seem like much, but it could make a lot of difference. It's ingrained in all of our minds exactly how long it takes us to charge and release an attack and how quickly it should impact an enemy. A second or two could be a large window."

Darien set his glass on the table. "But if the higher atmospheric pressure affects us, we have to assume that it will affect Discord and his buddies as well. If that's true at least it evens the score a little bit."

Amy shook her head. "I don't know. I'll have to talk to Trista some more when she gets back."

"That stupid cow!" Mina raged as she stomped into the dining room of the penthouse where everyone was gathered around the table. "Where the hell does she get off acting all high and mighty with me?"

"Mina," Serena said in a pleading tone as she followed her in. "I'm sure Amara didn't really mean anything by it. You know how she gets when she gets upset."

"I don't care!" Mina snorted as she threw herself into a chair next to Kunzite. "She was acting like a total bitch! I don't care if technically the outer scouts don't fall under my command, she didn't have to be so snappy."

"I take it that little conversation didn't go so well," Darien directed his comment to Serena.

She sat down with a huff and crossed her arms. "You can say that again. To say that Amara was pissed would be an understatement. I stressed the importance of how we needed to leave some people here in case Discord tries something sneaky and launches an attack here while we're inside the time plane. I asked that she, Michelle, and Hotaru remain behind with Skye, Jayden, and Hannah, and you would have thought I'd asked her to cut off her right arm. Then she really lost it when she found out that we were taking Rini and Emma with us and wanted to know why a couple of kids got to go and not her. So then I explained to her how Rini knows the time plane almost as well as Pluto and has a time key and how Emma was our link to DJ and the others because of her bond with Alex." She ignored the growl from Kunzite. "But she was being unreasonable so I had to do something that I swore that I would never do. I pulled rank on her."

Lita let out a low, surprised whistle. "You go girl!"

"I didn't want to," Serena protested. "But she was being so adamant about going that I had to. Now I feel horrible. I always swore that I would never use my position to force any of my friends to do something that they didn't want to do."

"Then she lit into me for supporting the idea and a few personal insults were thrown back and forth," Mina grumbled. "She just better be glad that Michelle hauled her out of here as quickly as she did because I was about two seconds away from transforming and challenging her."

Serena sighed. "I wish we were in the phase of the new moon. I could use some of mother's words of wisdom about this. She was always able to keep Haruka in line, so I'm sure she would have some good advice on dealing with Amara. The last thing I want to do is drive a wedge between the inner and outer scouts after we've worked so hard to bring everyone together as a team."

Darien wrapped a supporting arm around her. "You know how hotheaded she can be. She'll get over it and everything will be fine. You'll see."

"Damn, Serena! What did you do, piss in Amara's corn flakes or something?" Jess asked as she walked in with Andrew and Rini trailing behind her. "I said hi to her when I saw her getting into her car downstairs and she turned around and growled at me. Then she said, 'I hope you don't get blown up because of your idiotic mother' and peeled off like she was racing in the Grand Prix."

Serena moaned and laid her head on her folded arms on the table. "Oh, that's just great!"

Darien rubbed her back soothingly as he asked, "Did you guys get the kids settled in?"

Andrew nodded. "They've got all the comforts of home, almost. They've got food, drinks, pillows, blankets, and a portable DVD player along with a stack of movies. They should be fairly comfortable staying in the clearing overnight. We told them to get some rest and that we would come talk to them once we had something concrete hashed out."

Serena raised her head from the table. "And how did the other kids take the news that we want them to stay here? Did they get as mad as Amara?"

Rini shook her head. "Nah, they're okay with it. Jayden and Hannah didn't give us any trouble, and Skye grumbled about it for a few minutes, but she got over it. The three of them headed upstairs as soon as we got here."

Kunzite's head snapped up. "The three of them? Where is Emma?"

Jess grinned mischievously. "She's decided to stay with Alex, Katie, and DJ for the night. Her exact words were, and I quote, _"If my dad doesn't like it then he can feel free to come and try to drag me out of here. But I hope he's ready for a fight if he tries that, because that's exactly what he's going to get. Nobody is going to make me leave until I'm damn good and ready!" _But I'm merely a messenger."

"Oh she did, did she?" Kunzite growled and half rose from his seat. "We'll just see about that. If she thinks I'm going to sit by while she shacks up in the woods overnight then she's got another thing coming!"

"Kunzite, sit down," Mina said in a surprisingly calm and quiet voice. "There's nothing that we can really do. She's not a child, she is a young woman, and I think we should respect her decisions."

Kunzite sank back into his chair, looking a little bewildered. "But…but…"

"No buts!" Mina snapped, a little sharper than before. "She is in love. And if she wants to spend the night before what could prove to be a dangerous battle with the one that she loves then I will not interfere; and neither will you!"

The platinum haired general sat back and crossed his arms petulantly, but he let the matter drop.

Jess shared a conspiratorial smile with Mina, almost as if they knew that one day they would be mutual in-laws, as she sat down in one of the empty chairs and asked cheerfully, "So what's the plan so far?"

That snapped everyone's attention away from the drama of teenage love and back to the matter at hand.

* * *

Emma came awake slowly, blinking her eyes in the darkness as she tried to remember where she was. She felt arms around her and raised her head from the shoulder it was laying on to see the shadowy outline of Alex's features in the dark. She smiled gently at the sight, remembering now that she had camped out with him in the clearing, wanting to be with him before they marched into the time plane to face Discord. She had expected the past form of her father to come tearing after her, but obviously Mina must have been able to calm him down. She had been counting on that.

Her mouth felt a little dry, so she carefully untangled herself from her fiancé's, she giggled internally at that thought, arms and got up to raid the stash of food and drinks that had been left for them. As she twisted the top off a bottle of apple juice her eyes strayed over to where DJ and Katie were bunked. She could make out DJ's shape, but surprisingly saw no sign of Katie.

She spun around, her eyes searching for the girl and wondering where she could be. Certainly she wouldn't have wandered outside the barrier after all the trouble they had gone through to remove them from Discord's sight, would she?

She was debating whether or not to wake up Alex and DJ when movement in the middle of the clearing caught her eye. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Katie sitting on the grass in a pool of silver moonlight.

She wandered toward her, making sure to make a little noise so that she wouldn't startle her friend, and sat down beside her. "Couldn't sleep?"

Katie looked up from the notebook she was scribbling in with a grin. "More like I slept too much. I spent most of yesterday afternoon dozing on and off and now I've slept most of the night too. I was feeling jittery, so I thought I'd see if I couldn't maybe get some inspiration."

Emma took a swig of her juice. "Did you come up with anything productive?"

Katie shook her head. "Not really, mostly just random thoughts. They may turn into something later. I was just enjoying the tranquility of the moment."

Emma shoved her shoulder against her friend's. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I ruining your mood?"

Katie pushed back with a laugh. "No, you ditz! You know I don't mind the company."

Emma giggled for a moment and then sobered. "You know, Katie. I know we've never really talked about it, but I can't tell you how glad I am that you're back to being yourself again. You had everyone so worried for months. I thought poor Alex was going to go crazy there for a while. He mourned you like you were dead. I lost count of the nights that he cried on my shoulder, saying that you were never going to be the same. He blamed himself for it too. The night of the party he sensed that something was wrong, but we had swiped a bottle of champagne and had snuck off together. He wrote the feeling off as him just being paranoid. I felt guilty about it later too for not insisting that he go and check on you. Things may have turned out differently if I had."

"Oh no!" Katie exclaimed softly. "I don't want either one of you to feel guilty about what happened to me. Honestly, I've come to think of it as being a learning experience. Me being kidnapped was supposed to happen for a reason. Sure it changed me, and not for the better there for a while, but it's actually helped me in a way. I've grown stronger and gained the confidence in myself that I lacked before. Believe it or not, I used to feel horribly jealous of everybody else when we were younger. When we would all train it seemed like all of you were able to call upon your powers so easily while it was a constant struggle for me. I used to think that there was something wrong with me; that maybe I just wasn't meant to be a sailor scout after all. But now I realize that I was the only one holding myself back."

Emma flipped her long golden hair over her shoulder with a mischievous grin on her face. "Well I prefer to look at it from a more romantic point of view. If you hadn't been through what you've been through and needed DJ's moral support, the two of you would probably still be fighting all the time and driving everyone insane. I didn't think you guys would ever open your eyes to the obvious and admit that you were head over heels for each other."

Katie smiled dreamily. "Oh, I already knew that I was in love with him. I just had to wait for him to stop being such an arrogant jackass and admit that he loved me too." She fingered the silver charm bracelet on her wrist. "Took him long enough, didn't it? I had only been doodling his name with little hearts around it since I was twelve. It was really weird. One day we got into a fight and I ran home crying. While I was lying there on my bed it just hit me out of the blue that I loved him. It freaked me out pretty bad."

Emma smirked superiorly. "That's the way it usually goes. I remember that I was crushing pretty hard on Kyrian, or was it Julian, I guess it doesn't matter. I'd never thought of Alex as anything other than a friend until that point. But then one day he came walking in for lessons with Amy, just like any other normal day, and suddenly my heart felt like it was going to leap from my chest. Then he looked at me and I knew he felt the same way. The rest is history."

"Yeah, history," Katie sighed and set her notebook aside so she could lean back and tilt her face up toward the moon. The soft light had a calming effect on her.

"Are you nervous about the fight?" Emma asked after several moments of silence.

Katie nodded slowly. "I'm terrified, but I know we have to face him. If we don't try to defeat him he will destroy our world. And I want to live. I want to play and write music, get married, and maybe have kids of my own someday. The only way to do that is to get rid of him. So I'll just have to swallow my fear and hope that I have what it takes to get rid of that bastard once and for all. I'm also praying hard that nobody gets hurt in the process. We have a lot of lives wrapped up in this mess."

"Yeah, we do," Emma whispered and turned her head to look toward where she could vaguely see Alex laying where she had left him. "But I believe in you three. You'll beat him. I know you will. And then we can all get on with our lives."

* * *

**Elysian – The Future**

Emma wiped tears from her eyes as she watched the touching scene through Helios's viewing portal. "Oh my! Who would have ever thought that we could be so deep, huh?"

Katie laughed, although she had a few tears sparkling in her eyes as well. "Yeah, especially you Miss Airhead! I never pegged you as being so serious."

"Hmph!" Emma sniffed daintily. "Just for that I'm taking the last éclair! I was going to let you have it, but after that comment I've changed my mind."

"Hey! I was going to split that with you!" Katie protested as she watched her friend snatch up the last chocolate covered pastry from the plate on the table before them.

"Too bad!" Emma scoffed. "You don't need it anyway. I know we said you needed to put on a few pounds, but you're starting to resemble the Pillsbury Dough Boy."

"Look who's talking, Little Miss Aphrodite Complex! I haven't seen you do anything except stuff your face ever since we got here." Katie fired back. "DJ was wondering who ate the last chocolate chip muffin that he was saving in the kitchen. He accused me of it, but I knew it had to be you."

"Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't," Emma quipped. "I'll never tell. But I do know that I am claiming this sweet little treat for myself." She opened her mouth like she was about to sink her teeth into it.

Katie let out a growl that had sent guardians and sentinels fleeing from her presence in the past. "You take a bite out of that éclair, Barbie, and you and I are going to have words."

"Eeekk!" Emma screeched and jumped up to run out of the room. Katie gave chase.

Emma was fast, but Katie was faster. As Emma flew down the long stairway, Katie vaulted the railing and dropped from the third floor to the wide entry hall below. She met the pastry thief at the bottom with a feral grin. "Are you going somewhere?"

A short squeal ripped out of Emma's throat when she realized she had nowhere to go. She could run back up the stairs again, and even if she managed to outrun Katie, which was almost an impossibility, she would just corner her in a room upstairs.

So she gave in gracefully. "Nice Kitty Kat! See look, Emma has a nice treat for you." She held out the éclair.

"That's what I thought!" Katie said smugly.

"What is going on here?" Helios demanded as he appeared between them in a flash of light. "Do the two of you have no sense of propriety? You two are grown women, and yet here you are tearing around and screaming like you are children instead of women in their middle thirties."

They both hung their heads, trying to appear contrite. "Sorry, Helios."

"The devil you are!" he fumed. "If it wasn't for the fact that I promised Sailor Pluto that I wouldn't, I would call your mothers here to take care of you. Maybe that's what you need since you want to act so childish."

Katie tossed her head back. "Look! I said I was sorry, what else do you want?" Then she realized that Emma was no longer behind Helios where she had been. She whirled around just in time to see the ends of golden hair slipping out the front door.

"Oh great!" she cried. "Thanks a lot, Helios! You just let her get away with the last éclair!" She tore off after her.

Helios threw his hands up in the air. "I give up! I'm too old for this!" And he teleported to Crystal Tokyo to seek the soothing presence of his wife.

Katie chased Emma as she ran swiftly across the wide spread of emerald grass that was the palace's front lawn. She was slowly gaining on her when reached a small pond where two men were standing.

"Save me!" Emma screamed and ducked behind Alex.

Katie ground to a halt and eyed the blonde peeking from behind her brother furiously. "Cough it up, Drama Queen."

Emma stuck her tongue out. "No way! You called me an airhead."

"Well you called me fat, and I was still willing to share it with you," Katie fired back. "Don't make me have to take it from you!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Alex said, playing the peacekeeper as always. "What's got you two so worked up?"

Emma pouted prettily. "We were just enjoying some girl time and having a snack while watching the past. We had just witnessed a heartfelt moment between our past selves when she insulted my intelligence."

Katie snorted. "I didn't insult your intelligence. I called you an airhead. There's a big difference! And then you had the nerve to say that I've put on too much weight!"

"Not hardly!" DJ retorted. "You've put on a few pounds and you look much healthier for it, but you're nowhere near fat."

"Ha!" Take that!" Katie crowed.

DJ leaned down to whisper in her ear, "If you're still hungry I have something you might like hidden in our bedroom. Rini managed to sneak me some of Lita's triple chocolate chunk cookies."

Her hazel eyes sparkled. "Really? I might be interested in that."

He turned and presented his back to her before gesturing for her to jump on.

She climbed onto his back, piggyback style and called to Emma, "Keep the éclair. I found something better." Then she wrapped her arms around DJ's neck and whispered, "Why do I feel like you have an ulterior motive in this?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

Her hold on his neck turned into a hug. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

He turned his head to look at her, his sky blue eyes dancing mischievously. "You have. But it's been a couple of hours, so feel free to repeat it if you like."

She kissed his cheek. "I love you, my dearest prince."

He chuckled. "I love you too, my fairy princess."

"Ugh! Look at them," Alex groaned as he watched his best friend walk away with his sister on his back. "They are so disgustingly lovey dovey."

Emma giggled. "They probably say the same thing about us."

He grinned wryly. "Yeah, they probably do. So, are you really planning on eating that éclair all by yourself?"

She gave him a seductive smile. "Oh, I might be convinced to share if someone is persuasive enough."

His arms snaked around her waist as he tipped her back and ravaged her mouth thoroughly with his. When he pulled back a minute later her cheeks were flushed and her breathing uneven.

"Was that persuasive enough for you?" he snickered.

She stared at him with dazed gray eyes. "Kiss me like that again and you can have the whole thing."

He lowered his lips to hers. "Your wish is my command."

* * *

**A/N **So there you have it! Sorry again that this one was a little shorter than normal. I had another scene or two originally at the end of this chapter, but I've moved them to the beginning of the next chapter because it just seemed to flow better. Or maybe it's just the drugs talking. Darn this cold! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. I really enjoyed writing the scene where we got a little more insight into Pluto. Both the anime and the manga were so vague on her that I love trying to give her a bit of a back-story. I want her to appear more human and less robotic, and since I'm usually abusive to my poor characters I came up with her tragic love story. Okay, so DJ, Katie, and Alex are off Discord's radar and he thinks that the future is severely fractured. Coming up next is the battle at the time gate. Our little Trinity holders are going to get a chance to really show what power they have now. Will it be enough to send Discord running? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Please remember to drop me those reviews. You guys know I live for them. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	25. Rally at the Gate

**A/N **Sorry about the wait for this you guys. My life has been hectic lately and I just haven't had much time to work on my stories much. But this is a nice long chapter with lots of stuff going on, so I hope that it makes up for it. Things are finally starting to come together and our heroes are about to storm the time gate to face Discord. I would tell you more, but I think I'll just let you read it for yourself. Now let me get my hugs out so you can get on with it. BIG HUGS TO:

**saveme57**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Seredhiel05**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**nileena**

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**sabina21**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**gots2luv**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**jade2nightwing**

**anime-lover10**

**KageNoNeko**

**Isis2010**

**Ailzzzz**

**YingYing**

**S dot Serenity**

**FanaticArmy**

**sunbeam07**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**Chibi Kitt**

**Lilcala**

**Katie**

Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I think you guys rock! Now since I know how much you have been waiting patiently for this I'm going to let you get on it with it. Oh, and _Rekindled_ readers, give me a few days and hopefully I'll have an update ready for it. I've just been super slammed lately. Okay, nuff said!

_**ENJOY!**_

_**

* * *

**_

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 23

Rally at the Gate

* * *

"Shhh," Rini cautioned as the group entered the clearing. "I can't pass this opportunity up. It's too perfect."

She crept closer to the sleeping form of her brother and knelt down next to him with a wicked smile on her face. Her twitching fingers attacked DJ's ribs at the same time she screeched "Wake up, dummy!" at the top of her lungs.

DJ jerked awake, his eyes instinctively turning gold for a moment until he realized it was his sister that had so rudely awakened him. The gold faded back to blue as he glared at her. "What the hell, Bubblegum Brains! Are you trying to kill me?"

Alex snapped upright where he was lying several feet away. His eyes flashed bright red-orange. "Wassa matta!" he exclaimed groggily.

"It's nothing; just an annoying sister problem," DJ told him as he propped himself up on an elbow. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Rini."

"Immensely," the pink haired girl proclaimed smugly. "It's not often that I get the drop on you. You usually wake up at the tiniest sound."

He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I guess I must have really sacked out. Probably because I knew that nobody was getting in here that wasn't supposed to. But I think Mercury needs to check her barrier again if it let you through. You are probably the most evil person I know."

"Ha ha," Rini intoned dryly. "Now get up. Andrew brought breakfast for you guys."

"Rini," Serena scolded lightly from where she stood nearby with Darien. "That's no way to wake somebody up. How would you like it if someone did that to you?"

Rini stuck her nose up in the air. "He's had it coming for a long time, believe me. You have no idea some of the things he's done to me over the years."

"Oh, I'm sure I could come up with a fairly decent idea," Serena countered back. "Don't forget that I have a little brother too, so I know what pains in the butt they can be."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Wow! I feel so loved right now. Please feel free to stop complimenting me any time you want to."

Then he glanced over at the empty space on the rumpled blanket next to him and bolted upright. He shot a glance over toward where Alex was laying alone with a blanket pulled over his head. "Hey, Lex! Where are the girls?"

That caught the brunette boy's attention. He sat up quickly and scrabbled to pull the blanket off his head, making his hair stand up in spikes. "What! They were here when we went to sleep. And I know Kat wouldn't go anywhere."

Rini snorted a laugh. "Don't blow a gasket, guys! They're right over there," she pointed toward the center of the clearing. "I guess you two snored too loud and ran them off."

The boys looked in the direction she was pointing and breathed sighs of relief as they saw Jess and Mina bent over and shaking awake the two blonde girls that were asleep on a blanket there.

Alex smirked as he took in the empty juice bottles and potato chip bags next to them. "Looks like they had a midnight party without us."

DJ chuckled. "Yeah it does. But they did fall asleep way before we did last night. They didn't even make it halfway through the first movie before they were out cold."

"Well, we told you guys to get plenty of rest," Andrew said as he began unpacking things from the bag he was carrying.

"Please tell me that you have something caffeinated in there," Katie grumbled as she stumbled toward them. She fell to her knees next to DJ and reached for her black backpack to shove the notebook she was carrying inside.

Andrew chuckled. "Yes, Miss Grumpy Bear, I brought you a caramel latte, made just the way you like it. And I didn't skimp on the espresso. I thought you might need a pick me up."

"Oh, thank god!" she groaned as he handed the lidded cup to her. "Sleeping on the ground was murder. Please tell me that we're moving in on that bastard today, because I could really use a hot bath and a real bed."

"Amen!" seconded Emma as she accepted a white chocolate mocha from Andrew. She tried to finger comb her tangled golden hair and then snorted in disgust. "I am so not the outdoorsy type."

"Like mother, like daughter," Kunzite snickered, earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Mina.

"Hey!" she snapped. "I went camping with you once, just so I could say that I had been. I can't help it if I prefer the luxury of electricity and indoor plumbing."

"Camping's not that bad," Jess protested as she joined them. "My parents and I used to go all the time when I was growing up. We'd go hiking and horseback riding during the day, and then at night we'd roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the campfire and make up stories. I always had fun."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I prefer the city," Mina sniffed haughtily. "All of those bugs and other creepy, crawly things…Ew!" she shuddered.

"Anyway, getting back to the main subject," Darien broke in. "Yes, we are planning to move on the time gate today. In fact, those of us that are going in first are meeting Trista in a couple of hours, so we wanted to make sure that you guys had time to wake up and prepare yourselves."

Katie shuddered. "I don't know if I like the idea of driving Discord away from the time gate like this. He has nowhere to run except back home. What's to stop him from attacking the city once he gets there?"

Alex nudged her shoulder with his. "Trista said that she's pretty sure that he'll go back into hiding for a while. And with her back in control of the time gate she'll be able to see if he makes a move and let us know. And if he does attack the city we'll just have to trust the parents to hold the fort until we get there."

"That could still turn into a disaster" Katie exclaimed. "Crystal Tokyo hasn't come under a direct attack in years. And you guys remember what happened last time."

This time Rini shuddered. "Don't remind me. At least the rest of you were out cold through the whole thing. But this won't be like when the Black Moon attacked. This time everybody will be on the lookout for something to happen and be ready for it."

DJ nodded. "She's right. And the security has been stepped up a lot since then. Discord would find it hard to march his army right into the city. If it came down to it mom, dad, and the others would seal him away again before allowing the city to be destroyed."

"Which would make everything that we've done here absolutely worthless," Katie grumbled as she picked at the cinnamon roll that she had taken from the container Andrew had set between them.

"Wow! And people say I'm cranky first thing in the morning," Jess muttered snidely. "Quit thinking about what may happen and start focusing on what we can do now. At least with Discord away from the time gate we won't have to worry about him time hopping and messing with past events anymore. He'll be stuck in one place and under Pluto's watchful eye. If he so much as sneezes, she'll know."

Andrew chuckled. "Usually you are ready to bite somebody's head off if they even speak to you before you've had your first cup of coffee, but you seem to be uncharacteristically energetic this morning."

Jess stuck her tongue out at him as she cracked her knuckles. "That's because I know I have a fight waiting for me. I'm hoping to get a swipe or two in at that bastard before he runs away with his tail between his legs. I still owe him for that dirty tick he played on me on the bridge that night. And I'm holding a grudge about that."

"Ooo, bloodthirsty much?" Serena laughed.

Jess's eyes gleamed bright blue for a moment. "You better believe it! Nobody takes a cheap shot at me and gets away with it. If I get a chance to ruffle that old bastard's feathers I'm going to take it. I may not be able to throw everything I want to at him, but I'm sick of him screwing up my life. And now he's messing with my kids too? Oh yeah! If I get the chance to make him bleed, I'm going to take it!"

* * *

_**The Time Plane**_

Sailor Pluto glanced over her shoulder nervously as she ran past the doors lined up on either side of her. She was pretty sure that she had escaped Discord's notice, but she was keeping a safe lookout in case one of his minions noticed her and reported her presence to the evil entity.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the door that she was looking for without incident and quickly removed the spell that she had placed on it before Discord had taken over the time gate.

She slipped through the door as fast as she could and then replaced the charm to prevent Discord's access. This was one place that he could not be able to get to. If he did it could mean the destruction of Earth.

A small smile lifted her lips as the familiar hallway of the Crystal Palace appeared around her. A small gray cat jumped to attention on the cushion set across from the door that she had just come through.

"Lady Pluto!" Diana exclaimed. "I have been hoping for your return! Is all well in the past?"

Pluto stooped and gathered the feline into her arms. She nuzzled the furry head with her cheek. "It is good to see you too, Diana. Yes, everything in the past is as well as can be expected at the moment. You haven't been spending all of your time sitting outside that door, have you?"

Diana shook her head. "No, not all of it. But her majesty has asked me to keep an eye on things. We hear things behind the door sometimes. Discord had tried to force his way through a few times, but your spell has kept him out."

"Well you're probably about to hear a lot more coming from behind that door," Pluto muttered, and then asked. "Where is the queen right now? It's imperative that I speak to her."

Diana nodded. "I believe both the queen and king are still having breakfast in the morning room. Things have been in a bit of an uproar since Discord popped in from out of nowhere and took Sasha and Jack a few days ago. They have been working with the scouts and generals nonstop since then to make sure that the security around the city is as tight as possible."

Pluto listened as the petite cat quickly brought her up to date on what had been happening recently in Crystal Tokyo as she climbed the stairs to the main level of the palace. The heels of her boots tapped out a staccato rhythm as she hurried across the polished floor of the grand hall. She sat Diana down as she approached her destination.

The door to the morning room was closed, so she knocked firmly and waited until a slightly gruff voice replied, "Come in."

She eased the door open and slipped inside. But instead of finding the two monarchs enjoying a quiet breakfast together she found herself faced with two extremely agitated looking people and a black feline.

"Serena, some sort of statement is going to have to be released to the public," Luna was saying from her perch on the table near the queen's plate. "People are going to notice the increase in the number of guards in the city as well as the increase in patrols by the scouts and generals. It would be best if you address it before the rumors start flying."

Serenity raised a hand in greeting to Pluto before answering her advisor. "I know that, Luna. But it's going to have to be handled very carefully. If we flat out say that there is the threat of a possible attack there would be riots in the streets."

"I don't give a damn, Drew!" Endymion was barking into a cell phone. "That ambassador can just get pissed about me canceling our meeting, but I don't want any foreign diplomats or politicians in Crystal Tokyo right now. That's a liability that I don't want to mess with if the shit hits the fan while they're here. But we'll talk more about it when you get here. Trista just came in, so I'm going to see what she knows. See ya soon."

He disconnected the call and tossed the phone onto the table before pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation and sighing deeply.

"We'll figure something out, Luna!" Serenity snapped. "Right now I want to hear what Trista has to say. I seriously doubt that she chanced a trip through the time plane for nothing. So I'm sure what she has to tell us is important.

Pluto nodded. "It is. I told you the last time we spoke that things in the past have not gone exactly the way that you remember them. We have hit a few bumps in the road and had to make some modifications. And now we are about to try and clear a huge hurdle."

"Are my babies okay?" Serenity asked quickly.

Pluto gave her a reassuring smile. "Both Rini and DJ, as well as all of the others, are doing well. They have been training hard and have been diligent in their school studies while still managing to find a little time for fun. But Discord threw us a curveball and we've had to take some steps in order to deal with it. You see, originally Jack and Sasha were never supposed to come here. Discord used those poor brainwashed kids until he felt like he had gotten all he could out of them, and then he killed them. But thanks to some changes in the timeline they realized that he had been lying to them and got away while they could. But now that he has taken them back it has put a bit of a twist on things. Discord held Sasha hostage at the time gate and threatened to kill her if Jack didn't go to the past and kill either DJ, Katie, or Alex."

Serenity gasped, her hand at her throat. "That's terrible! Those poor kids! They were just starting to get their lives together too. Raye and Jed have been beating themselves up because Discord popped in and took them right under their noses."

Endymion sat forward in his seat with an intent look. "So what happened? The kids didn't have to fight Jack, did they?"

Pluto waved a hand. "It's too long of a story to go into right now. You'll probably start remembering some of it yourself when the time stream finally settles down and your past has a chance to realign itself. To make a long story short, I intervened on Jack's behalf and gave him a chance to talk to the kids without Discord knowing. Then we enlisted Talon's help, since he knows Discord probably better than anyone, and we came up with a plan."

Then she lined out everything that had happened over the last couple of days, including DJ, Katie, and Alex faking their deaths.

"So right now Discord thinks that all three of them are dead?" Serenity murmured when she had finished.

Pluto nodded. "Yes. And thanks to Chronos's help he also believes that this time is in complete disarray. So while he's busy rubbing his greedy little hands together and making plans your past selves and the others are going to confront him at the time gate. And when the time is right DJ, Katie, and Alex are going to pop in and take him by surprise. I need the time gate back under my control, and we're hoping that he will run. We also hope to rescue Jack and Sasha at the same time."

Endymion's eyes narrowed. "Are the kids ready for that? They haven't been training with their new powers all that long and they haven't discovered the keys yet."

Pluto inclined her head. "I think they're well equipped enough to handle this. We are not planning on this being a full-blown confrontation, but more of a shock factor. He will try to defend his position when your past selves go in, thinking that it's a retaliation for the kid's deaths. But once he realizes that he has been tricked he will have no choice but to retreat. Which, of course, will put him right back in this time, so I wanted to make sure that you were prepared. But from what I heard when I came in you're already one step ahead of me."

Serenity nodded. "We have secured the borders of the city and set up checkpoints at the entrances. Only residents or people that can prove that they have business inside the city are allowed in. And the palace is practically on lockdown. Nobody can get in unless they have the highest security clearance. I even convinced my parents to come and stay here for a while. Sammy and Hotaru are coming too and bringing little Kenny, so that makes me feel better. And Amara and Michelle have agreed to move in temporarily as well. Jess and Drew have been staying here more than they have at their house since this whole thing started anyway, and they're only a block away if anything does happen. So that takes care of the immediate circle, I just have to worry about the rest of the city."

"I don't think you have to worry about any immediate danger," Pluto told her. "I'm sure Discord will hide away and lick his wounds for a while once we chase him away from the time gate. I just wanted to warn you about what was going on so that you wouldn't be too concerned if you hear a lot of noise coming from behind the door to the time plane. I know both of you have the power to break my sealing spell, but I'm asking you not to interfere. As long as that charm is in place I have the peace of mind knowing that demon cannot enter the palace that way. I will unlock the door myself once I have reclaimed my position and the time key that Discord stole from me."

Serenity and Endymion shared a long look between each other and Pluto knew that they were having one of their silent conversations. But understanding and resignation appeared on their faces as they turned their attention back to the time guardian.

"We will not interfere," Serenity told her. "We will trust in the kids and our past selves. Just keep them safe for us."

Pluto bowed her head respectfully. "I will protect them with my life, your majesty."

Just then there was another knock at the door.

Serenity groaned and set her piece of toast down. "Can I not finish my breakfast this morning? This is beginning to feel like Grand Central Station. Come in!"

The door opened and two men walked in. Pluto immediately identified one as being Talon's oldest son, Kyrian, but the other one was a stranger to her.

"Kyrian!" Serenity squealed with a bright smile. "I wouldn't have been so snappy if I'd known it was you knocking on my door. How are you doing, sweetie? Have you had breakfast yet?"

Kyrian laughed and tossed his head to clear his longish, dark brown hair away from his glittering black eyes. "I'm fine, Aunt Serena. And no, I'm not hungry. Mom stuffed me full before I left this morning. Dad just wanted Evan and I to come and check in with you and see if you needed any help. He's been sensing that something is coming soon."

"Well that was nice of him," Serenity said. Then she turned to Pluto. "Oh, Trista! I don't think you've ever had the opportunity to meet Evan before. He is Talon's right hand man I guess you could say. And Evan, this is Trista; otherwise known as Sailor Pluto."

Pluto nodded her head to the man with the white blonde ponytail. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

He stepped forward and took her hand in his. "I assure you, Lady Pluto, the pleasure is all mine." Then he pressed his lips to the backs of her gloved fingers.

Pluto felt a tiny shiver run through her and her cheeks heat up at the combination of his deep, husky voice and the pressure of his lips. Her startled eyes flew up to meet his and she found herself lost for a moment in his unusual, golden amber gaze. And she had to look way up. She stood six feet tall in her bare feet, 6'2" in her boots, so she was used to being on fairly equal terms with most men. But this man stood every bit of 6'8", and she actually felt dainty and petite next to him.

She tore her eyes away from his and carefully pulled back her hand. Then she cleared her throat nervously. "I will take my leave now, your majesties. I still have a lot to do."

"Of course, Trista," Serenity said, a mischievous smile playing around her lips. "Please be very careful. I will be praying that everything turns out okay."

Pluto gave both monarchs a short bow and turned to leave the room.

"I look forward to seeing you again, Lady Pluto," Evan called after her.

She spared him a quick glance and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before striding quickly out the door.

'_And just what was that about?' _Endymion asked his wife silently.

Serenity grinned impishly at him. _'I guess Mina was right. She said she had a hunch about those two. What a nice coincidence that they both happened to be here this morning. I'll have to report to Mina about what I saw.'_

Endymion groaned mentally. _'Please don't tell me that you and Mina are going to try to play matchmaker again.'_

Serenity's smile widened. _'I don't think we'll have to. Did you see the way they looked at each other?'_

Out in the hallway, Pluto leaned against the wall with her hands pressed to her flaming cheeks while she tried to bring her suddenly pounding heart under control. She was a confirmed admirer of handsome men, but none had made her feel this way for many, many centuries. She had not been interested in a relationship nor had she taken a lover, not even for a one-night stand, since Tristan had died so long ago. No man had been able to touch her on the same emotional level that he had.

But there was something about this Evan that had sucked her in right away. It was almost like a giant magnetic pull. For the first time in centuries she found herself wondering what it would feel like to be held and kissed by a man that she cared for.

She shook her head sharply. She had no time to be pondering about stuff like this. She still had a lot of work before her. And besides, she had made her life choice. Once this ordeal with Discord was over, she would return to her post as time guardian. She did take some time away from her duties at her queen's insistence, but those sporadic breaks were hardly conductive to building a relationship.

She pushed away from the wall and began walking back toward the door to the time plane. She couldn't think about this right now. She had a job to do and needed to keep her head on straight. But even as hard as she tried, the vision of that long, light hair and warm golden eyes kept intruding in her mind.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

Sailor Venus shifted uneasily from one foot to another as she looked at the girl standing next to her. It was almost like looking into a mirror, only with a few subtle changes.

Sailor Ishtar was almost the same height as her and had the same long golden hair, but her fuku was a much lighter shade of orange and her father's serious gray eyes stared out from her face instead of her mother's blue.

"Are you sure about this?" Venus asked for what felt like the hundredth time. "Speaking telepathically with your soul mate can be a tricky thing to learn to do. Even Kunzite and I haven't perfected it yet. If things get hectic it may be hard for you to contact Alex that way."

Ishtar shrugged. "Well I guess I'm just going to have to keep myself focused then. Alex and the others are depending on me to let them know when the time is right for them to show up, and I can't let them down. If they show up too early or too late it could be a disaster."

She closed her eyes for a moment to test her mental connection. _'Marco,' _she thought sarcastically.

A few seconds later she heard a chuckle and then, _'Polo. Baby, you really need to calm down a little. Everything is going to be fine.'_

'_Easier said than done!' _she snapped back. _'Sorry. I'm just so nervous.'_

Then she felt a warm, comforting wave flow through her. _'Relax. You can do this. I know you can. I'll be waiting for your call and then I'll be by your side before you can blink. I love you.'_

'_I love you too,' _she thought back to him. _'I better go now. Pluto just got here and I think we'll be leaving in a few minutes.'_

'_Be careful,' _Alex warned her gently, and then his thoughts faded from hers.

"Hey! Is everything okay?" Jess's voice spoke up near her.

Ishtar opened her eyes to find Sailor Eclipse in front of her. The skirt of her fuku was just as dark a blue as her eyes; the same eyes that she shared with her future son, eyes that were watching her in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ishtar's voice trembled a little as she spoke. "I'm just a little nervous that something will go wrong and Alex won't hear me when the time comes."

Shadow grinned at her. "It can be hit or miss sometimes. That's why Drew and I still rely on our cell phones so much. Distance can be a problem too, but Pluto swears that being on the time plane won't interfere with the reception. Just make sure you make the call nice and loud. That's what I do with Drew."

"That goes beyond being loud. It's more like listening to an alley cat screeching," Andrew chuckled as he walked over, his long black coat flapping around his legs.

Shadow glared at him and reached up to slide his dark sunglasses down the bridge of his nose. "I don't remember asking your opinion."

He pushed the glasses back up over his humorously sparkling eyes. "No, you didn't, but I gave it anyway."

"Smartass!" she grumbled, although her lips twitched like she wanted to laugh. "Anyway, Emma, just try to keep your focus. I've got your back, girl. Nobody's going to get to you without going through me first. You're dating my future son, so that makes you family. We'll go in, rough up a few baddies and when the time is right you'll call in our little surprise. We'll blow Discord's ship out of the water and be home in time for lunch. It's as easy as pie!"

"Don't get overconfident. He's still a sneaky bastard," Tuxedo Mask warned as he joined them. "We'll have to be cautious and on the lookout for any tricks he may pull. And he'll be gunning for you the moment he sees you, Jess. You're still one of his primary targets. He wants the Celestial Crystal badly, and we don't want a repeat of what happened on the bridge that night. That was entirely too close."

Now she glared at her past father's reincarnation. "You're killing my adrenaline high, Darien! I'm trying to stay upbeat and positive about this, but I plan on going in there to kick some ass. And I don't want any macho, He-Man bullshit out of either one of you guys! I'll gladly accept help when I need it, but don't steal my fight from me, please."

Both men grumbled, but looked away sheepishly. They couldn't argue with her logic. She had just as much right to get her hands dirty in this fight as the rest of them did; maybe even more so if you took into account the multiple attempts Discord had made on her life. But that didn't mean that they weren't going to keep an eye on her.

Sailor Moon walked over to them. "Are we almost ready? Trista said that we'll have to move quickly once she opens the portal. Discord will sense us the moment she does, and we want to give him as little warning as possible."

Tuxedo Mask nodded grimly. "I think we're about as ready as we're ever going to be. Let's do this."

They all turned toward Sailor Pluto, who regarded them all carefully. "Please remember to stick close to either Rini or myself once we enter the portal. It takes the garnet orb or a time key to be able to safely traverse across the time plane to the gate, and we don't want anyone going missing."

Everyone nodded solemnly. The time plane was a mysterious space full of twisting dimensions. Unexplained storms would blow up and attack anyone who tried to make it through the time plane without the protection of a time key. Any person attempting to do so would find themselves lost and unable to escape. And they would be doomed to wander the time plane blindly for eternity.

"And a word to a few of our more…temperamental fighters," Pluto's eyes rested briefly on some of them. Sailor Mars and Jupiter huffed in offense while Jadeite, Nephrite, and Sailor Shadow just grinned at her assessment. "There has never been a battle fought inside the time plane before, so I don't know exactly what to expect when the magic starts flying. So let's try to keep things under control. The last thing I want is doors opening and the backlash of our fight seeping into other times. The less mess I have to clean up later, the better. Now, are we ready?"

Sailor Moon looked around and took in the determined looks on everyone's faces. "We're ready."

Sailor Pluto held her staff up in front of her. "Be immediately on guard. I have not been able to get an accurate number of how big Discord's force is, but he does still have several guardians and sentinels at his disposal. I don't know if he will send them after us or if he will keep his defenses tight around the gate. So be prepared for anything. Emma, wait for my sign."

The blonde girl nodded tightly.

Pluto thumped the end of her staff against the ground three times and the garnet orb flashed brightly as a swirling portal appeared before them.

"Let's go," she said grimly and stepped through.

The rest of the group quickly followed her. There was another flash of light, and then the portal and the fifteen people that had been there only a moment before vanished.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

"I've done figured out how that bastard is going to kill us. He's going to starve us to death," Sasha groaned as she doubled over, clutching her cramping stomach.

Jack sighed and looped his bound hands around her to pull her close against him. He wished that he could say something to refute what she had just said, but he knew she might be right. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since his watch refused to work there, but he knew that it had to have been at least three days since Discord had taken them from the park in Crystal Tokyo. That had been on Saturday, and neither one of them had eaten since breakfast that morning. True, he hadn't been tied up next to her until late on Monday morning, but food had been the last thing on his mind while he had been tracking and making plans in the past.

"How long do you think it's been?" Sasha murmured softly as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not really sure," he told her truthfully. "It's hard to gauge time here. My best guess is that it's Tuesday, maybe even Wednesday."

She sighed heavily. "Do you think they'll really come for us? I mean, we've done some horrible things to them. I wouldn't blame them if they left us here to rot. We'd deserve it."

He squeezed her a little tighter, trying to offer what comfort he could. "Of course they're going to come for us. They promised. And I'm not just talking about Katie, Alex, and DJ. The past forms of the king and queen and the scouts and generals gave their word as well, and we know we can trust them. They'll come and set us free and we'll be back in Crystal Tokyo before you know it. Lita will probably welcome us back with a huge meal and then we can have hot showers and sleep in a soft bed."

Sasha's eyes drifted closed and a tiny smile lifted her lips. "That sounds nice. I'm so hungry and tired."

He leaned his head against hers. "I know. I am too. But we've just got to hang in there for just a little bit longer."

Anger burned in his gut as he saw Discord walk by a short distance away. He wanted to yell at him, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. The evil entity had ignored them completely ever since he had thrown Jack down and tied him up here like an unwanted dog. He had turned a deaf ear to them no matter how much they had yelled at him, and Jack seriously doubted he had the energy to raise his voice much above a whisper now anyway.

Being held against his will like this made fresh guilt bubble up inside of him. Now he could see why Katie had turned into such a cold, emotionless creature after her experience at Discord's hands. He was already about to lose his mind, and his circumstances were nowhere near as harsh as what she had experienced. She had been beaten, injured, locked in the dark, deprived of food and water, and had Discord constantly plaguing her mind with doubts and false visions. And if that wasn't enough she then had nearly been drowned to death. He felt sick at the thought that he had helped orchestrate the entire thing.

Like Sasha had said, they deserved to be left to rot away. But he had faith that help was coming. He had to keep that hope alive. There would be nothing left to live for if he didn't.

'_I'll help you, Jack.' _He could still hear the firmness in Katie's voice and see the determined look in her eyes as she made that vow to him. He knew that he didn't deserve her help, but she had promised him that. And while Katie could be a temperamental hothead, she definitely wasn't a liar.

Both teens jumped when Discord suddenly let out a great booming laugh and hurried to the viewing pool. "How perfect! My little friends from the past have decided to pay me a visit after all. I must welcome them."

A little shiver of apprehension raced down Jack's spine at Discord's ominous tone, but a feeling of extreme relief flowed through him as well. He nudged Sasha gently. "Did you hear that, sweetheart? They're here. They came for us just like I said they would."

Her drooping lids only lifted about halfway as she murmured. "Good. I want to go home."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"Alex, would you please stop that? You're making me more nervous than I already am," Katie complained as she glared up from where she was sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her pulled up knees.

Her brother's dark blue eyes looked at her in confusion. "Stop what?"

"Your pacing!" she half growled. "I swear you're wearing a rut into the ground. If you keep it up you're going to forge another Grand Canyon."

Alex looked down sheepishly and saw that there was a definite path to be seen where the grass had been trampled down under his feet. "Oops!" he muttered as he sat down next to her.

"So do you think they're there yet?" she asked quietly. "They've been gone for a while now."

Alex only shrugged as he propped his elbows on his knees and rested his chin in his palms.

"They probably are," DJ muttered from her other side where he was idly plucking at the grass. "But they said that they were expecting Discord to put up a fight and that they are hoping to take out a good chunk of what's left of his forces before we chase him out of there. So it could take them a while to call us if things are going well."

Katie began rocking back and forth slightly. "Do you think we made the right decision letting them put their lives on the line like this? I would feel like a coward if someone gets hurt while I'm hiding here."

DJ bumped her shoulder with his. "Hey! They'll be okay. They're not rookies and they know how to handle themselves. They've been fighting for a long time."

"Not all of them," Alex grumbled. "Not that I doubt Emma's abilities at all, I know she can be lethal, but if you guys could have felt how nervous she was…I never should have let her go."

Katie unwrapped her arms from around her legs to hug her brother instead. "Oh, Lex! I know it's hard for you to let her go into a fight without you there, but we didn't really have much of a choice. She's the only way to contact us without Discord knowing. It's not like one of the others can just whip out their cell phones and call us. And if one of them had stayed behind it would have looked funny. Discord will be expecting the whole team and he knows that the scouts and generals never split up during a fight."

Alex waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just wish Pluto could have come up with a better way to contact us besides using Emma. And before either one of you say anything, I already know the answer. It would be too dangerous and too much of a tip off if Pluto opened a portal directly to us. Besides, we don't need a portal since we can teleport straight to the time gate thanks to our oh so wonderful powers."

"I'm glad someone took his happy pills this morning," DJ muttered sarcastically.

Katie nodded in agreement. "Apollo's not messing around with you again, is he? Because your attitude right now bites big time, bro."

Alex huffed and stood back up. "No! There's nothing wrong with me. It's just that this waiting is driving me crazy. I just want to hurry up and get it over with so we can…"

His voice broke off as a scream echoed in his head. _'ALEX!'_

His eyes shot up to meet the other's, his normally blue irises already flaring red orange. "We have to go!" he told them.

And in a flash they were gone.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

Discord looked up with a wide grin as the figures began materializing through the mist that enshrouded the surrounding time plane. "Well, well, I see all of you were able to make it past my little welcoming party. I can't say I'm surprised. Those worthless beings that I sent to greet you were the last of my older models. You could probably take those out in your sleep."

"I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit, old man!" Sailor Shadow growled as she stepped into full view. Sailor Moon stood to her right while Tuxedo Mask and Andrew flanked them on either side. "You had to have known that we would come here eventually."

He inclined his head mockingly. "I had an idea that you might at some point. I just wasn't sure how soon you would cope enough with your…devastating losses…to be of a frame of mind enough to come and face me. Have you come to seal me away again?"

"What kind of readings are you getting, Mercury?" Sailor Moon whispered out of the corner of her mouth to the woman behind her.

The blue head shook. "Nothing concrete yet. I'm still waiting for the results of my scans. But what I have so far shows that the guardians and sentinels he has grouped around him are much stronger than the ones we faced coming in. Just keep him talking for another minute while I finish up."

"Tsk, tsk," Discord clucked his tongue. "Are you trying to figure out the secrets of my new pets, Serenity? Go ahead, I have nothing to hide. I believe you will find them far superior to the woefully inadequate beasts I have unleashed in the past. They haven't seen any action yet, but the test run I ran back a couple of weeks ago was promising. I do believe it would have been successful in killing that pitiful earth prince and that moon brat if there hadn't been any…interference."

"You sick bastard!" Sailor Moon snarled.

Discord let out a low chuckle. "I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve there? I suppose I did since your loss is still so fresh in your mind. I did warn you that those brats were going to die; you just chose not to believe me. Instead you continued to place all of your hopes in them; and in the end I was still the victor. The Galactic Trinity is no more, and that means that there is nobody left who can destroy me."

Sailor Shadow clenched her fists at her sides. "You wanna bet on that, asshole! You were too much of a chicken shit to face me head on before. You say that you're this all powerful entity, but you snuck up behind me and tried to ambush me instead of standing up and acting like one. So if you're so great, then bring it on! I'm right here in front of you, buddy! So come on and show me how good you are!"

Andrew grabbed her arm. "Good god, Jess! Mercury said to keep him talking, not call him out. Chill out a bit."

"Don't tell me to chill out! I want a piece of him!" she hissed back between clenched teeth.

Discord's expression had turned unexpectedly amused during Sailor Shadow's speech. "Do you honestly think I'm scared of you, little princess? While it's true that you have more than enough power to annihilate me, you and I both know that you won't do it. You are too much of a sympathetic fool. You had your chance once before to destroy me, but you let your weakness for that pitiful planet stop you. And I wouldn't suggest that you go too crazy here either. I'm not entirely sure what would happen if a large influx of power were to be released inside the time plane."

Sailor Jupiter cracked her knuckles as she stepped forward. "Who needs powers? You're so pathetic that I bet we could just kick your ass the old fashioned way."

"Hell yeah!" Jadeite seconded as he shared a high five with the green suited scout.

"Please, Jed, don't encourage her," Nephrite grumbled.

Discord merely shook his head at them. "How sad, all of this animosity over three little lives. I thought you were the heroes of Earth and devoted to protecting the entire planet. Yet here you are gambling away your lives in an attempt to exact some vigilante revenge for the loss of only three lives out of billions. That seems a little selfish to me."

A snarl ripped from Tuxedo Mask's throat. "Those weren't just any lives that you stole from us. They were our children!"

"Oh please, Endymion!" Discord scoffed. "That boy was _not _your son yet. You have no children at this time. Even that little pink haired brat that I see peeking over your shoulder right now does not fall into the category of being your daughter. In fact, you wouldn't even be aware of any possible children in your future if it weren't for the fact that Sailor Pluto was naughty and bent the rules to allow all of this time travel to take place."

"Just who the hell does he think he's calling a brat?" Sailor Crescent Moon muttered petulantly from where she stood behind Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. "And how dare he talk about my little brother like he's nothing! Ooo, I wish I could take him on myself!"

"I just wish he'd shut up," Jadeite snickered. "He monologues worse than any villain I've ever seen. I'm ready to cut the chit chat and get this party started."

"Patience," Kunzite warned quietly. "I'm sure we'll be getting our chance very soon. Zoi, how's it looking?"

Zoicite looked up from where he had been studying the computer screen over Mercury's shoulder. His green eyes looked slightly troubled. "The good news is that they only outnumber us two to one. The bad news is that they are a lot stronger than the guardians and sentinels that we've been fighting, so it will probably take us double teaming them in order to take any of them out."

"That could complicate things," Mars hissed.

Venus nodded. "But it's not impossible. We'll just have to stay in pairs and try to watch each other's backs as much as possible." She turned to Ishtar beside her. "Except for you. I want to stay with at least two people at all times. Got it?"

The blonde girl nodded determinedly. "Got it!"

Apparently Discord was ready to end the conversation as well. "So was there a reason for all of you coming to pay me this little visit, or did you just come here to talk? I have other business that I would like to get on with."

"Oh, I have a reason all right! It's called kicking your ass!" Sailor Shadow spat furiously. She took a step forward, but Andrew's hand on her arm kept her from going any farther.

Discord shook his head and chuckled. "Like mother, like daughter I see. That little moon brat had a nasty temper and loud mouth as well. It's no wonder that Jack went for her throat when he killed her. It was the quickest way to shut her up. Isn't that right, Jack?"

He ignored the outraged gasp from Sailor Shadow and the murderous growl from Andrew as he turned toward the two teens that were tied up beside the time gate. They both glared at him in disgust for a moment before deliberately turning their heads away.

He sighed as he looked back toward the group. "What a shame. They used to be so loyal to me. My world was the only one that they knew until they were sucked into your happy little fantasy of goodness and light. I took them in, two pitiful little children that had been abandoned by their whore mothers, and I gave them a home. Sadly though, they showed me how pathetically human they were when they gave into your corruption. But in the end my boy made me proud when he took out the greatest threat to me. It took a little persuasion on my part, but he is the one that killed the Trinity bearers."

"You forced him!" Sailor Moon ground out from between clenched teeth. Her eyes darted over to where Jack and Sasha sat, leaning against one another. They were both weak and rumpled looking as they stared at her with beseeching eyes, and her heart went out to them. "I can look at that boy and tell that he is no killer. You must have blackmailed him or something."

"Of course I did!" Discord snorted. "It was simple enough to do. You humans are so weak when it comes to love. All I had to do was take his little girlfriend away from him and he became my willing subject. And would you like to know how he did it?"

His hand appeared out from under his cloak to reveal Endymion's dagger clutched in his hand. A wide smile appeared on his face as he heard Sailor Moon's light gasp and a growl rumble from Tuxedo Mask.

"I see you both remember this," he said as conversationally as if he were discussing the weather. "It is a very impressive piece of craftsmanship, Serenity. It is Lunarian, is it not? I don't believe a metal such as this has ever existed on Earth."

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth together. "It's Venusian, actually. Where did you get that?" She knew very well where he had found it, but she had to play along with the charade in order to keep him from finding out about Jack's treachery.

He shrugged. "I found it buried away in some of Beryl's belongings inside her old base. I thought it would be symbolic to have it be the weapon that took the lives of those persistently pesky children. Who knows," he turned his eager gaze toward Sailor Shadow, "maybe next I'll use it to carve the Celestial Crystal from dear Melody's body. That way I won't have to worry about her foiling my plans again."

"Just try it!" Shadow snarled. "I've had enough of this shit! It's time to stop talking and settle this once and for all!"

Discord inclined his head to her. "I couldn't agree with you more princess. If I take care of you here it makes my job in the future just that much easier." He waved forward about a third of his forces. "They're all yours, my pets."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

The small group of people gathered in the lower level of the palace jumped when they heard a faint boom come from behind the door they were standing outside of. They all looked at one another in wide-eyed shock, but remained silent.

At least until Jess slid down the wall she was leaning against to sit on the floor and buried her face in her pulled up knees as she groaned, "This sucks so bad! I can't believe that there's a fight with Discord happening on the other side of that door and we're stuck sitting here."

Andrew smirked and leaned a shoulder against the wall opposite her. "Well, in a way you are on the other side of that door fighting, so at least some form of you is getting to kick some ass. Doesn't that count for something?"

She raised her head to glare at him. "Your dry humor isn't helping any. You know what I mean."

"I know I do," Serenity said as she sank down next to her, muttering under her breath as the long skirt of her formal dress got twisted up underneath her. She wished that she'd had time to go change into something more comfortable, but she had rushed out of a formal luncheon the moment Diana had come to inform her that something was happening behind the time door.

"Serena! You're going to rip that skirt if you keep pulling on it like that!" Mina admonished her.

The queen rolled her eyes. "Big deal! It's not like I don't have a humongous closet full of other dresses to choose from."

"But I designed that one," the blonde love goddess pouted.

Kunzite placed an arm around her shoulders. "Sweetheart, we have more serious things to think about than whether or not Serena damages a dress."

She leaned against him and sighed. "I know. I'm just trying to keep myself distracted. I feel like I'm going to jump out of my skin if I don't."

"Amen!" Serenity and Jess both intoned together.

Serenity looked up at the one person who had remained stoically silent since they had arrived there. Endymion stood directly in front of the door with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. As she watched, one of his hands slowly lifted toward the dark, heavily engraved wood.

"Darien," she said in a low, warning tone. "We promised; no interference."

His hand dropped helplessly back to his side. "I know. But it's hard to not want to help them, especially since this is an event that we have no memory of. What if something goes wrong?"

Serenity scrambled to her feet, ignoring Mina's irritated sigh when her skirt got caught under her foot and there was a small tearing sound. She hurried to her husband and squeezed between him and the door so she could wrap her arms around his waist. She laid her head against his chest and whispered, "I wish I could help them too. But we just have to believe in the people we once were and in the kids."

The chest under her ear heaved with a sigh and then Endymion's arms closed tightly around her. "I miss them, Sere. Not just Rini and DJ. I miss all of them. It's not the same without them running around."

"It's definitely quieter," Kunzite chuckled. "I have to physically go look into Kyle's room most of the time to see if he's even there because he's so quiet. The only time a peep comes out of his room is whenever Nick is around and they're playing video games. I still haven't gotten used to not hearing Emma's constant chatter in the background. She's usually bickering with Kyle over something silly, on the phone, or has at least one of the girls around. Now it's just silent."

"I know what you mean," Andrew sighed as he slumped against the wall. "But at least you live here in the palace where there's usually some kind of activity going on. A pin dropping in my house would probably sound like a bomb going off. I never realized how much noise Alex and Katie actually made until they were gone. Now I find myself listening for doors banging and for footsteps running up and down the stairs. It feels weird to walk by their rooms and not hear them yapping to someone or any music or TV. It's kinda creepy."

"Kinda creepy? It's downright spooky," Jess retorted. "The other day I was up in my studio when I heard piano music start playing. I got all excited and ran downstairs hoping to find my kids. Instead it took me ten minutes to figure out that the old lady next door had a radio outside with her while she was working in her flowerbed. I was so disgusted with myself!"

Serenity giggled. "At least you're not as neurotic as I am. I've gotten used to Rini being gone over the years, but not DJ. For the first two weeks after he left I would go into their rooms whenever I was alone in our suite and turn on the TVs or stereos just so it felt like they were there."

Mina laughed a little bitterly. "We're pathetic, aren't we? If we're like this now, what are we going to be like if they all decide to go away to college? Amy, Raye, and Lita don't have to worry about it because Hannah and Jayden still have a couple of years left before they'll be ready to move on and Skye has already said that she is staying here to train under Lita so that they can open another branch of the restaurant. I don't know what Emma has planned yet, but I'm sure she'll follow Alex wherever he goes." She rolled her eyes at her husband's growl of annoyance. "Oh, be quiet!"

Jess shook her head. "I'm not sure what Alex's plans are. For a while he talked about staying here and going to the university, and then he's even talked about MIT or UCLA. As for Katie, well, if she's made as much progress in the past as I remember she'll be Julliard bound."

"Well I know at least one of my babies are staying here," Serenity sighed. "Rini made her decision months ago that she's going to stay here and take classes at the university. She also said that she wants to step up and start taking on more responsibilities as crown princess. But I don't know about DJ. A while back he said that he was going to stay here and take political science so he could be of use, but I don't think that's what he wants."

Endymion began chuckling, causing Serenity to look up at him curiously. "What's so funny?" she asked him.

He thought about the packet of papers that he had received from an old friend a few days before and shook his head. "It's nothing. There's no since getting worked up over where the kids are going to be in the fall just yet. Let's just concentrate on getting them home safe and sound from this ordeal first. Then we'll worry about what they're going to do next."

There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the others before silence fell over them once more.

After a couple of minutes of trying not to listen to the muffled sounds of fighting coming from the other side of the door, Serenity desperately broke the silence. "Hey, Jess? Do you remember that time during the Halloween party when Katie dumped the punchbowl over DJ's head because he called her Tinkerbell?"

Laughter erupted from the others.

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

Sailor Ishtar blinked her eyes hard, trying to clear away the black spots left in her vision from the flash of combined blue and copper light that had just managed to take out a guardian. She felt someone grab her arm and then a wall of black was in front of her. She looked up to see that Andrew had shoved her protectively behind him. Sailor Shadow stood at his side.

Her boyfriend's future mother turned to glance quickly at her over her shoulder. "You okay, Emma?"

The blonde girl nodded. "I'm fine. What about Mina and Kunzite? Are they okay?"

Andrew glanced over to where Tuxedo Mask was being guarded by Sailor Moon, Crescent Moon, and Pluto as he worked as fast as he could to heal the injuries that Venus, Kunzite, Mercury, and Zoicite had received. But the masked hero didn't look so well himself at the moment. He'd healed several injuries already, and the drain on his energy was showing. He was sweating profusely and his hands were shaking.

This fight was definitely not working out in their favor. These suped up monsters of Discord's were unquestionably faster than their predecessors, and the difference in atmospheric pressure that had concerned Mercury before was without a doubt messing with the timing and the accuracy of the attacks that the heroes were using. They had managed to eliminate a few of the threats, but it was barely a dent in the opposing force.

Ishtar peeked around Andrew to check on her future parents and saw Kunzite waving Tuxedo Mask away from the wound in his side that he had received from a guardian's sword and toward Venus, who was cradling an arm that was sporting a vicious sentinel bite. She looked blurry eyed from the venom in her system.

Ishtar shifted nervously from foot to foot. They needed DJ there to help take care of the wounded. Heck! They just needed to go ahead and call in the cavalry and get this over with. But as she met Pluto's garnet gaze for a moment the time guardian shook her head at her.

The younger scout felt like screaming in frustration. She understood how important it was to try and take out as much of Discord's army as possible before chasing him from the time gate to help decrease the risk to Crystal Tokyo and to hopefully buy them some more time to prepare for the final showdown, but if things kept up like this somebody was going to end up killed.

Then things seemed to turn around for them for a moment as a few shouts of triumph went up. Sailor Moon and Crescent Moon managed to team up and take out a wolf sentinel while Jupiter and Nephrite caught a guardian by surprise and zapped him together. Mars and Jadeite cackled gleefully as their combined fire roasted another guardian to ashes.

That brought the grand total of number defeated to seven, which might sound impressive to some since that meant that there were only three enemies left out of the ten that Discord had set on them. But the evil entity still had twenty more surrounding him. There was no way that the group of heroes was going to be able to defeat all of them. Not with the way that things had been going. They would all drop from either exhaustion or injuries first.

"Oh crap! Look out!" Andrew exclaimed suddenly, and he shoved both Sailor Shadow and Ishtar away from him just seconds before a snarling cheetah sentinel plowed into him and knocked him to the ground. Both women hit the ground and rolled a few times, but they were on their feet again in seconds.

"Drew!" Shadow screamed when she saw her fiancé pinned to the ground by the cat. Her eyes flashed bright blue as energy began crackling around her.

Ishtar raised the bow that she had been clutching tightly in her hand. As she pulled back the string an arrow of golden energy notched itself into place. She had to try and help rescue Andrew. Not only did Alex's existence depend on his future father's survival, but also she genuinely liked and respected the man.

She fired off her shot at the same time Sailor Shadow released her attack. Maybe it was her imagination, but her arrow seemed to glow brighter than ever before. Its golden power merged with the sapphire blue of Sailor Shadow's and together the combined attack slammed into the sentinel. It let out a screech and then burst into dust.

Ishtar followed Shadow as she rushed to her soon to be husband's side and watched as the woman she hoped to one day call mother in law fell to her knees beside him and cried, "Drew! Are you okay? Did it get you?"

Andrew looked dazed, but he shook his head. "I'm fine. It just knocked the breath out of me."

But Sailor Shadow wasn't convinced. Her eyes and hands both roamed over his body looking for injuries. "Are you sure? It didn't bite you or scratch you?"

He caught both of her hands up in his. "Jess, calm down. I am perfectly fine. You and Emma took care of it before it had a chance to do anything more than knock me down."

Shadow's eyes flew up to meet those of her future son's girlfriend. "Thank you, Emma. I don't know if my attack would have been strong enough to take out that creep in just one shot. Your help probably made all the difference in the world."

Ishtar looked down at the ground as a blush of embarrassment stained her cheeks. "You're welcome."

"Are you guys okay?" Sailor Venus asked as she approached them. There was still blood on her glove, but the bite wound was gone and she looked much more alert than she had a minute ago.

"Yeah, we're okay," Andrew said as he stood and helped Shadow up. "How's everyone else doing?"

Venus sighed. "Darien's patching up Kunzite right now and everybody else is okay at the moment, but Serena wants us to regroup. Darien is exhausted from using so much energy to keep everyone going, so we need to rethink our strategy."

"I don't get it," Shadow muttered as she flung a quick look toward where Discord was watching the events unfold from inside a tight circle of his minions. She shuddered a little as his glowing red eyes briefly met hers. "I figured he would have kept the troops coming after us and keep us overwhelmed, but he's holding them back."

Andrew snorted. "He probably doesn't want to lose his protection. What a coward!"

Ishtar chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "Why won't Pluto let me call them? We're not necessarily losing this fight, but we're not really winning either. Wouldn't it be best to get this over with as quickly as possible?"

Venus shook her head. "Beats me! I quit trying to figure out Trista's way of thinking a long time ago. But her plans usually work, so she must be waiting for a reason. Knowing her, she probably has this one tiny speck of time that she has pinpointed as being _perfect _and she's waiting for that."

Shadow shrugged. "Who knows with her. I just wish that bastard would step out of his comfort zone for just a few seconds. I would love to bash his face in, but I could settle for popping a shot off and give him a nice sting in the ass too."

"You stay away from him," Andrew growled angrily. "I still have nightmares about what he did to you that night on the bridge and I sure don't want a repeat of that. You may not be as lucky a second time."

She looked like she was going to argue with him for a moment, and then her expression softened as she read the worry lining his face. So instead of delivering her usual tirade about how she could take care of herself and how she never backed down from a fight, she settled for rolling her eyes as she cupped his cheek in her gloved palm for a moment.

"Come on, you guys. Let's get with the others and find out what our next move is before Mr. Creepy decides to launch something else on us," Venus said as she and Ishtar turned and began walking back to where most of the others had gathered and were carefully watching as Mars, Jadeite, Jupiter, and Nephrite were continuing to battle the last two sentinels.

"Let's go," Andrew said softly, wrapping an arm around Shadow's waist as they followed.

They had only gone a few steps when a dark feeling shivered down Shadow's spine. She turned her head to look over her shoulder about the same time she heard a warning scream come from Sailor Moon and saw that Discord had finally left his protective ranks. And he was flying through the air toward them with incredible speed and Endymion's dagger still gleaming in his hand.

Without stopping to think she shoved Andrew away from her with every bit of strength she could muster and sent him crashing to the ground where he rolled a short distance away. Then she ducked at the last second as the dark figure flew over her head.

Discord pulled up short and turned, centering himself back on the ground a few yards away from her. A gruesome smirk twisted up his lips. "Nice evasive maneuver, princess. Now I believe that this is what you have been wanting, just me and you, one on one. Am I right?"

She snorted contemptuously. "Yeah right! Like you would ever fight fair. Don't think that it escaped my notice that you just tried to ambush me from behind…_again_. You're nothing but a pathetic coward!"

Fury flooded the entity's face. "I look forward to permanently silencing that tongue of yours. You and your entire family have been more trouble to me than you're worth, but now it's time to end this. Now tell your lover to back away before I unleash the rest of my army on your friends. I'm not interested in killing them right now. I will take care of them in the future. But you, you are no longer alive in Crystal Tokyo and I have been unable to pinpoint the moment of your death. So I figured I should go ahead and relieve you of your crystal now."

Surprisingly, she felt a small laugh bubble up inside her as she remembered Pluto's words the day before when she had asked if Chronos had killed everybody off when he planted the false visions of the future into the timeline and the time guardian had said _'Not everyone'_. Well it seemed that she had been given that honor.

She turned her head to look at Andrew, who had just picked himself up off the ground. His sunglasses had fallen off and she could see the anger snapping in his hazel eyes. She also felt a surge in his energy and knew that he was about to power up. "Back off, Drew," she said softly.

"No chance in hell!" he fired back heatedly.

"Drew, please," she pleaded. "I promise, everything will be okay."

"Damn right it's going to be okay, because you're not doing this!" Tuxedo Mask snarled as he, Sailor Moon, and the others closed in around them. "Back away from him, Jess!"

His commanding tone grated on her nerves. She tossed her head and glared defiantly at him. "You can't tell me what to do! In case you've forgotten, you're _not _my father anymore!"

"Jess, honey…" Sailor Moon began.

"Save it, Serena!" she snapped. "I've waited a long time for this, and I never back down from a fight."

Discord eyed her gleefully. "Does this mean that you accept my challenge?"

"Damn straight!" she snarled.

"Let's give ourselves a little more privacy then." He raised his hands and one of his impenetrable barriers sprang up around them. "There! Now we don't have to worry about any outside interference."

"Works for me," she said as she tried to tune out the banging and screams that were coming from her loved ones outside. She took a moment to take a deep breath to calm her nerves. For a moment she could have sworn that she even heard Nebula's voice telling her to reach inside and find her inner balance.

A feeling of calmness fell over her and she looked confidently at her opponent. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Outside the barrier, Ishtar tugged on Pluto's arm. "Can I call them now, Pluto?"

Pluto seemed perfectly calm compared to the others around her. She shook her head. "Not yet."

Andrew stomped over and got right up in the time guardian's face as he yelled, "What do you mean, not yet? We need them here now! That monster could kill her!"

"Emma, call them!" Sailor Moon sobbed as she continued to beat her fists on the barrier.

"No, Emma," Pluto said calmly. "I'm sorry, princess, but this time I must disobey you. The time is not right for them to make their appearance. We need to wait just a little bit longer."

Tuxedo Mask joined Andrew in front of her and growled menacingly. "You better hope and pray that you know what you're doing. If something happens to her…" his voice trailed off meaningfully.

Pluto had been able to handle Andrew's angry tirade okay, but she had always found Endymion to be intimidating when driven by anger. And having two angry men looking like they were ready to rip her apart with their bare hands was definitely a frightening thing, but she stood her ground. "Do you underestimate her abilities that much?" she asked them softly.

Both men glared at her for a long moment with blazing eyes before turning back to watch the scene unfolding inside the shield.

Pluto placed a hand on Ishtar's shoulder and assured the troubled girl. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine. Just be ready when I tell you. It won't be long now."

The younger scout was torn about what to do. Part of her screamed to do as Sailor Moon said, yet she also remembered what Venus had said a few minutes before about how Pluto's plans usually worked out. She decided to go with her gut instinct and nodded tersely to Pluto before turning her attention to the fight that was unfolding; just in time to jump back with a yelp as a blast of blue energy crashed into the barrier with a thundering roar.

Sailor Shadow growled as Discord sidestepped her attack. He may possess the body of an old man, but he sure didn't move like one. He was fast. But then again, so was she. She flipped up into the air to avoid a blast of dark energy sent in her direction and landed in a crouch, only to launch herself to the side a split second later to avoid a physical attack as the black cloaked body appeared almost out of nowhere and slashed at her with the dagger.

She rolled quickly to her feet to face him. She summoned her energy and shot an attack at him at the same time he sent one her way. The two powers crashed together and exploded in a deafening boom. Before she had time to draw a breath he was coming at her again. She had figured that a fight with him would be purely energy based, but he was proving her wrong.

She dodged him at the last second and then spun, lashing out with her foot in a roundhouse kick. A small jolt of pain shot up her leg as her foot collided with his back. He didn't feel like an old man either. Kicking him was almost like kicking a chunk of concrete. Despite his fragile appearance, his body felt like a bodybuilder's. His evil energy must be fortifying the body to make it more durable.

Discord stumbled several steps after the unexpected impact and almost went to his knees, but he caught himself and whirled around to glare at her. The red of his eyes flashed brighter for a moment and then she felt a surge in his power. She knew what was coming next since she had experienced it already a few times in her life, most recently at the hands of Talon when he had warned her to get herself back on top of her game, and she clamped down on her mental defenses to keep him from breaking into her mind.

A hiss slid through her teeth as a searing pain shot through her head. She felt a cloud of dark energy descend on her and batter at her brain, but she focused on keeping the shield up and then pushed out with a burst of blue energy. A relieved sigh escaped her as the pain and dark presence disappeared.

Discord fell back a few more steps as the shockwave of her energy hit him. Then a begrudging look of admiration appeared on his face. "It seems that I may have underestimated you just a little. You're stronger than I gave you credit for."

A smirk lifted her lips. "Thanks. I've grown up some since our battle in the mountains. I was a novice with my crystal back then, but now I've had a chance to learn to understand it better."

"So it would seem," he said in a deadly soft voice. "It's just a pity that all that power is being wasted by someone that won't use it to its full extent."

She snorted. "Sorry, I don't have a death wish. You see, I kind of like being alive and having my home intact."

His gaze turned malevolent. "Even if you're living a life where you already know that you're going to have to bury your children someday? That sounds like a pretty sad future to me."

She knew what he was doing. He was trying to goad her into losing her temper and her focus. And if Katie and Alex had really been dead that's probably what would have happened. But knowing that her future children were alive and well gave her the strength to look at him calmly and say, "We'll see. To quote a close friend of mine, the future is not always set in stone."

Anger twisted his features. "It is as long as I'm around. In case you haven't noticed, I control time now, not your precious little Sailor Pluto!" Then he lunged for her.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl to her, and then the whole scene melted away. Instead of seeing her most hated enemy bearing down on her with murder in his eyes, she found herself envisioning a scene in the backyard of the house she had lived in most of her life.

She was standing on the mat that her father always laid out whenever he would help her with her sparring or wanted to show her a new self defense move that he thought she should know. Josh Alexander stood across the mat, facing her.

_"Okay, Peanut," he said with a grin. "I know that in a fist on fist fight that you can hold your own. But these are dangerous times that we live in, and there are a lot of cowards out there that don't feel brave unless they have a weapon of some kind. But just because someone is armed and you're not doesn't mean that they can't be taken down."_

_He held his arm extended in front of him. "Now I want you to pretend that I have a knife in my hand and that I'm coming after you. Then I want you to try that move I showed you earlier." Then he chuckled. "Just take it easy on me though. It's only pretend."_

But it wasn't pretend now, and she didn't have to hold back. Her vision cleared and she saw Discord still making his way toward her. She had been surprised that Pluto hadn't called the kids in the moment that she had agreed to this suicidal face off and had wondered what reason the time guardian would have for allowing it to happen, but now she knew what she had to do. There was a way she could help the kids in their fight.

_"You must kill the human body he's in. Once he's without a physical form he will be more vulnerable to attack."_ Talon's words from long ago whispered through her head.

Time sped back up, and then he was practically on top of her. At the last possible moment she leaned slightly to the side so that his arm shot by her. She gripped his wrist tightly in one hand and gave it such a violent twist that she swore she heard something snap. Then she slammed the elbow of her other arm down hard on his.

He let out a harsh grunt, half in pain and half in surprise as the dagger fell from his hand to clatter to the ground.

Sailor Shadow didn't waste a second as she let go of him and bent down to retrieve the weapon. But just as her fingers closed around the handle, Discord let out a demonic sounding growl and kicked her solidly in the ribs.

She flew several yards through the air before hitting the ground and skidding a few more feet. She lay still for a second, taking a physical inventory. Yep, that little stunt had definitely cost her a cracked rib or two along with several scrapes and bruises, but the feeling of cool metal in her hand made it all worth it.

She took as deep a breath as she could and steeled herself for the pain as she pushed herself up and got shakily to her feet.

Discord was still standing in the same spot, his injured arm now hanging limply at his side. His red eyes blazed hotter than even Mars's fire.

"You half blooded little abomination!" he spat. "You never should have even been born! If it weren't for you the Galactic Trinity wouldn't even exist anymore because all three of the royal bloodlines would have died out centuries ago. You have been the bane of my existence for long enough, and I'm tired of toying with you!"

As dark energy began crackling around him in preparation for launching what was sure to be a massive attack, a wide smile appeared on Sailor Shadow's face. "Oh yeah? Well why don't you play with this?"

She flung her hand out suddenly, and something small and bright blue flew through the air to hit Discord in the chest. The energy around him faded as he looked down in shock.

Endymion's dagger was buried in his chest, glowing brightly with the power of the Celestial Crystal and embedded deeply into the heart of the human body that he had inhabited for so long. Without a beating heart to keep the body alive, he would no longer be able to use it. He would be reduced into a formless mist once more. The body, no longer under his control, began to fall.

Sailor Shadow couldn't stop the sob of relief that tore from her as the now lifeless body fell to the ground. She couldn't believe that she had done it! She had known that she was taking a huge risk by throwing that dagger. Discord could have dodged it or her aim could have been off, but luckily the element of surprise had been in her favor and she had been able to strike steady and true.

But her relief was short lived as the body burst into dust and a large cloud of inky black vapor rose from where it had been.

"Oh great!" she muttered under her breath. She had known that taking his physical body away from him wouldn't kill him, but she honestly hadn't thought about what her next move would be. Of course she had had never thought that things would get this far either. Now here she was, still stuck inside this damn shield with one seriously pissed off evil entity.

The group outside the barrier had fallen into stunned silence when they had seen Sailor Shadow perfectly deliver the fatal blow to Discord's body. But their shock melted away into fear once again as they saw the mist that was Discord's true form appear.

"Now Emma!" Sailor Pluto commanded sharply.

Startled, the blonde girl jumped. But after one last, wild eyed stare at the scene unfolding she clenched her eyes tightly closed and shrieked mentally as loud as she could, _'ALEX!'_ She felt his presence almost before the scream stopped echoing in her head.

Normally the air around the time gate was absolutely still, but a sudden wind blew through like it was announcing that a storm was on its way. And then the storm arrived.

Ishtar gasped as a bright red orange light flared to life next to her and Alex appeared. A short distance away a flash of gold and silver heralded DJ and Katie's arrival as well.

"You rang, my lady?" Alex quipped with a grin.

All Ishtar could do was point and gasp, "Your mom!"

That was all she had to say. The three newcomers took one look at what was happening and with three more flashes of light they teleported again, reappearing milliseconds later at spaced out intervals around the barrier. Power in their respective colors swirled around them as they each laid a hand on the shield. Immediately the barrier crumbled.

"Well they made that look easy," Mars grumbled irritably. Next to her Jadeite, Jupiter, and Nephrite nodded dumbly. All of them had been busy and hadn't seen any of the training sessions that had taken place since the three teens had received their new powers.

Venus, Kunzite, Mercury, and Zoicite had all stopped by the training clearing at least once to see how things were progressing, but that still didn't keep them from gaping in awe.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and the others didn't seem surprised at all. Of course since they spent the most time with them they would know more. And Sailor Pluto naturally knew more than anyone.

Alex turned his smoldering reddish orange eyes to Andrew. "Get mom," he said simply before disappearing again. He, DJ, and Katie all rematerialized between Sailor Shadow and Discord.

"Impossible!" Discord's voice boomed from the mist. "How are you three here? I saw you die and felt your auras vanish."

DJ smirked, his golden eyes looking very amused. "Haven't you ever heard the old saying, believe nothing that you hear and only half of what you see? Yes, you saw Jack kill us, but we decided that we didn't want to die. So here we are."

Katie giggled next to him, her silver eyes dancing with glee. "I don't know why he's still acting like such a big shot. From what I can tell it looks like he just got his ass handed to him. So it's only natural that he be a little moody."

"Moody?" Alex scoffed. "He sounds more like a whiny little bitch to me. I don't even know if he's worth the effort. I have better things I could be doing with my time."

Andrew had reached his fiancée's side by that time and gently scooped her up into his arms. He had seen the way that she was favoring her side and knew that she had to be in pain. That still didn't stop him from growling, "I hope you're proud of yourself! That stupid little stunt almost gave me a heart attack!"

She sighed tiredly and laid her head on his shoulder. "I am proud of myself, actually. I stood up to that monster and I beat him down. I was also able to help the kids. They'll have an easier time with him being outside a human body."

"It was still a crazy thing to do!" Andrew fumed. "It was dangerous, reckless, impulsive, and…" he broke off as he looked down to find her staring up at him with eyes that were beginning to tear up. He groaned. "And it was something that I should have expected you to do."

They had reached the others by now and everyone crowded around them.

"Are you okay?" Sailor Moon demanded in a teary voice. "You had me so scared there for a minute."

Shadow had the grace to look a little chastised. "I'm fine, Serena. I'm just a little sore. And I'm sorry for the way I snapped at you earlier. I shouldn't have done that."

Sailor Moon waved her off. "Don't apologize. It's no big deal. I'm just glad you're okay." She looked like she was about to say more, but Discord's bellowing voice cut her off.

"You miserable little brats! I should have taken my chances against the protection around you and killed you when you were nothing more than babies in your cribs!" the evil entity yelled.

The three teens glanced over their shoulders to make sure that Andrew had gotten Jess to safety. Then they resolutely faced the swirling cloud.

_'Remember what Nebula and Pluto told us,'_ DJ said mentally to his two partners.

Katie's head nodded just a bit. _'Hit him hard and hit him fast, with everything we've got.'_

_'Let's do this,'_ Alex's voice said firmly.

There was no slow buildup of power. Instead the energy burst from them in a rush. The massive blast of gold, silver, and red orange light combined together and sped toward Discord, where it slammed right through the cloud of mist to leave a gaping hole.

A horrific sound that sounded like the howling of a hundred demons erupted from Discord. The swirling cloud seemed to almost swell for a moment before it flew away. It paused for a moment and settled over the remaining guardians and sentinels. The small army had vanished when it began moving again.

"This is far from over, _chosen ones_!" Discord sneered in a much weaker voice than he had used before. "You still do not have the power to destroy me completely. I will be back."

With that last ominous proclamation the time gate flew open with a bang and he disappeared through it, taking what was left of his minions with him. The atmosphere around the time gate was still and silent for a long minute.

"Is he really gone?" Katie finally whispered.

"I…I think so," DJ answered her hesitantly.

Alex blew out a breath. "Then is it okay if I sit down now? I don't know if my legs can hold me up anymore."

The other two let out tired chuckles at his words and all three of them slumped to the ground as the power around them faded.

"That was indeed a job well done," Pluto stated as she walked toward the time gate. "You did even better than I thought you would. You managed to deal him a devastating blow. I don't think we'll be seeing him again for a little while."

She tapped the end of her staff on the ground and the garnet orb flashed brightly. There was an echoing flash from the river of time and the gigantic doors of the time gate creaked slightly as they began to close. She took a quick peek into the time stream and smiled as Chronos's illusions faded and revealed the events of the future as they should be, at least to a point. There were still a couple of alternate timelines that branched off farther ahead, but they were pale in comparison to the main stream.

"Is everything okay, Trista?" a soft voice asked gently, and she looked up into the concerned eyes of her princess.

She gave her an encouraging smile. "Time is quiet now. Everything is flowing as it should. Discord is no longer a threat to the Earth of your time."

"But he's still a threat to the future," Sailor Moon stated as she came to a stop beside DJ. She reached down to smooth back his messy hair that was so like his father's.

"Don't let that worry you. I assure you that Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion have things under control," Pluto said as she walked over to the pile of dust that was all that remained of Discord's body. She picked up something small and shiny that proved to be the time key that he had stolen from her and returned it to the slender chain around her waist.

Then she picked up something else before waving her hand and making the remains disappear. She turned to Sailor Moon and held Endymion's dagger out to her. "You may want to return this to its rightful owner."

Sailor Moon took it carefully in her hand and looked down at it nostalgically as she ran her fingers lightly over the engraved inscription. She vividly remembered the first time that she had seen the weapon in a shop on Venus when she had taken a trip there with Minako right before she was to go to Elysian to spend the rest of her pregnancy with Melody there. The moment that she had laid eyes on it she had known that it was the perfect gift for her prince. Kunzite had done the engraving for her since her marriage to Endymion had to be kept a secret and she couldn't trust anyone else to do it, and he had done a beautiful job. She still recalled the way Endymion's eyes had lit up on Christmas morning when he had opened it. Ironically that had been the same day that he had given her the golden star locket that was still one of her most prized possessions.

The sound of raised voices pulled her from her memories and back to the present.

"Damn it, Jess! Stay still!" Tuxedo Mask yelled in exasperation.

Sailor Shadow had slid from Andrew's arms and was now half hiding behind him. She shook her head furiously. " I don't need you to heal me, Darien. You're already almost maxed out as it is. I'll be fine once I get a little sleep and by tomorrow it will be like nothing ever happened."

Andrew sighed heavily. "Sweetheart, let him do it. Amy said that you have two cracked ribs. There's no reason to suffer the pain."

Tuxedo Mask gave a hard nod. "He's right. I've got enough juice left to fix you up. Now come here, you stubborn woman!" He took her by the arm and pulled her gently toward him. Warm gold flared from his hands for several seconds and then faded away.

Shadow drew in the first deep breath that she had been able to take in what felt like hours as the pain disappeared. She was grateful for the relief her former father had just given her, but she was too ashamed to look at him after the horrible way she had spoken to him earlier.

"Hey!" he said softly, chucking her under the chin to make her eyes meet his. "Are you okay?"

The tears that had been stinging her dark blue eyes spilled over as she looked into his identical concerned gaze. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier," she whispered. "I never should have said that."

To her surprise he laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Is that what you're so upset about? You didn't say anything that isn't true. I'm not your father this go round and I had no right to order you around like that. But I am your friend, Jess, and I'm always going to look out for you."

She hugged him back, taking a moment to breathe in his unique scent of roses, chocolate, and coffee that always made her think back to another lifetime. "Thanks, Darien," she said as she stepped away from him and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Now I think I better go check on my two rugrats."

The whole group made their way over to where Sailor Moon and Pluto were still talking while DJ, Katie, and Alex sat on the ground with tired, dazed looks on their faces. DJ and Katie were leaning against each other while Sailor Ishtar, who had wandered over a few minutes before, had sat down next to Alex and had her head laid against his where it rested on her shoulder.

"Well it's probably about time to get all of you back home now," Pluto was saying. "I think you've done everything that you could around here. Now I have my work cut out for me. I need to get those two back to Crystal Tokyo," she waved a hand toward Jack and Sasha, who appeared to be in as rough of shape as the ones who had been fighting.

She looked toward three shallow stone basins and shuddered. "It also looks like I need to make another trip to Mt. Olympus to return those to Hades. I hope that makes that old grouch happy."

"What are those?" Sailor Moon asked, her curiosity piqued.

Pluto rolled her eyes. "You probably don't want to know."

A gasp came from Mercury as she read the scans from her computer. "Oh my! Are those really…"

The time guardian sighed. "Yes. You thought it was bad enough when Discord brought Metallia back, but he had more in mind when he did it. That was another reason why I knew it was imperative to get him away from here as quickly as possible. He also had plans to resurrect the Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, and Chaos as well. If he had been successful there is no telling what may have happened."

"All of them?" Sailor Moon squeaked, grasping tightly onto Tuxedo Mask's arm as he came to stand beside her.

Pluto nodded. "Yes. He was determined to try to build a strong enough force to overwhelm you. You may have been able to defeat all of them one on one, but he knew that there was no way that you could handle all of them at once. It would have been a disaster. Luckily he never got that far."

"He still got away with a nice size little army," Jadeite grumbled. "I was hoping that we would do more damage than that." Raye, Jupiter, and Nephrite nodded in agreement.

"You did more damage to him than you think," Pluto answered with a grin. "He lost a third of his forces, plus he was injured." She pointed to a puddle of what looked like black ink. "See that? It shows how seriously he was hurt. That is his, well…blood, for lack of a better word. Just because he does not have a solid form does not mean that he can't be physically injured. And DJ, Katie, and Alex really gave it to him."

"Our heroes!" Sailor Shadow exclaimed with a laugh as she crouched down in front of them.

Katie grinned wryly at her. "You're one to talk. I'm assuming that you're the reason why we found a floating cloud of vapor instead of a withered up old man when we got here. What'd you do, kick his ass?"

Her future mother tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Of course I did! What did you expect me to do, shake his hand?"

"Don't think you're getting off easy. I'm still a little pissed that you put yourself in that situation," Andrew grumbled as he hunkered down next to her.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You'll get over it. Now I think we need to get this crew home so they can get some rest before they fall out. I think they've earned a bit of a break. In fact, I think you guys should take a few days off from training. I'll clear it with Nebula. She won't give me a hard time about it unless she wants me to haul her to the vet to have her spayed and declawed."

"I'm almost too tired to move," Alex groaned as he smothered a yawn behind his hand.

"Tell me about it," Katie seconded. "I'm almost tempted to just stretch out right here and catch a nap."

DJ let out a low chuckle. "I thought you wanted a hot bath and a real bed."

She snorted. "I'd probably fall asleep and drown myself in the tub, but the bed does sound nice."

"Hey guys," a strained sounding voice broke in, and they looked up to see Jack and Sasha standing close by. Their bonds had been removed when Discord had fled. The three teens climbed slowly to their feet as they eyed the other two warily.

"We just wanted to say thank you," Jack said sincerely. "If it weren't for you guys I'm sure we were both goners. Discord was perfectly content to leave us tied up there like dogs until we starved to death. There's no way that we could have gotten away from him on our own. We owe you our lives."

He held his hand out toward DJ, who eyed it like a poisonous snake for several seconds before sighing and shaking it. "You're welcome. I just hope I never regret helping you."

Jack laughed a little as he then turned to Alex to offer his hand to him. "No way! We're going on the straight and narrow. I've had enough of this kooky shit to last a lifetime."

"You better stick to that," Alex growled as he grudgingly shook his hand. "We'll come after you if you don't."

Sasha licked her lips nervously as she glanced shyly at her ex-boyfriend. "DJ, I…" Then she jumped at him and threw her arms around his neck as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you so much!"

DJ felt a flare of irritation come from the girl next to him and he looked quickly to Katie and held his hands up in a helpless gesture.

Katie may have been tired, but she wasn't so far gone that she wasn't ready to beat the snot out of the strawberry blonde that was mauling her boyfriend. But just as she was about to snap Sasha let him go of him and turned to her before hugging her tightly as well.

"Thank you, Katie!" the other girl gushed. "I know we've never been close friends, but I'm still grateful to you for all that you've done." She stepped back and looked at her and DJ. "You know, you two do make a cute couple. I always thought you would." Then she turned to repeat the process with Alex while Ishtar glared darkly at her.

Jack stepped in front of Katie and took her hand in his before lifting it to place a light kiss on the back of it. "I owe you most of all, Katie. You were the one that I had wronged the most; yet you were the one that took my side and made the others listen. For that I am eternally grateful. I also look forward to hearing you play again once you return home."

Katie couldn't stop the light blush that flooded her cheeks. "You…you're welcome, Jack. I look forward to hearing you play again as well."

Sasha snagged him by the arm. "Okay, smooth talker! That's enough flirting out of you. Can we go home now, Pluto? We haven't eaten in days and I think my stomach is touching my backbone."

Pluto nodded. "I will take you now. Do you other kids want to come? I'm sure I can wrangle you a few minutes if you want to say hi to your parents."

Crescent Moon, DJ, Katie, Alex, and Ishtar all looked around at each other for a moment before shaking their heads.

"It would just be that much harder to leave again," Katie mumbled. DJ and Alex both nodded in agreement.

"And it wouldn't seem fair for us to go when Skye, Jayden, and Hannah can't," Ishtar said softly.

Crescent Moon flipped one of her long pink pigtails over her shoulder. "I'm sure the parental units are doing fine without us. Besides, it's not like we're never coming home again. Just tell them that we'll see them soon."

Pluto inclined her head. "As you wish. Now Rini, do you think you can lead the others back to Tokyo while I get these two back to where they belong?"

"Sure thing!" the young princess said as she pulled the chain with her time key on it from around her neck. "Are you guys ready? I can't wait to get back and tell Hotaru everything."

"Lead the way," Sailor Moon said with a giggle. Then she turned to Tuxedo Mask and held the dagger out to him. "I do believe that this is yours, my prince."

"You know, I do believe you're right, princess" he said with a chuckle as he wound his fingers around hers where they gripped the hilt. "Do you still remember when you gave it to me?"

Her breath caught at the twinkle in his eye. "Of course I do." Then she stood on her tiptoes to peck a quick kiss on his lips.

Crescent Moon snorted in disgust. "Are we going or not? You two can have smoochy time later after you're alone. Geez! How did we grow up normal with parents like them, DJ?"

"I don't have a clue," her brother replied with a yawn. "But sometimes I wonder if you could be called normal anyway."

"Why you!" she screeched.

"That's enough!" Sailor Moon demanded loudly. "Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N **So progress is being made. The time gate is back under Pluto's control and Discord has been sent running. But don't think that it's over yet. He may have been cast out of his physical body and injured, but he'll rear his ugly head again. And just because present day Tokyo is now safe that doesn't necessarily mean that Serena, Darien and the others have seen the end of the action. In fact, I could use some feedback from you guys. I'm trying to envision exactly how I want the final battle to go. I have two different ideas going on. In one our teen brigade goes back home alone in time to fight Discord to try and save their world. And in the other our heroes from Tokyo end up in the future with them and have to team up with their future selves to protect Crystal Tokyo from Discord's lackeys while the younger generation bands together to provide support to the Trinity bearers as they face Discord in the final showdown. I would really like to know your feelings on it, and I'm totally open to other suggestions as well. Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Remember, all reviews are cherished, so please feel free to tell me what you thought. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	26. Back to a Somewhat Normal Life

**A/N **Sorry about this late update, guys! I've had a really crappy week and had to get my mojo back. I had to put my dog that I'd had for sixteen years to sleep, so I just wasn't feeling it for a while. But I'm coping with it and ready to get back to work. I want to thank all of you for your feedback after the last chapter. It seems pretty unanimous that you want to see the past and the future collide for the last battle, so that is the direction that I will be heading. It should make for some pretty dramatic and humorous moments. We'll see. Anyway, since we had a big battle in the last chapter, I wanted to take things back down to a fairly normal level for a bit. So there's no fighting this go round, but there is lots and lots of fluff! So yeah, this is one of those sappy chapters. I've gotta have one every now and then. So let me give out those hugs and we'll move on! BIG HUGS TO:

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

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You guys are awesome! You really came out of the woodwork for the last chapter and I adore everything that you guys had to say. If someone were to ask me what my biggest inspiration is to write my stories, I would have to say it's my reviewers. You keep me going! Now I'm going to let you move on. Long chapter here, so I hope you all like it!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 24

Back to a Somewhat Normal Life

* * *

A group of teens stood huddled around a doorway, staring into a bedroom, most specifically at the bedroom's occupant, with looks on their faces that ranged from humor to fear.

Alex nudged DJ in the ribs. "You wake her up."

"No way!" DJ hissed back. "You do it. She's _your _sister."

The brown haired boy shrugged. "Yeah, but as you're so fond of pointing out, she's _your _girlfriend."

Emma tilted her head slightly as she studied the girl that was currently curled up on her side in the bed. "Maybe we should leave her alone. She looks like she's sleeping peacefully."

Hannah sighed. "I admit that the rest is good for her after she drained herself so much during the fight at the time gate yesterday, but she needs food too to help replenish her energy. She only picked at her dinner last night when she woke up for that short time."

Alex snorted. "At least she woke up then. I slept right through dinner and then woke up about 3:00 this morning and had to go raid the kitchen I was so hungry."

DJ grinned. "Same here. I vaguely remember Serena coming into my room last night and telling me that Andrew had made dinner, but I was still so delirious at that point that I just rolled over and went back to sleep."

Rini snickered and propped her chin on her brother's shoulder. "And you accuse me and mom of sleeping like the dead."

Skye huffed and folded her arms across her chest as she leaned against the wall. "Not that this isn't fun and all, but in case the rest of you have forgotten, we happen to be on vacation. And since we have no enemy threat to worry about at this moment I can think of about twelve other things I could be doing with my time instead of standing around in a hallway with you guys and spying on a sleeping girl like a damn voyeur."

An evil chuckle came from Jayden as he shouldered his way past the older teens. "If you guys want her woken up that bad then just step back and let a real man take care of this. I'll show you how to wake a lady up." He strode confidently toward the bed.

Suddenly DJ and Alex felt a flood of awareness enter their minds, but it was too late to call Jayden back now. The blonde boy was already beside the bed and was reaching a hand toward Katie's shoulder.

"If you actually touch me, I will personally rip off your arm and shove it down your throat!" Katie snarled in a cold, deadly tone.

Jayden yelped and jumped back so far that he crashed into the futon where Alex slept and fell on it with a harsh whoosh of breath.

Katie sat up and rubbed her eyes before glaring at the group standing around the door. "Don't you people have better things to do than to stand around watching a girl while she sleeps? I'm not performing any tricks right now."

"That's exactly what I was just saying," Skye grumbled as she stomped down the hall toward the living room. Rini and Hannah trailed after her. Jayden shot one last, wide-eyed look at the furious blonde before he scrambled after them.

"Come on, Cupcake," Emma said, pulling on Alex's arm. "She's awake now, so let's give her a chance to pull herself together." They disappeared down the hall, leaving DJ alone in the doorway.

He grinned as he pushed away from the doorframe and entered the room. "Good morning, Sunshine!"

"Wrong twin!" Katie growled as she rubbed her eyes again, trying to get rid of the gritty feeling in them. "So to what do I owe the honor of having seven people hanging around my bedroom door when I wake up?"

DJ chuckled as he sat down on the side of the bed next to her. "We were trying to see who was brave enough to venture in here and face your wrath. Lita decided to treat everyone to a big breakfast at her restaurant this morning and we didn't want you to miss out."

"Oh," she muttered, and then looked up at him curiously. "Why didn't you just come and wake me up instead of inviting the whole crew?"

He shook his head. "Sweetheart, I love you more than life itself, but you can be absolutely scary when you first wake up. If you were going to threaten someone with murder I didn't want it to be me."

She twisted her lips up in a pout. "I wouldn't have threatened you. You're different."

He smirked. "I'm different, huh?"

Her blonde head nestled on his shoulder as she scooted closer to him. "Mm hm. I'm sure you would have come up with a very…_pleasant_ way to wake me up."

A groan caught in his throat as he felt her breath brush against his neck. He looked down into her playfully sparkling eyes and dipped his head down, intending to give her a proper good morning kiss.

"Good morning!" a voice sang from the doorway.

They jumped apart from each other and looked to see Jess standing there with a bright smile on her face. Andrew was standing right behind her glowering darkly as he looked over her shoulder.

"Morning!" Katie returned quickly with an answering smile. "So we're going to Lita's for breakfast this morning I hear."

Jess nodded. "We are, just as soon as you drag your lazybones out of bed."

"All right!" Katie laughed. "Just give me a few minutes, okay."

"Okay," Jess replied, and then walked away, dragging a reluctant Andrew with her.

DJ groaned and fell back across the bed. "Your father is going to kill me!"

Katie giggled and bent down to press her lips briefly to his before she scrambled off the bed. "Don't worry about daddy. Mom won't let him do anything. Hmm…" she mused as she stood in front of the closet. "What to wear?"

DJ watched as she pulled a couple of items out, but when she bent over to pick up a pair of shoes from the floor and those flimsy little excuse for shorts she was wearing rode up high, he knew he had to get out of there fast.

He jumped up and almost ran for the door. "I'll just wait with the others until you get ready."

A feline grin tilted up Katie's lips as the door banged shut behind her boyfriend. She remembered hearing a conversation once between her mother, Serena, and Mina when she was about ten years old and they were laughing and joking about the power that women could have over men. She hadn't understood it at the time, but now she was starting to see what they meant. She was far from being some sultry seductress, but the fact that she could send her prince scurrying from the room and looking hot under the collar without even trying filled her with a sense of female pride.

Then her stomach decided to growl loudly, making her giggle as she quickly shed her pajamas and pulled on her clothes. She'd have fun playing with her prince later. Right now she desperately needed food.

* * *

Ilene Tsukino clapped her hands together, little hearts and stars popping into her eyes as she took in the women standing around her. "Oh! You all look so beautiful! I think I'm going to cry!" She waved a hand in front of her face as tears did indeed begin spilling down her cheeks.

"Mom…" Serena sighed and took a steep toward her mother.

"Stop!" Ilene screeched and held up a hand. "Don't come any closer! My mascara is running and I would take your father's shotgun and shoot myself if it got on that white satin and ruined it!"

Mina laughed and walked over to one of her worktables to pull a few tissues from a box. She handed them to the weeping woman. "Here, Mama Ilene. I guess I did good, huh?"

Ilene dabbed her face and eyes dry before throwing herself at the blonde. "You did better than good, Mina! These are spectacular! They're quite colorful, I admit, but they suit all of you perfectly."

This was the first time that the mother of the bride had seen the dresses for the bridal party. Mina had wanted to have all of the alterations done before they unveiled them to the sometimes overly critical woman.

Now that Ilene had gotten over her initial shock she began walking around and studying every little detail. "Hmm, well this will definitely be unlike any wedding I've ever been to. I don't believe I've ever even heard of a rainbow themed wedding before. Just please tell me that the men won't be quite as bright."

Serena giggled. "Of course they will! We had their tuxes custom made to match the color of the bridesmaid they are paired with."

Ilene's face paled and she gulped. "Are you being serious, Serena?"

Serena burst into full-blown laughter. "Of course not, mom! We couldn't let the guys outshine us. They will be perfectly normal looking in their black tuxedoes."

The indigo haired woman glared at her daughter. "That was an evil trick to pull on me, Serena Usagi! Do you want to give me a heart attack?"

"Ooo, you're in trouble now," Raye snickered. "She pulled out the first and middle names!"

Lita nodded swiftly. "Uh huh! I always knew to run and hide when my mom did that."

"That was a dirty trick, Serena," Amy admonished her.

"Wow! And I thought my mom could be scary," Jess barely whispered.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay! So it was a bad joke! Sue me!"

"All right!" Mina said in a placating tone as she began herding them all toward a curtained off area. "Let's get changed before any spats break out. I really don't want to have to remake any of these dresses because they got destroyed in a catfight."

Amid a lot of giggles and good-natured grumbling, the six women got changed back into their street clothes and started saying their goodbyes as they began to break away.

Lita had to hurry back to the restaurant and make sure that everything was cleared away from their breakfast that morning and that her staff was getting everything prepared before they opened for business for the day.

Amy had to get to the hospital. She was doing a student program that allowed her to follow doctors around and observe them as they worked. And between her mother, Zoicite, and Darien, they were keeping her busy.

Raye left to go down to the club, grouching about having to do payroll and the orders she needed to make. She briefly grumbled that she needed to hire a manager before shaking her head. She was too much of a take charge kind of person to let anyone else run her business.

Mina had a full appointment book for that afternoon, but she laughed that she didn't have that far to go. That was the good thing about having the salon and boutique right next to each other; she could keep an eye on both of them at the same time. Of course everyone knew that Kunzite handled the books for her.

Jess said a quick goodbye before dashing off as well. She had a meeting set up with Natasha, a gallery owner that she had done a few showings for, to discuss possibilities for a showing this summer.

In just a matter of minutes Serena and Ilene were the only two left.

"So do you have to run off as well, or do you have time to grab a cup of tea with your old mom?" Ilene teased.

Serena laughed. "You're hardly old, mom. I have to go to work at the preschool in a little while, but I think I have a few minutes to spare."

A short while later they were seated at a small table on the second level of the atrium in the multiplex, both sipping on steaming cups of white tea.

After a minute of companionable silence, Ilene set her cup down and looked seriously at her daughter. "So, only about five months left until the big day."

Serena's eyes glittered happily. "Yeah. I can hardly wait. Serena Shields. It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

A girlish giggle escaped her mother's mouth. "Yes, it does. I know most mothers would be telling their daughters that twenty one is too young to get married and that they have plenty of time to think about that later, but that would be hypocritical of me. I got married at eighteen and had you when I was twenty. A lot of people said I was crazy to get married so young to a man seven years older than me and that I was throwing my life away, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. Your father and I have had twenty three wonderful years of marriage together, and I still love him as much now as I did the day I said 'I do'. I'm sure you and Darien will be the same. I could see a connection between the two of you the first time I saw you together."

Serena took a sip of her tea. "Wow, mom! You sure are being philosophical today."

Ilene smiled, but her eyes stayed serious. "I guess I am. Seeing you in that wedding dress and surrounded by your friends just brought home the truth that my little baby is all grown up now. You're getting married and one day will have children of your own. It seems like only yesterday you were just a little girl, and then you became a young woman overnight. You found your friends and a boyfriend, and then you were off doing your own thing and I hardly ever saw you anymore."

Serena felt a surge of guilt. It was true that from the time she was fourteen and she had become Sailor Moon that she had started spending more and more time away from home. She was always busy either fighting enemies or with the others trying to plan their next move. And even in times of peace she had spent most of her time either with Darien or the girls. "Mom, I…"

Her mother held up a silencing hand. "You don't have to explain anything to me, honey. It's all part of growing up. Kids get older and they don't need their parents as much as they used to. I understood that and I backed off and gave you your space. Besides, I always knew that there was something special about you and your friends."

Serena's eyes widened and she sputtered a little on her tea. "What are you talking about, mom?"

Ilene smiled mysteriously. "I'm not talking about anything dear. I'm simply saying that mothers aren't quite as easily fooled as their children would like to think they are. But everyone is entitled to their secrets. And I know that if and when you think the time is right, you will tell me yours."

Serena stared down contemplatively into her cup for several long seconds before looking up. "I…I…"

Ilene leaned across the table and cupped her daughter's cheek. "You don't have to say anything right now, Serena. I just wanted to let you know that grown up or not, I'm still your mother, and I'll always be here for you. Now you have work to get to and I have a charity luncheon, so we better get going. But let's not go so long again before we have a good heart to heart. I miss talking with you."

Despite the crazy thumping of her heart at the realization that her mother was probably well aware of the fact that she was Sailor Moon, Serena smiled and nodded. "Okay, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Now get going before you're late."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

"Good God!" Lita exclaimed as two teens came stumbling into the massive kitchen of the Crystal Palace. "I figured after the meal I fed you two yesterday and then you sleeping for like twenty hours that you guys would be looking better, but you still look just as rough as you did when Trista came dragging your sorry butts back here."

"Har, Har," Sasha muttered sarcastically as she dropped into a chair and let her head fall to the table. "Thanks for the compliment. My head is pounding!"

"Ditto," Jack groaned as he took a seat next to her. "This feels just like the time DJ, Alex, and I…uh, never mind." He quickly cut off whatever he was going to say as three sets of blue eyes and one hazel swung to him.

"The time you three did what?" Jess asked in a deceptively sweet tone as she propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms.

"It was nothing," he insisted. He sure wasn't about to tell the adults about the time the three of them had gone head to head in a drinking contest or the price he had paid for it the next day. It still grated on his nerves that DJ had won it so easily and appeared to be only slightly intoxicated by the end of it.

Amy had her computer out and was scanning them. She clucked her tongue. "It looks like both of you are suffering from the atmospheric pressure differences between the time plane and here. You spent so long there without a break that it's taking your bodies a while to adjust. Here." She rummaged in her purse for a moment and then handed each of them a pill. "Take this. It should make you feel better."

They both nodded and popped the pills in their mouths as they reached for the glasses of lemonade Lita had set before them.

"So are you guys hungry?" the tall, auburn haired woman asked them. When they nodded she bustled over to the stove and began dishing up whatever she had cooking there. She filled two plates and set them before the teens, who tore into the food with ravenous appetites.

"Wow! I think you've met your match, Meatball Head. I didn't think anyone could eat faster than you," Raye snickered.

Serenity tossed one of her pigtails over her shoulder as she growled, "Keep it up, Pyro…"

"Ladies, please," Endymion said in a placating tone. "Let's save the bickering for later. I'm trying to enjoy my lunch and I don't need the indigestion."

Just then the back door opened and Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite came trooping in. The king sighed and set the fork he'd had halfway to his mouth back down before he asked, "So what's the word?"

"All's quiet so far," Nephrite replied. "The guards at all of the checkpoints say that people have been amazingly cooperative. There have been a few assholes here and there, but nothing that's been a big deal."

Zoicite nodded. "And that's saying something considering the amount of traffic that has been coming in and out of the city since it has been festival season. Thank goodness we are done with that now."

Jadeite sighed tiredly. "Yeah, that will definitely make things easier." Then he looked around curiously. "Hey! Where are Kunz and Mina?"

"They went on a little…side mission," Serenity hedged.

Endymion groaned when he saw the three men's eyes narrow suspiciously. "We sent them to check out Discord's compound. We're pretty sure that even he wouldn't be stupid enough to go back there, but it's worth looking into. He may have left some clue behind about what he's planning."

"You let them go alone?" all three generals bellowed.

As if their words had conjured them up, Mina and Kunzite came through the kitchen door.

"Down boys!" Kunzite said gruffly. "The last time I checked it was still a free world and we could do what we wanted." Then he addressed the king. "The place was clean. It looks like it was abandoned pretty quickly, but we didn't find anything incriminating."

Mina shook her head. "Nope. Not even one sentinel kitty hairball was left behind."

Serenity sighed and twirled some pasta around her fork. "Well, I really wasn't expecting you to find anything anyway. Discord may suffer from _'I am the best' _complex, but I have to give credit where credit is due. He's not stupid. He's not going to want anyone to know where he's holing up to lick his wounds. Talon's men have volunteered to stake out the obvious places, so they're watching their old stronghold up in the mountains and the remains of the Dark Kingdom. If he shows up in either one of those places they'll let us know."

"You know," Jess began in a casual tone. "If you want him to show himself that badly, I bet I could get him to do it. All I'd have to do is step one foot outside the city gates and he'd probably be all over me like jelly on peanut butter."

A loud chorus of protests came from around the table, but none were louder than Andrew's. He stood up and slammed his hands down on the table. "Absolutely not! Have you lost your damn mind? You've always been at the top of his hit list, right alongside the kids, but after that little stunt your past self pulled on him yesterday he will be out for revenge more than ever before."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. It was just a thought. Don't blow a gasket."

"He's right," Sasha spoke up softly. "I know you said that you've gotten flashes of memory about what happened in the time plane, but you really let him have it."

Jack grinned broadly, obviously feeling better thanks to Amy's fast acting medication. "I'll say she did! She stomped the snot out of that old fart, and then _WHAM!_" He mimed throwing a dagger and then clutched his chest dramatically. "He dropped like a ton of bricks. All Katie, DJ, and Alex had to do was come in and sweep up the leftovers. It was awesome!"

Jess blew on her fingernails and then buffed them against her shirt. "Naturally." Then she dissolved into giggles.

"The point is," Endymion spoke loudly to be heard over his past daughter's hysterics. She fell quiet but stuck her tongue out at him with a grin. "We don't want to force Discord's hand before it is time. If we do we'll be forced to seal him away again because the kids aren't ready to face him. Then he'll just pop up again somewhere down the road and we'll have to start all over. I'd rather get this done and over with so we don't have to go around looking over our shoulders and the kids can move on with their lives."

"So would I," Serenity sighed. "And now that Trista is back in charge of the time gate she'll be able to see what is going on and warn us if that bastard makes a move."

"I thought someone must have been talking about me. My ears were burning," a slightly husky voice laughed as Trista stepped into the room. She was in her civilian form, which was highly unusual for whenever she made an appearance before her king and queen, and was wearing a lightweight cotton dress in rich wine red. Serenity and Mina shared a conspiratorial smile.

"Trista!" Serenity exclaimed and jumped up from her seat to hurry over and embrace her oldest scout. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon after yesterday. Is everything okay?"

Trista smiled benevolently at her queen. "Everything is perfectly fine, your majesty. Time has settled back down to a nice, easy flow and luckily there weren't too many repercussions that required my attention. I have to say that it is nice to be able to move freely through my domain again. Although I feel like I need a truckload of disinfectant spray to rid the time plane of that foul beast's presence. But for the first time in a while I can honestly say that I am here strictly as a social call. Well not exactly. It's also a reconnaissance mission too."

The queen tipped her head to the side with a perplexed expression. "What do you mean?"

Trista laughed and pulled a sheet of paper from her skirt pocket. "I have some requests from your children. Let's see…Alex and Hannah both said that they needed their back up batteries for their computers. Emma wants her favorite hot pink tank top. She said that Mina would know which one. Katie wants a red spiral notebook from the bottom shelf in her bedroom, and she says that if anyone looks in it she will skin them alive. Rini wants a tube of lipstick from her vanity table called _'Passionately Pink'_. Evidently earbuds in the past aren't compatible with MP3 players from this time, so Skye needs her spare set from the drawer in her bedside table. DJ says that there is a book on his desk that he would like to finish reading and Jayden wants some of Lita's gingersnaps because the Lita of the past doesn't have that recipe yet."

All was silent in the kitchen for several long moments before the adults burst into laughter. It sounded like their kids were getting along just fine in the past.

"Have Amara and Michelle arrived yet?" Trista asked once the laughter had died down.

Serenity waved a hand. "Yes. They just got here about an hour ago and were getting settled into their room. They're probably with Hotaru and little Kenny by now."

Trista smiled. "Then I think I will go visit with them for a little bit. I haven't seen my adopted grandson in a while."

The queen squealed. "Oh, you won't believe how much he's grown! And he looks just like Sammy did at three. I swear he is his daddy's little clone."

Trista laughed lightly and took her leave, making her way down the halls toward the stairs that would take her up to the living quarters. Then she rounded a corner and crashed into what felt like a brick wall.

"Ouch!" she muttered rubbing her slightly stinging nose.

Then a deep chuckle reached her ears. "Well, well, Lady Pluto. We meet again."

Her eyes flew up and clashed with a pair of humorously glittering golden ones. Her breath whooshed out like she had been kicked in the stomach. "Ev…Evan!" she stammered.

He bowed slightly. "I'm pleased to see that you remember me."

'_Duh! Like I could forget a tall, sexy, delicious looking hunk of man like you!' _she thought to herself.

She forced her voice to stay calm, despite her thoughts. "Well, we just met yesterday, so my memory is still fairly fresh."

"Ahh," he sighed. "Was it only yesterday? It feels like it has been years since I was able to make your lovely acquaintance."

'_What a silver tongued devil!' _she thought. _'Great Chronos! My knees actually feel weak! Get a grip, girl! You're well over 2,000 years old and he's probably 30. Talk about robbing the cradle!'_

"I was about to take a walk through the palace gardens. Would you like to join me?" he asked smoothly.

Her voice deserted her for a moment. "Oh…well…I…" Then she clamped her mouth shut. True, they were still in the middle of a crisis, but surely there could be no harm in her taking just ten tiny little minutes for herself. Right? After all, she was still a person.

"I would love to," she finally answered. She cringed inwardly at how breathless her voice sounded. Great! Now he would think she was desperate.

He offered his elbow to her and she put her arm through it, ignoring the chills and tingles that shivered through her. Good grief! She felt like an adolescent girl on a first date. She may as well start hanging out with Rini, Emma, Katie, Skye, and the Hotaru of the past and join them in their giggle fests over the latest idols.

They swept through a set of glass doors and into one of the many gardens surrounding the palace where riotous displays of flowers of every kind and color grew.

Evan drew in a deep breath. "Beautiful. I've been here before, but never in the spring. Talon and Anya have always said that the gardens here are amazing at this time of year, and they were right."

Trista saw her opening and took it. "So how long have you known Talon and Anya?"

He shrugged. "All my life. Counting the years that we were all hibernating while the Earth was iced over its been a little over 2,000 years now."

His flippant answer stunned her so much that she came to an abrupt halt. "You're from the old days?"

He arched a brow at her. "Yes. That's not a problem, is it? You were born in the time of the Silver Millennium as well, weren't you?"

She shook her head. "Just before it actually. Queen Serenity's mother was still ruling at the time. When she decided to retire to the Elysian Fields after ruling for many centuries, Queen Serenity stepped forward and she formed the Silver Alliance. I was the first sailor scout chosen by her, but I was so young at the time that I don't really remember it."

Evan grinned. "So that only makes you slightly older than me. No offense, but I like that. My sister always picks on me and says that I'm ancient, and I'm only six years older than she is."

"You have a sister?" Trista asked curiously.

He threw back his head and laughed. "I'm Talon's brother in law. Anya is my sister."

"O-oh!" she squeaked. She compared the extremely tall, fair-haired; golden eyed man to the almost petite woman with dark hair and eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid that I don't see the family resemblance."

He laughed again. "Nobody ever does. I took after my father while Anya is the spitting image of our mother. It usually throws people off when we tell people that we are siblings."

Trista laughed lightly as well. "I guess it does." Then she sobered. "So were you with Talon while he was with Discord?"

The smile melted off his face. "I wouldn't exactly call it being with him. Once Beryl was out of the picture and we realized that Talon had taken up with Discord, a lot of us wanted to strike out on our own. Our magic grants us with an infinite lifespan, barring a fatal injury or illness, and we didn't like the idea of spending endless centuries living under that. Some people left, but Anya refused to leave Talon behind so I stayed there to be with her. But I was never part of Discord's scheme. I didn't want to have anything to do with it."

"Oh! I didn't mean to imply that you did," Trista hastily reassured him. "I was just wondering."

His infectious smile was back in place. "Let's not talk about depressing things. The day is sunny and these gardens are beautiful, so let's enjoy it while we can. I'm sure you'll have to scurry away soon, and I would like to take advantage of every moment I can with you."

She returned his smile and tightened her grip on his arm as they continued down the garden path, completely oblivious to the two sets of blue eyes watching them gleefully from one of the palace windows.

"Did you see that?" the two blonde women squealed together.

"Serena…" Endymion sighed.

"Mina…" Kunzite echoed.

Both women spun around and stuck their tongues out at their husbands before collapsing into giggles.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"Wow!" Alex whispered as his thudding heart finally settled back into a normal rhythm.

The blonde head lying on his shoulder shifted and hazy gray eyes looked up at him lovingly. "You took the word right out of my mouth."

He sighed deeply. "I guess we should get up and dressed in case somebody comes home."

"Yeah, we probably should," Emma said softly, but she didn't move. After a minute she groaned, "Oh man, do we have to? I'm nice and comfy laying here."

He chuckled and bent down to kiss the tip of her nose. "Yeah, me too. But if we get busted and your dad finds out he will kill me. And I'd kinda like to stay alive."

"I know, I know," she growled as she sat up. "He's such a caveman! And he's just as bad here as he is in the future. I mean really! I'm seventeen years old! I'm not a child!"

Dark blue eyes roamed over her approvingly. "No. You are definitely not a child."

Her gray eyes snapped back at him. "Don't start something we can't finish!" She stood up and started gathering her discarded clothes.

"Sorry," he said with a grin as he rolled off the futon that served as his bed and reached for his boxers. He stood there for a moment and watched her reverse striptease as she shimmied into her undergarments and skirt. She was reaching for her shirt when he gave into temptation and wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her against him where he placed a string of kisses across her shoulder.

Her head fell back with a groan. "Alex…"

He forced himself to let her go. "Sorry. You just look so good standing there half naked."

She laughed and pushed at his shoulder. "You are so bad! Now get dressed. We're supposed to be meeting the others for a late lunch."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he pulled his jeans on. "But one day we are going to have a place of our own where we don't have to sneak around and hide from the parents."

Emma glanced over her shoulder at him from where she was brushing her hair in front of the mirror. "I can't wait. Now what's our cover story going to be? Your sister and DJ were going to a movie. Jayden and Hannah were going to catch the last day of the festival. And Skye is working with Lita. We have to come up with something."

"I don't know," Alex huffed as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. "We'll just say that we walked around the mall or something. I don't think they'll really care."

* * *

Katie's breathing was ragged as aftershocks of pleasure skittered up and down her spine. She untangled her fingers from the damp black hair and pushed at the heavy weight on top of her. "You're smushing me," she managed to gasp.

"Sorry," DJ groaned in her ear as he rolled off of her. He settled next to her and pulled her close to his side.

Even though she was still basking in the afterglow of lovemaking, Katie couldn't help but giggle at the hilarity of their situation.

DJ raised his head to look at her. "What's so funny?"

She laughed even harder at the sight of the cross look on his face. After a minute she composed herself enough to say, "We are." She wiped a few tears from her eyes. "There is a bed only five feet away from us, and yet here we are on the floor with most of our clothes still on."

"It's not my fault," DJ grumbled as he let his head fall back against the carpet. "You teased me."

Katie's eyes went wide. "I did not! You were the one that dragged me out of the theater barely fifteen minutes into the movie. I was just sitting there watching it. Granted I've seen it at least ten times, but it's a good movie. I thought you wanted to see it again too, so why did you change your mind?"

He rolled over so he could prop himself up on an elbow. Then he glared down at her. "Don't try to be Little Miss Innocent with me! You knew exactly what watching you with that lollipop would do to me."

She smiled sweetly and patted his cheek. "Well if you had been watching the movie instead of me it wouldn't have done anything to you. I certainly didn't say that I wanted you to bring me back here and have your way with me on your bedroom floor."

DJ was suddenly looming over her with a wicked smile. "I didn't hear you complaining either."

She licked her lips and wound her arms around his neck to pull him down. "Of course I didn't complain."

He reared back. "Ah ha! I knew it! You were seducing me!"

"Puh-lease!" she said with a roll of her eyes as she pushed him away from her and climbed a little unsteadily to her feet. "There was no seduction involved. If I wanted to seduce you then I think I could come up with something better than making out with a lollipop. I can't help it if you have an overactive imagination."

DJ growled. "Overactive imagination, huh? I'll show you an overactive imagination." He was on his feet in a second.

Katie squealed at his playfully ferocious look and tried to run. Normally this wouldn't be a problem for her, but she hadn't gotten all of her clothes straightened yet. And with leg in and one leg out of her jeans, that made a quick getaway difficult.

He grabbed her around the waist and spun her around so that her back was to the door. He nipped at her ear as he said in a low voice, "It's too bad that we have to meet the others for lunch, or I'd show you just how overactive my imagination can get."

She couldn't help but tease him just a bit and pressed herself slightly into him. "Oh really? I thought you dealt with facts and figures, not with the world of imagination." And then she fixed her lips over his and let her tongue swirl with his for several long seconds."

They broke apart at the same time and whispered, "I know, we have to go," together. Then they laughed.

A few minutes later they were both presentable looking and left the apartment. Just as they stepped out into the hall, the door to Andrew and Jess's apartment opened and out came Alex and Emma. The four teens all froze.

"Shit!" Katie muttered under her breath and waited for all hell to break loose. Her brother could be as overprotective as her father, and even worse on some occasions. She just knew that he would assume the worst and hit the ceiling.

But surprisingly Alex just grinned and threw an arm around Emma's shoulders before saying. "Well look at that! Looks like we don't need a cover story after all, sweetheart." And then they strolled casually toward the elevator.

"Are you guys coming or what?" he asked once he and Emma were inside the car and he was holding the door open. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Katie and DJ recovered from their shock and scrambled after them. When they were all in and the elevator was headed down, Emma and Katie shared conspiratorial looks before bursting into quiet giggles.

Alex and DJ just shook their heads and mumbled, "Women!"

* * *

The game attendant's mouth fell open as the blonde haired boy threw the ball to knock down the third pyramid of bottles in a row like it was nothing. Then the overweight man crossed his arms and grumbled, "Which one do you want?" as he pointed up to where the largest prizes were hanging.

Jayden grinned smugly and turned to the girl beside him. "Which one do you like best? That one?" He pointed to an icy blue unicorn.

Hannah shook her head and pointed shyly to a red dragon. "I like that one."

The man pulled it down and handed it to Jayden, who then held it out to Hannah.

Her green eyes widened. "For me?" she squeaked.

He shrugged. "Sure. I don't have any use for a stuffed animal. I just wanted to prove that I could beat the game." Then he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "They're all rigged, you know."

She tried to look reproachful as she accused, "You used your powers!"

"I may have given the bottles a little mental nudge," he answered with a grin. "That's what they get for trying to screw decent people out of their hard earned money. Watch this."

He nodded across the way where a man with a little girl standing next to him had just paid for three darts to throw at balloons. The man threw the darts, and three balloons popped. A minute later the man and his daughter were walking away with a teddy bear that was as big as the little girl.

Hannah smiled. "Normally I would say that was a blatant misuse of your powers, but I think you made that girl's day."

"So does this make your day?" he asked as he placed the dragon in her arms.

She giggled and hugged it close. "It definitely makes it brighter."

Jayden grinned and then took her by the arm. "Hey! Let's go get some snow cones and sit down by the pond."

"But we're meeting the others for lunch in about an hour," Hannah protested.

"Aw, come on! One little snow cone isn't going to ruin your appetite. And besides, where's your festival spirit? You've got to have something," he cajoled.

His smile was infectious. "Okay, you win! We'll have a snow cone."

As they walked through the rest of the games Hannah noticed a large amount of people suddenly winning, especially those with small children or couples that were together. She shook her head and mumbled, "So you're not as big of a jerk as I thought you were."

Jayden turned inquisitive blue eyes in her direction. "Did you say something?"

"Nope! Not a word!" she replied brightly.

A little while later they were sitting down on the grass by the pond with their snow cones. They had both opted for cherry, to each other's surprise. Hannah carefully set her new dragon, who she was secretly calling _Flame_, over to the side before digging into the red stained ice.

After a few minutes of silence she spoke up. "Hey, Jay, can I ask you something?"

He almost choked. Not just because of the ice slithering down his throat, but because she had called him Jay. She was pretty much the only person that had never used the shortened form of his name before. He gulped hard. "Yeah, sure."

She sucked in a deep breath. "That night, the last time we fought in a battle. You saved me from that guardian. And since then you haven't picked a fight with me once. You've been very nice actually. I was just wondering why."

Jayden flushed bright red like he had been playing with the fire he adored so much. "O…oh! Well…I guess seeing that guardian trying to do you in made me realize how dangerous what we're doing is. And then Katie told us that story about the alternate future that almost happened, and I realized that one of us could die very easily. If I hadn't gotten to you in time that night I would have beaten myself up for the rest of my life for not just letting you die, but for letting you die hating me. Why are you asking me about this now? That was almost two weeks ago."

Now it was Hannah's turn to blush. Her cheeks turned pink like she had been outside on a cold winter's day. "Like I said, I was just wondering about your change in behavior. I would have asked you before, but we've either been busy or there was someone else around." Then she looked up at him with sincere, bright green eyes. "I never hated you, Jay. You irritate the hell out of me sometimes with your perverted ways, but I never hated you."

His face was so red now that it would put his mother's fuku to shame. "You sure could've fooled me. It seemed like every time I turned around you were yelling at me about something or pelting me with snowballs."

She giggled then. "It's a defense mechanism I guess. Like I said, you do irritate me sometimes."

He chuckled. "Yeah. My mom has always said that I'm a pro at it."

Silence hung between them for several moments before Hannah set her snow cone to the side and flung her arms around Jayden's neck. She lightly kissed his cheek before she whispered in his ear. "Thank you for saving me."

He was shocked at her actions, but managed to mutter, "No problem, Snowflake."

Instead of pulling away, she continued hugging him. "I can't believe I'm saying this, and I'm sure you've had a hundred other girls tell you, but I like you…a lot, Jay."

That had his head snapping around, his blue eyes flaring wide. As he took in the slightly wavy sapphire hair that tumbled to her shoulders and those clear green eyes looking out from her dainty, pixie face, a sudden realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Just when had he developed a crush on the girl he loved to torment so much?

His eyes zeroed in on her lips. They were stained red from the cherry snow cone and only about twelve inches away from his. Did he dare kiss her? She might freeze him in a chunk of ice if he did. But then he decided, what the hell! He leaned forward and pressed his lips firmly to hers. They were cool, but unbelievably soft, and he liked the way they felt.

A startled squeak caught in Hannah's throat when she suddenly found herself being kissed. She hadn't expected this when she had confessed her feelings. In fact, she figured that he would laugh at her about having a crush on him. After all, he was very good looking, and he had a fan club of girls back home that was almost as big as the one that followed DJ and Alex around.

But here he was, kissing her. Her reflexes almost had her pulling away, but those warm, oh so warm lips, made her feel like she was melting. So instead of backing away, she returned the pressure he was exerting with her own and let her eyes flutter shut.

It didn't last long, only about ten seconds, and then they slowly pulled away from each other.

Hannah's eyes blinked open slowly, looking a little dazed. "That was my first kiss," she whispered shyly.

Jayden chuckled nervously and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Yeah, mine too."

"No way! You have got to be joking!" she exclaimed. "What about all of those girls you flirt with? You can't seriously expect me to believe that you have never kissed any of them!"

He looked away and grumbled. "Well I haven't! Flirting is just for fun. But kissing…well…it's personal."

Hannah didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she settled for snapping, "So why did you kiss me?"

"Because I like you too!" he almost yelled back as he whipped his head back around to look at her in exasperation. "Now go ahead and laugh at me for being a fraud."

She didn't laugh. Instead she leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to his lips before pulling back with a smile. "You're not a fraud. You're just…you." Then she looked down at her watch. "We should get going. It's almost time to meet the others."

He stood up and then offered her a hand to help her up. Once she was standing he gave her another short kiss before grinning widely. "I could get used to this kissing thing."

She huffed as she bent down to pick up her beloved dragon. "As long as you don't go around kissing other girls."

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Ooo, is that a note of jealousy I hear in that voice?"

She spun around and glared at him. "You better believe it, buster! If you think you can take off and start smooching with other girls after kissing me you've got another thing coming! I will freeze you in ice so thick that even your awesome fire power will never be able to melt it!"

Jayden just laughed and grabbed her hand. "Cool! A possessive woman! I like that!"

* * *

Zoicite looked up as his office door flew open with a bang to admit an unusually fuming, blue haired virago. He watched as she flung herself down on the couch and kicked her shoes off with so much force that they sailed across the room.

He fought back a chuckle. "Bad afternoon, love?"

Amy growled and glared up at him with eyes that resembled ice chips instead of her usual calm pools of blue. "Don't talk to me! I'm cranky!"

He ignored her request as he got up from his chair and walked around the desk. "What's wrong? Is hospital life not quite how you imagined it? It's not too late for you to change your classes to something else."

Her eyes went colder and harder. "Very funny, Zoi! You know that I have never wanted to be anything but a doctor, and I love spending time here and watching how everything works. It's just…" Her eyes filled up with tears.

This alarmed Zoicite greatly. Amy was never one for being overly emotional, so something must have upset her greatly. He was on his knees in front of her in a flash. "Sweetheart! What's wrong?"

She shook her head violently, sending sparkling tears flying from her lashes, before she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a stranglehold. Sobs burst from her chest as she buried her face in his neck and her entire body trembled like a leaf in a breeze.

He stood slowly with her in his arms and sat on the couch with her curled on his lap. He stroked his fingers gently up and down her spine for several minutes until he felt her begin to calm. Then he asked gently, "Now will you tell me what's wrong?"

Her head rose up to look at him. Her entire face was red and swollen and her eyes were still swimming with tears. "I…I saw a man die," she whispered.

Comprehension clicked in Zoicite's head. To those in the medical field, the first time they witnessed a patient dying was always the hardest. But since Amy was just here to observe and wasn't scheduled to start her student rotations for another couple of semesters, her mother, Darien, and he had been careful so far to not let her witness any casualties.

He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry, honey. I know it's hard. But as much as we would like to save everybody that comes in here, I'm afraid we can't."

"It was just so unexpected," she mumbled through pale lips. "The man came in with chest pains and mom said that he'd had a mild heart attack. He was responding well to the medication and then…he went into cardiac arrest. They tried to bring him back, but he was gone." She began softly crying again.

"Shh…" he shushed her soothingly as he pushed her head back down to his shoulder and rocked gently from side to side.

There was a soft knock at the door before it opened a crack and another blue head popped in. Dr. Mizuno took one look at her distraught daughter being held in her boyfriend's arms and flew into the room.

"Oh, Amy!" she cried softly as she knelt down beside them. "I'm so sorry you had to see that!" She reached out to brush Amy's blue bangs back. "Oh my! You're as cold as ice! And your lips are turning blue!"

Zoicite felt Amy's tears beginning to freeze on his neck and knew that she was withdrawing into her powers to help deal with her emotions. He also knew that he needed to get her out of there before somebody noticed something strange.

He stood up and cradled her in his arms. "I'm going to take her home so she can get some rest," he told her mother.

Dr. Mizuno nodded. "That's probably for the best. Normally I would suggest a hot bath for a shock like this, but in her case I think a cool one would be better. My Amy always did prefer things to be on the chilly side."

Zoicite felt some warmth flood back into Amy's skin right before she lifted her head to look at her mother in confusion. "Mom?"

The doctor pressed two fingers to her daughter's lips. "Hush. We'll talk later. Now you let Zoicite take you home and take care of you, okay."

Amy nodded. "Okay. Put me down, Zoi. I can walk."

He looked a little skeptical, but he set her on her feet. She walked stiffly over to where her shoes were and slid them back on before returning to Zoicite's side. She mustered a small smile for her mother before letting him wrap an arm around her and lead her from the room.

Darien stood in his office doorway, watching them. He'd been in the ER and had seen Amy run away after the heart attack victim was pronounced dead. "Everything okay?" he asked softly.

Zoicite nodded. "Yeah. I'm just going to take her home."

Darien shared a look of understanding with his friend. He remembered well his own traumatic experience the first time he'd seen a patient die. Thank goodness he'd had Serena to go to. He'd left the hospital and had gone straight to her house, even though it was really late at night, and had crawled through her bedroom window. Normally a hurricane wouldn't wake her up, but she had sensed his chaotic emotions and had woken up immediately. She'd scooted over in the bed and opened her arms to him, and he'd gone into them willingly and let her hold him throughout the night. Being a doctor meant dealing with both life and death. It never got easier, but you learned to cope.

Zoicite bundled Amy into the elevator, and after the short ride down he ushered her across the parking garage to his car. He got her settled inside and then took his place behind the wheel. He started the engine and turned on the defroster.

Then he gave her a gentle smile. "There! Now you can vent and I'll still be able to see out the windshield to get us home."

She gave a shaky giggle. "I'll be okay. I just lost it there for a minute. I always knew that I would have to deal with this one day. I just wasn't expecting it to be today. But I think I have a bigger problem than that."

Zoicite paused in buckling his seatbelt. "You mean what your mom was hinting at?"

Amy nodded. "I've thought many times over the years that she was suspicious about me and the other girls being the sailor scouts. She never said anything outright, but little comments she made here and there made me suspect that she knows. The girls and I even talked about letting her in on the secret back several years ago, thinking that it might come in handy to have a full fledged doctor on our side in case someone got injured beyond mine or Darien's capabilities. But it seemed like we had a new enemy popping up every time we turned around and I was scared that she would become a target if we involved her."

Zoicite turned in his seat to face her fully. "Maybe you should have a talk with Serena. Perhaps it's time for your mom to be let in on things."

She sighed. "You may be right. We couldn't expect to keep it a secret from everyone forever. I'll call Serena in a little while and see what she thinks. But right now I just want to go home."

He put the car in gear. "Just sit tight. I'll have us there in a few minutes."

He breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled into the penthouse's parking garage and found it completely empty. Everyone else must still be at work and they had left Amy's car at the hospital. The kids were more than likely out and about somewhere, so that meant that they wouldn't have to deal with the others pestering them with questions.

And that was a good thing since Amy wouldn't like the others seeing her in such a weak moment. She was still extremely pale and her lips still had a bluish tinge to them. Her face was streaked with trails of frost from her tears.

Zoicite led her straight to the bathroom when they entered their suite. "Bath or shower?" he asked gently, gesturing between the large sunken tub and the huge glassed in shower.

"Shower," she replied softly.

He went over to the shower and turned both showerheads on full blast. He adjusted the water until it was just a little bit warmer than what Amy would normally set it on. She might prefer things cool, and her body temperature did run a couple of degrees below the normal average, but she was still only human despite her Mercurian powers and it wasn't good for her to stay too cold for a long time.

He turned to find her fumbling with the buttons of her blouse and he went to help her. He carefully undressed her and then steered her to the shower.

Just as she was stepping in she turned and grabbed his tie to pull him toward her. "Stay with me," she whispered.

He nodded and then nudged her on in. "I'll be there in a second." It took him a few minutes to shed all of his clothes, and then he stepped into the shower.

Amy had just finished lathering up her short blue hair, and she leaned back under one of the sprays of water to rinse the shampoo out. He reached for his shampoo and quickly tackled his own hair. He had his head under the showerhead when he felt what Amy called her _"scrubby pouf" _gliding across his back. He pulled back to look over his shoulder into a pair of thankfully calm, clear blue eyes.

Then the smell of her peach body wash tickled his nose and he joked, "You're going to make me smell like a woman!"

A genuine smile appeared on her face and a real laugh, not a forced one, bubbled past her lips. "I just figured I'd wash your back and you could wash mine."

He turned and took the pouf from her before spinning her around to gently scrub her back. He let his fingers trail over her skin too and was thrilled to feel that it seemed to have returned to her normal temperature.

She squealed and danced away from him when he purposefully stroked a particularly ticklish spot at the small of her back. She dashed back under the water and let it wash the suds away. "You're so evil! You know that tickles!"

He grinned at her. "Yes, I do." Then he took a step toward her. "So are you feeling better now?"

She smiled and nodded as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her toward him. "Much better. Thank you for being there for me."

"Where else would I be?" he said softly as he leaned down and gave her a kiss that was so full of love that it caused her to cry again. But this time it was tears of happiness that ran down her cheeks to mingle with the water.

She cried one more time an hour later. After Zoicite had carried her from the shower to their bed where they made slow love to each other, he climbed from the bed to kneel beside it and looked up at her.

"Amy," he began. "This isn't exactly the way I had it planned, but this time seems to be perfect. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, my little ice sprite," he reached into the drawer of his bedside table and pulled out a small, black velvet box.

"Will you marry me?" he asked as he opened the lid to reveal a stunning aquamarine ring set in a delicate band of white gold.

Warm tears gushed from her eyes as she whispered, "Yes! Of course I'll marry you. I'd never marry anyone else." Her eyes widened as he slid the ring onto her finger. Then she fell back onto the bed squealing just like Serena or Mina would. "Oh my god! I'm engaged!"

* * *

Darien frowned when he stepped into darkening apartment. He was pretty sure Serena was at home. She had gotten off work a couple of hours before and her car was parked in its spot in the garage. But it was highly unusual for her to let it get dark and not turn on any lights. She wasn't a fan of dark, gloomy rooms.

"Serena," he called out as he tossed his keys on the table in the entry hall. He didn't hear a reply as he walked into the living room and clicked on a lamp. It was so quiet that he could only assume that Rini and DJ were out as well.

"Maybe she went out with the girls," he muttered as he walked into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Then he pulled his cell phone from his pocket to check it again. He never answered his phone while he was busy at work, but Serena always left him a voice mail or a text message if she thought she wouldn't be home when he got there so he wouldn't worry. His phone insisted that he had no missed calls or messages.

Oh well, he had his ways of tracking her down. He leaned against the closed refrigerator as he drank and started reaching out through their bond. He nearly jumped a second later when her presence flared up almost on top of him.

He grinned. So she was home after all. That left two options; either she was in the shower or she was asleep. Because not only did Serena always turn the lights on at dusk, she also always came to greet him with a hug and kiss when he came home.

Sure enough, there was light shining underneath the bedroom door as he walked down the hall. He pushed it open to see that his theories were partially right. Serena's hair was damp, indicating that she had recently taken a shower, and she was on the bed, but she was far from being asleep.

Serena sat in the middle of the large, king-sized bed with a couple of books lying open before her. A cross little frown turned down her lips as she looked at them.

"Hey," Darien said softly as he entered the room and closed the door quietly behind him.

Her head snapped up and a smile replaced the frown. "Oh, hey honey! I didn't hear you come in."

He chuckled as he began pulling off his tie. "That's pretty obvious. So what are you studying so hard? I thought you said you weren't going to touch a book this week since you're on spring break."

She shrugged. "I'm not studying. I'm just looking at some old stuff."

He sat on the side of the bed and saw that what he had mistaken for books were actually photo albums. He grinned at the sight of a picture that showed Serena, Mina, Raye, Lita, and Amy crowded into a booth at the arcade. They were no more than fourteen or fifteen in the picture and were wearing their middle school uniforms as they made funny faces at whoever was taking the picture, probably Andrew.

But the second photo album was the one that caught his attention. This was the one that Serena called her secret book and she usually kept it inside a lockbox to keep it away from people that weren't supposed to see it.

"Reliving the past?" he asked as he turned the album toward him to get a better look at the picture of a young Sailor Moon wearing the blue skirted, red bowed fuku that he hadn't seen in so long standing next to a somewhat scrawnier looking Tuxedo Mask. He almost laughed. How had he ever thought that he was buff at seventeen?

Serena chewed on her bottom lip. "I was looking for something, actually."

He arched a brow. "Looking for what?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she murmured as she turned the book back toward her and flipped the page to a picture that showed the four inner scouts as they posed for the camera. Then she skipped several pages, going almost to the back of the book where the last photo she had added was. In it, Andrew was transformed and was dipping a laughing Sailor Shadow back over his arm.

Then she glanced up with a look of curiosity. "When Tuxedo Mask first met Sailor Moon, what did she look like?"

Darien's brow creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just what I said. What did she look like?" Her fingers traced Sailor Shadow's long, dark blonde braid. "I know we all have a glamour that hides our true features from people that don't know about us. When we first met Sailor Shadow and didn't know it was Jess she had brown hair and eyes, making it impossible to tell that it was her. I never would have guessed. Your glamour wasn't quite as heavy. Of course you didn't really need it with the mask and all. But I do remember that your hair was a little lighter and that your eyes were a different shade of blue until I found out who you were. It was subtle, but it enough to throw me off. I was just wondering what other people see when they look at Sailor Moon."

"Oh," Darien muttered. To be honest he hadn't thought about that in a long time. He had known Sailor Moon's identity for so long now that he always pictured her exactly as she was. "Well, your hairstyle was the same. I don't think there's any magic strong enough to hide those meatballs."

Serena giggled and threw a pillow at him.

He grabbed it and then lounged across the foot of the bed. "I guess the best way to put it is that you looked like Queen Serenity. Like I said, your hairstyle stayed the same, and that would have been a dead giveaway to your identity if you had still been blonde, but your hair was silver and your eyes turned lavender. You didn't seem like the type that would bleach your hair on a nightly basis and it would have taken a pretty kick ass pair of contact lenses to alter your eye color like that, so I never suspected that Serena Tsukino was the real Sailor Moon. The other girls were just as hard to figure out. Did you know that Sailor Mars was a blonde when I first saw her?"

Serena burst into laughter and fell over, clutching her stomach. "Oh man! Raye would go ballistic if she knew that people see Sailor Mars as a blonde!"

Darien grabbed her bare foot and tickled it lightly. "So what's with you wanting to know what your glamour looked like? You never asked before."

She sobered up quickly and sat back up. "I was just wondering how easy it could really be for someone to figure out our identities. You know, Sammy claims that he unraveled the mystery years ago."

His expression turned thoughtful. "I guess it's not all that surprising. I always said that he was a sharp kid, even back when I first met him. You used to argue with me and say that he was nothing but a pain in the ass, but I knew he had some brains. It probably was fairly easy for him to put the pieces together."

"And if he could figure it out then other people could too," she muttered, twirling a golden curl around her finger.

Darien frowned at the nervous gesture. "Okay! What gives? Something's got you worked up, and I want to know what it is."

She stared at him for several long moments, like she was trying to figure out the best way to say what was on her mind. Then she just sighed and whispered, "I think my mom knows."

That caught his attention and made him sit up straight. "Knows what? You mean about our alter egos?"

She nodded. "She didn't come right out and say it, but some of the things she said today just screamed that she knew." Then she related the conversation she'd had with Ilene earlier that day.

"So what do you want to do?" Darien asked her when she finished.

She shrugged. "I don't know. Part of me wants to tell her and finally get it off my chest. I mean, it's not like the whole world isn't going to find out eventually anyway. So what does it matter if she finds out a little bit before everyone else? She is my mother after all. But…"

"But?" he prompted gently when she paused.

She lay back with a groan. "If I tell her, then I want to tell her everything. And I don't know how she will take that. I'm scared she'll look at me differently and maybe even feel like I'm not really her daughter anymore when she finds out I'm a reincarnation. It would kill me if that happened, because she is my mother. My soul may have come from another time, but she gave me life. We share the same blood."

Darien sighed and swept the albums out of the way as he scooted around so that he could lay beside her, facing her. "Sweetheart, I don't think there's anything in this universe that could make your mom deny you. She loves you too much. Sure, she may be a little shocked in the beginning, but I just don't see her reacting badly. And if you decide that you want to tell her, then I'll support you. I'll even go with you to talk to her if you want me to."

She rolled over to face him. "You would?"

He reached out and trailed his fingers down her cheek. "Of course I would. You didn't think I'd make you do this alone, did you? Besides, this involves me too."

Serena shot upright. "This involves a lot of people, not just us. I'll need to talk everyone before I make a decision because this isn't just my secret; it's theirs too. They should have a say in this."

"That's true," Darien said as he rolled to his back and put his hands behind his head. "The guys won't care, but who knows with the girls; especially the outer scouts. Hotaru may not want your mom knowing that her son is dating a sailor scout and you're barely on speaking terms with Amara right now after you pulled rank on her the other day."

She waved a hand. "Amara will get over it. I'm just giving her some time to cool down. Once she's let her temper settle all I'll have to do is bat my lashes at her and she'll be flirting with me again in no time."

He chuckled. "You're pure evil sometimes. Did you know that?"

She sighed dramatically and threw a long leg over him so that she was straddling his hips. "I guess that's just the curse of being a woman. I don't normally hear you complaining about that."

"Oh, I'm not complaining," he said huskily as he settled his hands on her thighs. He was very conscious of the fact that his delectable fiancée was wearing nothing but a t-shirt and panties.

There was a slight catch in her throat as she giggled. "Do you think we'll still be like this after we've been married as long as my parents have?"

He pulled her down so that her face was hovering just a few inches above his. "If what our future children have to say is anything to go by, I think we will. Listening to their snide comments makes it sound like we've christened every room in the Crystal Palace."

Serena smiled wickedly. "From what I can remember, that place was huge."

He nodded. "Monstrous."

She closed the gap a little more. "It could be a marathon. Are you sure you're up to the challenge?"

He gave her a cocky grin. "Whatever her majesty wants." Then he pulled her firmly down against him and kissed her deeply.

She immediately moaned into this kiss as his tongue started playing with hers and threaded her fingers into his hair. One of his hands stayed on her thigh while the other slid up her back and under her heavy mass of golden curls to grip the back of her neck.

Just as Serena was calculating how quick she would be able to get Darien out of his clothes, her cell phone rang. She growled as she rolled off of him and reached for it. "Somebody better be dying!"

Her expression changed from furious to perplexed when she looked at the display screen. She answered it quickly. "Ames?"

Darien groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. He had completely about the emotional upheaval that Amy had gone through this afternoon. He had intended to tell Serena about it immediately when he had gotten home, but he'd gotten…distracted.

"Yeah, I'm home," Serena was saying. "Sure! You guys come on by. You know that you and Zoicite are welcome here anytime…Okay! See you in a bit!"

She hung up and turned to Darien with soulful eyes. "Will you take a rain check, my future king?"

He moved his arm to look at her with a grin. "Yeah, this time. You're not off the hook, but I'm sure Amy wouldn't have called you if she didn't need something."

"It was hard to judge her tone, but she sounded pretty wound up about something," she mused. "I guess I'll find out when she gets here. In the meantime, I suppose I better put some clothes on."

Darien forcefully pulled his eyes away from her long, bare legs. "That's probably a good idea. But later…" he trailed off suggestively.

Serena laughed and leaned down to give him a quick kiss. "Definitely later!"

* * *

"I'm off, Mina" Artemis said as he jumped off the end of the bed where he had been curled up.

The blonde woman looked up from where she had been perusing a stack of papers while sprawled out on her stomach on the bed. "Okay, Artemis. Tell Luna I said hi."

If the white feline could have blushed, he would have. "All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

Mina giggled. "Honestly! I don't see why you always get so embarrassed. You and Luna have been together longer than any of the rest of us. You even have Serena and Darien beat. So you're going off to see your ladylove; it's no big deal."

"Good night, Mina!" Artemis said firmly as he slipped through a crack in the balcony doors.

Kunzite came into the bedroom just in time to hear the cat's parting words. He chuckled. "Giving Artemis a hard time again, love?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I'm not giving him a hard time! I just don't see why he and Luna treat their relationship like it's some kind of national secret. It's not like we don't all know that they are together and how things turn out. I've even met their future daughter for crying out loud!"

Kunzite tugged playfully on a piece of her hair as he walked by the bed toward his desk. "Not everyone wears their heart on their sleeve the way you do, darling. It's not that they are trying to keep their relationship secret; they just prefer to keep things private between them."

Mina scowled at him for pulling her hair, but sat up cross-legged on the bed to watch as he rounded the desk. "Is that your way of saying I'm a blabber-mouth, general?"

He grinned as he sat down in his chair and reached for a folder lying on the desk. "You will never hear those words come out of my mouth. So how is the search for your new employee coming?"

Blue eyes narrowed on him. "You're trying to change the subject." When he merely quirked a brow at her, she sighed and picked up the stack of applications she had been going through. The boutique had been so busy lately that she had decided that she needed to hire a part time person to help out.

"It's fine," she answered him. "I've got one girl that I'm really leaning toward. I think she would fit in well. I'm going to call her tomorrow and ask her to come in so we can talk."

Kunzite turned his attention to the paper in front of him. "That's good. I hope she works out. You don't have anything going on in the morning, do you?"

She thought about it for a minute. "No. I don't usually take appointments on Thursdays so that I can work on my designs. Why?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Darien called me a little while ago and asked if we could meet up in the morning. He said that he and Serena had something important that they wanted to talk about."

"Oh! Yeah, I'm free," she said as she climbed off the bed and gathered the applications together in a stack. "But what about you? Don't you have a meeting in the morning?"

He shook his head. "It got pushed back until the afternoon, so my morning is clear. That works out great since I wanted to fine tune this proposal anyway. This man is looking for a company to design and build a twenty-story office building for his business and I'm up against some pretty stiff competition. But I really want this deal."

Mina straightened up from where she had bent over to slide the papers into her bag. "Ooo, baby! I love it when you talk business to me. It's such a turn on!" She tried to smile seductively, but ended up smothering a yawn instead.

Kunzite didn't miss this and his gray eyes turned sympathetic. "You look tired, sweetheart. Why don't you go on to bed? I still have some work to do."

Normally she would argue with him, insisting that she wanted to wait on him so that they could go to bed together, but she was exhausted. She had been kept busy and on her feet all day, and the plushy softness of their king sized mattress sounded like heaven. So she wandered into the bathroom where she washed her face and brushed her teeth before slipping into a silky sleep tank and matching shorts in a dark, burnt orange.

She quickly brushed out her long, golden hair and then padded back into the bedroom. She walked over to the desk where Kunzite was studying the important looking documents before him with an intense look of concentration on his face.

Now a lot of people, Raye and Lita especially, loved to say that she was an airheaded, hormone driven blonde that hardly ever thought about anything other than shopping, fashion, and sex. It was all in good fun, and Mina knew that she came off like that most of the time, but everyone was aware that there was a serious side to her as well. She was trustworthy and loyal to her princess and her friends, and she was completely devoted to the man sitting behind the desk. She loved him with her entire heart and soul.

So while the impish, love goddess side of her would definitely not object if he were to grab her and ravish her right there on the polished wood, the more level headed Mina knew that his work was important to him and didn't want to disturb him. Besides, she really was way past tired.

She settled for leaning down and kissing his cheek lightly as she whispered, "Goodnight, my love."

He surprised her by standing up and sweeping her into his arms to carry her to the bed. He smirked at her shocked squeak. "The least I can do is tuck you in."

In seconds he had her nestled into the soft sheets and he leaned down to brush a feather-light kiss over her lips as he clicked off the bedside lamp. Now the only light came from his desk lamp.

"Did you want me to move to the other room?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "The light doesn't bother me. Just don't stay up too late. Even big time business men need sleep."

He laughed softly and brushed her bangs back to press his lips to her forehead. "Sweet dreams, my goddess."

She giggled faintly as she rolled over and snuggled into her pillow. In this position she had a perfect view of his desk and she watched from under her lashes as he returned to his work. Just looking at him made her heart beat a little bit faster.

She was constantly surrounded by handsome men, but none of them made her feel the way Kunzite did. Darien and Nephrite might be dashing in a dark, mysterious way, and Andrew, Jadeite, and Zoicite had their blonde good looks, but they were nothing compared to her tall, platinum haired, tanned skinned general.

Some people may view them as being an odd couple. He was the firm and quiet type while she was bubbly and vivacious, but it worked. She had wondered in both of her lives what Aphrodite had been thinking when she had made them soul mates. Their personalities were so different. But in a weird kind of way they balanced each other out. He kept her grounded when she needed to be, and she made him loosen up and have fun every now and then. It was the ultimate yin and yang.

She felt like she could lay there all night and never get tired of watching him, but unfortunately her body had other ideas. Her eyelids grew heavy and began to droop. She tried her best to keep them open, but her body's need for rest overpowered her and she drifted off to sleep.

She did come back to a state of semi-awareness two hours later when Kunzite slid into bed beside her and gathered her close to his side. She burrowed into his warmth and murmured, "I love you."

She felt his lips on top of her head and his answering, "I love you too," right before she slipped into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Yeah, sure. We'll be there," Nephrite said into his phone. "Okay, catch you later." Then he hung up.

"What was that about?" Lita asked from the stool next to him.

He shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Zoi just said that Darien and Serena were calling a meeting for tomorrow morning and that they really want everyone to be there."

Lita sighed and swirled her straw through the strawberry margarita she was drinking. "Well, at least we got one day away from the madness. I thought we'd get a bit of a reprieve since there are no more time traveling bad guys to deal with at the moment."

Nephrite shook his head. "I don't think it's anything like that. Zoi didn't sound overly concerned. If anything, he sounded really…happy."

They both turned at the sound of the front door to the penthouse opening and they looked through the door of the entertainment room to see four teens walk in.

"Good god! It's as silent as death in here!" Skye grumbled. "Where is everybody?"

"It's nice to see you too, Miss Cheerful. I was wondering when you lot were going to come dragging in. It's almost midnight," Lita drawled.

"So what! That's what time you told us to be back, isn't it?" Skye practically snarled as she spun on her heel and stomped into the kitchen.

Lita's eyes widened. "Whoa! What's eating her? She was fine when she left the restaurant earlier."

"Weeell," Emma said hesitantly. "Poor Skye hasn't exactly had the most pleasant of nights."

"Not the most pleasant of nights! Is that what you call it?" Skye sneered as she came back through the door, now holding a bottle of root beer and a package of Oreo cookies. "I call it hell! It's bad enough watching all of you happy little couples being all cozy together, but what makes it worse is that all of the men in this century are complete pigs!"

"Hey!" Nephrite exclaimed, looking like he was offended.

She rolled her slate blue eyes. "Let me rephrase that. All of the people that have the genetic defect of being male and were born and raised in this particular time era are pigs. Does that soothe your manly ego a little bit?"

He visibly flinched. "Ouch!" Then he turned to Lita. "It's easy to see whose sarcasm she inherited."

"Yeah, yours, smartass!" Lita snapped, sounding amazingly a lot like the enraged teen girl that would one day be born to them.

Oh how badly he wanted to point out this little tidbit of insight! But he also wanted the luxury of being about to sleep in his bed tonight and not be relegated to a night on the couch nursing electrical burns. So he wisely kept his comments to himself and contentedly sipped his beer.

"Whatever! I'm going to go and mope now," Skye grumbled as she headed up the stairs.

Emma chased after her. "I don't see why you're so upset. I warned you to stay away from that guy the moment I saw him looking at you. But nobody ever listens to anything I have to say…"

That caught Nephrite's attention. His head snapped up. "Did some guy hurt her?" he growled at the remaining two teens.

Jayden held his hands up. "No, no! It wasn't anything like that! It was just some guy being a dick, that's all."

A low snarl rumbled in Nephrite's throat and he half rose off of his barstool.

Lita put a restraining hand on his arm. "Calm down, Papa Bear!" Then she turned to Hannah, knowing that she was the most likely source for getting a straight answer. "What exactly happened?"

Hannah scuffed her foot on the floor. "Well a whole group of us decided to go bowling tonight, and I think Skye was feeling a little left out because everyone there was paired off. There were Alex and Emma, DJ and Katie, Rini and Helios, Hotaru and Sammy, and…and Jay and I." She blushed for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, there was this guy checking her out, and eventually he wandered over and began talking to her. They were laughing and getting along fine, and then…well…"

"Dude forgot to mention that he had a girlfriend," Jayden jumped in. "Chick showed up and went ballistic when she saw him buddying up to Skye. Things got really loud and ugly for a few minutes. From what I picked up on, the guy and girlfriend had a fight earlier today that didn't end well. Then the stupid prick pretty much admitted that he had just been using Skye to make her jealous. A bunch of their mutual friends were there and he knew that they would call her the moment they saw him with another girl."

Hannah let out a tiny giggle. "I thought she was going to zap him where he stood there for a moment. There was so much static electricity around her that I felt my hair stand up. Then she just turned around and stormed out."

Lita sighed. "What an asshole! At least she kept a lid on her temper and didn't do anything to blow her cover."

Jayden grinned broadly. "Oh she got him back! Evidently the guy had described his car in detail to her. By the time we caught up to her in the parking lot she had found it. With one well-placed little jolt she fried his entire electrical system. I hope he knows a good mechanic."

Lita felt an insane urge to laugh, but she felt it wouldn't be right to condone such actions. "That's horrible!" she choked out.

"That's brilliant!" Nephrite crowed. "I should have known that she'd come up with some way to get back at him!"

"Nephrite!" Lita hissed, spinning to face him. "This is our daughter destroying someone else's property we're talking about. It's not funny!"

He just grinned. "Come on, Sparky! I've heard some of the stories about you when you were younger. Are you saying that you never did anything like that to get revenge on someone?"

She flushed with guilt because she had indeed taken revenge on a few people over the years, especially back in middle school. And a couple of those had been guys that had mistakenly thought that she would be good for an easy lay. Boy had they been wrong! She had targeted their cars too in those cases. "I…well…that was different."

He smirked at her. "Different how?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just shut up!"

Hannah felt the rising tension and figured it was a good time to escape. "Well, I'm heading up to bed."

Jayden was right behind her. "Yeah, me too! I'll walk you up."

Silence hung between the couple left behind for a few minutes. Then Nephrite looked up from where he had been fiddling with the label on his beer bottle. "Oh, stop glaring at me like that. You know that you're just as proud of her as I am."

Lita clamped her teeth down hard on her lip to keep from smiling, but after a few seconds she couldn't hold it back anymore. A big grin appeared on her face. "Okay, fine! I'm proud of her! Happy now? But at the same time I'm mortified at myself for feeling that way. As her future parents shouldn't we discourage that kind of behavior?"

He grabbed the stool she was sitting on and pulled it toward him until she was sitting in between his legs. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and propped his chin on her shoulder. "Sweetheart, how else would you expect a child of ours to come out? We're both brash, hot headed, and stubborn. I think I would have been disappointed if she hadn't retaliated in some kind of way."

A giggle bubbled from Lita. "So we'll just blame her bad behavior on her genetics, huh? Sounds like a pretty weak plan to me, but I like it. So were you still interested in a game?" She motioned toward the pool table on the other side of the room.

"I am if you are," he said in a husky voice as he pressed a kiss to her neck.

She shuddered a little, but pulled herself away from him. "So what are the stakes going to be tonight?"

This was an almost nightly ritual between them. Even though Lita had a fantastic manager to help her run the restaurant, she still stuck around to help close several nights a week. Sometimes Nephrite would help if he was able, but on some nights he would be tied up with his own work. So they had started this tradition of sitting at the bar in the recreation room and sharing a drink as they talked about their day. It usually ended with them shooting a game a pool before they went to bed.

They always had a wager of some kind on any game they played. Sometimes it was breakfast in bed or a back massage. Sometimes the bets became more intimate in nature. It just depended on what kind of moods they were in.

"Let's make it winner's choice tonight," Nephrite answered smoothly.

Lita shrugged. "Works for me." She walked over and selected her favorite cue stick before setting up the game.

He followed her lead. "Do you want the honors of breaking?"

She waved a hand. "Nah! Go ahead."

"Okay, you asked for it," he said as he took aim and sent the white cue ball smacking into the triangle of multi-colored balls. Two striped ones went in. "Ooo, looks like I'm stripes. Getting worried yet?"

She snorted. "Please! As if! Now take your shot."

He was able to sink two more before he missed one.

Lita took a moment to study the layout before she chose her target. Her first shot was flawless. Working her way around the table she quickly managed to send four more neatly into pockets before she missed.

"Impressive," he said with a nod. "But now it's my turn."

"Oh, yes! Show me how good you are," she practically purred.

The banter back and forth between them continued on for several minutes, with little innuendoes thrown in here and there just for fun. Finally the 8-ball was the last one left on the table and it was Nephrite's turn.

"I sink this, and I get whatever I want," he said with a grin as he lined up his cue stick. "8-ball, side pocket."

Lita remained silent, but she chose at that moment to bend over and rest her elbows on the railing of the table. She was directly across from Nephrite, and, being a man, his eyes were automatically drawn to the amount of cleavage she was showing. She had undone the top few buttons of the white button down shirt she wore to work in, and when she bent over there was nothing left to the imagination except for what little that lacy scrap she called a bra was hiding.

He was understandably distracted, and that threw his aim off. He shot the 8-ball, but it missed its intended pocket by at least four inches.

"My turn!" Lita said cheerfully and hurried to the end of the table. In order to make this shot she had to bend way over the table. "8-ball, corner pocket."

She almost jumped out of her skin a second later when she felt hands on her hips. She turned to glare over her shoulder. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

Nephrite tried to look innocent. "Nothing worse than you did to me. You sabotaged my shot by distracting me, so I'm just returning the favor." Then he leaned over her to whisper in her ear, "It's a good thing that we share this place with so many other people, or I might be tempted to put this table to better use."

A massive tremor shook her. Good grief! She and Nephrite had been together for almost four years now, and it amazed her that he could still turn her on with just a few softly spoken words.

She felt him back away and forced herself to focus. A few seconds later the 8-ball dropped neatly into the corner pocket. She turned with a grin. "I win!"

He returned her grin. "Yes you do. The question is, what do you win?"

She strolled casually over where she replaced her cue stick on the rack, and then she said simply, "I'm going to bed." She walked toward the door.

Nephrite stared at her, mouth agape. This was not what he had been expecting.

Lita stopped when she reached the doorway to smile coyly back at him. "Aren't you coming?"

That was all the invitation he needed. He chased her up the stairs to their rooms where she took him by surprise and tackled him to the bed with a flying leap.

"You don't play fair, general," she growled as she pinned him down.

"Now what kind of fun would that be?" he asked as he lifted his head and kissed her.

* * *

"Problem?" Jadeite asked as Raye tossed her cell phone down on the bar.

"I don't think so," she muttered. "At least I don't sense a problem. Serena just said that she and Darien want to meet in the morning. But she didn't sound upset or anything, and I didn't pick up any weird vibes, so I guess everything's okay. I did a fire reading earlier and all was calm."

"Then I'm sure everything's fine," he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder to give her a squeeze. "Are you ready to get out of here?"

"I'm beyond ready," she groaned.

_Blaze _had been closed for about an hour now and all of the employees had left after cleaning up. Raye and Jadeite were the last two people there. Most of the lights were off and there was no music playing, giving the club a very different feel from what it had just a short time before.

"Let me get my purse and we can go," Raye mumbled around a yawn as she slid from the stool she was sitting on and headed for her office.

Jadeite walked over to a switch panel and began turning off the rest of the unneeded lights, just leaving the few that they normally left burning on. He was waiting for Raye when she came back out from her office and her put an arm around her waist as they left. He set the security alarm and made sure the door was locked tight. Luckily his car was parked right outside the employee's entrance, and he ushered her toward it.

"Jed, I can walk on my own," Raye protested crankily.

"Just hush!" he scolded lightly as he opened the passenger door for her. "You've had a long day and look dead on your feet. What kind of heartless bastard would I be if I didn't offer you some kind of support?"

Raye slid into the waiting car and waited until he had gotten in on the driver's side before giggling tiredly. "Your sensitive side is showing again."

He winked at her. "It's okay as long as we keep it just between us."

Jadeite had a reputation within their group of friends. He was the practical joker with a lecherous streak running through him. On the other hand he also had an explosive temper when riled and wouldn't think twice about roasting an enemy, especially if they threatened someone close to him.

But there was another side to the golden haired general; a side that he had only revealed to one other person in his life, and that was the raven-haired woman sitting next to him. Underneath all of the attitude and joking, he actually possessed a caring and compassionate soul.

Raye was almost as guilty as he was. She came off as being fiery and bitchy most of the time. Every now and then the love she felt for her friends would show, but for the most part she kept her true nature hidden from the rest of the world.

But almost as if there were an unspoken agreement between them, when they were alone together they let the walls around themselves down and let their true emotions show. Sure, Raye was still snappy sometimes and he still cracked jokes, that was just part of who they were, but they didn't hide anything from each other.

Jadeite started the car and put it in gear. "Just hold on tight, and I'll have you home before you know it."

"As long as you don't drive like a total maniac. I would like to get home in one piece," Raye grumbled as she put on her seatbelt.

He just grinned. His black Ferrari was one of his most prized possessions. She was sleek. She was fast. And she drove like a badass dream. But knowing that Raye didn't like being in the car with him when he really stretched its wings, he drove normally as he pulled out of the parking lot.

A comfortable silence settled between them as he drove. The radio was on, but it was just a hum in the background, until a certain song began playing.

"Oh man! I haven't heard this one in a long time!" Jadeite exclaimed as he turned the volume up just a bit. "Do you remember the first time we danced to this one, Firefly?"

Raye rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? You were manhandling me."

He looked offended. "I was not! I was just trying to make you listen to me. I had just told you that I loved you and had given you a kiss, and you ran from me."

"You mean that you had just yelled at me and forced that kiss on me in front of everyone," she retorted. "Of course I ran. I was upset. Only you would pick a crowded club to suddenly lay everything out on the table."

"It worked, didn't it?" he said smugly. "I chased you outside and caught you. You tried to fight me off, but I wasn't letting go. Then this song began playing."

Raye couldn't help but smile at the memory. "And then you began singing it to me. That took me by surprise. I never knew you had a singing voice. The next thing I knew, we were dancing."

"And we've been together ever since," he said quietly. Then he began softly singing the words.

Raye curled up in her seat and drifted off as she listened to him singing the words to what she called _their _song. She never felt the car pull to a stop or notice when Jadeite gently lifted her from the car to carry her to the elevator.

He carried her all the way up to their suite in the penthouse and laid her carefully on the bed. Then he made quick work of the clothes she was wearing before tugging one of the large t-shirts she preferred to sleep in over her head and pulling the covers up over her.

He knew his friends would be shocked to know that he had handled a naked woman and hadn't attempted to get frisky with her. Not that he hadn't looked and dreamed; he had. But Raye was special. She was his.

He quickly checked his messages to make sure that nothing work related required his attention. He and the other guys were trying to clench a major deal after all. But all he found was a message from Kunzite passing on the word about the meeting that Darien and Serena had called for the next morning.

He was beginning to feel pretty tired himself as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed beside Raye. He couldn't help but feel a spear of male satisfaction shoot through him as she unconsciously moved closer to him to snuggle up to his side.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, Firefly."

* * *

**A/N **So like I said, no action this time, but there were lots of sweet flufferful (is that even a word?) moments. We've got the teens hanky pankying (I don't think that's a word either…lol), young love is definitely blooming (I thought Jay and Hannah were just too cute together!), the adults are all doing their thing, and Amy and Zoicite are engaged! Now we've just got two more couples that need to make it official! Jadeite and Nephrite better hurry up! Raye and Lita need rings on their fingers too! And let's not forget the romance that's springing up between Trista and Evan! And don't worry about Skye, she and Kyrian will have their moment before all is said and done. I think the only couple I didn't cover in this chapter were Jess and Drew (gasps…how dare I! Hee hee!) I'll make sure to give them a mention in the next chapter, but this chapter was just getting way too long. And if any of you are wondering what song Jadeite was singing to Raye, I'll just let you know that it is coming up in a future chapter of _Bad Boys _and I don't want to ruin it. So coming up…Serena and Amy deal with curious moms and the Trinity holders get serious. I hope you guys enjoyed the fluff and I'll see you next update! Don't forget to drop me those reviews! I love them! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	27. Mother Knows Best

**A/N **I'm soooo sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but unfortunately that little thing called real life intruded and I haven't had any time to devote to my writing lately. As a lot of you know, I work for a school, and springtime means achievement test time and school fundraisers, so I've been super busy. The good news is that all of that is out of the way now and I'm hoping to get back on track. I want to say thank you to all of you. GT now has over 600 reviews and has been put on so many alerts that I lost count a long time ago, and new ones are showing up in my inbox on a daily basis. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you guys are the best! Now let me give out those hugs! BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

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Thank you so much! I treasure all of your opinions. Now, I'm going to let you move on. This is really just another filler chapter, sort of the calm before the storm I guess you could say, but there is still quite a bit going on. We don't see much of the kids this time, but…well, you'll see.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 25

Mother Knows Best

* * *

Hotaru jerked up in the bed as she heard a knock at the door. She looked around wildly for a second and realized that she was alone in her room. She heaved a sigh of relief as she scrambled from the bed and pulled on her robe before hurrying toward the door where she unlocked it and carefully eased it open.

"Good morning, Sweetpea!" Michelle greeted her brightly. "I was just wanting to make sure that you were awake so that you would have time to get ready before we go to the meeting."

Hotaru rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm up."

Michelle smiled and reached out a hand to smooth out her adopted daughter's tousled black hair. "You look like you slept hard. Rough night?"

Hotaru jerked her head away indignantly. "No! I slept just fine. What time are we leaving?"

"Oh, you have at least a good hour and a half before we go," Michelle told her.

"Fine! I'll be ready," Hotaru replied hurriedly and tried to close the door.

But Michelle stuck her foot in the crack to keep it from closing all the way and then pushed it back open just enough to stick her head in and say, "Good morning to you too, Sammy."

There was a loud thump as Hotaru's bed jumped a few inches off the ground, and then the sound of muttered curses.

Michelle giggled and hurriedly made her escape before the murderous look in Hotaru's eyes could strike her dead. After all, there was a reason for her being one of the most feared scouts, and it was probably best not to push her too far.

She was still laughing lightly to herself as she entered the cool darkness of her bedroom. Who did those two think they were trying to fool? She may not possess the insight that Raye had or the ability to see bonds the way that Mina could, but she really didn't need to. Even a blind person would probably be able to see that they were crazy in love with one another.

Of course love and relationships also came with its share of frustrations, and she was presented with proof of that as her eyes adjusted to the darkness enough to make out the lump under the covers of the large bed that was set between the heavily curtained windows.

Her lips settled into a determined line as she walked first over to one window and then the other to open the curtains wide and let the morning sun flood into the room. Then she reached out and whipped the sheet and blanket away from the lump.

The shorthaired blonde woman on the bed moaned and rolled over onto her stomach before pulling a pillow over her head. Her muffled voice grumbled irritably, "Michelle!"

Michelle fought back the giggle that threatened to bubble past her lips and spoke in her best stern teacher voice. "Amara! What are you still doing in bed? I thought you were getting up an hour ago when I left to go take a swim."

A growl came from the depths of the pillow. "I was still tired, so I went back to sleep. Is that a crime now?"

"Oh, don't get grumpy with me!" Michelle chastised her lightly. "It's what you get for spending most of the night in the garage playing with your cars."

The pillow shifted enough for one navy blue eye to peek out and glare at her. "I was not _playing_! The Porsche was in serious need of a tune-up. And once I got started I figured I might as well give it the full overhaul and change the oil and flush the radiator too. I have to keep it in top shape at all times. I never know when some jackass is going to pull up next to me at a light and challenge me."

The aqua haired woman rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing you're so famous for your driving skills that the police always let you off with a warning. I'd hate to see how many tickets you would have if you weren't."

Amara snorted. "Hell! They're lucky I pull over at all. I have been tempted on many occasions to just floor it and leave them in my dust. They'd never be able to catch me."

"You and your need for speed," Michelle muttered. "Well anyway, you need to get up. We have a meeting this morning, remember."

Amara sat up in the bed, eyes going so cold and hard that they almost appeared black. "I'm not going. Just tell Serena that I'm sick or something."

Michelle wandered over to the closet. "I am not going to lie to our princess for you. I know you have been upset with her the last few days, but you can't avoid her forever. You are going to this meeting."

"Yeah, yeah," Amara grumbled as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I might as well. If I don't that little wildcat will probably just storm over here and order me to attend it."

"Dearest," Michelle sighed and turned to face her. "Did you see the look on Serena's face when she said those words? She didn't like saying them any more than you liked hearing them. It was very hard for her to use the power of her station over you."

Amara stared out the nearest window as she recalled the horrible scene between her and Serena a few days before.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Amara stormed off the elevator and into the lobby of the building that housed the generals' penthouse. Michelle, Serena, and Mina scurried after her.

"Amara, please! Just listen to me about this, okay," Serena pleaded.

Amara spun around to pin the shorter blonde with a furious glare. "You are insane, Serena! You can't honestly mean that you want me to sit here, twiddling my thumbs and doing nothing, while you go prancing yourself into the time plane to confront that bastard."

Serena nodded firmly. "That's exactly what I need you to do. We don't know what Discord might pull. He may decide to launch an attack here while we are at the time gate, and if that happens I need to know that there are people here to fight and keep the city safe."

Amara snorted. "The teen brigade can handle it. They've proven that much to us. So why don't you leave Rini and Emma here with the others, along with Hotaru, and let Michelle and me come along? You're going to need every experienced scout with you for this."

Mina huffed. "She already told you why Rini and Emma have to go with us. Besides, all the rest of us will be with her. She'll have plenty of backup."

"Forgive me if that doesn't exactly make me feel better," Amara sneered. "That's too few scouts and too many men for my liking. It's the scouts' job to keep the princess safe. How can we do that if we're not there?"

Serena shook her head. "No. Our job is to protect the planet. And that's why I need you to stay here. You're one of the strongest scouts, and it would make me feel better knowing that you're here to keep an eye on things while we're gone."

Mina's face was beginning to flush with indignation. "The entire immediate guard is going with Serena. She'll be safe."

"Stay out of this, Barbie!" Amara snapped. "I know you're the captain of the inner scouts, but we outers don't fall under your jurisdiction. We know what our job is and we do it. I just can't believe that you are crazy enough to condone this. Doesn't the princess mean anything to you?"

"Why you…" Mina growled.

"Let it go, Mina," Serena said softly. "Amara, I'm asking you to please…"

"No, Serena!" Amara interrupted her. "I know you're concerned about the safety of the people here, but I'm concerned about you. I'm going with you into the time plane whether you like it or not."

Serena's eyes filled with tears. "Then you leave me no other choice. I never wanted to do this, but…" Her crescent moon symbol flashed briefly on her forehead. "Sailor Uranus, as your princess, I am ordering you to stay here to defend Tokyo against any possible attacks while we are gone. I'm sorry, but that is my final word."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

Amara sighed. "I know she didn't want to do it. As a matter of fact, I'm surprised she did. I've always known that my little kitten was spunky, but I never thought she'd screw up the nerve to issue a royal order like that."

Michelle walked over and wrapped her arms around her waist to give her a hug. "Serena is on her way to becoming a queen. We knew that she would have to grow up sometime. She's not the same fourteen year old girl we met so long ago."

"No, she's not," Amara grinned. "I thought she was a cute kid back then, but she's grown into a beautiful woman. I hope Darien appreciates what he's got because I'll kill him if he ever hurts her."

"Now that's the overprotective Uranus that I know and love," Michelle laughed and gave her a final squeeze. "Now get yourself ready. It's time for you to go see our princess. I predict you'll be flirting with her again in less than two minutes."

Amara grinned ruefully. "You're right. I can't stay mad at that little moon face for long. She's just too damn cute. Did you wake Taru up yet? You know it takes her forever to get ready."

Michelle nodded as she draped a dress over her arm and moved to the dresser. "Yes. I woke her up just before I came in here to wake you up."

"Did you wake Sammy up too?" Amara chuckled. "Where was he hiding this time, in the closet?"

A peal of giggles rang from Michelle. "Under the bed, actually. I feel a little bad, though. I think he bashed his head pretty hard when I said good morning to him. Hotaru didn't look too happy with me either."

"Serves them right!" Amara barked. "They need to stop all of this sneaking around. Do they really think that we are so stupid that we don't know what's going on? Hell! At least somebody's getting lucky in this house."

Michelle sniffed and strolled toward the bathroom with a sway of her hips. "Well if somebody would learn to come to bed on time…" She let her voice trail off suggestively as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.

Amara stood still for a few seconds before dashing over to the door and twisting the knob, only to find that it was locked. She knocked a few times. "Michelle!" But the only answer she received was the sound of the shower turning on.

Amara growled under her breath. "Damn infuriating woman!"

* * *

Raye stomped to the door and flung it open. She surveyed the couple standing on the other side of it and growled, "You're late!"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Don't get your pantyhose twisted in a knot, Pyro! We're only running a couple of minutes behind. Just because you're lucky enough to actually live where the meeting is taking place and not have to leave the comfort of your home to attend it doesn't mean you can give everybody else grief for making the human mistake of being a couple of minutes late."

"Ooo, somebody took her happy pills this morning! Care to share the wealth?" Jadeite teased in a joking tone as he came forward and shook Andrew's hand in greeting.

"Piss off, Jed!" Jess growled and stomped in the direction of the entertainment room, drawing Serena's attention along the way.

Serena grabbed Darien's hand and hauled him over to his best friend. "Uh oh! What's wrong with her?" she asked in concern.

Andrew shrugged. "I'm not sure. I think she had a bad night. She seemed fine when we went to bed last night. In fact she'd spent all evening babbling about a showing that Natasha wants her to do later in the summer and how she thinks she might be ready to start accepting commissioned work by the fall. She finally ran out of steam and fell asleep before I did for once. I woke up a few hours later and she was gone. She was locked up in her studio, but she had what I call her _'angry music' _playing, so I knew better than to bother her."

Mina, who had come down the stairs in time to hear most of the conversation, asked, "Well didn't you try to sense what was wrong with her? After all, you two do have a soul bond."

"Of course I tried," Andrew replied, rolling his eyes. "But she obviously wants to keep whatever it is to herself because I ran into a brick wall every time I tried. She's blocking me."

Jadeite chuckled. "It's probably just her nerves. You know how easily she gets bent out of shape, and she's got a lot on her plate right now with kids, graduation, weddings, and now a gallery showing too. I'm sure she's feeling overwhelmed."

Raye frowned in the direction that Jess had gone. "I'm not sure if it's that simple, Jed. Didn't you feel her aura before? It was swirling and crackling like crazy. It felt like she was only two steps away from exploding."

All eyes swung to Darien, who shrugged. "Whatever it is, she's keeping it contained. I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary. There have been no tremors. I haven't even sensed a stray wind out of place. So maybe we're the ones overreacting this time and she's simply got something on her mind that she's thinking about."

"Maybe," Serena muttered. "Perhaps she just had one of her old nightmares wake her up and now she's cranky from losing sleep. Do you think you could discreetly ask Helios if he sensed anything? I know he still keeps an eye on her when she dreams."

He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "Sure. I'll track him down later."

There was another knock at the door, and Jadeite strode to it and flung it wide to reveal Amara and Michelle. "Welcome, lovely ladies! How nice of you to grace our humble abode with your delightful presence."

Michelle laughed softly as she stepped in and took a moment to pat his cheek. "You're always such a charmer. I hope Raye is keeping at least one eye on you at all times."

Raye snorted. "I don't have to. He knows what will happen if he steps over the line. Isn't that right, honey?" The last line was delivered in a sickeningly sweet tone.

Jadeite visibly gulped. "Ri…right, Firefly! But you don't have to worry. You're all the woman I need."

"Nice save," Amara growled as she pushed her way in. "Outta the way, Romeo! I have better things to do than to stand in a doorway all day."

Jadeite backed away, grumbling, "Great! Another cheerful soul here to brighten our day. You and Jess ought to start your own club. The two of you would probably be a hit at Halloween parties. At least that would give you a legitimate excuse for scaring small children."

"Jed, stop!" Serena pleaded. "Everyone is entitled to be in a bad mood every now and then."

Amara's navy blue eyes snapped around to look at Serena. "Your highness," she greeted stiffly.

Tears filled Serena's eyes as she stomped her foot angrily. "Don't you dare start treating me like that! I'm sorry, okay! I never wanted to have to give an order like that, but you backed me into a corner until I had no choice! Do you think that was easy for me? The last thing I have ever wanted to do is to have to use my authority over anyone. You are my friend, not my servant. Of course I may not even be able to claim you as a friend anymore if you hate me for what I did." Her head dropped in defeat.

Amara stared at the bowed golden head for a long moment before a grin began quirking up one side of her mouth. "Silly, moon face! I'm not mad at you. I was at first, but I got over it. I'm actually quite proud that you had the guts to stand your ground like that. You're usually such a pushover."

Serena jerked her head up and sniffled. "I am not a pushover!" Then she wiped a couple of tears from the corners of her eyes. "So does this mean that you forgive me?"

Amara held her arms open. "Come here, Kitten."

Serena ran and hugged the older, taller scout tightly.

"So when are you going to dump that prince of yours and run away with me?" Amara teased as she propped her chin on top of Serena's head.

Serena giggled, knowing that everything was okay now if Amara was flirting with her. This was the part where she usually quipped back with something like, _'I'm ready whenever you are.' _But now that she was back on good terms with one of her best friends, she couldn't help but have a little fun with her.

She stepped back and grinned impishly. "I don't know. I've done some thinking and decided that I'm tired of the loud, overbearing types. I've decided that sweet and quiet are more my thing." She turned and looped her arm through Michelle's. "What do you say, Michelle, how about we run away together and leave all the worrywarts behind?"

A peal of tinkling laughter left the aqua haired woman. "Sounds good to me. Where did you have in mind?"

Serena joined her laughter. "I'll leave that up to you. You've traveled a lot more than I have, so you would know the best places. I've only set foot outside of Tokyo a few times in my life, and even then I didn't go far, just up to the mountains to visit the lakes or the hot springs on vacation."

Raye snickered. "That's not entirely true. You've been to the Arctic Circle twice."

Serena shivered. "That doesn't count! Nobody in their right mind would go there unless they absolutely had to. Besides, I'm talking about a pleasure trip, not something work related. I've never even been on an airplane."

"Well that will be changing soon," Darien said with a grin. "In just a few months we'll be going away somewhere, if you can ever make up your mind where you want to go for our honeymoon."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "So I'm having a hard time deciding. I can't help it. In case you haven't noticed, the world is a big place with lots of places to choose from. It's a hard decision to make."

Raye rolled her eyes. "You've changed your mind again? I thought you had decided on some island in the Bahamas."

"I don't know!" Serena moaned, fisting her hands at her temples. "It sounded perfect until I got to looking through all of those brochures that I got from the travel agent. Then I started thinking maybe Rome, or Venice, or even Paris. It's all giving me a headache. Let's go ahead and get this meeting started so I don't have to think about it anymore right now." Then she looked around curiously. "Where's Hotaru?"

Amara and Michelle both began chuckling.

"She should be here soon," Amara answered. "She and Sammy were coming in his car since you said that you wanted him here too. Although we probably shouldn't have let him drive after that bump to the head he had this morning."

Serena was immediately concerned. "What bump on the head?"

Michelle waved a dismissive hand. "It's nothing serious. It's just that when I went to make sure Hotaru was awake this morning he thought he was being sneaky by hiding under the bed so that I wouldn't know that he'd been there all night. As if they could hide it from me! Anyway, I said good morning to him and he tried to jump up while still under the bed. It was quite humorous."

"I'm sorry I asked," Serena sputtered. "That's way more information about my brother's personal life than I want. I don't care what he does or where he sleeps, but I don't want to hear about it."

Her indignant voice faded into the background as Andrew slipped away without anyone's notice and ducked into the entertainment room. It was empty except for Amy and Zoicite sitting together on a couch and talking quietly to each other. Amy looked up as he entered and pointed toward the balcony doors to answer the question in his eyes.

He looked out the glass doors and saw Jess standing near the railing across the wide balcony. At first glance she appeared to be perfectly content, just enjoying the breezy day and the sight of the city. She had forgone her usual braid today and had pulled her hair back with a gold clip. It fell in a mass of shimmering, caramel kissed curls down her back that danced slightly in the wind.

But appearances could be deceiving, and Andrew knew what signs to look for. He noticed how stiff her back was and how she had her arms clenched over her stomach like she was literally trying to hold herself together. Yeah, something was bothering her pretty badly.

He slid the door open and stepped out, closing it behind him. He reached her in just a few long legged strides and pulled her back against his chest as her wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened even more, but didn't try to pull away from him.

He propped his chin on her shoulder so he could speak softly in her ear. "Okay, I tried to be patient and wait your mood out thinking that you were just cranky because you didn't sleep well last night. But there's something else going on here. I can feel it. So are you going to fess up to what's bothering you, or are we going to have to play a round of twenty questions?"

She turned her head to look at him and attempted to smile, but it was a poor imitation of her usual cheerfulness. Her lips may be smiling, but her eyes held no sparkle and sat in her face like two chunks of cold, blue rock. "It's nothing, sweetie. I just had a rough night, that's all."

He had a feeling that it went deeper than that, and he wished that she would open up to him, so he prompted gently, "The nightmares again?"

Her face went totally expressionless for a moment, and he was afraid that she was about to withdraw in on herself, but then she sighed. "It was a nightmare, yes. But it wasn't one that I've had before. It was different somehow. I can't really explain it."

Andrew smirked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "It wasn't about that time those older boys dared me to put on that mask and chase you, was it? I've apologized a thousand times for that stunt. I was stupid."

She couldn't help but giggle as she remembered the time he was talking about. Once upon a time on the moon during the Silver Millennium, a young Motoki, looking for acceptance from some of the older sons of the lunarian officers under his father's command, had agreed to put on a monster mask and scare the young _"adopted" _Princess Melody as a joke. It had seemed harmless enough until she had tripped while running across the footbridge that spanned the creek that ran through the gardens of the moon castle, trying to get away from him, and had fallen into the water. The creek wasn't very deep and she hit her head on a rock when she landed. Motoki had decided that the joke had gone far enough and had torn off the mask before jumping in after her and pulling her out. He had never given in to peer pressure again after that, deciding that he would rather put up with the other boys' teasing him about being friends with Melody rather than turning his back on her just to be one of the guys.

"No. I wasn't dreaming about that, although that experience did leave a lasting impression on me," she said softly. "Do you know I never walked alone through that part of the garden again after that stunt? But it doesn't matter. I forgave you for that the moment you stumbled into my room with that crumbled bouquet of starflowers in your hand. You were so cute, blushing and mumbling about how sorry you were for scaring me. And that's when I knew."

"Knew what?" he asked quietly.

She turned in his arms to face him. "That you were the best friend that I could ever ask for and that you would stand beside me no matter what. I mean, I knew that I could depend on my parents to be there for me, but you were different. How many eight year old boys would stand up to defend a little girl from an enemy?"

"Hey!" he chided gently as he saw a few tears brighten her eyes. "I thought we had agreed to not dwell on what happened in the past. All that matters is the here and now."

She nodded firmly. "I know. I'm not really letting it get to me. That dream just kinda freaked me out."

Andrew rubbed the back of his fingers against her cheek. "You're not going to tell me about it, are you?"

She smiled at him apologetically. "Do you mind waiting until I've had a chance to figure it out a little more. For all I know I may be making a big deal out of nothing. After all, everybody has bad dreams sometimes."

He sighed. "Okay, I'll wait. Now let's get this meeting over with. Are you still up for going to my parents' house for dinner tonight? You know my mom can be sort of intense."

She smiled, and this time it looked genuine. "Of course I'm up for it. We've been so busy lately that we haven't had a chance to tell them that the wedding has been moved up to July, and they need to know. Besides, I like your mom. And your dad is pretty good about calming her down when she gets worked up, so I'm not worried about it."

"It could still be scary," he said uncertainly.

Jess smirked. "You're a tough guy. I'm sure you can handle it."

He growled and nuzzled her neck. "I thought I was your bad boy."

"You're that too," she replied flippantly as she maneuvered herself so that she could give his lips a loving peck."

"Okay, lovebirds! Break it up and get your tails in here! We've got some things to discuss," Serena stuck her head out the door to say, shattering the moment. She ignored the couples' grumbles and waved them inside. "Come on, I don't have all day. Believe it or not, I do have a life."

"And it's going to be a short one at the rate you're going!" Jess snarled as she stomped by dragging Andrew behind her.

Serena just smiled innocently; glad to see her past daughter's reincarnation acting a little more like herself. Thank goodness for Andrew. She couldn't picture a more perfect match for Jess.

* * *

"Again!" Talon called out to the teens that were scattered around the training clearing.

"Aw, come on, Talon! Give us a break already!" Katie groaned as she wiped her arm across her sweaty forehead and pushed away the damp strands of hair clinging to her face.

"For real!" Alex agreed. "We've been going at it nonstop since practically sunrise. Can't we rest for just a minute?"

Talon's black eyes glittered as they narrowed. "Do you think Discord will be kind enough to give you a time out during the final battle if you ask him nicely? No! He will be on the lookout for even the slightest weakness in your defenses, and then he will strike. You must remain on guard at all times and prepared to launch into action at a moment's notice. If you falter just because you are tired he will kill you. It is as simple as that. Now get back into position and let's do it again."

There were grumbles as the teens reluctantly did as they were told. DJ and Jayden helped Rini and Hannah up off the ground where they had fallen. Emma leaned against Alex's shoulder heavily for a moment before sighing and straightening back up. Katie and Skye both glared belligerently at the sorcerer for a minute before joining the others in the middle of the clearing.

Talon pinned DJ, Katie, and Alex with an intense gaze. "Now you three remember what I told you. Keep your power on a tight leash and don't release more than is absolutely necessary. I know you can take out a whole pack of enemies with just a single thought, but while you control the powers of gods you must remember that you are also only human with a limited amount of energy. If you exhaust yourself by just taking out the minions, you will not have the strength left to face Discord by the time you get to him. That is why your friends are important. Work as a team and let them assist you as much as possible so that you can conserve energy."

They all nodded tightly as they took up fighting positions. Talon waved a hand and suddenly two-dozen guardians and sentinels came crashing through the trees to attack them from all sides.

"Sweetheart, don't you think you're being a little hard on them?" Anya asked from her seat next to him. "They are so young. And Mercury's daughter and Mars's son are hardly more than children. Maybe you should lighten up on them just a bit."

He shook his head. "What do you think, Nebula?" he asked the orange cat sitting in his wife's lap. "Am I overdoing it with them?"

The feline watched her young charges for a long moment as she thought about it. Personally, she detested the sorcerer, but she couldn't help but be impressed by his magical abilities. After she had seen the success of his clones when they had faked DJ, Katie, and Alex's deaths, she had swallowed her pride and had spoken to him about helping out in their training. He had readily agreed, and Nebula had to admit that his guardian and sentinel clones were a much better training element than anything that she could come up with. So she had pushed her less than friendly feelings for the man aside and called a truce with him.

"I know we're pushing them hard," she finally answered quietly. "But we really don't have much of a choice. We don't know exactly how much time we have to work with. It could be weeks or even months before they have to face Discord, or he may decide to make his move tomorrow. It is my job to make sure that they are as ready as they can possibly be when the time comes, but I suppose they have had enough for one day and need a little down time. We'll let them go after they complete this round. I don't want to exhaust them."

She looked on in pride just a few minutes later as the last of the clones disappeared as it was defeated. Although they had been outnumbered three to one, the young heroes had held their own and emerged victorious. She jumped up from her perch on Anya's lap to address them.

"Well done!" she said in her usual brisk tone. "I think that will be all for today. You lot won't be doing anyone any good if you're too tired to move. So take the rest of the day off and we'll start up again tomorrow."

Grateful sighs came from them all as Rini, Emma, Skye, Hannah, and Jayden let their transformations fade. A fissure ran through the air as DJ, Katie, and Alex released the hold they had on their god powers and the symbols on their foreheads disappeared and their eyes turned back to normal.

"Thank goodness!" Rini groaned. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving."

DJ snickered. "So what else is new? You're always hungry. I still find it amazing that you don't weigh five hundred pounds with the way you suck up food like a black hole."

Katie elbowed him in the ribs. "Be nice! I have to agree with Rini on this. I think I burned off breakfast hours ago. I could definitely go for some food right now."

"I've got an idea," Skye interjected. "The penthouse isn't far from here. Let's go crash the parents' meeting and wrangle some lunch out of my mom."

That brought a round of approval from everyone. Even DJ couldn't hide the growl that his stomach made at the mention of food, making everybody laugh as they walked away.

Talon chuckled and shook his head. "So those are the saviors of the future world. It's hard to believe that a loudmouth group of teenagers is who everyone's hopes rest on. I feel sorry for their parents. I bet they all either have gray hair or no hair by now."

Anya giggled and then winced as she rubbed her swollen belly. "I bet we'll be saying the same thing about ourselves before everything's said and done. Just be glad that we didn't get our own mystery visitor from the future."

"I don't know," Talon said with a grin. "It might have been interesting to see how our child turns out."

Anya let out a snort. "You just want to know if we're having a boy or a girl."

He shrugged. "I don't need a visit from the future to tell me that. I'm positive that we are having a daughter."

"And I'm telling you that this is a boy," she snapped back. "Call it motherly instinct or whatever you want, but I am certain that this future soccer star is a son. And right now he's using my bladder for practice kicks."

He smiled sympathetically. "Is that your way of saying that you're ready to go home?"

She looked up at him miserably. "Please. I could really use a bathroom and a nap, in that order."

He lifted her from the ground as if she weighed no more than a feather and held her close. "Your wish is my command." And they disappeared in a soft flash of light.

* * *

Silence hung heavily over the room for a long minute after Serena finished speaking.

"Are you wanting us to go public?" Lita finally asked slowly.

"No, no!" Serena hastily reassured her. "It's just that Amy and I are wanting to come clean with our mothers, and if we do that it will reveal your identities to them as well. We didn't want to do that unless we had your approval first because it's all of our secret."

Nephrite sighed. "Zoi, are you okay with this?"

Zoicite nodded. "Yes, I am. I would rather be upfront with Amy's mom instead of hiding things from her. Besides, after what she said yesterday I'm fairly certain that she already knows. And we're only talking about letting two people in on the story, and I'm sure they won't talk."

"I'm cool with it," Amara said. "As long as it doesn't go any farther than that. I already have to chase the occasional paparazzi off my property as it is. I don't want a whole army of them camping on my lawn."

Michelle nodded. "I agree as well. Both of your mothers are honorable women who will keep their silence, so I know that we don't have to worry about them telling anyone else."

Serena turned to look at her youngest scout and her brother. "Sammy, Hotaru, what do you guys think? This could impact the two of you as much as Amy and I. I can't be for certain how mom's going to take all this. I'm pretty sure that she already has her suspicions about all of us, but hearing the confirmation that I'm Sailor Moon and that her son is dating Sailor Saturn might send her into a tailspin."

Sammy grinned. "Are you kidding? She'll probably turn into a total fangirl and start squealing with little stars and hearts in her eyes and everything. Besides, like you said, I'm pretty sure she already knows anyway. I remember this one time when you were fifteen and I had gotten up in the middle of the night to go get something to drink. I found mom outside your bedroom door peeking in. I asked her what was wrong, and she said that she was just checking on you. I ran down and got my drink, and when I came back up mom was going back to her room, muttering something about how she hoped you came back safe and sound. I looked in your room and you were gone. She had to know that something was going on, or she would have thrown a fit about you sneaking out."

Serena smacked herself on the forehead. "It all makes so much sense now. I've wondered before why she never mentioned the number of band-aids I went through or how quickly I could go through a bottle of aspirin. She always kept the medicine cabinet well stocked and bought my stories about falling down or running into things when I had a bruise or cut I couldn't hide, and then she never batted a lash about it when it was gone the next day."

"That's what tipped me off," Sammy said smugly. "One day you came home from school and you were helping mom in the kitchen. You bent down to get something and your skirt rode up. Not that I was looking or anything, but you had a nasty scrape on your thigh that was hard to miss. The next day you came down wearing a pair of shorts and it was gone except for a faint scar. I knew I hadn't been seeing things, so I started piecing the clues together. At the time there were five scouts and Tuxedo Mask, and you had four best friends that you seemed to go everywhere with. On top of that you had just started dating Darien, and all the papers were speculating about whether there was some big romance between Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, so I knew you guys had to be them. Why else would a smart guy like Darien go out with a ditz like you?"

"Watch it, you little parasite!" Serena growled at him. Then she turned to his girlfriend. "Hotaru, are you okay with this?"

She nodded. "I am if Sammy is. I just don't want your mother to not like me anymore."

"Are you kidding? My mom's crazy about you!" Sammy exclaimed. "She'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"With the outer's votes taken care of, Serena turned to face the others. "Well, what about the rest of you?"

"Hell! I don't care!" Lita drawled. "Both of my parents are gone and you guys are the only family I have. I say go for it."

Raye and Mina glanced at each other before bursting into giggles.

"What is so funny?" Serena demanded.

"You are," Raye choked. "You're acting like this is some super secret spy ring or something. I figured that you and Amy would have told your moms about this a long time ago. My grandpa and Chad have known for what feels like forever."

"What!" Serena shrieked. "You never told me that you had told them! How did that happen?"

Raye rolled her eyes. "Duh! My grandpa may be a lecherous old pervert, but he is a highly gifted spiritualist and can read the fire every bit as well as I can. He knew that I was Sailor Mars before I did. He was waiting in my room when I came in after I had transformed for the first time and he told me that he knew what was going on and that he gave me his blessing. How else do you think we got away with using the shrine as an unofficial base for so long? Chad was an accident, one that you were partially responsible for too. Remember when we took that skiing trip back during the whole Dark Kingdom thing and he got frozen in that chunk of ice trying to protect us? We just assumed that he was unconscious, but he came to me later and told me that he saw both of us transform. So I threatened him with a long, painful death by burning his body a little bit at a time if he ever uttered a single syllable about what he saw. And he's been quiet ever since."

"Hmph! Figures!" Serena muttered as she rounded on Mina. "You were laughing too! So I guess now you're going to tell me that your parents are also in on the secret."

Mina shrugged. "Well, yeah! They've known about me since I was Sailor V in London. I had to let them in on things or they would have dragged me with them to who knows where. Seriously! What kind of parents allow their fourteen year old daughter move to Tokyo to live alone with no one but her cat? I had to be truthful with them or I would have never gotten here. They entrusted me to Artemis and threatened him within an inch of his life if something happened to me. Of course, we don't tell them everything that happens."

Serena threw her hands up in the air. "Well that's just great! Are Amy and I the only ones that were left out of the loop on this?"

Darien held up a hesitant hand. "For the record, I didn't know."

"Neither did I," Andrew was quick to add. "And by the way, I'm cool with you telling your mom as long as she swears to not breath a word of it to mine. I'm not quite ready to let that cat out of the bag with her yet. That woman is way beyond scary and a natural redhead. There's no telling what she might do if she finds out about all of this. She's liable to try to bend me over her knee."

Serena giggled at the mental image of the fiery haired Kathleen Furuhata hauling her much taller and heavier son across her lap. If she were the betting sort, she would put her money on Kathleen. That woman seemed capable of wrestling angry bears when she was riled to anger.

"We'll keep it just between us," Serena promised him. "Jess, what's your say in all of this?"

There was no response from the darker blonde woman as she stared fixedly out the glass balcony doors. It wasn't until Serena waved a hand in front of her face that she blinked and muttered, "Huh? What?"

Serena snickered. "Nice of you to finally join us. I was just wanting your opinion really quick, and then you can go back to spacing out."

Normally Jess would have retaliated by rolling her eyes and making a smart-ass comment, but she merely shrugged and mumbled. "It doesn't matter to me. You do what you feel like you need to do. I don't have anyone to hide anything from anyway. Everybody that needs to know about me already knows. I probably would have already confessed to my mom by now if she were still here, but not my dad. He would have gone spastic."

"Kunzite, Jadeite, you guys are the last," Darien said to them. "I'm assuming that you feel the same way since you have both remained quiet through all of this." Both men nodded.

"Then it's settled," Serena stated. "Amy, feel free to tell your mom whenever you like and I will do the same with mine. I guess I wouldn't have bothered calling this meeting together if I had known that there were already others out there that knew about us."

Mina waved a hand loftily. "Don't be silly! This meeting was an excellent idea because now that we're done with the heavy stuff we can get down to the real business of fawning over our newly engaged scout."

Amy blushed bright red. How had she ever thought that she would get through this without attracting a lot of attention to herself? Serena had insisted that she and Zoicite make the announcement of their engagement first thing before they discussed anything else, and predictably the girls had gone crazy. It had taken quite a while to calm everyone down enough to actually start the meeting and she had hoped that was all of her friends' dramatics that she would have to put up with. Obviously she was mistaken

Kunzite sighed. "Mina, isn't that what you spent the entire first hour of this meeting doing?"

Her lips twisted up in a pout. "Oh pooh! You seem to be forgetting that I am the goddess of love. One of my best friends just got engaged. Of course I have to make a big deal out of it. Aphrodite would probably strike me dead if I let this slide. So why don't you and the boys have some guy time while we girls do our thing?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jadeite and Nephrite said in unison as they jumped up and hurried to the pool table on the other side of the room."

"Aw, man!" Nephrite grumbled quietly to Jadeite as they were choosing their cue sticks. "First Kunzite falls and now Zoicite too. That's really going to put the pressure on us."

"I know!" Jadeite groaned. "Raye's been giving me these looks and making strange comments ever since Kunzite proposed to Mina, and they've gotten even worse since Jess and Drew moved up their wedding. I know she's just steaming for me to pop the question."

"Well why haven't you?" Nephrite asked. "It's not like you don't already know what's going to happen. Isn't Jayden proof enough of that?"

Jadeite shrugged, thinking about the ruby engagement ring that he'd been holding onto for close to six months now. "I don't know. I guess I'm just waiting for what feels like the perfect time. Why haven't you asked Lita yet?"

Nephrite sighed. "I almost have twice now. I've got the ring and everything. But neither time felt right. I figure it will happen when it's supposed to."

"We really are hopeless, aren't we?" Jadeite chuckled.

"Speak for yourself, loser!" Nephrite quipped back. "Now how about you set this game up so I can kick your ass."

* * *

_She stood on the steps of a tall crystal building, staring up at a dark, swirling cloud of vapor as an evil, booming laugh that she knew only too well echoed in her ears. In one hand she clutched the Celestial Crystal tightly while she kept the other clamped over her mouth to hold back the screams that were trying to rip their way out of her throat._

_All around her was nothing but devastation and death. There were at least a hundred bodies scattered across the ground, but her eyes quickly picked out her loved ones. There were Serena and Darien lying side by side with their hands joined together, never letting go of one another even in death. The other scouts were easy to spot as well. The inner scouts were all at the sides of their generals while Uranus and Neptune lay near Saturn, who was wrapped in Sammy Tsukino's arms. Pluto was there as well, sprawled across the chest of an extremely tall, fair-haired man that she didn't know._

_But one person was missing. She rubbed away the tears that were blurring her vision as she looked around desperately for Andrew. Was he still alive, or had he been dealt the same fate that had befallen the others?_

_The sky suddenly lit up brightly with gold, silver, and red orange as a roar rumbled from the cloud and then vanished. She was forced to cover her eyes for a moment so that the light wouldn't blind her. When it began to fade she opened her eyes to continue searching._

_Then, in the fading light, she saw that soft gleam of sandy blonde hair that she had been looking for on the ground about fifty feet away. A sob heaved in her chest as she stumbled toward him._

"_Drew," she whispered shakily as she sank down beside him and reached for his shoulder to roll him toward her._

_She reeled back in shock. It wasn't the sight of his dirt and blood covered face that caused a shriek to tear its way past her vocal chords, it was the sight of the person that he had been protectively laying over._

_She found herself looking at her own face, her cold, dead face._

Jess jerked awake from where she had fallen asleep, slumped over her drawing table. She was barely able to contain the scream that was building in her throat as she fought to bring her breathing under control. The bulb in her lamp was flickering wildly, but once her heart stopped pounding quite so hard it settled down to a steady glow.

She swiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks. It was that damn dream again. The exact same one that had woken her up the night before and had scared her so much. Nightmares were nothing new to her; she had been suffering from them as far back as she could remember. But they had become much more manageable the last couple of years since she had discovered her past life and she now understood that the nightmares were nothing more than a manifestation of her past memories.

But this was different. This wasn't some dream about events that had taken place during the Silver Millennium. In this dream she was grown instead of being a five-year-old girl stumbling around a bloody battle where she had no business being, so she knew that it had to take place in the present.

Or was it the future? She thought back on the building that she had been standing in front of. It had been tall and looked to be made out of shimmering crystal. Serena and the others had told her once about their trip to Crystal Tokyo back several years before and she'd overheard the kids discussing the differences between the city of Tokyo now and how it appears in their time, so she was starting to think that building in her dream just might be the Crystal Palace.

"Now you're just being stupid, Jess!" she scolded herself. "How in the hell could you possibly be dreaming about a time a thousand years in the future? You're just stressed and it's starting to play with your head. That's all there is to it."

Yeah, that was it. So much had been going on the last few months that her brain had finally snapped and gave her that wacky dream. But as she thought back on the dead faces of all her friends and loved ones she felt uneasy. Okay, maybe she was making a big deal out of nothing, but it couldn't hurt to run it by Helios and see what he thought. He would be able to tell her if this was something serious or if she was finally losing what little bit of sanity she had managed to hold onto. And if he laughed at her and told her that she was crazy, that may not make the dream stop, but at least it would help her ignore it.

People who were descended from the Earth's royal bloodline had the ability to teleport to Elysian any time they wished, and Aurora had taught both her and Darien how to do it not long after they had sealed Discord away so that they could come to visit whenever they wanted to. It had been a comfort to her to be able to stay in touch so easily with the woman who had been her second mother her entire life, but it had been a while since she had attempted the trip.

She closed her eyes firmly and focused inside herself on her power. Then she thought hard about her destination and felt a tingling rush of energy flow over her skin a second before her body seemed to become weightless. She felt wind on her face and opened her eyes to find herself by the fountain in the massive rose garden of the Elysian palace. The woman sitting on a nearby stone bench was also a welcome sight.

"Dawn!" she squealed, rushing over to pounce on the youthful looking, white haired woman. Everyone else may call the priestess by her given name of Aurora, but Dawn was the name that she had gone by while living in the outside world and was the only name that Jess had known her by until just two years before. She saw no reason to change that habit now.

Aurora returned the hug with just as much exuberance. "Jessie, sweetie! It's so good to see you! It feels like forever since we last spoke. I know I saw you at your birthday party last weekend, but things get so hectic when everyone is crowded around. How are Andrew and my little ones doing?"

Jess giggled. "Everyone's doing fine, just busy, busy, busy. Now is it just a coincidence that I found you here, or were you waiting for me?"

The priestess shook her head. "Ah! You know me too well. Helios had a feeling that you would be coming, so I thought I would come and meet you."

Jess gulped. That didn't sound good if Helios was expecting her. "So he knew I was coming?"

"He had his suspicions," Aurora replied. "We know that you had a nightmare that was different than the ones that you used to have."

"What do you think it is?" Jess asked hesitantly.

Aurora pursed her lips in thought. "I'm not entirely sure. But this is Helios's realm of expertise far more than mine. Let's go and see what he has to say."

They walked arm in arm down the path to the palace where Helios awaited them at the top of the steps. He hugged Jess tightly before leading her inside where a tray of tea and snacks waited for them in one of the sitting rooms.

When they were all situated he turned his amber gaze on the reincarnated princess. "So your dreams have suddenly turned very active again it seems."

Jess nodded. "Yes. But this is different from what I've had before. You may think I'm crazy for saying this, but I think I'm dreaming about the future."

Helios seemed to mull this over for a moment as he took a sip of tea. Finally he spoke. "It isn't crazy for you to believe that at all. Dreams are very powerful and mysterious things. You have been taught all of your life how to make your mental defenses strong to protect your thoughts from invasion, but when you are asleep those defenses drop and your mind becomes an open book, making it easy for thoughts or visions to be channeled in."

"But why would I be seeing something that takes place in Crystal Tokyo?" she asked. "That's a thousand years away. Not only that, visions and things of that nature are Raye's forte, not mine. If anyone should be seeing future events it should be her and not me. I don't have a clue what to make out of it."

"That's because you are looking at it from a literal point of view," Helios told her. "You're focusing too much on what you actually saw instead of looking at the dream as a whole. In the dream you saw your friends and loved ones dead, correct?"

She shuddered. "Yes. They were all dead, and I was the only one left alive."

The priest arched a brow at her. "Were you? I was under the impression that you saw yourself dead as well."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but it was weird. I didn't feel like I was just a third party spectator. I actually felt like I was looking at a different person who just happened looked like me. It was like there were two of me there."

He nodded. "Yes. Now also think about this. If this was indeed a dream about the future, where were the children? What were they doing?"

This stumped her for a second and she carefully began going back through the dream and analyzing it. She remembered the dark cloud that was Discord up in the sky and the bright flashes of light. "They were in a different area fighting Discord, I think. Are you saying that I was dreaming about the final battle with that monster?"

He sat his cup down carefully. "I'm bound by laws that prevent me from revealing too much to you, but I think it's safe to say that you might have seen one of the possible outcomes of the future."

Jess was starting to feel irritated. "So you're saying that there is the possibility that the kids will beat Discord, but the rest of us will die? That sucks!"

Helios held up a placating hand. "I just said that it was possible. You've heard Sailor Pluto speak before about alternate timelines, haven't you? There are always one or two that sprout off from the main timeline. Something as tiny as one little decision can cause time to veer off the main course and head down one of these alternate paths. Let's take the Silver Millennium for example. If you had chosen to remain here that last day instead of going to the moon, time would have spiraled down another course. Queen Serenity and your parents would have survived, but both kingdoms would have been shattered. The Silver Alliance would have crumbled, leaving each of the planets on their own. Endymion would have become king, but in the end rebellion and civil war would have torn the planet apart and claimed his life. Queen Serenity eventually succumbed to death after years of expending her crystal's powers to try and keep her kingdom going, leaving you and your mother behind, brokenhearted, to try and carry on. On the night of your sixteenth birthday, you married Motoki, but during the reception the moon was attacked. Talon, goaded by Discord, had released the seal on Metallia and she resurrected Beryl. They combined forces and massacred everyone on the moon. Beryl ended up with the Silver Crystal while Talon got the Celestial Crystal, and universal war broke out as they fought for power. None of you were reincarnated, and most of the universe fell into darkness."

Jess sighed. "So you're saying that my impulsive idea to sneak to the moon that day is what has led us to this point in time."

He nodded. "Yes. Every thought, every action directs the way that time will flow. Something as simple as picking up a rock and throwing it could have more of an impact than you could ever think. So I believe that your dream is trying to tell you that you will have to make a choice at some point. And what you decide will determine whether the future that you saw in your dream will come to pass, or if time will choose another path."

"Great!" Jess grumbled. "No pressure there."

* * *

Zoicite reached up and pulled Amy's hand away from her mouth. "Amy, love, you've almost chewed that fingernail past the quick."

She clenched both hands in her skirt to resist the temptation to continue her nervous habit. "I'm sorry. I'm just so nervous. I mean, I know she probably already knows, but telling her face-to-face is a little overwhelming. And she'll probably flip when I show her this." She unfisted her left hand to look at the aquamarine ring on her third finger.

Zoicite captured the hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Everything is going to be fine. I'm right here with you."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open as they stepped out into the hall and walked the short distance to the door of Dr. Mizuno's penthouse. Amy took a deep breath and knocked quickly before she lost her nerve.

Just a few seconds later they heard the tap of footsteps, and then the door swung open to reveal her smiling mother. "Come in, you two. I was just making tea. Would you care for a cup?"

"Yes, please," Zoicite answered graciously while Amy merely nodded.

Dr. Mizuno waved them toward the living room. "You go ahead and sit down and I'll be there in a moment."

They went into the living room, but instead of sitting, Amy wandered around the room that she had known her whole life. Not much had changed since she had moved out almost two years before. There was a new picture on the wall and a few new knick-knacks on the shelves, but other than that everything was exactly the same as it had always been. The familiarity helped steady her nerves.

A picture on the mantle above the fireplace caught her eye and she turned to look at it. In it she was about six years old and both her mother and father stood behind her. It had been taken on one of their trips up to her father's cabin in the mountains, where he now lived permanently. That had been before the fighting had gotten so bad between her parents that they decided to divorce.

"I always did like that picture," Zoicite spoke up quietly behind her. "You look so cute and innocent in it." Then he whispered in her ear. "And with your hair longer like that I can really see the resemblance between you and Hannah."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "She has your eyes though. I don't think anyone could deny that."

"Okay, here we go!" Dr. Mizuno announced as she bustled into the room with a tray. Zoicite hurried to take it from her and deliver it safely to the coffee table.

"Thank you, Zoicite. You're such a dear," she beamed a smile. "Now why don't we all sit down and have a nice little chat. I have a feeling that the two of you had a reason for calling up and wanting to see me."

Amy sat down across from her mother and accepted the cup of tea offered to her, careful to keep her left hand hidden. She wanted to save the news of her engagement until after she got the serious stuff out of the way. "Yes, mama. I did have a couple of things that I wanted to talk to you about."

Dr. Mizuno smiled mischievously. "Ooo, this must be serious if you're calling me mama. You stopped calling me that about the time that you turned twelve, except for that one time when you had the flu when you were fifteen. But you were half delirious then, so I don't know if that counts. Anyway, how are you doing after yesterday, sweetheart?"

Amy shuddered at the memory of seeing the heart attack victim die right in front of her eyes, but she kept her composure. "I'm dealing with it. I know that it's just one of the unpleasant side effects of the medical profession and that I'll have to learn to cope with it if I want to continue on the path that I have set for myself. It's not easy, but I'm making it."

Her mother took a sip of tea. "That good, dear. It's also wonderful that you have a strong supporter by your side." She winked at Zoicite. "I remember my first experience with seeing death quite well, and it was horrifying. I was lucky though. I had your father to run to for comfort."

"Dad?" Amy murmured in shock.

Dr. Mizuno laughed. "Of course! I was madly in love with the man or I would have never married him. And although we had our problems later down the road, I can always say that he was my rock. I ran two miles from the hospital in the pouring rain to get to his apartment. And then when I got there he wasn't home. I collapsed in hysterics right there in front of his door. It felt like hours passed, but it was only a few minutes later when he showed up. He'd been at the park drawing until the rain chased him away, and he was just as dripping wet as I was. He took one look at me and picked me up off the floor and carried me inside. I'll spare you all the mushy details that I'm sure you would rather not hear about your parents, but I really felt like he saved my sanity that day."

"Whoa," Amy sighed. "And I used to think that the most romantic thing dad ever did was cook dinner and rub your feet when you got home from work."

"Lack of romance was never our problem," Dr. Mizuno said with a sad smile. "I think it was more that we just grew apart. We had different interest and ideas about what we wanted in our lives. While I was just a student and doing my internship, I found it easy to escape into his fantasy world. But later when I began my residency and then had you, my priorities changed. I became more serious while he still had his head in the clouds. Not that he was ever a bad husband or father, he was wonderful at both, but we both felt the gap that had opened up and the tension that was building between us. And when the fighting started we both decided that it was best to part ways. We didn't make that decision lightly and we hated the idea of doing that to you, but we figured that in the long run that it would be better for you if you didn't grow up watching us fight all the time. And that was also why I always told you to find someone that you had some things in common with."

"No problems there," Amy said with a smile as she reached for Zoicite's hand and squeezed it. "We have so much in common that sometimes it's hard to tell where he ends and I begin. Most of the time I don't even have to finish my sentences because he already knows what I'm going to say. But we do have just enough differences to balance us out. I'm just glad that he has the guys to fill his need for sports and action movies."

"And you have the girls to go shopping with and cry over romantic movies with," her mother laughed. "You girls used to keep me in stitches with the way that you would carry on. I think the five of you went through a whole box of tissue each the night that you were here and watched _Titanic _for the first time."

"It was a sad movie!" Amy protested.

The doctor waved a hand. "Yes it was. But I don't think you came here to debate which movies are sad and which aren't or to talk about your father's and my relationship. Did you?"

Amy sucked in a breath. It was crunch time. "No ma'am. There was something else that I wanted to discuss with you." Then her throat closed up, choking off her words.

'_Do you want me to tell her?' _Zoicite's voice whispered in her head.

She jumped at the sound. They had been working on developing the telepathic link between them, but that was the clearest that she had ever heard him. _'No. I'll do it,' _she sent back to him.

He nodded slightly to let her know that he'd heard her.

She took a deep breath and tried to force the words out. "Mama, I…I…"

"Just spit it out already, Sailor Mercury!" Dr. Mizuno said with a laugh.

Amy's eyes went so wide that they almost swallowed up her entire face. "So you did already know!" she finally gasped.

Her mother curled her legs under her and settled back in her chair. "Of course I did. I've suspected it for a long time actually. I know that my schedule was hectic during your teen years and that I wasn't around as much as I would have liked to have been, but I am your mother and I still took notice of what was going on in your life. Sailor Moon was just beginning to make a name for herself in the news when you became friends with Serena. Then suddenly Sailor Mercury showed up. And it seemed that every time you girls added a new member to your group, a new sailor scout would appear. I wasn't convinced at first, but I kept watching. The five of you were always together and seemed to disappear any time there was trouble. Then there were the times that I would find your bed empty in the middle of the night. I knew you weren't the type to sneak out for no reason and the fact that the chain would still be on the door told me that you had to have left by the window, which would kill a normal person since we are thirty stories up. The next day there would be a report of a monster attack that the sailor scouts had taken care of the night before, so I knew that it couldn't be a coincidence. But what finally convinced me was when I heard you tossing and turning in your sleep one night and I went to check on you. Your room was as frigid as a winter night and there was this mist in the air. Even your window was iced over. You were laying on the bed with a layer of frost on your skin and a symbol shining on your forehead. I looked it up on the internet and discovered that it was the symbol of Mercury. That was when I knew for sure."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Amy asked in surprise.

Dr. Mizuno shrugged. "I had my share of time of superhero fandom when I was growing up, so I knew the importance of keeping secret identities secret. I hated the idea of you risking your life like that, but I also knew that you had been given your gifts for a reason. So I watched from a distance and prayed for all of your safety. I knew that one day you would tell me when you thought the time was right."

"There's more to it than that," Amy said softly. "Now that you know, I want you to know the whole story."

So she told her mother the tale of the moon kingdom and of Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion, with help from Zoicite. They also explained their involvement and how they had served the prince and princess. Amy glossed over the events that brought about the end of the moon kingdom, she figured that her mother didn't need to know that a brainwashed Zoicite had killed her past incarnation or the fact that he wasn't a reincarnation the way she was, but was really the same man that had lived a thousand years before. There were still some things that they needed to keep to themselves, like the fact that their future daughter was currently living with them. They didn't want to give the poor woman a stroke after all.

Her mother sat in thoughtful silence for a long minute after they finished talking. Finally she sighed. "Well, that is a lot to take in. A lot of people would write it off as being ludicrous, but I believe you. I have witnessed some miraculous things in my life and have learned how to keep an open mind. There are some religions that preach of reincarnation, so who am I to say that it isn't true. But reincarnation or not, you are my daughter and I love you with all my heart."

"Oh, mom!" Amy cried as she jumped up from her seat to run over and hug her mother. "I love you too!"

Dr. Mizuno hugged her back tightly for a moment before pushing her back gently. "Hold on just a minute! Is there something else that you were going to tell me?" She reached for Amy's left hand and looked at the aquamarine ring in curiosity.

Zoicite stood up, grinning proudly. "Yes ma'am! I have asked your daughter to grant me the honor of becoming my wife, and she accepted."

His future mother in law squealed as she practically shot from her chair to throw her arms around both of them. "I can't believe it! My baby girl is getting married!" She stepped back to smush their faces close together. "Oh! You two make such a cute couple!"

Then as quickly as she had grabbed them, she let them go to run to her purse sitting on an end table and dug through it until she pulled out her cell phone.

Amy shook her head in bemusement. "Mom, what are you doing?"

Dr. Mizuno pressed a button and held the phone to her ear. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm calling your father to tell him the wonderful news!"

"You're calling dad?" Amy gasped.

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Of course. I was married to the man for fourteen years and he is your father. You know that he and I have stayed on speaking terms. I always call and tell him about the important events in your life. And this is the biggest one yet!" She paused for a moment before gushing into the phone, "Guess what! Our little girl is getting married!"

Amy moaned and dropped onto the couch. "Great! Now I know how Serena feels having to deal with her mother. She's going to blow this completely out of proportion."

Zoicite chuckled and sat down next to her to drape an arm over her shoulders. "Of course she is. You are her only child and this is a big deal for her. But if it gets to be too much I have a simple solution."

"Oh yeah! What's that?" she asked wryly.

He shrugged. "We'll just elope."

"Oh no you won't!" Dr. Mizuno said harshly, having overheard him. "There will be no eloping in this family! I will see you two married properly even if it kills me! Is that understood?"

"Ye…yes ma'am," Zoicite stammered meekly. Then he whispered to Amy, "I never knew your mom could be so scary."

Amy leaned against his side and sighed. "You have no idea. You may as well strap yourself in. This could be a rollercoaster of a ride."

* * *

"So," Ilene Tsukino said as she cut the three sandwiches that she had made and turned to set one each in front of Serena and Darien, who were sitting at the breakfast bar in her kitchen. "I can't say that I'm surprised that the two of you decided to stop by today. I was kind of expecting it after the talk that Serena and I had yesterday."

For one of the few times in her life, Serena ignored the food in front of her. "Mom, I've been thinking, and you are right. Everybody has their share of secrets, and some more than others. After listening to you yesterday I figured out that I'm already pretty sure that you know some of mine. So I decided that it was best to just go ahead and tell you all of it. I've kept it from you for long enough."

Ilene held up a hand. "Hold that thought for just a little bit, sweetheart. I have a story that I want to tell you first. You just eat your sandwich and listen to me for now."

She waited until Serena had picked up the sandwich and had taken a bite before she started. "Now I know I have told you before about how your father and I met and eventually married, at least I told you the condensed version. I won't destroy your appetite or corrupt your brain by going into all of the disgustingly romantic details of our courtship."

"Thank heaven for small favors," Serena muttered with a shudder.

Ilene tapped her lightly on top of the head. "Be quiet and pay attention. Now about a year and a half after we were married I started feeling sick. Convinced that I was pregnant, I ran to the nearest drug store to buy a test. I was so excited while I was waiting for the results because I loved being a wife, and now I wanted to be a mother as well. Imagine my disappointment when the test came back negative. So I figured that I just must have picked up a virus or something that had thrown my system out of whack and moved on. A few days later I was still feeling sick, so your father forced me to go to the doctor to get checked out. I guess I must have done something wrong when I did that test, because my doctor informed me that I was most definitely pregnant."

Serena smirked. "And how did dad take that little bit of news?"

Ilene smiled. "Well, once we picked him up off the floor where he passed out he was ecstatic. You would have thought that he was the only man to ever find out that he was becoming a father with the way he was acting. The months passed by fairly smoothly. We decided that we wanted to be surprised, so we didn't find out if we were having a boy or a girl. So finally the big day came, and I suddenly found myself the mother of what I was certain had to be the loudest baby girl ever born. I still find it amazing that the windows didn't shatter."

Darien began laughing and Serena elbowed him. "Don't you start!" she hissed.

Darien ignored her and asked Ilene, "So she was loud even back then?"

She nodded vigorously. "Was she ever! But luckily she was a good baby that rarely ever cried unless something was wrong. Now let me get back on the subject. Well Ken was just as pleased as punch that he had a daughter. We hadn't really discussed names all that much, thinking that the right name would present itself when we finally had our baby in our arms, but it didn't. In fact, we got into a pretty heated fight that night and I finally sent him home to go to sleep thinking that we were both tired and we would be able to think better in the morning. But that night I had a visitor."

Serena sucked in a breath as a strange feeling swept over her. She had a feeling that she knew what was coming next. She remembered once when she was back in middle school when she had taken an astrological quiz online that told her exactly how the stars and the planets were aligned at the time of her birth. It had also told her that she had been born at the time of the new moon, when moon magic was at its most powerful.

"Queen Serenity came to see you," she whispered shakily and felt Darien grip her hand tightly.

Ilene smiled. "You caught that quickly. I had fallen asleep with you beside me, and when I woke up I thought I was dreaming. There was a woman with long silver hair standing next to the bed with her hand on your face. I panicked for just a moment because I'd heard horror stories of babies being kidnapped from hospitals, never to be seen again. But then she spoke to me and all of my anxiety disappeared."

"What did she say?" Serena barely breathed.

Ilene spoke softly. "She said, _'I had to come and see this little angel for myself. Once she was mine, but now she belongs to you. I know you will love my little Serenity just as much, if not more than I do. You are her true mother and I am confident that she will have a long and happy life with you. She is a special little girl. One day, she will change the world.' _Then she leaned over and kissed your forehead and a golden crescent moon began glowing there. After that she just vanished. I wasn't sure if it was real or a dream, but the next morning I woke up with the name Serenity bouncing around in my head. I thought it sounded a little formal though, so I shortened it to Serena. When your father came in carrying a giant stuffed bunny I asked him what he thought of the name, and he agreed that it was perfect. We got your middle name, Usagi, from that bunny because you seemed entranced by it when you saw it. You were unusually alert for a newborn."

Serena looked highly confused. "So you've always known that I was a reincarnation?"

Her mother giggled. "I don't know if I would put it that way exactly, but I always knew that you were something special. It was almost like you had some magical gift that always made people feel better just by being around you. I remember seeing your father come trudging through the door many nights after a long hard day, looking like he was ready to kill someone. Then he would take one look at you and all of his stress and strain would just seem to melt away. Sometimes I wish you were still around to calm him down when he's coming up on deadline time. He gets himself so worked up."

"So what else do you know?" Serena asked curiously.

Ilene paused to take a sip of her lemonade before continuing. "I probably know a lot more than you think. I know that you are Sailor Moon and that you and your friends have been running around in short skirts and fighting monsters since you were fourteen. I almost died the first time I found your bed empty, then Queen Serenity appeared to me for a second time and reminded me that she had told me when you were born that you would change the world. Then she told me everything."

Serena gulped. "Everything?"

"Yes, everything," Ilene confirmed. "I know that you were once the princess of the moon and that Darien was the prince of earth that you were in love with. You and all of your friends died when there was an attack on the moon and Queen Serenity used her powers to send all of you here to be reincarnated. There was more detail to the story, but that's it in a nutshell."

"Wow!" Serena mused. "Here I was stressing about how to tell you all of this, and I find out that you already know. How freaky is that? So you don't feel like I'm less of a daughter because I had another life before this one?"

Ilene's blue eyes flared angrily and she placed her hands on her hips. "Serena Usagi Tsukino! I can't believe those words would even come out of your mouth! Just because you happen to be an old soul in a young body doesn't change anything! I carried you for nine months, put up with you using my stomach for kicking practice, and went through thirty-two hours of labor to bring you into this world, young lady! I sat by your side through the chickenpox and every cold you had, so I know exactly whose daughter you are, and you are mine!"

Darien chuckled and said, "See! I told you so! I knew your mom wouldn't ever turn her back on you."

Tears welled up in Serena's eyes and spilled over. "Oh mom!" she cried and hurried around the bar to engulf her mother in a giant hug. "I love you!"

Ilene returned the embrace, tears of her own shining in her eyes for a long moment before stepping back and dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her apron. "Okay! That's enough hysterics. Go finish your sandwich. I still have a few questions that I'm a little unclear on."

Serena returned to her seat and began munching away with her normal, insatiable appetite. "Fire away! Now that the hard stuff is out of the way I feel like I'm on top of the world!"

Ilene smiled mysteriously. "I want you to explain Rini to me. I have my suspicions, but I want to hear it from your lips. I am an only child and your father only has one brother that has two sons. So I want to know exactly where my _niece _that seems to pop in and out of our lives sporadically comes from."

Serena's appetite fled again as she laughed nervously. "Well, you see, that's kind of a funny story actually."

An old lady was walking with her terrier down the street a few minutes later when she heard a scream come from the white, two-story house she was walking by.

_"You mean I have a granddaughter!"_

The old lady shook her head. She just didn't understand some people and their need for theatrics.

* * *

Andrew looked up and smiled as he heard the sound of laughter float in through the French doors that led out onto the back deck of his parent's house. Jess had been a little quiet and withdrawn all afternoon, but now she seemed to be just as cheerful and carefree as she always was as she sat near the grill where his father was busy flipping steaks. Of course the fact that his father was playing bartender and had mixed her up two stout rumrunners since they had gotten there may have loosened her up some. He knew he was feeling pretty relaxed himself after a couple of drinks.

"Yikes, Drew! I said to slice the tomatoes, not dice them!" his mother exclaimed as she looked up from tossing the salad she was making.

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, mom."

She took the cutting board from him and added the tomatoes to the salad. "You men are all the same. You get sidetracked by a beautiful woman and all of your brains fly right out the window."

Andrew sighed. "I can't help it. I take one look at her and it's like the whole world stands still."

Kathleen giggled and picked up her wine glass to take a sip. "Who would have ever thought that my level headed baby would be turned into such a romantic? I worried about you for a while after the whole Rita fiasco, but then Jess came along and brought you back to life. I'm truly indebted to her."

"No more than I am. I hate to think what my life would be like right now if it wasn't for her," Andrew said reverently.

"That's the way love is supposed to be," Kathleen said sagely. "Sometimes it hits you right away, and sometimes it builds over time. Take your father and I for example. When I first saw him I never imagined that he would be the man that I would spend the rest of my life with. I had just moved here with my parents and was a junior in high school. I wasn't happy about the move because I had to leave all of my friends behind. Your father was a year ahead of me in school and was a star running back on the football team, so I thought he was just an ignorant jock. Then I made friends with a couple of girls in my class and we started going into the arcade after school. Your grandparents owned it then and your father worked there after school and on weekends. One day we started to talk and the next thing I knew I was in love with him. We dated for a while and then he proposed. The rest is history."

Andrew chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Then you got married and had me and Liz, and then your whole world came crashing down."

Kathleen smacked his hand with a spoon as reached for a piece of the bacon that she had cooked that was waiting to be crumbled into the salad. "My world did not come crashing down," she insisted. "You and your sister have been the joy of our lives. Although I wish that Lizzy would settle down and meet someone decent for a change. I swear that girl must have _bum magnet _tattooed across her forehead."

"She'll find someone, mom," Andrew said. "I believe that there is the perfect someone out there for everyone. She just hasn't found him yet."

Kathleen sighed. "It's a shame that all of your friends are taken. I think that there would be at least one of them that could bring her down to earth."

Andrew winced as he thought about Darien and the generals. They were all definitely and undeniably taken. "She'll find someone eventually, mom. She's still young and has plenty of time."

"I'm sure she will," Kathleen grumbled. "I just worry about how many bad apples she's going to have to go through before she finds that right one. But enough talk about your sister. I was under the impression that you and Jess had something that you wanted to tell us tonight. It's not like you to just call out of the blue and ask if we can get together like this."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Stop fishing for information, mom. Yes, Jess and I have something to say, but we're going to wait until we're all settled down before we say anything."

Kathleen's glass clinked sharply as she put it down before she could drop it. "Ooo, you have my curiosity piqued, now you have to tell me. Is she pregnant? Are you finally going to give me a grandchild?"

"Mooomm!" Andrew groaned. "Get real! If Jess was pregnant do you think she would have drank those drinks dad gave her?"

His mother's face fell. "Oh! I guess you're right. Sorry, my imagination ran away with me there for a minute. At least tell me if it's good news or not."

Andrew beamed. "It's great news. So don't worry about it."

Andrew Sr. bustled in the back door carrying a large platter. "Kathy, my love, the steaks are done! Is everything else ready?"

"Everything else has been ready. Drew and I were just waiting on you. You didn't overcook the steaks because you were too busy flirting with your future daughter in law, did you?" Kathleen huffed playfully.

He set the platter on the counter before he snagged her around the waist. "I have to flirt with the girl some to make sure she stays in the family. If I left everything up to Drew she'd probably be on the first plane back to the United States and leave us forever."

Jess giggled as she came in the door. She walked over and put her arms around both of Andrew's parents. "Don't worry about that. Just knowing that I'll have you two as in laws makes marrying your son worth it. I'm not going anywhere."

Andrew pretended to pout. "So you're just marrying me for my parents, huh?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Aw, don't be so sensitive! You know I love you too. I just think of it as I'm getting a package deal."

Amid much laughing and good-natured grumbling, they managed to get the food onto the table. Once they were all seated, Andrew spoke up.

"Mom, Dad," he began. "I think it's fairly safe to say that you approve of making Jess a permanent member of this family. Well how would you feel about her becoming your daughter a little earlier than planned?"

His father appeared a little confused. "What are you saying, son?"

Kathleen's hazel eyes kept growing wider and wider by the second. "You two did not run off and elope, did you?"

"No, no!" Andrew hastily reassured her. "It's just that, for sentimental reasons, Jess and I have decided to go ahead with the wedding in July instead of waiting until November."

Kathleen opened and closed her mouth soundlessly several times and Andy roared with laughter. "I think for once you've managed to strike your mother speechless."

She slapped at his shoulder. "I'm not speechless, I'm panicked! That is only three months away. I don't know if we'll be able to pull it off in that short amount of time. Ilene and Serena have been working on her wedding for months, and they only just recently got the details finalized. Oh, this is going to be pushing it."

Andrew chuckled. "There's nothing to panic about. It's pretty much all arranged. All you have to do is show up at the Hikawa Shrine on July 15th. It's going to be a very simple ceremony, nothing fancy. You can come in your blue jeans if you want to and we won't care."

His mother rolled her eyes. "Like I would show up to my one and only son's wedding in jeans! You must have lost your mind! So the time and location are set, but there are still other things to consider. What about the bride's dress?"

"Taken care of," Jess replied. "I've been holding on to my mom's wedding dress for years. All it may need is just a few alterations. But it's a very simple dress. And I'm not worried about bridesmaid dresses or anything because I'm only going to have Serena standing up with me as my maid of honor, so she can wear whatever she wants. And Darien's going to be the best man, so he and Drew can wear t-shirts and it won't matter to me."

Kathleen tore a roll in half and spread butter on it. "Okay, so you're going for very casual. I get that. But what about the reception?"

Jess's startled eyes flew up to meet Andrew's. She had only been focusing on the wedding itself. The thought of a reception had never even crossed her mind. "I don't know. I guess I could ask Lita to make a cake or something. It doesn't have to be a big deal."

Kathleen's smile turned almost maniacal. This was something she could do. "Let me give you two a reception, please! It's fine if you want a simple wedding, but you should have a reception to celebrate with your family and friends. I won't go over the top or do anything fancy, I swear. But, please let me do this for you!"

"You know you're going to have to give in to her on this. She's never going to let it go," Andy chuckled.

Andrew looked to Jess, who nodded and smiled. "Okay, mom. You can do the reception, but nothing big! Maybe just a few snacks and a cake, that's all."

She waved a dismissive hand. "Of course! But what a cake it will be! I'm going to make a cake that will blow even Chef Lita's mind. And I think we'll have the reception here. It will be summer, so hopefully the weather will be nice and we can open the house up to the yard to give everyone room to move. Oh, I need a pen and paper so I can start making a list."

Andrew leaned over to whisper to Jess, "I hope we don't end up regretting this. I warned you that she could be scary."

Jess giggled. "Oh, let her have a little fun. Like she pointed out, you are her only son. I feel like we need to let her do something since I single handedly yanked the wedding out from under her. Well, all except for one little detail anyway."

"What's that?" Andrew asked, arching a brow.

Jess looked at the man across the table from her. "Poppa Andy?"

The older man laughed and shook his head. "My girl, you are about to marry my son. When are you going to give up that Poppa Andy nonsense and just call me dad?"

She grinned impishly. "Okay, d…dad," she retorted, stumbling a little over the word that had become almost foreign to her since she had lost her parents almost four years before.

Kathleen stopped talking to herself long enough to add, "And you must call me mom. The official words may not have been said yet, but you are as much of a Furuhata as the rest of us. In fact, for this wedding we will be acting as parents of the bride and groom since your parents, god bless them, can't be here in person."

Tears stung Jess's eyes. "That's kind of what I wanted to ask about. I know this is a little unconventional, but then again I've never been known as a conventional person. I was wondering if you would walk me down the aisle, dad, since my dad can't."

Big Poppa Andy Furuhata was not usually an emotional person, but his brown eyes appeared a little misty as he looked proudly at his soon to be daughter. "I would be honored to."

Kathleen waved a napkin in front of her face. "Oh, dear! I think I'm going to cry!"

Andy snapped back to his usual self. "Don't you dare flood the table with your tears, woman, and ruin this food! Speaking of this dinner, it's not going to eat itself. So let's dig in before it gets any colder. I didn't stand in front of that grill for nothing!"

Andrew squeezed Jess's hand under the table and whispered. "Sometimes I swear you are a witch. Is there no one you can't charm?"

She grinned. "Maybe I'll weave a magic spell on you later after we get home."

He returned her grin with his own. "Does that mean you plan on staying in our bed tonight."

She nodded. "I'm not going to be afraid of my dreams. I know that they can't hurt me. In fact, I think they're trying to help me."

"Help you what?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure yet," she whispered. "I guess I'll figure it out when the time comes."

* * *

_**Elysian**_

There was a soft flash of gold light as Serena and Darien appeared in the rose garden. It was nighttime in the dream world, and a bright full moon made everything seem to sparkle.

Serena spun around in a circle. "Oh, it feels like it's been so long since the last time I was here! I've missed it."

"Yeah, me too," Darien chuckled. "I'd forgotten how calming this place was. Maybe we should start coming here more often. It would probably do wonders for our stress levels."

A light, tenor laugh came from behind them as Helios stepped into view. "Believe me, your future selves feel the same way. The king and queen often visit the Elysian of the future to take a breather when they need one. The difference in time flow comes in quite handy. They can pop in and take an hour to enjoy the peace and quiet, and then get back home before anyone even realizes that they're gone. They both say that it's cheaper and easier than going to therapy."

They both laughed at this little tidbit of information about their future selves.

"So, old friend, what are you doing slinking around out here? Were you waiting on us?" Darien asked.

Helios shrugged. "I sensed that you were coming. I also know why you are here. So before you ask, yes, I know about the young princess's dream. But I'm afraid that I can't tell you anything about it. She came to me earlier to talk about it and then asked me to keep my silence. So I am going to respect her wishes."

"I just want your reassurance that she's not in any danger," Serena told him. "She seemed so distant and snappy earlier, like she was about to explode at any moment. If there is something I can do to help her, you would tell me, wouldn't you?"

The priest bowed his head. "Of course I would. But I think she will be okay. We had a nice long discussion and she was much calmer when she left. I believe that you both have been in situations similar to hers before, when your dreams are trying to tell you something and you have to figure out exactly what that is. She was confused before, but now that I have steered her onto the correct path she is thinking clearly. Her powers are stable, so I don't think we have any fears of her inadvertently causing any disasters. She has actually learned a lot of control the last couple of years."

"Well that makes me feel some better," Serena sighed.

There was a flash of pink light as Rini appeared. She looked around for a moment to get her bearings before glaring at Helios and planting her hands on her hips. "There you are! I have been waiting for you! Or did you forget that we have a date tonight?"

Helios flinched under her hot maroon glare. "No, I didn't forget. I just had a little bit of business that I needed to take care of first. I do have a job to do after all."

The pink haired girl stomped up to him, pigtails quivering in anger. "That's fine! But would it have killed you to drop me a quick line to let me know you were going to be late? You know a quick _'Hi, honey! I'm running behind. I'll be there as soon as I can,' _would have been fine with me. But instead I get nothing."

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I guess time just got away from me."

Rini's face flamed red. "Then wear a watch!"

Two bright spots of color burned on Helios's pale cheeks, showing that he was on the verge of losing his temper as well. "I said that I was sorry. What more do you want? Are you going to let this ruin the rest of the night?"

Sensing that a full blown Rini-fit was about to occur, Serena jumped forward and slapped a hand over her future daughter's mouth as it popped open to deliver what was sure to be a scathing string of words.

"Don't you dare try to bite me, you little hellcat!" Serena squealed as Rini glared at her and attempted to sink her teeth into her palm. "You need to take some deep breaths and calm down for a minute before you end up saying something that you'll regret later. Darien and I are the ones that held Helios up. So if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at us."

Rini sucked in several breaths through her nose and the anger faded from her eyes. When she seemed calm, Serena finally released her mouth.

"Sorry," Rini muttered, looking sheepishly at Helios. "I didn't mean to go off the deep end. Can we please go to dinner now? I'm starving!"

"Like mother, like daughter," Darien whispered under his breath.

Serena elbowed him in the ribs. "Nobody asked for your opinion!" she hissed before speaking to Rini and Helios. "Now you two go and have fun, okay."

Helios grabbed Rini's hand and they disappeared in a flash of white light.

Darien chuckled and wrapped his arms around Serena's waist from behind. "You handled that like a pro. I guess that's the good thing about having our kids around now, when we have them in the future and they become teenagers we'll already know how to handle them."

Serena rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, you handle them so well. Every time something comes up with one of them you disappear into your office, claiming that you have some work that has to be taken care of right then, leaving me to deal with whatever the current crisis is. I'm sure not much will change in the future."

He gave her that familiar, lopsided grin. "Hey! I always thought that dads were supposed to be the disciplinarians and moms were the ones that kids run to with all their problems. Isn't that like a prerequisite for being a mom, that you suddenly know everything?"

"Oh, yes!" she drawled sarcastically. "Becoming a mother automatically turns every woman into the world's most knowledgeable person. I can't believe you even made such a sexist comment. Being a mother is hard work, believe me, I know. Been there, done that, got the memories to prove it. Besides, there's one little thing that you've forgotten, Dr. Genius."

He nuzzled her neck. "And what would that be?"

She giggled and twirled out of his grasp. "Technically, I'm not anyone's mother yet. I'm just pretending like I'm their mom."

He took a step toward her. "But you do it so well. Anyway, it will be a reality someday. I can already picture it." He put his hands on her stomach.

She snorted. "Yeah, I can too! I'll be fat. I won't be able to see my feet. My back will hurt and I'll have to go to the bathroom all the time. And don't get me started on having to listen to you grouch when I wake you up at three in the morning because I have a craving for ice cream."

Darien shook his head. "Nah! You'll be beautiful as always, round belly and all. Now, what would you like to do with the rest of our night?"

"Hmm," she mused. "I'm not ready to go back to the outside world yet. It's so peaceful here. Why don't we go sit under our tree for a while and just enjoy the moment? It's been a crazy day."

"Yes it has," he agreed as he took her hand and began walking. "But at least everything turned out okay. I do have to say that your mom blew my mind with her story."

Serena nodded emphatically. "Tell me about it! There I was worried about her getting mad because I've been keeping secrets from her for so long, and I find out that not only has she known my secrets all along, but she's been keeping some really big ones herself."

"You got her back though when you dropped the bomb on her about Rini and DJ," Darien said with a smirk.

She grinned impishly. "Yeah, I did. At least I still had a few secrets to pull out on her."

"At least she agreed that it was best to not tell your dad right now," he sighed. "It would be my luck that he would either try to kill me or he'd have a heart attack and end up in my ER."

"No, telling daddy would not be a good idea at the moment," she agreed. "He's not as accepting of unusual things as mom is. He swore the sailor scouts were just a figment of people's imagination until he actually saw us at the D-Land ball, and even then he thought it was some kind of a publicity stunt until we saved him and Sammy from that monster at the virtual reality game that time. He's a very grounded person and doesn't like to believe in anything that could be considered magic or supernatural. I guess he'll be in for a rude awakening someday when he discovers that my world isn't exactly normal."

"We'll deal with it when the time comes," Darien replied as they reached the top of the hill and sat down under the tree where they had spent so many hours as Serenity and Endymion.

"I guess so," she mumbled as she burrowed up to his side and laid her head on his shoulder. "Have I told you today how much I love you?"

He chuckled. "Only once or twice, and that's nowhere near enough."

"I love you," she whispered, and then turned her head to nip at his neck lightly with her teeth.

"You little vampire!" he growled as he whipped around and pushed her down so that she was laying on her back on the grass as he loomed over her. He pinned her arms above her head. "How about a taste of your own medicine?" He ducked his head to attack her slender neck, alternating between nibbling and sucking.

"You won't hear any complaints out of me," she choked out between gasps. "Darien, do you love me?"

He raised his head to look down at her. "Of course I do. You know I love you more than anything else in the world."

She smiled contentedly. "Will you love me forever?"

He shook his head, his eyes burning like two deep sapphires. "No, because forever is not long enough for me. I will love you for eternity and beyond."

Serena pulled her hands free from his to loop her arms around his neck and pull him down into a searing kiss.

* * *

**A/N **So that's it for now. Like I said, this was just kind of a filler chapter, but I had a lot of fun writing all of the little interactions that took place here. The moms especially, Ilene, Kathleen, and Dr. Mizuno, cracked me up. This chapter really did seem to focus on moms of all kinds. We had the real moms, the adopted moms Amara and Michelle, the future moms Serena and Amy, and the soon to be mom Anya. Queen Serenity even played a little part as the past mom. Well the next chapter will probably shift back more to the serious business and bring the younger crowd back into focus. Jess's dream is definitely foretelling of something that is looming in their future and there is still one more visitor from the future that is going to put in an appearance. A hint was given in this chapter, but I'm going to keep quiet about who it is for now. Anyhow, I hope you found this chapter entertaining in a lighter, less dramatic way than usual. Don't forget to drop me those reviews and tell me what you thought. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	28. Fe, Fi, Fo, Prom!

**A/N **Yes, it's me again. Go ahead and get the moaning and groaning out of the way now. Just kidding! You guys always make me feel so loved! Anyway, I'm glad the last chapter went over well. Everyone seemed to like all of the mothers' involvement. It was a blast to write about that. This time we're going to have a few overprotective fathers thrown into the mix, but we're also switching back to the teen scene as well. This isn't exactly a filler chapter since I'm going to start easing back into nasty old Discord and what he's got going on, but it's kind of a silly chapter as well. I was helping my younger cousin, who also happens to be one of my closest friends and fellow Sailor Moon fanatic, Mina-chan, get ready for her senior prom back a few weeks ago, and I thought about how fun it would be to give our teen heroes this normal teenage experience before everything goes crazy. So let me get those hugs out and I'll let you move on. BIG HUGS TO:

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Marvelous reviews as always you guys! I adore the way that some of them make me laugh and some make me sit up and say "aw". I've even felt the prickle of tears on more than one occasion at some of your kind words. Even when you are pointing out my mistakes, and heaven knows I make plenty of them, you guys are always so kind and supportive. And I appreciate that from the bottom of my heart. Okay! Enough with the heavy! Time for the next chapter!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 26

Fe, Fi, Fo, Prom!

* * *

Mina tapped her foot impatiently as her blue eyes narrowed on the teenage girls in front of her. "Let me get this straight. You are on a mission to find the perfect dresses for prom?"

The five heads nodded.

The blonde love goddess let out a frustrated sound and threw her hands up in the air, attracting quite a bit of attention from the customers that were shopping in her boutique on this busy Saturday morning.

"I can't believe this!" she began ranting. "The prom is only a week away. One little week away! I can't believe you girls put this off that long! Do you know how long it took for me to find the perfect prom dress? A month! I spent every free moment I had for an entire month combing through every store I could find, from one end of this city to another, until I found my dress."

Emma batted her lashes innocently. "But that's why we came to you. We knew that if anyone could help us out in this situation, it would be you. You are the expert after all."

Mina's lips twitched for a second, like she was fighting to hold back a smile, but her glare remained as she lowered her voice to a whispered hiss so she wouldn't be overheard by the other people in the store. "Don't try to butter me up, young lady! I know I had to have raised you to know that shopping for big events like this takes time and meticulous planning. I severely failed as a mother if I didn't at least teach you that much. Why in the world did you wait until this late?"

"Geez, Mina! Don't have a meltdown on us!" Rini said with a roll of her eyes. "We honestly didn't think we would be going to the prom. In fact, I figured we would have gone home a long time ago. But since we're still here we decided to take advantage of the situation. We're never going to get another chance like this. We're home-schooled back in Crystal Tokyo, so we don't exactly have prom to look forward to."

Katie snorted. "We still may not get a chance at it. A lot can happen in a week and who knows when our _friend _is going to decide to start his crap again. We could have to leave ten seconds from now for all we know."

Skye pushed her lightly in the shoulder. "Thank you, Miss Pessimism! It's so nice of you to join us today. For god's sake, don't jinx us! Like Rini said, this is our last shot at this."

Hannah sniffed daintily. "You act like you've never been to a prom before, Skye. You went to one last year with that guy…"

"That's riigghhttt…" Emma drawled. "You dated him for almost three whole weeks. Isn't that the record for your longest relationship ever?"

Katie almost choked on a laugh. "Are we talking about that dumb football jock that thought he was such a stud? He had the personality of a bowling ball and wasn't even that good looking."

"Don't remind me!" Skye groaned. "That wasn't a prom. It was a disaster! I went, thinking I would be able to dance and have fun, and instead I spent all night trying to keep that idiot off of me. Every time I turned around he was trying to drag me off to someplace secluded. I had to knee him in the balls for him to finally get the hint that I wasn't interested."

A snicker escaped Mina. "You are definitely your mother's daughter. There were boys in our high school that would literally run in the opposite direction when they saw her coming. Don't get me wrong, Lita liked to chase the boys as much as I did back in the day, but if one got overly friendly with her she'd drop him on his ass before he even realized that she was aiming for him. But this isn't solving your dress dilemmas. This may require some digging because every other teenage girl in the city that has a prom to go to has been out shopping as well. This place has been so busy that I actually had to hire some more help. So the pickings may be slim."

"We have complete faith and trust in you, Mina. We know you won't let us down," Rini reassured her with a broad smile.

Mina shook her head. Speaking of daughters that were just like their mothers. Rini's overall personality was usually a mixture of her mother's cheerful optimism tempered by a hefty dose of her father's sometimes sarcastic cynicism. But at times like these there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Serena had definitely put her mark on this girl. And Mina found it just as impossible to argue with her as she would if it were Serena standing in front of her.

She still couldn't help but mutter, "Don't speak too soon. I'm not a miracle worker after all," before motioning for them to follow her. "We may as well start in the backroom. I have a new shipment that just came in yesterday that needs to be checked in and tagged anyway. Maybe we'll find you girls something in there. It's part of the new summer line that I'm planning on putting out next week."

The girls squealed in response as they scurried after her. Not only did getting to do their shopping in the backroom mean that they wouldn't have to fight the crowds, they also got the added bonus of being able to see the newest designs that had just come out, which drastically reduced the chance of some other girl at the prom showing up in the exact same dress. And part of the magic of finding the _perfect_ dress meant trying to be unique.

* * *

Alex puffed a breath. "I've been doing some thinking, and I've come to a very disturbing conclusion."

DJ wiped the sweat off of his forehead with his arm. "Oh yeah! You mean your brain is actually capable of processing thought? Who knew?"

Alex laughed and shoved him playfully. "Don't be a dick! I was just thinking that we must either be insane or severe gluttons for punishment. I mean seriously! Nebula gives us the day off from training and yet we let ourselves get talked into this. Yep! I'm convinced that we are insane."

"Aw! Quit your bellyaching and get your ass over here!" Andrew called from a short distance away. "The game is almost over anyway. You're not getting lazy on me, are you?"

Alex's dark blue eyes flared in indignation. "No!" He stomped toward his future father.

Andrew stifled a laugh. Usually Alex reminded him a lot of himself and how he had been as a teenager. But there were times when bits and pieces of his mother shown through in his personality, and the way the boy's eyes had just snapped and his nose scrunched up just a little bit had been a classic Jess move.

It was a rare Saturday that had found all of the guys in their group off work, so they had decided to all get together for an impromptu game of football and had invited the younger boys along. The problem was that with the four generals, Darien, Andrew, and the three teenagers, they had an odd number of players.

Then, whether by coincidence, or just a stroke of luck, as they were debating who was going to have to sit out to make the teams even, Talon had shown up grumbling about his wife and her out of control mood swings. So they had invited him to join the game to give him something to do while he killed some time until he felt like it was safe to go home again.

It had been a brutal game. Of course, none of them playing were exactly normal human beings. They had agreed in the beginning that no one could use their powers during the game to help them win. But as with any time you had a group of highly competitive men playing a sport together, they tried to find ways to cheat. Like when Darien had received a shock when he tried to tackle Nephrite. The chestnut haired general had denied any wrong doing and had declared that it must have just been static electricity. A minute later he had tripped over a thick clump of grass that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. Darien had looked as innocent as a saint while DJ smirked mischievously.

So that was the way the game had gone, with the guys doing little things to try to throw off the opposing team. They couldn't be blatant in the misuse of their powers after all. They were in the middle of the crowded park, and the last thing they needed was for anyone to see anything funny.

"So what's the score again?" Darien asked as everyone gathered at the line of scrimmage.

Kunzite chuckled. "I lost count. I think we're tied tough."

"I say whoever gets the next touchdown wins," Zoicite offered.

Jadeite smirked. "Sounds good to me. We've got possession of the ball, so it should be over quickly."

And it was, but not without a few mishaps. In less than a minute, Jayden had caught the ball that Nephrite had snapped to him and had raced it down to what they had deemed the end zone and had scored the win for the team that consisted of himself and the generals. Darien, Andrew, DJ, Alex, and Talon all groaned good-naturedly at the defeat.

"Nice trick with the water puddle," Talon growled at Zoicite, referring to the puddle of muddy water that he had stepped in that had suddenly appeared from thin air.

The dark blonde general looked like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Well I'm still seeing spots," Jadeite complained, rubbing his eyes. "Damn, Drew! When did you learn to reflect sunlight like that?"

Andrew snorted. "It's what you get! Did you think that nobody would notice that empty can rolling across the ground on its on?"

"Okay! Good game!" Darien said. "The cheating was kept to a minimum this time and it made it more challenging with the extra players. Three on three can get a little predictable after a while."

Kunzite pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes. "I could use a cold beer after that one. Who's with me?"

All the men emphatically agreed.

"Are you boys coming with us or going back home?" Darien asked.

DJ shrugged. "We may as well come with you. Nobody's at the apartment anyway."

Jadeite smirked. "What did you guys do, run your girlfriends away?"

Jayden rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right! We're smoother operators than that. We're just taking a break from them because they are shopping."

"Smart idea!" Nephrite chuckled. "That's the way to preserve hours of your life that you can never get back."

"Tell me about it!" Alex groaned. "I'm glad they didn't ask us to go with them. They're dress shopping."

Talon snickered. "Oh! Have you boys got some hot dates lined up?"

"Yeah, what do they need new dresses for?" Zoicite asked curiously.

All three teen boys shuddered, and then grumbled, "Prom!"

The men all laughed at their disgruntled expressions.

"It's all Rini's fault!" DJ exclaimed. "None of us had even thought about it. But last night she brought up the fact that it is next weekend. And since it looks like a possibility that we'll still be here, she mentioned that it might be fun to go. The next thing we knew, all the girls were buzzing about it."

Darien grinned and clapped his future son on the shoulder. "You'll survive. Prom is a big deal to girls. It's all part of the high school experience."

Andrew snorted. "Like you would know anything about that, Dare! You didn't even go to our prom. You stayed home and studied, even though I had begged you to go to keep me company."

Darien shrugged. "You had a date and I didn't."

"You could have if you wanted to," Andrew protested. "Every girl in that school was clamoring to be your prom date! But the elusive Darien Shields didn't date. Instead I got stuck standing around all night while Rita sat in a corner and talked to her friends. It sucked! And you missed out on Serena's because you were away at school."

"I sometimes wish I could have missed out on Raye's," Jadeite mumbled. "She was a basket case for weeks leading up to it."

The other generals all nodded in agreement as they thought back on the sailor scout's senior year of high school and how they'd had suffered through their prom experience.

The group made their way from the park to the general's penthouse just a block away. As they all filed in, Raye and Lita met them on their way out.

"You're just in time," Lita greeted them. "I made a bunch of sandwiches for you guys and stuck them in the fridge."

"Ah! You're a life saver!" Nephrite said reverently as he pulled her close for a quick kiss.

She giggled as she stepped back. "You guys enjoy! I'm off to the restaurant to check on things."

"And I have to get to the club and make sure everything's set for tonight. Saturday is our busiest night," Raye told them.

Jadeite pouted. "Don't I get my goodbye?" He pulled her tight against him.

"Jed!" she shrieked. "You're all hot and sweaty!"

He waggled his eyebrows. "You usually don't complain about that."

"Pervert!" she hissed, but she went up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips.

After the ladies had left, the guys all filed into the kitchen, where sure enough they found two plates in the refrigerator stacked high with an assortment of thick ham, turkey, and roast beef sandwiches along with several different types of chips and dip. They all dug in ravenously.

Alex and DJ looked up in surprise when Andrew set two frosty bottles of beer in front of them. His hazel eyes twinkled. "Go ahead! I think you're both old enough to enjoy one beer after a game. You're going on seventeen, after all. My dad used to let me have one from time to time at that age. Besides, you guys have worked hard all week and deserve a little relaxation. Right, Talon?"

Talon appraised both boys carefully. "Yes. They have put a lot of effort into their training, so I think they've earned it."

"Hey!" Jayden snapped. "What about me? I've been working hard too! Don't I deserve something?"

"He has worked hard," Talon conceded.

"I'm not giving a beer to a fourteen year old! Raye would kill me!" Jadeite exclaimed.

Heat sizzled around Jayden as he glared at his future father. "I'm not a stinking baby! And I'm not fourteen anymore either! I'm fifteen now!"

DJ and Alex both groaned. While the future parents knew their ages, they had been told to not reveal the dates of their actual births. Pluto had insisted that some things needed to remain a mystery, and she didn't want everyone to know the exact dates that they were to give birth to their children. Rini was the only exception to that rule because of a slip up years earlier that had revealed that she and Serena shared the same birth date.

"Way to go, numb nuts!" DJ growled.

"What?" Jayden snapped. "I didn't tell him my birthday! I just said that I've turned fifteen since I've been here for the last two months." His birthday had been on April 1st. His mother had always teased him about being her April Fool's baby. His friends had given him a small party to celebrate the event, but they had kept it secret from the adults.

Jadeite studied him for a moment before chuckling. "Fifteen, huh? I remember that age. You're almost a man. I guess that entitles you to a beer. But not a word to Raye, agreed?"

Jayden grinned. "Agreed!"

* * *

Jess clutched the rather large white box to her chest as she hurried through the multiplex.

Next to her, Serena giggled. "Good grief, Jess! You don't have to hold onto it that tightly. I don't think anyone is going to try to take it from you."

Jess growled as her eyes flashed threateningly. "I'd kill anyone that tried! My mom's wedding dress is in this box, and I'll be damned if anybody is going to get their hands on it! I'm already nervous enough at the thought of having to have anything done to it."

Serena smiled reassuringly. "Mina will do you right. You know that. Now take a deep breath and calm down."

Jess tried to do as she said, but she didn't begin to feel her muscles relax until they had entered Mina's boutique. She knew that her paranoia was unfounded, but the dress she held in her arms was one of her most prized possessions. She hadn't taken much more than the necessities with her when she had left her home in California to live with her aunt and uncle in New York, but when she had packed to leave she had taken a few sentimental items. And this dress was one of the most precious to her.

Serena waved to one of the girls behind the sales counter. "Hey! Is Mina around?"

The girl shrugged. "I think she still is. I haven't seen her for about an hour though. The last time I saw her she was in the backroom, so you might try there."

"Thanks!" Serena called with a smile as she grabbed Jess by the arm to haul her with her to the back of the store where they slipped through a door that led down a hallway to Mina's office, workroom, and the storeroom for the boutique. They entered the storeroom and felt like they had walked into the middle of a youma battle.

Shrieks and squeals flew around the cavernous room almost as quickly as the teenage girls that were flying around. They were all in such an excitable state that they weren't even attempting to hide the extra boost that being sailor scouts gave them and appeared to be nothing more than blurs as they dashed from rack to rack.

Jess snickered under her breath at the spectacle while Serena looked on, bewildered. After a moment of wide-eyed staring, the future queen exclaimed, "What in the world is going on here?"

The reaction was instantaneous as all movement screeched to a halt, at least for a few seconds. Then Serena was almost bowled over as a pink blur slammed into her.

"Oh, mom!" Rini gushed. "You have got to see the new stuff that Mina got in! Some of the outfits are absolutely to die for!"

Serena laughed as she patted her future daughter's head in between her pink hair buns. It wasn't often that Rini slipped up and called her mom. She usually kept a pretty strict line of separation between Serena and Neo Queen Serenity. The lapse showed how worked up Rini was.

Then Serena glared at Mina, who was near a large table. "I thought you weren't doing anything with the new summer lines until next week."

The goddess of love shrugged. "The girls got hit with a minor emergency that they needed some help with, so we struck up a deal. I'm letting them get first picks and they're helping me check in and tag everything. It's one less thing I'll have to do later. I get free labor, and they get a fabulous dress."

Jess carefully set her box on one of the tables. "Why are they getting so hyped up over dresses?"

"Prom!" the five teenage girls all squealed at once.

"Ohhh!" Serena drawled in understanding.

Jess shuddered. "Ewww!"

All eyes swung to her at her outburst.

Katie looked at her future mother in disbelief. "Ew? How can you say that? This is the prom we're talking about! It's going to be great!"

Jess shrugged. "Well hopefully your prom experience will be better than mine. That is one night that I wish I could erase forever."

Mina's eyes widened curiously. "Ooo…I sense a dramatic story here."

Katie folded her arms across her chest. "I never heard about this."

"I never told you this story?" Jess asked her. Then she shrugged. "Well, I guess I wouldn't. There really isn't that much to tell. I went to a small private high school where there were only two types of people. Either you were part of the popular group, the jocks, cheerleaders, and stuck up rich kids; or you what they called the Invisibles. Now my family had just as much money as anyone else's. Our house and cars were just as nice as theirs and several of my classmate's parents worked under my dad at the software company he worked for, but I was considered an Invisible. Not surprising really since I had known a lot of those kids for most of my life and I had a reputation for being…different. That was fine with me because I didn't want any part of their backstabbing, false friendships anyway. I had my own small group of friends, and I was happy with that. We were the _'nerds' _I guess you could say, the honor roll students, band geeks, drama club members, art students…you get the picture."

Skye snickered. "You were considered a nerd? I just can't picture that. So what happened, you didn't get asked to the prom so you sat at home and painted your toenails instead?"

Jess shook her head. "No, I got asked, and by the last person I ever expected. I had a huge crush on this guy my senior year. He was part of the _'in' _crowd and was the star of the basketball team, but he had always been friendly to me. He was originally from here as well, so we had that in common. I tutored him in some subjects that year and I started liking him. We would have fun sometimes by talking in Japanese just to confuse people. But he was a popular guy and had his pick of the silicone enhanced, liposuctioned, botox injected, bleach blonde bimbos running around. So I was shocked when he asked me to go to the prom with him."

Emma frowned and leaned up against the side of a table. "I get a feeling that this story is about to turn ugly."

"Don't get ahead of me!" Jess mock scolded her. "After I got over the shock I said yes. I tore up the stores until I found _'the dress'_. It was a flashy little gold number that I absolutely fell in love with when I saw it. I had matching shoes and everything. I was excited because I could wear heels and he would still be taller than me. So the day of the prom came, and I spent all day getting ready. I was really nervous because it was really my first date. I had been out with groups of friends before, but not with just a guy and me. I had never had a boyfriend. I had never even been kissed."

She went a little starry eyed for a moment and whispered, "Andrew was my first kiss." Then she shook her head and blushed. "Anyway, that night I was all ready. My mom was running around snapping pictures and squealing like she was the one with a date while my dad sat there and grumbled a lot because I was going out with a boy. The hours passed, and he never showed up. I tried calling him, thinking something might have happened to him, but he didn't answer. That's when I realized that I had been stood up. I cried for a while with my head in my mom's lap while she tried to reassure me that I'd done nothing wrong. My dad was ready to run out and kill him. Then some of my friends showed up and told me that my _'date' _had shown up at the prom with another girl. They did some eavesdropping and found out that it had all been part of a dare. He had been dared to ask me to the prom and then stand me up."

"What an asshole!" Rini exclaimed. "I hope you got him back for that."

Jess smiled mischievously. "I started to. Oh he came up to me a few days later and tried to apologize for hurting me. It was all I could do to not blast his ass off right then and there. Luckily I had learned enough control over my powers at that point to not do anything stupid, but it was hard. I froze him out every time he came near me. There were a few times that I transformed at night and followed him, thinking how nice it would be to catch him somewhere secluded and kick his ass. I could have totally gotten away with it too. He would have never known it was me. And who would have believed him if he said a sailor scout had beaten him up? But I held my temper and didn't do anything. In the end, justice was served."

"What happened?" Serena asked eagerly.

Jess giggled. "The day of our graduation, his _'girlfriend'_, the one he took to prom instead of me, dropped the bomb on him that she was pregnant. That sure changed his plans for the future. He had to pass on going to college and get a job instead because both of their families said that they had to take responsibility for their own actions. The last I heard he was managing a hotel and had knocked up another girl as well. So I was glad to not get pulled into that drama."

"I bet!" Mina said with a sigh. "That was a completely different experience than the one we had. Right, Serena?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "I'll say! I'm just glad that we didn't end up arrested. Thank god the guys were there to stop us from drinking any more of that spiked punch. I hate to think what would have happened if we had gotten slobbering drunk."

"Ooo…I sense a story here," Jess cackled.

Mina waved a hand. "There's really not that much to tell. It was a little stressful leading up to the prom, trying to get dresses and convince the guys to go. None of the generals wanted to go because they felt like they were too old. Then Serena said that she wasn't going because Darien was in America and she didn't want to go stag."

Skye snorted. "There's nothing wrong with going stag. That's what I'm doing. They'll be a lot of single, unattached guys there, and I'll be free to dance with them all."

Serena laughed. "That's fine for a player girl like you, but I was almost engaged!"

"So Darien didn't get to take you to your prom?" Rini mused.

Serena shook her head. "Nope! He was finishing up his last semester at Harvard. It was just a month or so before we met you, Jess."

Jess nodded. "Yeah. I had just gotten to town and met you a week before your graduation. Your graduation party was mine and Andrew's first date and the night of my first kiss. Anyway, you went to your prom, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did," Serena answered a little hesitantly. "Don't take this the wrong way, Jess, but Andrew was my date for prom. We went just as friends. He offered to go and keep me company so I wouldn't feel left out. He did that for me a lot while Darien was gone. We used to laugh about the rumors flying around. A lot of people were convinced that I was cheating on Darien with Andrew. Darien got a good laugh out of it too. People that he had gone to school with here would take pictures of Andrew and me dancing at the clubs and e-mail them to him, telling him that I was cheating on him. Not that he believed it for a minute."

"Of course he didn't!" Jess scoffed. "I don't get why people don't think that a man and a woman can be friends and not be romantically involved. It's stupid!"

"Yes, it is!" Mina declared. "But unfortunately lust and sex are pretty dominant forces in most people's minds. They see a man and woman together and they automatically assume that there's something more going on. But this isn't solving the prom dress problem. All of my little helpers stopped working."

The teen girls jumped back into action at her words to continue sorting and tagging the new stock.

Serena giggled. "Shame on you, Mina! Are you sure you're not breaking any child labor laws? Hannah's only fourteen."

Mina stared at her with wide-eyed innocence. "Hey, they came to me for help! If they want a favor, then they should be willing to return it. Besides, with this many fast moving hands helping we've almost got it all knocked out. That's going to save me a couple of day's work right there. But moving on! What have you brought for me, Jess?"

Jess turned her attention back to the box she brought in. "My mother's wedding dress. I know some alterations are going to have to be done to it. Mom was 5'7", which is a decent height for a woman, but I surpassed her by the time I was fourteen. Not to mention that I'm a little, um," she glanced down at her chest. "Let's just say that I'm little more well endowed than she was."

"Okay, so you're quite a few inches taller and have bigger boobs than your mom," Mina clarified.

Jess rolled her eyes. "If you want to put it bluntly, yes."

Mina waved a hand. "Don't be so touchy! I've been helping Lita with her wardrobe for years and I haven't let her down once; and she's built a lot like you. I've become a pro at dressing the tall, skinny, athletically built, big-chested types. Which is a good thing considering I've got both of your daughters hitting me up for dresses and they're almost perfect clones of you two. By the way, do you feed Katie at all? That girl is barely a size 4. I doubt she weighs 120 pounds and she's 5'10"."

"Believe me, she eats!" Jess said on a snort. "You wouldn't believe the amount of food we've been going through in that apartment since she and Alex arrived. And it's been even worse this week since they've been out on spring break. At least when they're in school Lita feeds them lunch. Andrew and I have been to the grocery store three times this week."

"She's probably working off more than she's taking in," Serena muttered. "All of the kids have been working hard lately. Rini and DJ rarely bicker anymore because they are too tired."

Mina nodded. "I know. Even our place has been fairly quiet the last few days. Emma and the others usually come dragging in, eat something, and then go pass out. It reminds me a lot of what we used to go through back in the early days when Artemis and Luna used to make us train for hours on end."

Jess shuddered. "At least you guys had other people to work with. I had to suffer through Nebula's nightmare training alone. She had a mini holograph chamber set up under a dry cleaner's not far from my house that is similar to the one that is under the arcade. She used to keep me there for hours running drills. And let me tell you, those things might have been holograms, but they felt real."

Serena and Mina both nodded in sympathy, remembering the hours of misery they had suffered through, fighting virtual monsters.

Mina shook her head briskly. "Okay, enough with the flashbacks. Why don't you show me what I have to work with."

Jess reached for a box cutter and used it to carefully slice the tape that sealed the box. "I hope it's still in good condition. Mom took the dress to be cleaned about ten years ago and had it sealed in this box. It hasn't been opened since."

She lifted the lid and then folded back the layers of tissue paper to reveal Kimberly Alexander's snowy white wedding dress, perfectly preserved and looking as if it were brand new. It was simple in its design, just a silk sheath that hung from inch wide shoulder straps and covered with an overlay of lace. More than likely it had been purchased from a chain department store, but to Jess it was a dress fit for a queen.

Even Mina, who usually stuck with what was the current fashion, recognized the importance of this dress. She reached out to stroke her fingers lightly over the lace. "Oh, yes! I think I can do something with this."

Jess regarded the dress reverently. "I don't want it changed too much. I just want it to fit me right."

"Trust me," Mina purred. "I won't let you down. And I won't do a thing to the dress without your approval first. Agreed?"

Jess nodded. "Agreed. I'm counting on you, Mina."

Katie had wandered over and peeked over their shoulders at the dress. It was slightly different than the one she had always seen in the photos that sat on the fireplace mantle of her home, but she knew without a doubt that it was the same dress that was safely tucked away in her mother's closet. For a moment she felt giddy. Would she ever get to wear that dress as she recited vows that would tie her to her prince forever?

* * *

_**The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

The group of guardians and sentinels milled around the dark cave restlessly as they stood guard over their master. The swirling black cloud that was Discord stayed far back in the rocky recesses as he pondered his next move.

'_Those damn little bastards!' _he thought furiously. _'They are hardly more than children! Why won't they just die so that I can be done with this?'_

And that damn little mutt of a reincarnated princess! Just the thought of her made his rage rise to even more murderous proportions. Every time he managed to get Serenity and Endymion's little brat in his clutches she would find some way to slip away from him. It infuriated him. She was just a human girl, a very powerful one, but still just a human. He had thought that he'd finally had her at his mercy when they had fought at the time gate, even after she had done the unexpected and robbed him of his physical form. She had been injured, exhausted, and since she refused to use her full power, completely vulnerable. And without all of her little friends by her side, she had been his for the taking.

But then the gods' little lackeys had appeared out of nowhere. He still didn't understand how that could have happened. He had witnessed their deaths and had felt their auras be snuffed out like candles. The timeline had changed. There was no way that they should have been there. He knew that he had been tricked somehow, but his question was how.

He had briefly considered the possibility that one of the gods had been involved in the trickery, but then he quickly dismissed it. Zeus was a smug, self-righteous little prick, but he was a god of his word. Many centuries before, several civilizations had become extinct as an unintentional result of the gods tampering with mortal lives. After that had occurred the king of the gods had declared the human realm to be off limits to the deities.

That had been when Discord had started his grisly rampage through the universe. Up until then Zeus had been able to keep the evil entity in check. Discord had known that if he destroyed more than what was considered necessary to keep the balance between light and dark that the god would erase him from existence with a snap of his fingers. But once the threat of divine intervention was gone he had been free to do as he pleased. And since he had been created for the sole purpose of destruction; that was what he did. Planet after planet had fallen into darkness under his, and later his offspring's, power.

The gods had tried to find a way around Zeus's restrictions. Indeed, that was how crystal carriers and sailor scouts had come to be. Each of the gods had chosen a person from their favorite planet, usually a princess from the royal family, and had bestowed a small amount of their powers on them. The deities hoped that this would give the mortals a fighting chance at survival.

And the mortals took those powers and began to fight back. Wars between the sailor scouts and Discord and his children broke out. But even with their heightened supernatural powers, the sailor scouts were unable to defeat the entities. The only blow they had suffered was when a certain scout, Sailor Galaxia, managed to seal Chaos away for a time. But she had been unable to contain him and he had ended up possessing her and using her to help him in his quest to rid the universe of all of those that possessed planetary powers.

All had been well until Discord had discovered this quiet, peaceful spiral galaxy. The nine planets, along with the sun and the moon there, had rarely ever involved themselves in the happenings outside their solar system, preferring to remain a closely guarded community. And that had made it extremely appealing to him.

But he hadn't known of the threat that had been waiting for him there. He hadn't known that Apollo, Selene, and Gaia had banded together and found three mortals to whom they had granted the ability to channel their full god power. It was a risky and gutsy move, one that he would have never imagined any god doing.

Most of the gods were kind, but they were all vain creatures that coveted their powers greatly. He had heard rumors that several of the deities had thrown temper tantrums over the small amount of power that they had given up in order to create the sailor crystals for the sailor scouts. Some of them had been more generous, such as Selene and Gaia, and had created very powerful crystals to help protect the mortals, and all of the crystals reproduced to create new crystals whenever a new generation was born. But never in his wildest thoughts had he imagined any of the gods allowing a mortal to have access to their full god strength. They didn't like to share.

So imagine his surprise when he had decided to pay a visit to Earth first and found himself confronted by a woman and two young men with glowing eyes, bright symbols burning on their foreheads, and god powers swirling around them.

What had confused him even more had been when he had discovered that they were members of the royal families of the Earth, moon, and sun. He had been under the impression from the information that he had gathered as he traveled through the solar system that the three kingdoms were not allied in any way. The Earth and the Solar kingdoms supposedly stood alone while the moon oversaw an alliance with the remaining eight planets. That was why he had chosen Earth as his first target. He figured he would take out Earth first, then the sun, and then he would strike the moon. The other planets would crumble easily after that.

But instead he had found himself face to face with three frail mortals that claimed that they were going to be able to destroy him. He had called forth some of his youma followers and had set them on the little upstarts, and they fought back fiercely. But in the end they gave into the same vanity that plagued the gods. The power went to their heads and they spent their time showing off and overusing their energy on the youma instead of going after him. And with just a few mental suggestions on his part he even had them arguing amongst themselves at one point. By the time they finally got around to focusing on him they had exhausted themselves to the point where they could no longer channel the god powers.

Then he had struck back with a vengeance. They had tried to fight back, but without their god powers the swords they wielded passed right through him without causing damage. With just a few well-placed bursts of energy he managed to wound them all. He had been about to move in for the kill when they had done the unexpected and used their crystal powers to seal him away. He hadn't thought they had enough energy left in their bodies to do it, but they managed it somehow, almost killing themselves in the process.

And now here he was facing the same situation again. Only this time it seemed much more deadly. Those little brats had actually managed to wound him while in his true form. Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward had never even scratched him. They had tried in the end, slashing at him ineffectually with their swords, but they couldn't touch him.

This made him pause to think back on the battle at the time gate a few days before. The swords! Did the new Trinity bearers have the swords? He concentrated hard. Everything had happened so quickly when they had arrived unexpectedly. He focused on the moment that he had glared at them before making his escape through the time gate with the remainder of his army. He pictured them clearly as they had been and felt a shock of thrill.

No! They did not have the swords yet! He still had a chance to destroy this planet before they became a true threat. They may have already been blessed with the powers of the gods, but they did not have the Galactic Trinity yet!

It made him wonder if they even knew about the swords. From the way they had rushed to face him the other day and acted as if all they had to do was blast him with energy, it made him think that they didn't. They acted as if they were the Trinity, but they were merely the ones chosen to wield it.

The Galactic Trinity was in fact a set of three swords. Hephaestus, the god of fire, was fond of making all manner of magical and mystical weaponry. Over the endless centuries he had created many items for his fellow deities enjoyment, especially back when the gods had the pleasure of playing in the mortal world. Among the most famous of his creations were Eros', or Cupid if you wanted to call him that, bow and arrow and Ares' unbreakable sword of flames.

Most of the gods had no need of weapons. They preferred to depend on their powers. But Hephaestus had made something for everyone and had presented it to them as gifts. Among them had been a slender silver sword for Selene and two slightly broader ones in gold and bronze for Gaia and Apollo. They were the keys to Discord's demise.

Since the swords were forged by a god and owned by gods, they were considered divine objects. When a person who was in possession of a god's powers wielded one of those weapons, it would cut through anything…even him. And if all three of those blades were buried in him at the same time and the power of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo were channeled through the swords to be released inside him…he would cease to exist.

But the gods hadn't given their _"chosen ones" _that power yet. They were probably trying to ease them in slowly, giving them time to adjust to the power and hoping to avoid the chance of them letting the power go to their heads the way their ancestors had. That meant he still had time.

The guardians and sentinels came to attention as he roused himself. He wasn't exactly sure how many days had passed since he had holed himself and what was left of his army up in this cave several hundred miles from Crystal Tokyo, but he knew that it had to be at least five, maybe more. His energy reserves had been low after healing the damage he had sustained and he'd had to rest and replenish himself.

He looked over his remaining forces carefully. He only had about twenty of his best warriors left and maybe ten more of his earlier models that he had picked up from his compound when he had hastily cleared it out upon his arrival back in this time. That was nowhere near enough if he wanted to launch a full-scale attack on Crystal Tokyo. He needed more fighters.

According to the reports he had received from his sources here, the king and queen definitely suspected that he might be planning to attack the city. Crystal Tokyo was practically on lockdown and there were sailor scouts, generals, and guards crawling all over the place. Yes, he definitely needed to enlarge his army so that he could cause mass panic when he attacked. That would keep the heroes distracted and hopefully overwhelmed.

But he lacked the energy needed to expand his forces. Even if he depleted himself once again, he wouldn't be able to manage more than creating a handful of guardians and sentinels. He needed more than that. He needed energy.

His gaze settled on two youma that sat huddled against the wall and he would have grinned if he still had a physical form. He had found them when he had gone into the depths of the Dark Kingdom after Beryl and Metallia's defeats. Beryl had been in the process of expanding her army of youma, and these two had been assigned to watching over the pod-like eggs that the youma hatched from. He had started to kill them on sight, for he had no use for such creatures when his own warriors were so much more superior, but for some unknown reason he had allowed them to live. Now he was glad that he had.

He chuckled darkly. "I have an assignment for you two."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

The final bell of the afternoon rang and students began pouring out of Azabu High School. It was Friday, and the weekend of prom, so excited voices buzzed around everywhere as girls gathered together to giggle while the population of teen boys did their best to tune them out.

The group of teenagers from Crystal Tokyo was no different from the rest of their classmates. DJ, Alex, and Jayden walked slightly in front of the group of enthusiastically chattering girls, each of them wishing that the next night would hurry up and get over already. It wasn't that they minded spending time with the girls; they just hated the idea of having to get dressed up just to go out for a night of dancing. Why couldn't prom be a casual affair?

"So we'll all meet up tomorrow after lunch," Emma was rambling. "Mina and the girls at her salon are going to do our hair and make up for us and after that we'll go home and dress. We'll hook up at La Foret afterward."

Rini rolled her eyes. "Who made you the leader of the pack? You sound like you have our whole day planned out almost to the minute."

Emma tossed her long sheet of golden hair over her shoulder. "I'm just trying to make sure that everything goes smoothly. We only have this one chance to experience this, and I want us all to enjoy it."

Skye snorted. "That's all fine and dandy! I'll join you girls for the beauty session because I want to look my best for all the single guys, but I won't be joining you for dinner. I'm okay with being the odd one out when we're just hanging around, but I'm not going to do it on prom night. That would be like hanging a sign saying _'Dateless Loser' _around my neck. I'll catch up with you guys later on."

"But, Skye!" Hannah exclaimed softly, her bright green eyes shining compassionately. "You're part of our group. We don't want you to feel left out."

Skye grinned and ruffled the younger girl's blue hair fondly. "I don't feel left out. In fact, I'm in a better position than any of you. You've all tied yourself down to one person while I get to play the field. But we'll still hang out. After all, we need to show the people in this century how to really party."

"All of you ladies are saving a dance for me, right?" Jayden asked impishly. He had turned around and was walking backward so he could face the girls.

Alex growled. "Are you trying to move into my territory, Smoky?"

The blonde boy laughed nervously. "Of course not! I just meant it in a strictly friendly way! I'm already taken." He hurried over to Hannah's side and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Isn't that right, Snowflake?"

She glared at him and shrugged his arm off. "You're treading on thin ice, mister!" She stomped off toward the Crown that was only a short distance away now.

Jayden chased after her. "Hannah, I'm sorry! I was just joking around."

Emma giggled. "They are just too precious together, aren't they?"

Rini rolled her eyes. "Oh yes! Simply adorable! When is that idiot ever going to learn to keep his mouth shut? He's worse than Jed sometimes."

DJ slowed his steps to fall back and walk beside the blonde girl who'd been behind him. "You sure have been quiet."

Katie's head jerked up and she blinked in surprise. "Oh! I guess I was just lost in thought. You don't have much room to talk. I haven't heard you say anything either."

"Touché," he conceded with a grin. "I guess I was busy thinking too. I was just kind of surprised that you weren't babbling away with the other girls about the plans for tomorrow. You've been pretty hyped up about it all week."

A big smile appeared on her face. "I'm still excited about it! I know you're not crazy about these dress up kind of things, especially after having to put up with going to court functions most of your life, but I really think we'll have fun. It's one of those normal teenage things that I always thought I'd never get to experience."

He nudged her shoulder with his. "Then why so pensive? Shouldn't you be sharing beauty secrets or whatever it is you girls do at times like this?"

She shrugged. "I really don't have anything to share. I think I'll defer to Emma at a time like this. She's the expert here, not me. I've never been the Barbie doll type. My biggest beauty secret is probably my strawberry scented body lotion."

That made him smirk. Oh yeah, he knew how the light berry scent clung to her and followed her wherever she went. It was one of the things that made her uniquely…_her_. "Well I like it," he said smoothly.

She cut him a sideways glance as a faint blush colored her cheeks. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"

He chuckled as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side He pressed his lips briefly to her temple. "Sorry. So what else is on your mind?"

She sighed. "The same stuff as always. I'm worried. It's been ten days since we blasted that asshole. I thought for sure that he would have made a move by now. The longer he waits, the more nervous I get. It makes me think that he's planning something in that warped mind of his."

"Or he's just holed up somewhere licking his wounds," DJ quipped, trying to sound upbeat. But deep inside he had the same suspicions. It seemed like in every war that had ever been fought throughout history, whenever an enemy lay low for a while it was usually because they were plotting a way to come back bigger and badder than ever.

The look Katie shot him said that she was thinking along the same lines, but after a minute she laughed softly and shook her head. "You're just trying to make me feel better."

He grinned wryly. "And obviously sucking at it very badly."

"No, you're not!" she protested quickly. "I probably shouldn't be dwelling on it so much anyway. Pluto's back in charge of the time gate, so I know she's keeping an eye on things and that she'll let us know when it's time for us to do something. But I feel so…I don't know how to explain it…frustrated, I guess."

He nodded. "That's understandable. I feel that way a lot of the time too. We've been here for three months now, and I know that we've gotten stronger, but sometimes it feels like we're no closer to ending this than we were the night we left home. But this can't go on forever. Eventually he will make his move, and when he does we'll be there to take him out. Until then we'll just have to wait. But we can have fun while we do it."

Suddenly Alex shoved his head between them. "Like going to prom." He shuddered slightly. "Okay, maybe it won't be that bad. I have it on good authority that the punch will be spiked and I heard that Chad is going to be the deejay. So there should be some decent tunes to get our groove on to."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Why do you guys have to cringe like someone is raking their fingernails down a chalkboard every time the word prom is mentioned?"

Right on cue, both of the boys twitched.

"See! Just like that!" she said in exasperation and slid out from under DJ's arm. "Oh! World of horrors! You guys actually have to get dressed up a little bit and even wear a…gasp, a tie! It's not like you don't wear one to school everyday."

She gestured to the regulation school ties that were hanging very loosely around their necks. Just about every boy in the school loosened their ties and undid the top buttons of their shirts the moment they thought that they could get away with it without a teacher coming down on them.

Rini snickered. "They're just lucky that suits are all the rage for prom this season instead of tuxes. That way they're not stuck with bow ties."

Both DJ and Alex cringed horribly at that thought, especially DJ. He didn't want any part of a tuxedo unless it was the one he wore as Phantom. That one was actually comfortable. But since he had accepted Gaia's powers he'd been unable to transform into his alter ego. He had even found himself missing the way his cape would snap behind him whenever he was fighting or practicing and he envied the fact that Darien could still transform into Tuxedo Mask.

Emma's voice pulled him from his reverie as she wrapped her arms around Alex from behind and cooed, "Oh, poor baby! It won't be bad at all. You can wear your tie as loose as you want." Then she said in what she thought was a whisper, "Besides, I'm sure you won't be wearing it or several other articles of clothing before the night is over anyway."

Rini and Skye snorted with laughter, but Katie's face bypassed embarrassed pink and went straight to mortified red. "Oh my god! I did NOT just hear that!" she screeched.

Emma blinked. "What? All I said was…"

Katie slapped her hands over ears. "Not listening! La La La! Do you know how _disturbing _that is? Just the thought…UGH!" She spun and ran for the nearby arcade.

Rini clucked her tongue. "Geez, bro! Have you even kissed that girl properly? Talk about an innocent!"

Now DJ's face flushed red. "Butt out, Bubblegum Brains! I don't stick my nose into your relationship with Horseboy, and I don't need you getting into my business!" He hurried after Katie.

Skye was bent over at the waist as she laughed. "Are you sure those two are shagging each other?" she gasped to Emma.

Emma nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah! There's no doubt about it."

"Okay! That's enough of that conversation!" Rini snapped. Her face was starting to look a little green. "Don't forget that happens to be my little brother you're talking about, and there are certain things about his life that I don't want to know."

"Amen," Alex agreed faintly. He looked slightly nauseous as well. "Let's drop the subject quickly and go get a milkshake. I need sugar to help me fight off the mental images that are trying to invade my head."

Emma and Skye choked on their laughter as they followed the disgruntled pair.

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

The door to Neo Queen Serenity's office flew open with a bang as the queen ran in gasping, "What is it? What's going on?"

The four women sitting there looked up in surprise at both the queen's undignified entrance and her state of dress. Her long hair streamed damply down her back, almost dragging on the floor. She wore her formal court gown, but they could tell that she had been running because she held the skirt up to her knees, which also revealed that her majesty was wearing no stockings or shoes.

"Great Spirit, Meatball Head!" Raye exclaimed. "What in the world has gotten into you? You look like hell!"

"Very funny, Pyro!" Serenity snapped. "I had just gotten out of the shower when Diana came and told me that you guys were waiting down here and had some really important news."

"Well you could have at least brushed your hair first. It's going to tangle something horrible if you let it dry like that," Mina tsked as she pulled Serenity farther into the room and began fussing with the snarled golden strands.

Serenity waved her away. "Don't worry about it." She walked behind her desk and rummaged around in a drawer for a moment before pulling out a pink pen. "Luna Pen, make me look like…me."

There was a flash of pink light, and when it faded she looked like her regular queenly self. Her hair appeared dry and done up in it's traditional buns and pigtails and her face appeared to have received a light application of cosmetics.

She raised her skirt up a few inches to see that she was still barefooted. "Well, it almost got everything," she muttered. "Anyway, what's so important that we're having an impromptu meeting this early on a Saturday morning?"

"Amy thinks she found something," Lita drawled from where she was lounging sideways in a chair with her legs hanging over the arm.

Amy sighed and looked up from where she had been typing on her computer. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's highly suspicious."

Serenity groaned and walked over to a small table where someone had thankfully ordered some cocoa. As she poured herself a cup she replied, "Well if it's suspicious enough to catch your attention, then that probably means that I'm not going to like it. But go ahead and lay it on me."

"Okay," Amy began matter of factly and pushed her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I came across a few strange reports last night from a couple of cities a few hundred miles away from here. I thought they were odd, so I got to digging deeper and was astounded at what I discovered. In the past five days doctors and hospitals from all over Japan have been reporting a slight increase in the number of people that have been coming in to be treated for mild exhaustion. At first they suspected a strain of the flu or some other virus causing it, but so far blood tests are coming back negative. Most of the patients seem to be in perfect health. But the real puzzler is that whatever this is has hit every major city and several of the larger towns…except Crystal Tokyo."

"Exhaustion…" Serenity mumbled as she leaned up against the edge of her desk and took a sip of the hot chocolate. "Do you think it's Discord?"

Amy shrugged. "I'm not for sure, but I don't think we can rule it out. It would be the perfect plot if he wanted to gather energy and not tip us off right away to what he's doing. By spreading it out over so many different places and only taking a little bit of energy from each person instead of draining them he would be able to amass a lot of energy without us knowing. I probably wouldn't have caught onto it when I did if I hadn't seen a report where one hospital had ten people come in to be treated for mild exhaustion in one night."

"Damn! It's got to be him," Serenity growled. "Have there been any youma sightings to go along with this?"

Mina shook her head. "None that we've heard of. Lita and I called around to several different police departments and asked them, but nobody has reported seeing anything out of the ordinary. It's like these people just suddenly get tired for no reason."

Serenity made an irritated sound in her throat. "Well he's doing it somehow! How many victims have there been?"

Amy tapped a few keys on her computer. "I can't get an accurate number, but it's already been several hundred."

Raye snorted. "And it is probably really twice that many. I bet there're a lot of people that just went home to bed instead of going to the doctor, thinking that were just tired or coming down with something. We could be looking at well over a thousand, if not more. And even if he's only taking a small amount from each person, that still adds up to a massive amount he has collected."

"Yes it is," the queen sighed. "Have you talked this over with Zoicite yet, Amy? You two are usually pretty good about bouncing ideas off of each other and coming up with a solution."

The blue haired woman shook her head. "No. He left early this morning to attend that charity breakfast for the hospital with Darien. I hadn't put all the pieces together yet, so I didn't say anything to him."

Serenity's blue eyes locked with hers. "But you don't think we're mistaken in our assumptions, do you?"

Amy heaved a deep sigh. "I wish I could say I was, but I just don't see any other explanation for what's going on."

"Then we have plans to make," Serenity stated. "We need to call everyone together as soon as possible."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

Alex shrugged his jacket on before turning around and asking, "Well, how do I look?"

Katie glanced up in the mirror where she had been putting her earrings in and smiled. "Very dashing. Emma better hold on to you tightly tonight or the girls will be all over you."

Her brother flushed a little at the compliment. "Nah! You're just saying that."

She walked over to him and then reached up to straighten his dark gray tie and smooth nonexistent wrinkles out of his shirt that was the same color. "No I'm not. You may be my brother, but you are a very handsome man. Who would have thought that you would turn out so good looking? It seems like yesterday that we were both only snaggle-toothed kids. Now look at us! We're practically adults."

He grinned down at her. "I'm not the only one. You're looking pretty stunning yourself, sis. I have to say I'm a little surprised by your choice of dress though."

She giggled and looked down at the dress she had chosen. It was a simple slim fitting piece that ended a couple of inches above the knee. It had a low cut, but still modest neckline that showed just a hint of the woman she had become and hung from inch wide shoulder straps. She did feel a little exposed as she felt her hair brush across bare skin. The way the back was cut left over half of her back uncovered.

But she knew it wasn't the style of the dress Alex was referring to. It was the color. It was a cool, delicate shade of mint green; the exact same color of the ruined dress that she had worn that fateful night so many months ago when all of their troubles started.

She quirked a grin at her brother. "This whole experience of coming to the past has taught me to conquer my fears. I decided that it was stupid of me to avoid wearing this color just because of what happened to me. This is my last step in leaving behind the angry, bitter person that Discord turned me into. From this night on I am going to be me, the way I want to be. I'm not going to let him hold that power over me anymore."

Alex's dark blue eyes looked a little misty. "I'd hug you, but I'm scared of wrinkling you."

She laughed and flung her arms around his neck. "You go ahead and hug me any time you want to!"

She felt his arms wrap around her waist and sighed in contentment. DJ may have become her pillar of strength, but Alex was her rock, her twin. Sure, they weren't identical twins, but they shared a bond that tied them tightly together. They were a part of each other. And when she thought about what could have happened if she'd lost him…she shuddered.

"I love you, Lex," she whispered.

He squeezed her tighter for a moment. "I love you too, Kat."

She felt tears stinging her eyes and pulled away from him with a shaky giggle. She brushed nonexistent lint off of the shoulder of his black suit. "That was deep! Now get out of here before you make me cry and ruin my make up that Mina worked so hard on. Emma's waiting for you."

"Okay, okay," he chuckled. "I'll see you in a little bit."

He was at the door when he stopped and turned back to her, his expression serious. "Hey, Kat? I would never pry into your life, but there's something I want to know. Does DJ make you happy?"

She arched a brow at him. "Of course he does. Do you think I would be dating him if he didn't?"

He shook his head. "I know you two like each other a lot. Maybe you really love each other. I know I have him to thank for helping you bounce back to being yourself, but…I don't want to see you get hurt if this relationship ends badly."

Katie shook her head. "Alex, I love him, and he loves me. He's my soul mate. I'm not saying that he and I will never argue, because you know we will. We may even get mad enough at each other that we don't talk for a few days. But I can't picture my life without him, and I'm fairly certain that he feels the same about me. Isn't that the same way you feel about Emma?"

He grinned at the thought of his golden haired, secret fiancée. "Yeah, it is. I just wanted to make sure you weren't just indulging in some wild fling."

She picked up a shoe and brandished it threateningly at him. "Fling! I'll show you a fling! How about I fling you right out the window? Get out of here before I decide to skewer you with this high heel. I still have to finish getting ready."

His laugh echoed down the hall to her as he left. Then she rolled her eyes as she heard Jess squeal excitedly at her first sight of her future son all decked out. Once that noise had died down she heard the quiet rumble of Andrew's voice as he warned the younger boy that he better bring his Mustang back without a scratch on it or there would be hell to pay.

Katie giggled as she sat on the side of her bed and began smoothing sheer, thigh high stockings up her legs. Her dad had always been so maniacal about that car. Even in the future where Andrew had a posh, fully loaded Lexus, that Mustang had a place of honor in the Furuhata garage. It was kept in cherry condition and was only driven on what Andrew termed _"special occasions"_. Her mother always shook her head and muttered about boys and their toys.

She stood and smoothed her skirt back into place as she stepped into a pair of silver high heels. She knew that more than likely she would have to kick them off before the night was over to save her feet the agony, but they looked killer with this dress.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened and Jess stuck her head in. "Honey, DJ's here. Ooo! You look so pretty!"

Katie felt her cheeks heat a little. "Thanks, Jess. Tell him I'll be there in a minute."

After her future mother left, she turned to take one last look at herself in the mirror. She almost didn't recognize the woman looking back at her. She looked so poised and sophisticated, nothing like her usual, slightly tomboyish self. Her eyes almost seemed to glow thanks to the eyeliner, mascara, and smoky shadow that Mina had applied to her eyelids and her lips were a dark, dusky pink. The love goddess had promised that the lip stain wouldn't come off no matter how much kissing she did.

Her hair was usually as straight as a board and skinned back into a ponytail, but one of Mina's stylists had attacked her pale blonde locks with rollers and a curling iron until it fell in a curtain of waves and ringlets to her waist. Small pieces of hair had been pulled back from her face and pinned up with tiny clips that had white roses on them. Mina had smiled conspiratorially at her when she had seen them.

"Well, this is as good as it gets," she whispered to her reflection and swept from the room.

When she reached the doorway to the living room, she paused. She heard Jess and Andrew's voices coming from the kitchen, but her gaze was riveted on the young man standing in front of the balcony doors, looking out. The black jacket of his suit stretched across his broad shoulders and made her knees feel wobbly. Then he turned toward her and she thought she would fall.

He looked…WOW! There were no words to accurately describe him. He was dressed all in black, from his suit, to his shirt, to his tie. And coupled with his midnight dark hair and hypnotic blue eyes, he looked more like an international spy than a high school student on his way to the prom.

DJ's brain was a similar jumble of thoughts as he looked at her. This wasn't his usual brash, rough and tumble Katie that had blasted monsters and stood up to an evil entity. She was his Tinkerbell come to life, his very own fairy princess.

He wanted to rush to her and pull her into his arms so he could ravish those tempting lips, but he was acutely aware that Jess and Andrew had come to stand in the kitchen doorway to watch them. Then his years of training in formal court behavior and watching how his father operated kicked in.

He strode confidently toward her and took her hand in his. "Lady Kathleen," he greeted her formally as he brushed his lips lightly over the back of her hand.

He heard her breath catch before she replied, "Your Highness," in just as formal a tone.

"For you," he said, handing her a small box that he had been holding in his other hand.

She opened it to find a wrist corsage that had been made out of one of his white roses. Her composure slipped. "Oh, DJ! Where in the world did you get this?"

He grinned. "Lita has quite a knack with flowers you know. She made it for you. I thought you might like something to camouflage this." He ran his fingers over Selene's leather bracelet that adorned her left wrist.

She giggled. She had briefly considered taking the black strap off for tonight because it didn't go with the look she was going for at all, but Pluto had warned them to keep the bracelets on at all times because they may need to invoke their powers at a moment's notice and stopping to put the bracelets on would slow them down. Discord may not be a threat to this time anymore, but they had remained vigilant for any sign of trouble. So she had decided to leave hers on.

She held her wrist out to him. "Would you put it on me, please?"

He took the corsage from the box and slid the elastic band over her hand. When it was in place the white rose effectively covered up most signs of the black leather. "There! Now you can't even tell you're wearing it."

His fingers lingered on the inside of her wrist, absently drawing tiny circles on her skin. This wrung a huff from Andrew, who was shoved back into the kitchen by Jess before he could say anything.

"You two should get going," she told the teens. "Aren't they holding a table for you at the restaurant?"

DJ chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we should." He offered his arm to Katie. "Shall we, milady?"

"I would be honored, my prince," she answered as she slipped her arm through his.

As they reached the door, Andrew's head popped up over Jess's shoulder where she was barring the kitchen doorway. "You have her home by midnight, DJ!"

"But the dance isn't even over until one!" Katie protested.

"Don't mind him," Jess spoke up to be heard over her soon to be husband's ranting. "It's a special night. I think 2:00 sounds like a reasonable curfew."

"Thanks!" Katie squealed as she hurried DJ toward the door, eager to get away from her overprotective future father.

"Katie, wait!" Andrew's plea stopped her.

"What?" she snapped a little irritably as she looked back at him.

He looked a little contrite as he said, "I just wanted to tell you that you look beautiful tonight, pumpkin."

A tiny smile turned up her lips. "Thank you."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he waved a hand. "Now go on and get out of here!"

"Have fun!" Jess called after them as they finally made their escape.

Once in the hallway, they began laughing. Then DJ pulled her up hard against him and lowered his head to kiss her thoroughly like he had been dying to do from the moment she had appeared in front of him like a vision.

She responded eagerly, molding her lips to his and letting her tongue dance sensuously around his as their lips parted. She moaned a tiny protest when he pulled back and then sighed. "I know, I know, we need to go."

One side of his mouth kicked up in that lopsided grin that she loved so much. "Yeah. I'm afraid so. But we have the whole night ahead of us."

They jumped as the door a short way down the hall banged open and Rini stomped out, pulling Helios behind her. The princess looked stunning in a short, strapless dress of bright electric blue and a pair of lethal looking black heels. Her soft pink hair had been partially twisted up and clipped into place with a rhinestone studded, gold clip, leaving several curls to dangle down and brush her bare shoulders. She was the complete antithesis to her date, who was in a light gray suit with a white shirt and tie.

"Good night, Darien!" she growled as she slammed the door. Then she turned and saw her brother watching her and snarled, "What curfew did he try to give you?"

DJ gulped. "Umm…he didn't. He just said that his car better be back in its rightful spot and in the same condition that he left it by the time he gets up in the morning."

"Arghh!" She stomped a foot angrily. "That is such a double standard! How sexist!"

The door swung open again to reveal a huffing and puffing Darien. "I mean it, Serenity! I want you back here by midnight and not a minute later! I may not be your father yet, but I'm the closest thing to it at the moment and I feel responsible for you!"

"That's not fair!" she wailed. "Just because DJ's a boy he gets to do what he wants while I'm the one that gets stuck with the stupid curfews! I'm older than he is!"

Slim arms wrapped around Darien's neck from behind and dragged him backward. A second later Serena darted through the door and closed it behind her.

"Just ignore him. He goes crazy sometimes," she said as she wrapped both hands around the doorknob and dug her heels in as the door began shaking with the force of Darien trying to pull it open from the other side.

"Anyway," she ground out through gritted teeth. "Midnight is an unreasonable curfew for prom night. How about 2:00, is that acceptable?"

Rini nodded. "That's much better. But what about him?" She waved a hand in DJ's direction.

Serena jerked hard on the door as it opened about two inches. "The same goes for you, DJ. Is that cool with everyone?"

DJ shrugged. "Works for me."

"Good!" Serena said with a nod. "Now why don't you guys get before I release the beast."

Darien had quit pulling on the door and was now pounding on it. "Serena! Open this door right now! Serena!" Then he bellowed, "SERENITY!"

"Pipe down, Endymion! I'll open this door when I'm damn good and ready, and not a moment before!" she snapped back.

Rini, Helios, DJ, and Katie all scrambled to the elevator and breathed sighs of relief when the doors opened just a few seconds later.

Serena waited until she saw the doors slide closed before she let up on the pressure she had been exerting to keep the door closed. But before she could let go of the knob, the door was wrenched open. She was yanked back into the apartment where she crashed into a firmly muscled chest, sending them both tumbling to they ground.

She pushed herself up to look down into the stormy, angry blue eyes that were glaring up at her. She giggled slightly. "Well this feels just like old times, doesn't it?"

"Not funny!" he growled. "What did you do?"

She slapped lightly at his shoulder. "Oh, quit being such a grumpy bear! I just did the responsible parent thing and set a _reasonable _curfew for _both _of our children. You can't get mad at me for that."

Darien snorted and looked away. "I can't believe you slammed the door on me like that and refused to open it!"

Irritation began to sizzle inside Serena. "You were acting like a jerk!" She went to push herself off of his chest.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kept her pinned to him. "But you like it when I act like a jerk. Admit it."

She struggled against him. "I do not! Now let me up! I'm mad at you!"

His eyes turned soft and he unwrapped one arm so he could reach up to lightly stroke her cheek. "I'm sorry. You're right. I was being an insensitive ass. Do you forgive me?"

Serena collapsed on his chest and groaned, "Oh no! Not the puppy dog eyes! They get me every time."

Darien smirked and kicked out with his foot to close the open front door.

A few minutes later Jess approached the door to see if Serena and Darien wanted to join Andrew and her for dinner. She had just raised her hand to knock when she heard the moans and gasps coming from the other side. She blushed bright red and ran back to her apartment as fast as she could.

"That was fast," Andrew commented when he heard her come back in. "Are they coming over?"

"Umm…no. They're busy," she muttered.

"Busy doing what?" he asked, not looking up from the stove where he was cooking.

"They're just busy, okay. Really, _really_, busy right now," she replied hesitantly, hoping that he would drop the subject.

He looked up at the strange tone in her voice. "What do you…" then he caught sight of her red face. "Oh! I get it. They're _busy_."

* * *

Jayden jerked away from Raye, blue eyes flaring in indignation. "For crying out loud! I'm not five years old! Knock it off, mom!"

"For real!" Hannah seconded as she skittered out of Amy's reach. "I don't need you making a fuss."

"Sorry," Amy apologized. "But your sash is crooked."

"I've got it!" Hannah insisted as she adjusted the black sash that tied around the waist of her modest, short sleeved red dress and then smoothed down the swishy, knee length skirt.

"How cute! They match," Zoicite drawled as he walked into the foyer from the kitchen.

"Daaaddd!" Hannah squealed. "It just happened that way. We didn't plan it."

It was true. She didn't normally wear red, but when she had seen this particular dress she had fallen in love with it instantly. She'd had no idea what Jayden would be wearing, so she had been shocked when she had come down the stairs a short time before to find him in a black suit paired with a red button down shirt and a black tie.

"I'm just kidding," Zoicite said soothingly as he patted the top of her head, careful to not dislodge the combs that held her wavy, dark blue hair back on each side of her lightly made up, pixie-ish face. "You look very pretty, sweetie."

"Yeah, fire and ice, what a combination," Jadeite snickered from where he was lounging against the doorframe into the entertainment room. "Who'd have thought it?" He ignored the glare that Zoicite sent him. The dark blonde general was still trying to come to terms with the fact that not only was his young future daughter _"going steady" _with a boy, but he was also having to deal with the fact that said boyfriend was a miniature Jadeite. It was quite unnerving.

"Anyway," Jadeite continued. "Raye, you're going to be late getting to the club if you don't get moving."

Raye huffed. "The others can handle things for a few minutes until I get there. That's what I'm paying them for."

"Good god! Is she still taking pictures?" Kunzite groaned as he walked in right as a flash went off. "Mina! Enough is enough! I'm sure they don't want to stand around posing for you all night. If they're going to go, then let them go."

Mina looked up from studying the picture she had just taken to stick her tongue out at him.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Well someone sure has changed his tune from earlier," she muttered.

"At least he hasn't tried to kill me yet," Alex whispered in her ear.

When Emma had come down the stairs earlier and Kunzite got his first look at her, his eyes had almost bugged out of head and he declared that there was no way that his daughter was leaving the house dressed like that.

When Mina tried to talk to him calmly and reminded him that the short, tight, spaghetti strapped black dress that Emma was wearing wasn't much different than the one that she had worn on their first date, he snapped, "Yeah! And look how that night almost ended!"

No one was quite sure what happened after that. All they knew was that the love goddess had stalked over and grabbed her fiancé by the collar and dragged him down the hall to an empty room, despite the fact that he was over half a foot taller than her and easily weighed twice as much as she did. They were gone for several minutes, but when they came back Mina was smiling and Kunzite kept his mouth shut for the most part. A few grumbles still managed to make their way from the general every now and then.

"Okay, I think I'm done," Mina announced, much to Emma and Alex's relief. "I'm hoping that at least one of these comes out good enough to blow up into a poster. If it does then Emma is going to be the face of the new summer line."

Emma tossed her head. Her hair was usually just slightly wavy, but tonight a riot of long, loose golden curls sailed over her shoulder. Her darkly lined, smoky shadowed gray eyes glittered as she sniffed. "Oh! Is that what this was, a modeling gig?"

Mina waved a hand. "Don't get bent out of shape. I just wish Rini and Katie were here too. If I had pictures of all of you girls to put up around the boutique I bet that would draw in some people." She turned to Hannah. "Come on! Just one little picture?"

Hannah dove behind Jayden. "No! I hate having my picture taken!"

"Aw! Look at the happy couples," Skye drawled as she came down the stairs.

"Wait! Stop right there!" Mina screeched and raised her camera to snap a picture of the girl as she stood halfway up the staircase. She looked at the screen and squealed, "Perfect!"

Skye blinked as black dots swam before her eyes. "What the hell, Mina! Are you trying to blind me?"

"No! She's trying to turn us into free models," Emma retorted. "If I'm modeling, I'm getting paid. You can't get something for nothing. That's business."

Kunzite bit back a smile. Every time he thought he must have contributed very little to Emma's genetic make up, she said or did something that would remind him of himself.

"Are you guys still here?" Lita exclaimed as she flew by Skye, who was still standing on the stairs. "You better get a move on! I've got you on the book for a 7:00 reservation. If you don't show and the restaurant gets busy they'll give your table to someone else."

Nephrite followed at a much more sedate pace. "Don't blow a fuse, Sparky. They still have plenty of time to make it." He paused to take in his future daughter's appearance. "You look nice."

For the first time that anyone could remember, Skye looked unsure of herself. "Do you really think so?" she asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

Nephrite scanned her from head to toe. Much like her mother used to do, she had tried to downplay her height by wearing a longer dress. The skirt of the rich burgundy sheath dress fell to her mid-calf and she wore flats instead of heels. Her auburn hair had been swept up into an intricate twist with a few tendrils left out to curl around her face. Her make up was dark, but tastefully done.

Her future father grinned. "If it wasn't for certain things such as the fact that I'm your father and I'm already taken, I'd be clamoring for a date with you. The boys in that school must be idiots for none of them to ask you out."

Emma giggled. "Oh, she got asked by many, but she scared them all away."

Skye snorted. "You would have too if it had been you they were asking. I can't stand stupid men! You know that. I've come to the conclusion that 99.9% of the male population on this planet are brainless morons!"

"Amen!" Raye and Lita echoed together, earning sighs and head shakes from their significant others.

"Anyway," Lita announced, slinging her purse over her shoulder and grabbing her keys. "I'm heading to the restaurant. Anyone need a lift?"

"No thanks. We're going to walk," Jayden said, grabbing Hannah's hand. "We don't want to feel like a couple of kids whose parents are dropping them off at the movies or something."

"You could ride with us," Alex offered. "I've got the Mustang, so there's plenty of room."

Jayden crossed his arms petulantly. "Dude! I'm trying to treat this like a real date. I don't want to be anyone's tagalong!"

Alex held his hands up. "My mistake! I don't want to crush your manly ego or anything."

"Hell, I'll bum a ride, Lita," Skye muttered. "I'll just hang out in your office or in the kitchen until it's time for the dance to start."

"You're not eating with the others?" Lita asked in surprise.

"And be the odd duck out? Hell no!" Skye scoffed. "Going to the prom stag is one thing. Sitting through dinner surrounded by a bunch of couples is another story."

"Well let's go then," Lita told her, opening the door.

On the other side stood Trista with her hand raised like she was about to knock.

"Whoa! Hey, Trista!" Lita exclaimed. "What are you doing here? There's not a problem, is there?"

"No, no," Trista hurriedly reassured her. "I just needed to stop by for a moment. There's someone here that I think one of your guests might be interested in seeing."

That's when Lita realized that Trista wasn't alone. She was accompanied by a young man who appeared to be around 19 or 20. He had dark, chocolate brown hair that was long enough to fall over the collar of his shirt and over his eyes that were covered by dark sunglasses. He was dressed sharply, but all in black, and the way that he leaned nonchalantly against the wall gave him the ultimate bad boy appearance.

"Uh, sure. Come on in," Lita invited them. Her eyes widened when the young man straightened up to his full height. Nephrite and Kunzite were both 6'4". This dark stranger matched that every bit, inch for inch.

Silence fell when she stepped aside to let in the guests. And then the bottom fell out.

"Kyrian!" Emma and Hannah shrieked at the same time as they ran to throw themselves at the stranger.

"Whoa!" he laughed as he caught them both up in a hug at the same time. "Easy girls! I know I'm drop dead gorgeous, but don't knock me off my feet. Geez! You haven't missed me or anything, have you?"

Emma disentangled herself and huffed, "Of course we have you big lummox! What in the world are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Pluto came and asked me to do her favor. So here I am!" He took Emma by the hand and twirled her around. "Looking good there, Aphrodite!" He chucked Hannah playfully under the chin. "How you doing, Frosty? Man! You've grown up while you've been gone. I almost didn't recognize you with your new adult look."

Hannah blushed bright red and mumbled her thanks quietly.

Kyrian shared a knuckle pound with Jayden. "What's up, Smoky? Have you been keeping all the ladies company?"

Jayden grinned. "You know I have. It's a stressful job, but somebody's gotta do it." He flinched as Hannah jabbed a sharp elbow in his ribs.

"Ah! I see how it is," Kyrian chuckled.

"Long time, no see," Alex said with a smile as he came forward to share a _"bro hug" _with Kyrian. "I never pictured you showing up here."

"Me neither, but here I am," Kyrian laughed. Then he turned to the girl that was standing two steps from the bottom on the staircase. He pulled his sunglasses down his nose to reveal humorously glinting black eyes.

"Well, well, well," he drawled out. "What have we here?"

Skye took one step back up and pointed a finger at him. "No! Not just no, but HELL NO! Don't you even think about taking one more step closer to me or I swear I will shove a lightning bolt so far up your ass that your eyeballs will pop out like they are on springs!"

He quirked an eyebrow. "It's nice to see that you still love me as much as ever. I was afraid that after spending so much time away from me that you might start to hate me or something."

"I do hate you!" she screamed at him. "I don't know how many more times I have to kick your ass before you get it through that thick skull of yours that I don't want to have anything to do with you!"

He started laughing. "You kick my ass? The last time I checked that hadn't happened yet. Our, um…confrontations, usually end up in a draw in my opinion. And if you're still pissed about what happened at Christmas, I apologized for that. I really didn't mean to pinch your ass. I was aiming for that Sasha chick to see if I could get a rise out of DJ since all he was doing was sitting around and moping over Katie. I sure was glad to hear that those two idiots finally hooked up."

"Me and you both," Alex muttered.

Skye slammed her hand down on the stair rail. "Don't change the subject! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Weeelll…" Kyrian said, drawing out the word. "My dad has been trying to keep up with what's going on in Crystal Tokyo since we know Discord is hiding around somewhere just waiting for the time to stick his ugly head from under whatever rock he crawled under, so he sent me to the palace to meet with Serena and Darien to get an update. When I got there Trista was there giving a report on you guys and she mentioned that all of you were going to prom tonight, but that you didn't have a date. So Mina casually suggested that I might be a good choice to escort you since we already know each other. Naturally, I volunteered my services."

Skye's hard, slate blue eyes swung angrily toward Mina, who was standing next to Kunzite and watching the show. She let out a startled squeak and clutched her fiancés arm. "I didn't do anything! It was the future me!"

Emma slapped a hand over her mouth as hysterical laughter bubbled up inside her. Her mother, the love goddess, had struck again. Leave it to her to not let an opportunity to put two soul mates together slide by.

Skye snorted and stuck her nose up in the air. "Well you can just go straight back to Crystal Tokyo! If I wanted a date for tonight bad enough I would have gotten one. I am perfectly happy to be going by myself. I'm planning to have a good time and the last thing I need is to have the _'Abracadabra Gigolo' _hanging around and screwing everything up!"

Kyrian folded his arms across his chest as he stepped up onto the first step. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're too chicken to go out on a date with me."

Her eyes flared. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me!" he snapped back. "You act like you're so big and bad, but I bet that in reality you are afraid of your own shadow."

He had flat out challenged her. And if there was one thing that everyone knew about Skye, it was that she never backed down from a challenge.

"Fine!" she said tightly. "If you want to go out with me so badly, then we'll go out. Alex, Em, can we catch a ride with you? It looks like I'll be joining you for dinner after all."

"Sure you can! The more the merrier, right Cupcake?" Emma chirped. She looped her arm through Alex's and began leading him toward the door.

Alex was already using his mental bond with Katie and DJ to relay the events of the past few minutes to them, and he could feel their humor as their laughter echoed in his head.

"Shall we?" Kyrian asked, holding a hand out to Skye.

She took it reluctantly and tried to zap him as their skin touched. But he took a firm hold of her hand as her shock of electrical energy seemed to merely bounce off of him and fizzle out.

He chuckled. "Did you forget that shielding is one of my abilities?"

"Bastard!" she hissed.

He grinned mockingly. "Hey! Let's try to play nice for once. Just for tonight. What do you say?"

"I hate you!" she snarled as he pulled her toward the door.

All Kyrian did was laugh.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Trista stated, "My work here is done," and disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

A second later Jayden and Hannah jumped as if they had come out of a daze.

"We changed our minds. Can we get that ride from you after all, Lita?" Jayden begged.

Hannah nodded eagerly. "Yes, please! I don't want to miss a moment of this show."

Lita looked perplexed. "Am I missing something here? Who was that guy?"

"We'll explain on the way. Let's go!" Jayden insisted as he and Hannah physically pulled her from the penthouse.

All was silent for several long seconds after that. And then chaos broke out as the remaining scouts and generals began scrambling around for keys and shoes. They kept telling themselves that they weren't gossips, but if there was something going on then they felt like they had a right to find out the story.

Within minutes vehicles were squealing out of the parking garage and heading toward the Crown Multiplex to get the lowdown on yet another mystery visitor from the future. On the inside they were all wondering exactly who this tall, dark young man was and, more importantly, who his parents were.

Raye and Mina's fingers were busy as they dialed Serena and Mina. They knew that neither one of them would want to be left out of the loop on this.

But they were definitely not gossips.

* * *

**A/N **Like I said, mostly a silly chapter with a few serious moments thrown in. I know the last couple of chapters have been kind of lighthearted and fun, and the beginning of the next one will be too, but things are about to turn dark for our heroes. Discord is trying to amass an army to level Crystal Tokyo and kill everyone in his path. Will the teens make it home in time? Will DJ, Katie, and Alex be able to get their hands on the gods' swords so that Discord can be destroyed? Will there be any unexpected visitors showing up in Crystal Tokyo for the final battle? Will Mina ever stop meddling in other peoples' lives? So many questions! I guess we'll find out as we continue. Remember guys, reviews are very much loved, so don't be shy about leaving them. Each one is a treasure. Gotta run! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	29. Party Crashers

**A/N **Yes! It's a miracle! I didn't drop off the face of the planet after all! I know I've been MIA for a few weeks, but I had some things come up. The good news is that the school year is over and now I'm free from work for a little while. I went out of town for a little while and I've been busy getting some things done around the house, like getting my pool opened and stuff so that now I can sit back and enjoy my summer vacation. I just hope that you guys haven't been thinking that I was giving up on my stories. No way! In fact, I'm looking forward to working on both the projects I have going right now and some new ones that I hope to eventually post. Anyhow, that's enough from me. Let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**JuliaGulia17**

**blk0912**

**shar1993**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**sabina21**

**Puella Pulchra**

**Seredhiel05**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**jade2nightwing**

**wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**Chibi Kitt**

**FanaticArmy**

**KageNoNeko**

**saveme57**

**x-YingYing-x**

**rainbabie**

**Katie**

**Starrlight1812**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**S dot Serenity**

**nileena**

**(my anonymous reviewer who didn't leave a name)**

**mayilu**

**LBricker88**

**ailzzzz**

Thanks bunches guys! I hope you're still sticking around for this story. I am going to try my hardest to not go so long without updating again. Now I'm going to shut up and let you read. It's a nice long chapter, so I hope that makes things up a little bit.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 27

Party Crashers

* * *

Over the years that Sailor Moon and her faithful friends had been fighting to protect the Earth they had been faced with many different types of enemies. There was always an evil mastermind behind the attacks, but they usually had to go through dozens of battles with the lesser minions before they reached their true enemy. In the almost seven years that had passed since the night that fourteen year old Serena Tsukino had transformed into Sailor Moon for the first time and had rushed off to fight her first youma, hundreds of battles had taken place.

They had faced youmas, cardians, droids, heart snatchers, amazons, possessed sailor scouts…the list went on and on. In some cases it felt like that they had barely gotten one enemy defeated before another one showed up.

But if you were to ask the scouts, Sailor Moon and the inner scouts in particular, which battle stuck out in their mind the most, you would probably be surprised by their answer. Most people would assume that their struggles with Discord over the last couple of years or the fight with Chaos when the Earth was almost destroyed would be their answer, but it wouldn't be. The truth was that every one of them would say that their very first battle against the Dark Kingdom would be the one that they recalled with the most vivid clarity.

Maybe it was because it had been their first fight. Maybe it was because of the evil tricks that Beryl had pulled with the men that they loved. Or perhaps it was because Beryl and Metallia had been the ones to destroy their past lives and had brought everything crashing down. None of them knew the precise reason why their thoughts always seemed to stray to memories of that time when they thought about their lives as sailor scouts, but they did.

The Dark Kingdom base in the Arctic Circle was gloomy and silent once again since the recent defeat of the resurrected Beryl and Metallia. Discord had searched through it after Serenity and Endymion had disposed of them, but all he had found of interest had been Endymion's dagger and two lone youma that he had taken with him.

Beryl had been in the process of expanding her youma army at the time of her defeat, and on the night that she had left for the fight in Tokyo where she had met her doom she had left those two youma in charge of watching over the pod-like eggs that were incubating her newest creations. There were about fifty of them in all, and she had looked forward to adding them to her ranks.

Discord had sneered in disgust when he had seen them. Youma were so inadequate when compared to the genetically engineered guardians and sentinels that he commanded, so he had taken their babysitters and had left them behind, figuring that they would die off without ever reaching maturity. Youmas were nothing more than manifestations of negative energy, and they required several doses of energy while going through the generation and growing process, which was why the two youmas had been left behind to oversee their younger siblings.

But what Discord hadn't known was that mere minutes before he had discovered them, they had just delivered the last of the energy that Beryl had set aside for her babies, allowing the infantile youma to enter the final stage of their metamorphosis. So even though they were alone in the dark cavern deep below the snow and ice, the youma continued to grow inside their pods.

And finally on a cold April night in the Arctic, they reached their maturity and began bursting from their pods as fully-grown youma. Their eyes glowed with eagerness to fulfill the mission that had been programmed into them from the moment of their creation.

_Go to Tokyo. Destroy the sailor scouts. Conquer the Earth in the name of her majesty, Queen Beryl._

Once all of the youma had emerged from their cocoons, they pooled their power together and opened a portal to the city of Tokyo and rushed through it.

* * *

"Okay, we're here. What's the big emergency?" Serena asked as she and Darien, trailed by Jess and Andrew, joined their large group of friends outside the entrance to Lita's _La Foret _restaurant.

Lita crooked a finger at her blonde friend. "Come here and I'll show you."

Shrugging, Serena followed Lita's example and poked her head discreetly around a corner so that she could see into the main dining room.

"Do you see what I see?" Lita asked as she pointed toward a large table in the back where ten people sat eating.

Serena pulled back with a huff. "Honestly! Did you guys really call me down here to spy on the kids? Don't you think they deserve some privacy? This is a special night for them."

"You didn't even look!" Lita complained.

"And I'm not going to!" Serena fired back. "Rini and DJ would have my head if they caught me snooping around while they are on a date. Even my dad never stooped this low."

Raye tapped a foot impatiently. "This doesn't have anything to do with your kids, Meatball Head! Didn't you notice something strange?"

"Like what?" Serena said in exasperation. "All of the kids are eating dinner. What's so strange about that?"

"Oh for god's sake! Move over!" Jess grumbled as she pushed her way between Serena and Lita to take a peek around the corner.

She zeroed in on the table in question, but she didn't see what the big deal was. Rini and Helios had their heads pressed close together as they talked to each other. DJ and Katie were smiling at each other, and she could see that they were playing footsy under the table. Alex was whispering something in Emma's ear that caused the blonde beauty to giggle and Jayden and Hannah appeared to be talking to each other in between bites. Meanwhile Skye was busy glaring daggers at an extremely good looking boy sitting next to her.

Wait just a minute! Jess jerked back in surprise to look questioningly at the others. "I thought Skye was going stag tonight. Where did she pick up the hottie?"

Mina burst into giggles. "In Crystal Tokyo, apparently. Pluto showed up at our place and dropped him off a little while ago."

"What!" Serena almost screeched as she took another look around the corner. After gaping for several seconds she turned back toward her friends. "Great! Don't tell me we have another time traveler on our hands. Just who is he?"

Lita shrugged. "Your guess is just as good as mine. I quizzed Jayden and Hannah pretty hard on the way here, but they were kinda closed mouthed about the whole thing. The only thing I could get out of them was that he was some guy that Skye has had a huge crush on for a long time, but that they don't really get along. Other than that they said they couldn't say because of Pluto and her rules."

Jess clucked her tongue. "What a shame. He's a cutie. He's got that brooding bad boy look down to a tee. He must have a really crappy personality to overshadow that."

"I thought he seemed to be very polite," Amy spoke up softly. "And the rest of the kids seemed genuinely happy to see him. Emma and Hannah were all over him the moment he walked in the door and Jayden and Alex greeted him like a close friend. The same thing happened when the others met up with him here. Rini and Katie were squealing and hugging him while DJ and Helios seemed pleased to see him as well."

Andrew, unable to take the suspense thanks to the Furuhata gossip gene, took a quick look. Then he grinned widely. "So who's claiming possible parenthood this time? I know I'm not."

"That's what we've been trying to figure out," Kunzite grumbled. "He seems older than the others. If I had to guess, I would put his age at being around twenty."

Mina chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't think any of us are his parents. I'm not sensing any kind of a bond between him and anybody here. He may just be some guy that the kids know from back home. There's no law that says that every kid that comes visiting from the future has to belong to one of us."

"He's not normal," Nephrite muttered irritably. "He's got powers of some kind. You guys all saw what happened when Skye tried to shock him. He repelled it like it was nothing. I for one would like to figure out what his story is since he's hanging around with my daughter."

Lita rolled her eyes. "Down, Papa Bear! I want to get the lowdown on this guy too, but we can't just go barging in and demanding answers."

Zoicite sighed. "The boy has shown that he does possess some kind of powers, and because of that I have come up with one possible set of parents for him."

Darien chuckled. "Leave it to you to try and figure out the puzzle. So lay it on us. Who do you think gets to claim the bundle of joy?"

Zoicite shrugged. "I may be way off on this, but have any of you thought that he might be Hotaru and Sammy's child?"

"No way!" Serena squealed. "That would make him my nephew!" Then she shook her head. "That can't be right. I love my brother to death, but there is no way that he could father a child like that. From what little I saw that boy was built and buff. He's nothing like my scrawny brother."

"It would explain his powers if his mother is a sailor scout," Amy mumbled.

Jadeite barked a laugh. "I agree with Serena on this one. Hotaru is a petite little thing and Sammy barely cracks six feet. That Kyrian guy is every bit of 6'4" and built like a linebacker. So unless one of them are carrying some pretty impressive genes from somewhere down the family line, it just doesn't add up."

Jess burst into giggles and bent over as she clutched her stomach. When she finally managed to draw in a breath she gasped, "Did you just say our mystery visitor's name is Kyrian?"

The scouts and generals all nodded.

"Oh man!" she exclaimed as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "I wish you had said that sooner. I know exactly who he is."

"Who?" a chorus of voices demanded.

Jess's eyes glittered mischievously. "This is too good! You mean for once I know something that nobody else does? Sweet! I've got to take a moment and savor this."

Serena growled. "Yeah, yeah! Go ahead and yuck it up! Now quit gloating and spill the beans. Who is he?"

Jess smirked superiorly. "Anya told me that she's pretty sure her baby is a boy. And if it is she's going to name him Kyrian after her father."

Mouths dropped open all around.

Jess howled at their shock. "Talon is going to be so surprised! He's convinced that they're having a girl!"

Sighs of relief were heard all around at the news that none of them were the future parents of yet another time traveler.

"I could use a drink after all of this drama," Raye grumbled. "Come on, I'll get a round for everyone, on the house. It's better than hanging around out here like a bunch of gossipy old ladies."

Serena linked an arm through hers. "Sounds good to me. I want to get out of here before we get busted and the kids think that we're spying on them. They would not be happy at all."

Everyone else agreed and beat a hasty retreat toward _Blaze._ Now that the mystery had been solved they were content to leave the teens alone to enjoy their evening.

* * *

"Mmm…it's amazing how quiet it can be around here sometimes considering how many people live here," Luna said as she stretched and then curled up once more on the cushioned window seat on the upstairs landing of the generals' and scouts' penthouse.

Artemis was stretched out nearby, and he cracked an eyelid open to look at her with a lazy blue eye. "Yeah, sometimes it's hard to believe that a dozen people live here and that four of them are teenagers. But this place is big enough that I can usually find somewhere quiet to hide out when things do get crazy."

"You're lucky," Luna sighed. "Serena and Darien's place used to be nice before we started having all of these kids coming here from the future. Now there never seems to be a moment's peace around there except during the day when everyone's at work or school. Someone is always coming in or out or squabbling about something. I've been seriously considering asking Darien to put in a cat door to his home office so I can escape in there. That's the only room in the apartment that nobody else goes into. I can see why Nebula chooses to stay in Elysian with Aurora most of the time. With Jess and Andrew's place being right next door it's just as hectic."

"Hmph! I'm surprised you haven't gone to Elysian to stay with your sister," Artemis grumbled.

Luna looked shocked at the idea. "I couldn't do that! I am the advisor to the future queen of this planet. I have to stay nearby in case she needs me. I can't spend all my time hopping back and forth between here and Elysian. That arrangement may work out fine for Nebula and Jess, but I can't do that." Then she snickered. "Besides, I love my sister to death, but I can only handle so much of her before I feel like I'm going crazy."

Artemis snorted. "You've got that right! I'm ready to start pulling my fur out after about two seconds in her presence."

Luna raised her head to look at him reprovingly. "I wish the two of you would try to get along. Do you know how frustrating it is for me to try to keep you two from clawing each other to shreds every time you're around each other? It's very exhausting."

Her white haired companion stood and arched his back as he stretched. "You should tell her that. I've tried my best to ignore her when forced to be in her presence, but she always seeks me out to jump on me about something. And I'm not going to just sit back and take it. I've never done anything to her."

"I know. I know. She's temperamental," Luna said soothingly.

"Ha! She's just mental, period!" he fired back.

She shook her head. "She's my older sister. I guess it's just in her nature to be overprotective of me. I've been telling her ever since the Silver Millennium that she doesn't have to protect me from you and that you would never hurt me, but she doesn't listen."

"I don't think her attitude has anything to do with me and you," he muttered.

"Probably not all of it," she sighed. "But it's not fair of her to hold what your brother did against you. You are nothing like him."

Artemis growled low in his throat. "I tried to warn her in the beginning not to get attached to Orion, that he was a wanderer and would never settle down in one place. But she was stubborn and thought that she could change him. If she had listened to me she wouldn't have gotten her heart broken when he left."

Luna stood up and nudged him gently with her head. "I know. I tried to tell her too, but she shut me out. She was in love with him and nothing else mattered. Now I think she's afraid that one day the wanderlust will hit you too and you'll take off somewhere and leave me like he did her."

"Orion couldn't help it," he mumbled. "He took after our dad on that. Dad was always the adventurer and traveling off to see other places while mom was content to stay at home on Venus. Her idea of adventure was taking a trip to the moon to visit. I guess I have more of her in me. I didn't mind traveling to the other planets with Minako back in the day, but there was no place like home in my book. And I sure had no inclination to travel to other galaxies like my brother."

He paused for a moment and looked out the large window in front of them at the star filled Tokyo sky before whispering. "I do find myself wondering sometimes if he's still alive out there somewhere."

"Orion?" Luna asked softly.

He nodded. "I know the rest of my family died on Venus during the collapse after the moon kingdom fell, but I have no idea where Orion was at the time. If he was in another galaxy at the time he may have survived. And he was blessed by the Silver Crystal just like us, so his lifespan is infinite. He could be out there, sitting on some distant planet and thinking that we are all dead."

"I don't know, Artemis. I guess anything is possible," Luna replied gently. "Now that's enough with this melancholy mood. Why don't we go down to the kitchen and see what goodies Lita left out for us tonight. That will perk you up."

Artemis's expression turned humorous. "After all of these years Serena's obsession with food is finally rubbing off on you, huh?"

She pushed him playfully with her paw. "Oh hush! I was just trying to make you feel better. And even I get hungry sometimes."

They jumped down from the window seat and began descending the stairs. About halfway down Luna paused and tilted her head to the side. "Artemis, do you hear that noise?"

He stopped and listened hard. "Yeah. It's a beeping sound. But where is it coming from?"

"I think it's coming from downstairs," she told him.

They crept down the stairway slowly. And as they did the beeping got louder. When they reached the large foyer they began searching for the source.

"I think I found it," Artemis proclaimed a minute later. He jumped up onto a table and nudged a blue purse. It fell to the floor and its contents scattered everywhere. There was a wallet, a couple of pens, a tube of lip balm, a paperback book…and a small, light blue, hand held computer.

"It's the Mercury computer! Amy must have left it behind by accident," Luna exclaimed as she ran over to it. It was blinking and flashing as information scrolled across the screen. Her mouth fell open in shock. "There's an attack coming! It looks like a large group of youma are about to hit the city. We have to alert everyone!"

"Come on!" Artemis told her as he dashed back up the stairs. They flew across the landing and down the hall to Mina and Kunzite's suite. The door to the sitting room was open, but the bedroom door was firmly closed.

"Damn!" he growled as he slammed his shoulder against the unmoving wood. "My communicator is in there! I have no way of calling Mina! Wait a minute! Isn't there a way that the Mercury computer can call the scouts' communicators?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Do I look Mercurian to you? I don't know how to operate it!"

"Then we'll just have to hunt them down the old fashioned way," Artemis said as they whirled and began running again. "They were all heading toward the multiplex to spy on the kids. If nothing else Raye and Lita should be there."

They stopped in the foyer just long enough for Artemis to grab the Mercury computer up in his mouth before they sprinted to the partially open balcony doors in the entertainment room.

"This would be so much easier if we could assume our human forms whenever we wanted to," Luna grumbled as they began the task of jumping from balcony to balcony down the side of the building.

A normal Earth cat would probably never attempt that balancing act, but Luna and Artemis were not your typical felines. They hit the ground a few minutes later and took off in the direction of the Crown, ignoring the gasps and squeals of the people around them as they weaved in and out of the pedestrian traffic.

* * *

"So are you having fun yet?" Alex said loudly to be heard over the pounding music.

The blonde currently wrapped around him threw back her head and laughed. "You're asking me that already? We've only been here for about five minutes."

He grinned. "So!"

They had entered the hotel ballroom where the prom was being held a few minutes before. And as soon as the fast, thumping rhythm of a current club favorite hit their ears they had taken to the dance floor. They both loved to dance, but only with each other.

Emma smiled brightly and tightened her hold around his neck. "Of course I'm having fun. I always have fun whenever I'm with you."

They slowed down as the fast paced song melted into one that was perfect for slow dancing to. He unwrapped her arms from around him and took her by the hand to twirl her around before pulling her back tightly against him. He ducked his head down to sneak in a quick kiss.

He gave her a heart melting smile. "Maybe we'll leave this party early and go find someplace private. We've been so busy that we haven't had any alone time lately. I've missed you."

A blonde brow arched slyly. "I think that can be arranged. But right now I want to just enjoy the music and the dancing and do a little people watching. The vibes flowing around here tonight are quite intense. It will also be interesting to see how a certain drama plays out."

Alex flicked his eyes over to where the tall, auburn haired Skye seemed to be having a heated discussion with her unexpected escort for the evening. Kyrian leaned against a wall casually with an amused expression on his face while Skye ranted at him.

"They'll probably end up in a knock down, drag out before the night is over. Skye's pretty pissed about him being here," he commented.

Emma's gray eyes glinted mischievously. "Maybe not. I think this may be exactly the push they need to clear the air between them. They have always been highly combative, and they probably always will be, but it used to be all in good fun. Kyrian's personality has never changed, but something happened to cause Skye to view him differently. I've never been able to get her to talk about it though."

Alex chuckled. "Well your mom must think that it's a good time for something to happen between them or she wouldn't have sent him."

She shrugged. "I guess so. She's usually right about these things. Thank goodness for that. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't helped cover for us with my dad when we first started dating. I probably would have spent many lonely nights sitting around the palace doing nothing."

"That would have sucked," he murmured. "Some of my favorite memories are of our early dates."

"Mine too," she agreed. "I wouldn't trade any of the time I've had with you for anything in the world." Then her look turned pensive.

"Hey! Why the long face all of a sudden?" he chided gently.

She gave herself a shake. "It's nothing. It's just that when we're here together like this it's easy to forget all the problems we still have left to face. We still have a huge battle in front of us before we can even think of moving on with our lives. And even then there's no guarantee that everything is going to work out. There are so many things that could go wrong. What if…"

Alex placed a finger over her lips to cut her off. "We're not going to dwell on the what ifs tonight. Tonight is our night to enjoy ourselves without thinking about what lies ahead. We'll face what's coming when it gets to us. But for tonight let's just let it all go. Let's live for the moment like we have no worries, okay."

She smiled up at him. "I love you so much."

He quirked a grin at her. "I love you too."

She laid her head on his shoulder as they continued to sway to the music. Her gaze landed on Chad, who was the deejay for the evening, as he stood at the table that held all of his equipment. He was bent down slightly, talking to a woman beside him. She giggled. "It looks like Chad brought a date to the prom too."

Alex turned slightly so he could see. Then he chuckled. "Well it's about time. I wondered when those two were going to hook up. I was starting to get worried."

* * *

Hannah eyed the dance floor warily. "I don't know about this, Jay. I've never really danced before."

Jayden laughed. "Sure you have. You used to dance all the time back home. I've seen you."

She shook her head. "That was different. The only reason why I attended those dance lessons was because my mom said that I needed to know how to dance properly since I'll soon be old enough to start attending the more important court functions. But I don't think the waltz would quite fit in here."

"Oh come on!" he cajoled her. "That's not the only dancing you've done. What about all the times when we were all hanging out and listening to music? You danced then."

She blushed violently. "That was just goofing off with friends in the privacy of our home. I probably looked stupid!"

"You didn't look stupid!" he insisted. "Besides, this is a slow song. All you have to do is hold on to me and move from side to side. That's all there is to it."

She sniffed daintily. "You just want an excuse to put your arms around me."

He grinned devilishly. "Of course I do. You are my girlfriend and we are on a date. It's only natural that I would want to hold you."

Hannah's mouth fell open as she gaped at him.

"What?" he demanded.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she finally squeaked, "You just called me your girlfriend!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well you are, aren't you? I thought we had already settled that part of our relationship."

She nodded. "Yeah, but that's the first time I've ever heard you use the word girlfriend out loud to describe me."

Poor Jayden looked severely confused. "Man, the other guys were right. You girls can get picky about tiny relationship details, can't you? What else would I call you? You're sure as hell not my boyfriend!"

Her bright green eyes flared. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just that I've heard you talking to some of the other kids at school this week, and I always hear you say that you are taken, not that you have a girlfriend."

He groaned in exasperation. "It means the same thing! I am taken, taken by you. Everybody in our class is well aware of that by now."

"Never mind! I guess it's a woman thing," Hannah said with a wave of her hand. "I just think that using the word girlfriend implies a much more meaningful relationship. But it's not worth getting into an argument about it. I want to have fun tonight."

Jayden snickered. "Well the first step to that is getting on the dance floor." He tugged on her hand. "Come on! Just follow me and you'll be fine. I promise you'll have fun."

"Okay," she grumbled grudgingly as she allowed him to pull her into the throng of dancers.

He led her to a spot that wasn't overly crowded and then turned to face her. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Now put your arms around my neck."

She hesitantly did as he said, but she felt as stiff as a board.

Suddenly Jayden leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Relax," he told her with a roguish smile.

She forced her muscles to loosen up, and when he began moving to the music she did the same. In less than a minute she was completely at ease and all smiles.

"See what I mean. There's nothing to it," he quipped.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "You're awfully good at this. How many other girls have you danced with like this?"

He blinked hard. "Just two. We used to dance together all the time."

A pang of jealousy shot through Hannah. "Oh really," she drawled. The air around her dropped several degrees.

Jayden laughed. "Don't freeze up on me, Snowflake. I'm talking about my mom and my sister. You know my mom likes music and dancing. She turns on the music whenever she can and dances around our apartment in the palace, so I grew up with it. Ryssa and I always loved to jump in and join her. And when dad wasn't around I would dance with mom. She's the one that taught me how to slow dance. You are the first person I've ever danced with like this that I'm not related to."

That took the chill off her temper. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't be so jealous anyway."

"Nah! It's cute," he chuckled, which caused her to blush.

The slow song ended and then another one came on. As Hannah grew more comfortable she allowed her head to rest on Jayden's shoulder and sighed in contentment. This was probably the most perfect moment that she had ever experienced in her short life.

Jayden was thinking along the same lines as he tightened his hold around her waist and rested his cheek against her soft, wavy sapphire hair. He remembered asking his dad once, after he had been ambushed by a group of giggling girls at a party, how to know when you had found just the right girl.

Jadeite had laughed. "It's different for everyone. Sometimes it hits you at first sight, and sometimes it takes time to grow. That's the way it was with your mother and I, at least when I met her past incarnation. We saw each other several times when we were kids and I thought she was a stuffy, stuck up brat. Then we didn't see each other for a few years. When we met again when we were older we still didn't mesh well, but something inside me made me pursue her. Then one day I woke up and realized that I was head over heels in love with her. She took some persuading in both lives, but I knew that there was no one for me but her."

He thought his father's words over carefully. He and Hannah had known each other their whole lives. They had been raised together in the palace. They had spent years picking and bickering with each other. But now that they had grown close he realized that at some point he had fallen deeply in love with the girl in his arms and he couldn't picture ever being with anyone but her.

* * *

Kyrian looked up at Skye through the fringe of dark chocolate brown hair that hung over his eyes. "So did you want to dance?"

She growled softly. "What I would like is for you to get lost! I can't believe I'm here with you. The first thing I'm doing when I get home is hunting Mina down and giving her some much needed shock therapy for meddling in my life. And then I'll probably go after Trista for helping her with this idiotic plan. I was looking forward to tonight. Now it's ruined!"

He folded his arms as he leaned broodingly against the wall. "It's not so bad that I'm here, is it? I remember a time when you used to like it when I hung around. We would spar together and sling insults at each other and it was fun."

She speared him with a contemptuous look. "That was before I discovered what an asshole you were! Now I can't stand the sight of you!"

He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of the long black jacket he wore. "That is something that you have made painfully obvious over the last couple of years. I still don't get what changed. One day we were friendly adversaries, and the next you acted like I was your worst enemy. What happened?"

She snorted. "Don't be stupid! You know exactly what happened! I'm sure you got a good laugh out of it too! But I'm nobody's fool, Kyrian! And I refuse to be played like one. So just do me a favor and stay the hell out of my life!"

He pushed away from the wall and grabbed her by the arm. "You need to dance."

She jerked away from him. "Get your damn hands off me! I'd dance with the devil before I'd ever dance with you again!"

His brow furrowed. "Again? What are you talking about? I've never danced with you before."

"Spare me the temporary amnesia!" she hissed. "Maybe the event was so hideous to you that you have conveniently blocked it from your mind, but I remember every second of it! Maybe it was all fun and games to you, but I took it seriously! I poured my heart out to you that night! And the next day you acted like nothing had happened! I hate you!"

She whirled away from him, but he reached out and grabbed her by the arm again. This time his grip was like iron. It wasn't tight enough to hurt her, but it was solid enough to keep her from breaking away.

"Okay!" he grated out between clenched teeth. "There is obviously something going on that I missed out on. So we are going to hash this out right now because I'm effing sick and tired of always having to be on the defensive every time I'm near you!"

He pulled her protesting form behind him toward an unoccupied corner of the ballroom. She dug her heels in and jerked against him as she shrieked in protest. Several boys that were classmates of hers looked as if the were about to interfere on her behalf, but once they got a good look at the much taller man with furiously flashing black eyes they backed off. He yanked her into the corner and shoved her, surprisingly gently, against the wall.

"You bastard!" she snarled and swung a hand to slap him.

He caught her wrist in his hand before it could make contact and then pinned both it and her other hand to the wall on either side of her head. She let out a screech of anger and tried to knee him in a very sensitive spot, but the long skirt of her dress was fairly tight fitting and hindered her movements.

Kyrian let her squirm for a minute until she finally stopped and leaned her weight against the wall behind her. Her chest heaved as her breath huffed and puffed past her lips and her slate blue eyes were as hard as steel as she glared at him.

"Did you get it all out of your system now?" he asked in a brisk voice.

"Go to hell!" she spat. "You are so lucky that we are in a public place right now, or I would transform and fry your ass. You may have some shielding abilities, but even that wouldn't save you if I turned up the juice."

"Yeah, yeah!" he drawled. "I know you're a badass. But I don't care about that right now. What I want to know is what you think I did that made you turn into such a bitch toward me, because I don't have a clue."

A snarl ripped from her throat. "Does the spring festival two years ago ring any bells for you?"

His forehead creased in concentration. Because of their magical abilities, the clan of people that his father led tended to be loners and preferred to stay in their mountain village and away from heavily populated areas. However he, thanks to his ability to teleport, stayed in the city a lot and even kept a small apartment in Crystal Tokyo and had attended the university there. The rest of his family also liked visiting the city several times a year to see their friends and had a standing invitation to drop in at the palace any time they wanted to.

But every year, in the spring, his entire family would go to Crystal Tokyo, at Neo Queen Serenity's invitation, to attend the largest of the spring festivals. It was always a blast because the royal family and their guards would don disguises and try to enjoy the day as normal people. The men and boys would get wrapped up into intense competitions over the games while the women and the girls squealed over the crafts and enjoyed carnival food. But the festival from two years ago…

"Uh, sure," he finally mumbled. "I remember that festival. At least some of it."

Skye's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, _some of it_?"

He shrugged. "A lot of it is a blur. My allergies were flaring up pretty bad that year and I was on some pretty heavy duty medication. I was warned not to drink alcohol while taking it, but my brother, Julian, had just turned sixteen and he was in a party mood. We found ourselves in this bar tent that would sell alcohol to an infant and we had a couple of drinks. I guess that didn't mix well with the medicine, because I don't remember much after that until I woke up in bed the next morning."

Skye studied his sincere expression for a moment, looking for some sign that he was lying, but she couldn't find any. "You really don't remember, do you?" she asked incredulously.

He thought hard, trying to fight his way through the haze that covered those memories like a layer of wet cotton. Then he saw a flash of something. Skye was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was in a tangled disarray around her flushed face and she laughed as he twirled her while music played in the background.

He let go of her and took a step back. "We danced?" he stated in a shocked whisper.

She nodded slowly. "I was listening to one of the bands that were playing when you came up and asked me if I wanted to dance. We danced for a while, and then…" her voice trailed off.

"Then what?" he insisted.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. Excuse me. I need some air." She pushed past him and hurried toward the large doors that led out onto a terrace.

He stood there for a moment, watching her, until she was out of sight. But another flash of memory of her lips pressed against his had him wheeling around to go after her. He had to know what happened that night.

He found her outside at the far end of the terrace, standing next to the stone railing. He approached her slowly and asked. "What else happened?"

Her head shook furiously. "I don't want to talk about it. It was stupid. _I _was stupid!"

He saw her reach up to swipe the corner of her eye with her fingers and realized that she was crying. That shocked the hell out of him. He had seen her receive many injuries over the years while she had trained as a sailor scout; a broken arm, twisted knees and ankles, burns, cuts…but never had he seen her cry. She was strong.

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. She kept her head down, so he put his fingers under her chin to force her face up toward his. "Please tell me," he begged softly. "I want to know."

She sucked in a shaky breath. "It had gotten late and dark and the fireworks show started, so we wandered down near the lake. We were watching them when you suddenly took my hand and told me that you thought I was the most beautiful girl you had ever seen. And then…you kissed me. It was my first kiss, and it was magical. I couldn't help myself. I blurted out that I was in love with you and you shocked me by telling me that you were in love with me too. Then the next morning you patted me on the head like I was your kid sister and called me the Energizer Bunny before walking away like nothing had happened."

He was stunned. How could he not remember confessing his feelings to the girl he'd been in love with for years? He could still remember when he first took notice of her as a potential love interest when he had just turned sixteen. It had been at her thirteenth birthday party. And that had been when he realized that the little girl that he had wrestled and play fought with most of his life was blossoming into a young woman. But she had still been young at the time, so he had bided his time while waiting for her to grow up. But he had also been a teenage boy, so he had dated and flirted with other girls. He'd never had a serious relationship though, and that had earned him a bit of a playboy reputation. But the whole time he had been waiting for her.

He had just celebrated his twentieth birthday and she was fast approaching her seventeenth. No one could deny that she was grown up now and had been for a while. He had attempted to ask her out when she had turned sixteen, but she had completely shut him out by then. Now he knew why. He had proclaimed his love to her and stolen her first kiss when she had been fourteen, almost fifteen, and then left her dangling. No wonder she hated him. He felt sick to his stomach.

She jerked her chin out of his hand. "So now you know the whole sad little story and why I can't stand to be around you. I had practically hero-worshipped you my entire life, and somewhere along the way I was dumb enough to fall in love with you. And then I got my hopes up, thinking that you returned my feelings, only to have it thrown back in my face."

A tear slipped from the corner of her eye to slide down her cheek. Kyrian reached up to smooth it away with his thumb and she flinched back like she had been burned.

He heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Skye. I know that's a pretty pathetic thing to say, but I really am sorry. I honestly don't remember that night. I wish I did."

She shrugged and turned her back to him. "It doesn't matter anymore. It was just a silly crush anyway. I moved on a long time ago. But there is one thing I would like to know."

He crossed his arms at her defensive tone. "What's that?"

She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, and her eyes burnt right through him. "Did you mean anything that you said to me that night, or was it just the drugs and alcohol talking?"

He drew in a steadying breath. It was time to go for broke with her. It wasn't like the relationship between them could get any worse. He spun her back around to face him and wrapped both arms around her waist as he tipped her back slightly. When her mouth popped open in shock he took advantage of it and fitted his lips over hers.

There was no gradual build up to this kiss. It was hot and it was deep from the moment of contact. After a stunned moment he felt her hands move to his chest and he readied himself, sure that she was about to start shoving him away. But he was surprised when she grasped the lapels of his jacket instead.

He plundered her mouth fully, not wanting to give her a second to think. If she had a chance to think, then she would probably get angry, and he needed to convince her that he loved her before she got her head back on straight again. So he poured every bit of emotion he had for her into that kiss.

Eventually she let out a whimper and twisted her head enough to break the kiss, but he didn't let up. He attacked her ear and neck with a series of kisses that alternated between licking and sucking.

"Kyrian!" she gasped. "Stop! I…I can't think with you doing that."

He raised his head to grin wolfishly at her. "I don't want you to think. I'm trying to tell you that I love you without you trying to rip my head off for once."

Her expression was completely dazed, but tears still filled her eyes. "You don't love me," she murmured. "You're just doing this because you feel sorry for me. And I'm not going to fall for it, not again. I can't go through having my heart broken a second time. I just can't!"

His dark eyes glittered like onyx as he looked down at her. "I may not remember what I said to you two years ago, but I'm not going to forget this time. I love you, Skye. I have loved you for years. Why else do you think I'm always coming up with excuses to hang around the palace? It's so I can see you. I treasure every moment that I can just look at you, even when you are screaming at me and trying to kick my ass."

Now she was pushing against him. "No! I don't believe you! Let me go!"

"I'm never letting you go again," he told her firmly. "I don't care what I have to do, or long it takes, I'm going to prove to you that I love you."

She stared up at him for a long moment before a challenging glimmer entered her eyes. She smirked and shrugged. "You can try if you want, but I think you'll find that I'm not an easy nut to crack."

He grinned at the challenge. "We'll see. Now how about a dance? Unless you're afraid to dance with me."

She snorted. "Yeah right! You'll be lucky if you can keep up with me."

* * *

"You better watch those hands," Katie murmured as she felt fingers stroking the skin of her back left exposed by her dress.

DJ smirked against the top of her head. "Why? Am I giving you naughty ideas?" He felt her face heat up where it was pressed against his neck.

"No," she grumbled. "It's just…distracting."

He grinned. He loved the way she could act so sweetly innocent at some times and intensely aggressive at others depending on her mood. But he had to admit that she was right. A crowded dance floor was not the place for them to get too touchy feely. Of course he, being a teenage boy, had been in a perpetually turned on state all night ever since he had gotten his first look at how beautiful she looked.

The song ended and a fast paced one came on. Katie pulled back and smiled at him. "Let's take a break. I could use something to drink. It's hot in here."

"Okay," he agreed and led her from the throng of dancers to where a table had been set up with punch, sodas, and a few other refreshments.

A group of boys were hanging out around the table and a guy that was a classmate of theirs greeted them as they approached. "Hey guys! Looking for a little liquid refreshment?" He sounded a little bit drunk.

DJ snickered and shook his head. "I'm driving, so I better stick with something safe." He grabbed a can of soda.

Katie leaned over to look at the innocent looking red liquid in the punch bowl. "What did you guys do to it?"

One of the boys shoved a cup into her hand. "We just added a little something to help enhance the party atmosphere. Try it."

She took a tentative sip and her eyes widened. "Wow! What is that?"

Alex suddenly appeared at her side and plucked the cup from her hand. He took a sip for himself and then grinned. "Ah, vodka. Nice choice. It has almost no smell so that it can't be easily detected by our illustrious teacher chaperones." He took a big gulp of the punch.

"I want to try it," Emma pouted next to him, and he passed the cup to her.

"Hey! That was my drink!" Katie protested.

"There's plenty more where that came from," said the same boy that had given her the first cup as he handed another one to her.

DJ placed a hand on her wrist. "Go easy on that stuff. I don't want to get the third degree from Andrew and Jess if I bring you home drunk."

She batted her lashes at him. "I'll be careful. The last thing I want to do is get wasted and ruin this night. I want to remember every moment of it."

"Come on, man!" Alex said as he snagged two cups of the punch for him and Emma. "Lighten up a little bit! I know we're driving, but we're not going anywhere for probably a few hours. A drink or two won't hurt you. It will have worn off by then."

DJ grinned. "I guess you're right. We are supposed to be having fun after all." He put the soda back down and took a cup of punch for himself.

"That's the spirit!" Alex cheered and took a long swig of his drink. In no time at all, he and Emma had finished theirs and returned to the dance floor.

Katie giggled and shook her head as DJ led her over to a less crowded area. "I swear those two are dancing machines. I don't know where they get the energy. I like dancing myself, but I have to take a break every now and then. Not only does it give me a chance to catch my breath, but it also lets me do a little people watching."

DJ chuckled and tugged on one of her pale blonde curls. "I thought you didn't inherit the Furuhata gossip gene."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't mean it like that. I just like seeing everybody else having fun too." She gestured to couple not too far away. "It looks like Jay was able to get Hannah to crawl out of her shell."

He looked and saw that indeed the young couple seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hannah had let her inhibitions go and was dancing just as enthusiastically to the pounding music as her date was. They were both laughing and looked to be having the time of their lives.

Katie then pointed in another direction. "And it looks like Skye and Kyrian have at least reached a truce for now."

DJ snorted at the tall couple that was easily spotted tearing up the dance floor. "I wonder how long that will last. Whatever happened between them anyway? One day they were pretty tight, and the next they were fighting."

She shrugged. "I don't have a clue. Skye never said what happened. But I'm glad to see them at least attempting to get along. I really hated that Skye was going to go stag tonight. I think everyone needs someone special to spend this night with."

DJ frowned as he looked over the crowd. "I don't see Rini and Helios anywhere."

Katie nudged him in the side. "Don't be such a killjoy! I saw them going outside to the terrace a few minutes ago. They're probably just taking a break like we are. Besides, they're practically engaged. I know they're waiting for Rini's birthday to make it official, but we've all known for a long time that they would end up together."

He forced the glower from his face. "True. But she is my sister, even if she is slightly older than me, and feel like I have to look out for her."

"Aww! You're so cute when you get overprotective," she cooed and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

He grinned at her before he knocked back a healthy slug of his drink. Then he asked her, "So what do you think about Chad's choice to bring a date with him tonight?"

She looked over to where Chad was manning the sound equipment with an attractive young woman at his side. She shrugged. "I'm not all that surprised. They had to start dating sometime since they eventually get married. I'm happy for them."

"True," he commented. He set his now empty cup down before taking her also empty cup and setting it aside. Then he smiled slyly. "So are you ready to give it another whirl?"

She smiled brightly at him. "I could dance all night if it means I get to stay in your arms."

* * *

Helios pulled away from the intoxicating temptation of his princess's lips and stroked a finger down her cheek. "You are so beautiful tonight."

Rini laughed softly. "You always say that."

"And I always mean it," he countered back. "You captured my heart from the moment I followed the light of your beautiful dream to you. You know, I used to wonder why Queen Serenity insisted on the Golden Crystal being held in Elysian for as long as it was instead of it being returned to Endymion at his rebirth, but now I think that she knew that one day it would bring us together."

A dreamy smile tilted the princess's lips. "I still remember the first time I saw you. I dreamed that I was walking through the woods, and then it opened up to a clearing and there you were."

"In all my horsey glory," he snorted.

She batted at his shoulder. "I thought that you were the most magnificent thing I had ever seen. I had heard of Pegasus in stories when I was growing up, but I never thought that I would get to see one in person. I remember asking my dad once, when I was about six, if I ever would. He smiled, patted me on the head, and told me that dreams were powerful things; and that if I cherished my dreams hard enough and held them close to my heart that they would come true. Little did I know at the time that he meant it literally."

He chuckled. "You always were an avid dreamer. I had been watching over you your whole life, but I had to be careful not to reveal myself to you until the time was right. And there were several close calls. You almost came across me several times in both the dream and the physical world."

A giggle bubbled from her. "I always thought it was strange that my parents said that the top floor of the Golden Palace was off limits whenever we visited Elysian. If only I had known that it was because you were hiding up there."

He rolled his amber eyes. "Not that it stopped you. You still snuck up there many times. Once you almost caught me coming out of the shower. I had to teleport away wearing nothing but a towel."

Her eyes glinted mischievously. "Too bad I missed that. I would have liked to have seen it."

"You were seven years old. It probably would have traumatized you for life," he retorted.

"Nothing about you would ever traumatize me," she purred as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "Of course you could always strip down and put on a towel and we'll see what happens."

He closed his eyes and groaned. "You are a vixen. I'm tempted to throw you over my shoulder and take you to Elysian right this minute."

"Maybe later," she whispered against his lips. Then she sighed. "Two more months until my birthday. It feels like this year has been slowly dragging by. I wish it would hurry up and get here so we can make things official. Then nobody, not even my dad, will be able to complain about the amount of time we spend together."

He smiled and gently tucked a piece of hair that had come loose from her twist behind her ear. "Your birthday will be here before you know it. Don't rush it. We have all the time in the world."

"I know," she grumbled. "I just get impatient sometimes. It's a curse that I inherited from both of my parents. Well, the night's not getting any younger. How about we go back inside and dance some more?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed with a grin. But as Rini turned to walk back toward the terrace and the ballroom, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against his front.

"I love you, my maiden," he whispered before he kissed her neck gently.

She shuddered in his arms. "You haven't called me that for a while."

He moved his lips to her ear. "You will always be my maiden, the one who saved me from the darkness."

She turned her head to look at him. "And you will always be my dream prince come to life. I love you too."

They shared one last kiss before returning to the prom. Neither one of them noticed the flashes of light a short distance away that faintly lit up the night sky.

* * *

"I shouldn't be here. I should be at home studying. I have finals coming up," Jess groaned as she dipped a cheese stick into a bowl of marinara sauce.

"I know, me too," Amy commiserated. "I can't believe the semester's almost over. It feels like it just started."

Serena reached over and grabbed a cheese stick for herself. "I don't see what you two are stressing about. We have a few weeks before the big bad exams hit us. Besides, it's Saturday night. Loosen up and have a little fun. Anyway, both of you would probably be able to ace your exams in your sleep."

"Shows what you know," Jess grumbled. "Have you ever taken art history? It's not exactly easy to keep all of those names and dates straight. And the Renaissance guys absolutely drive me batty. Not to mention I've got everything riding on those paintings that are going to be judged by every professor in the Art department. They're even bringing in some seasoned artists to help judge. If I flunk that I can hang up getting my degree."

Andrew wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Stop stressing about it. You'll be great, just like you always are. You'd think that you'd know by now that everything you create is an instant hit. Where's your self-confidence?"

"It's nonexistent," she moaned. "I don't handle criticism very well, and there's always at least one person that doesn't see what I'm trying to convey with my paintings. I entered this art contest once when I was twelve, and there was this horrid woman that was one of the judges. She took one look at my painting and told me that I needed to get my head out of the clouds and my feet firmly planted on the ground if I ever wanted to produce anything that could be considered real art. I placed third in that contest, but I was so disgusted that I burned that painting." Then she giggled. "I almost set the whole backyard on fire too. I thought my parents were going to kill me for that stunt."

"Ah, the power of fire!" Jadeite said as he tipped back the chair he was sitting in on two legs and raised his beer as if making a toast. "It's a dangerous, yet beautiful thing. Right, Firefly?"

Raye rolled her eyes at him. "Moron! Ugh! I really shouldn't be sitting here and wasting time like this. I should be working."

Jadeite nudged her gently. "Nah! Everything's running smoothly. Besides, the employees know where to find you if they need you. Take a load off and relax."

She sniffed. "I do know one thing, I'm never letting Chad take off on a Saturday night to do another gig ever again. Ben is fine as deejay during the week, but Chad always manages to have just the right mix of music to keep the crowd going."

Heads nodded all around as a popular, but not particularly uplifting song began playing. The group of them had commandeered the back corner of the upper level of _Blaze_ for the round of drinks that Raye had promised them, but they had been lingering for a few hours now as they visited together and munched on food that Lita had brought over from the restaurant.

"Well at least we know that the kids have decent music to dance to tonight," Mina chirped. "But I agree, Chad is a much better deejay. For once I have no inclination to dance."

"Me neither," Lita agreed. "I wonder how the kids are doing. We haven't gotten any frantic calls saying that Skye tried to kill Kyrian yet, so I guess they must be okay."

"They better be," Nephrite growled. "If something happens to Skye while she's with him I'll kill him. There's just something I didn't like about him."

Zoicite chuckled. "You just didn't like him because he's a boy and he's hanging around your daughter. That's all."

Kunzite snorted. "Like you have any room to talk, Zoi. There have been a few times that I thought you were physically going to jump in between Hannah and Jayden."

Serena smiled as good-natured bickering sprang up between the overprotective fathers. All except one anyway. She turned to the silent man beside her. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Darien looked up from where he had been picking at the label of his practically untouched beer and gave her a wan smile. "I'm fine, just a little tired is all. Work was busy today."

"Did you want to go home?" she immediately asked.

He shook his head. "Nah! I'm not that tired."

She smirked at him. "You probably wouldn't be as tired as you are if you hadn't decided to get frisky on the floor earlier."

"I didn't hear you complaining," he shot back with a grin.

She tossed her head regally. "Of course not. I would never complain about getting some loving from you."

A heated light entered his eyes. "Well maybe you'll be up for round two later."

She flashed him a wicked smile. "I know I will. The question is, will you? If you're tired you might just pass out on me."

His look turned smug. "Maybe I'll just lay back and let you do all the work."

A shiver of anticipation ran through her, but she pursed her lips into a pout. "But I believe every relationship should be 50/50. It wouldn't be fair for me to do it all."

"I'm sure you can find some way to motivate me," he leaned down to whisper huskily in her ear.

She arched a brow at him. "Oh, I'm sure I can."

A breath hissed between his teeth a moment later when he felt her hand trailing up his thigh under the table. "Damn, Serena!" he muttered.

Her look turned as innocent as a child's. "What?"

"You know damn well what!" he ground out between clenched teeth as he fought against the urge he had to drag her from the club, in front of their friends, and back to their apartment. He was about to say the hell with it and act on his impulses anyway when a flurry of shrieks erupted from some of the nearby club patrons.

"Was that a rat?" one woman screeched.

Raye jumped up, concern immediately appearing on her face. The last thing she needed was for the club to get a reputation for being infested by rodents. That would kill her business for sure.

Serena leaped in her chair when she felt something furry brush up against her leg. She was on the verge of screaming when she heard a low voice hiss, "Serena!"

She peeked under the table and expelled a sigh of relief when she saw Luna's cinnamon eyes staring up at her. She quickly pulled her up onto her lap. "Luna! What in the world are you doing here?"

Across the table she could hear Mina murmuring the same thing to Artemis as she picked him up. He whispered something back frantically to her as she took something from him and passed it to Amy.

One of the bouncers came hurrying through the crowd. He pulled up short when he saw Raye. "Sorry Miss Hino, a couple of cats slipped in through the front door, a black one and a white one, and I'm trying to catch them." His eyes landed on Luna and Artemis sitting in their mistresses' laps. "Ah ha! There you are, you mangy fleabags!"

Startled meows ripped from both of the felines as the large man began stalking toward them menacingly.

Raye put a hand on his arm. "It's okay, we'll take care of it. They belong to some friends of mine."

He looked confused for a moment before shrugging and walking away, muttering, "I've heard of dogs tracking down their owners before, but never cats. That's weird!"

"Serena, we've got a problem," Luna said in a low voice.

"Oh my god!" Amy squeaked as she jumped up from her seat. She stared in horror at the Mercury computer that she held in her hand. "We have more than a problem. This could be a disaster."

"What's going on?" Serena and Mina demanded together.

Amy looked frantically around the crowded club. "We can't talk about it here. We need to find a private place."

Andrew stood up. "The service halls should be empty at this time of night." He patted his pockets. "Damn! I didn't bring my building keys."

Kunzite pulled a key ring from the pocket of his slacks. "I've got mine. Let's go."

They all scrambled from their seats and hurried out a side exit to the club that led into the dimly lit multiplex. It was a little after 10:00, so all of the shops were closed for the night. The only places left open were Blaze, La Foret, and the Crown arcade. Kunzite used a key to open a door, and they filed into a back hall that led to the loading docks at the back of the building where deliveries were made to the businesses.

"What is going on?" Darien demanded once they were away from the possibilities of anyone over hearing them.

Amy was typing furiously on her computer. "Well, if my readings are correct, it looks like a large group of youma are about to attack."

"Youma! But how? Didn't we take care of all of them already?" Zoicite exclaimed as he leaned over her shoulder to look at the computer. He frowned. "They're originating from Beryl's old base all right, but I don't get it. She and Metallia were destroyed. There's no one there to create more youma."

Amy shook her head. "She was trying to grow her army before her defeat. She could have started these before then and left them to grow. Now they've matured and they're breaking loose."

Serena groaned. "I feel like such an idiot! Talon offered to go up there and check things out after we fought them, but I told him not to worry about it. I figured the place was empty and abandoned. I guess I should have let him go after all. We could have stopped this before it started."

Darien hugged her against his side. "You couldn't have known that this would happen. But don't worry, we'll take care of it."

"That's right!" Lita said encouragingly. "Youmas are old school for us. We can take them out with no problem. How many are we talking about, ten, maybe fifteen of them? That's not even enough to make me break a sweat."

Amy swallowed hard. "Um…actually, my scans are showing there to be somewhere around fifty of them. But the good news is that they are all together, so that might make it easier for us."

"That's just great!" Serena moaned. "And where are they showing up at? Never mind, let me guess. It's the park, isn't it? It's always the park. God! Why can't these stupid youma come up with an original idea for once?"

"It makes sense," Raye grumbled. "It's a large open area and there are usually a lot of people around. It makes it a prime location."

Serena squared her shoulders. "Maybe we can cut them off before they do too much damage. Mina, call the outers. We may need their help."

Mina's hand hesitated over her communicator. "What about the kids?"

Serena's expression turned determined. "There are twelve of us here. Even without the outers we should be able to handle a pack of youma on our own. It's what we would do if they weren't here. I really don't want to interrupt their night if we can keep from it, so let's save them as a last resort."

"Yeah right!" Jadeite snorted. "Like they won't figure it out. The hotel that the prom is being held at is right across the street from the park."

Nephrite nodded. "Not to mention that the group of them have an uncanny ability to sniff out trouble."

"Then we'll have to take care of it as quickly and as quietly as possible," Serena insisted. "Let's let them be normal teenagers, just for one night."

* * *

"Oh man!" Katie groaned as she leaned up against the wall in the women's restroom. "I don't think I've ever danced this much in my whole life."

"Me neither," Rini agreed as she sat down on a chair, her black, high heeled shoes dangling from her hand.

"Lightweights!" Emma scoffed as she studied her reflection in the mirror. "We've only been at it for a few hours."

"No doubt," Skye agreed next to her. "I could dance all night."

"Well some of us aren't robots," Hannah grumbled as she collapsed on a seat next to Rini. "I'm glad mine and Jay's curfew is earlier than yours. There's no way that I could make it until this thing is over at 1:00."

"That's because you're a newbie to this," Emma told her. "But I have to say that you have been pulling some pretty impressive moves out there tonight."

Skye nodded. "You sure have. I guess all those nights we spent goofing off at home paid off. You and Jay look good together."

Hannah blushed, but her eyes sparkled mischievously. "And what about you and Kyrian? I noticed that the two of you looked pretty cozy."

"You go girl!" Rini crowed, slapping the younger girl a high five. "I was just about to say something about that myself."

Katie snickered. "Yeah. What's up with you guys? Inquiring minds want to know. I thought you hated him."

Now Skye's face flushed pink. "It's not what you think. I still think he's a major ass, but the man can seriously dance. So I figured that I should take advantage of the situation since I'm stuck with him for the night."

"Mmm hmm…" Emma mused. "So the fact that you've been plastered up against him during every slow dance with your head on his shoulder and a dreamy smile on your face means absolutely nothing, huh?"

Skye shoved her lightly. "Shut up! Like you have any room to talk. You've been crawling all over Alex so much tonight that at one point I thought you guys were just going to lay down on the floor and get your freak on right there in front of everybody."

"Eek!" Rini squeaked and slapped her hands over Hannah's ears. "Hey! Watch what we say! There are young virgin ears here!"

Hannah snorted. "Virgin ears, my butt! I know how things work. Believe it or not, you guys aren't the only ones that have had the misfortune of walking in on your parents when they are trying to sneak in a private moment without having the common decency to go to their bedroom and close and lock the door first. But I really don't want to go there right now."

Giggles pealed from Katie. "Amy and Zoi, really? Who'd have thought it?"

"Oh, for the love of Aphrodite!" Emma sighed in vexation. "Why is that so hard to believe? I know the two of them may be reserved, but they _are_ soul mates and crazy in love with one another. That alone has a way of making the most serious of people go a little insane sometimes."

"Forgive us, almighty love goddess," Skye drawled as she leaned in close to the mirror to inspect her hair and make up. "The rest of us aren't as blessed as you are and able to see the bonds between people. Which, come to think of it, I would probably consider it to be more of a curse than a blessing to constantly see the ties between everyone around you. Especially since you won't even take pity on one of your best friends and let her know who her soul mate is so that she can try to get a little happiness in her life like everyone else."

Emma shared a conspiratorial look with Katie as they both bit back grins. Then she shook her head. "There are some things that people have to discover on their own, Thunderpants. Eros might be my great uncle a few thousand times over, but could you imagine the insanity if my mother and I started playing Cupid and told everyone who they were destined to be with? Part of building a relationship are two people taking the time to get to know each other and discovering their feelings for one another themselves. Tampering with fate could be a messy business."

"Shh!" Rini warned as the bathroom door opened and a large group of girls entered. She stood and smoothed down the skirt of her dress. "Well, time's ticking and I've got a man out there waiting on me. It was nice to take a load off for a minute, but I want to soak up every moment with him that I can."

"Hear, hear!" Katie agreed as she pushed away from the wall and joined Emma and Skye in front of the mirror. She sighed as she tried to fluff up the curls that were starting to fall out of her hair. In all honesty she was surprised that her painfully straight hair had held the curl as long as it had. The tiny white rose clips had also slipped loose from the exertions of dancing and straggling pieces of hair hung limply around her face. She snorted in disgust. "Ugh! I'm surprised that DJ hasn't run for the hills. I'm a mess!"

"Hold on!" Emma squeaked as she turned toward her boyfriend's twin sister and began expertly repining the pale blonde strands back into place.

"It's not fair!" Katie moaned. "The rest of you have danced as much as I have, but you all still look just as perfect as you did at the beginning of the evening. I should have known that I couldn't pull off the graceful woman look for the entire night. My dad was right all the times he joked about how I was such a tomboy that it was almost like having two sons."

"Oh, quit whining!" Rini snapped. "You're every bit as feminine as the rest of us. I know my brother very well, and believe me; he must find something womanly about you. I can see it every time he stares at you with those pathetic goo goo eyes of his. You've turned my little brother into a whipped puppy."

Katie giggled. "Oh no! There's nothing whipped about him. If anything, he's the one that's whipped me."

"In more ways than one," Emma snickered loudly as she elbowed Skye.

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Okay! Now I've had enough of your conversation. I may have a high tolerance for listening to you depraved lunatics and your double entendres, but that doesn't mean that I have to subject myself to it when I have a way to escape it. Now I don't have much time left before Jay and I have to leave to make our midnight curfew and I would rather spend it having fun instead of hanging in here with you hormone fueled nymphomaniacs."

The four older girls froze in shock at her surprisingly flippant words. Although Hannah could get loud and indignant on occasion, she was usually quiet for the most part. And when she did speak her mind she enjoyed throwing around her advanced vocabulary, so it was surprising to hear anything even close to crudity coming from her mouth.

Skye was the first to recover. She laughed as she walked over and slung an arm around Hannah's shoulders. "I couldn't agree with you more, Frosty. Just because they are getting laid makes them borderline nauseating, doesn't it?"

Rini shook a threatening fist at her. "I'll show you nauseating!"

Katie groaned and slapped her hands over her suddenly burning cheeks.

Emma sniffed imperiously. "You know, you could be getting some action yourself if you would stop being such an uptight bitch whenever Kyrian is around. Honestly, I don't see how you can be so ignorant about such a hot piece of man-flesh like that. If you have a single functioning brain cell inside that head of yours you will snatch him up and hold on to him tight."

Skye's eyes narrowed. "Why are you and mother so insistent about throwing that son of Satan and I together? If I didn't know any better I would think that the two of you got some sadistic pleasure out of seeing me suffer."

Katie jumped forward and put a hand over Emma's mouth before her friend could spill out more information than she should. Her friend had indulged in a few glasses of the spiked punch and was probably not in complete control of her tongue. It had been one thing for the young love goddess to spill out the fact that she and DJ were soul mates since they had already been involved in a relationship, but to tell Skye that she was destined to be with Kyrian while they were on such shaky ground could backfire harshly.

"Of course no one wants to see you suffer," she covered quickly. "But even I have to admit that you and Kyrian make a great looking pair. Can you honestly say that the guy doesn't make your mouth water when you look at him?"

"Puh-leeze!" Sky snorted as she turned and strode for the door. The others followed her, giggling.

The five guys waiting in the hotel lobby straightened up as the girls left the restroom.

"Hey, Aphrodite!" Alex grinned good-naturedly as he slung an arm around Emma. "Are you ready to tear up the dance floor some more?"

She batted her lashes coyly at him. "You know I am."

DJ smiled wickedly at the sight of the silver high heels dangling from his girlfriend's hand. "You're not throwing in the towel on me, are you?"

Katie rolled her eyes. "No. But my feet have gone on strike and refuse to spend one more minute in those stupid shoes. They could have been used as torture devices during the Spanish Inquisition."

He snorted softly. "Says the girl that can land triple back flips in high heeled boots."

"Nah! I agree with her," Rini interjected, indicating her own black stilettos that she was still holding. "Sailor scouts boots feel like they were custom made by Dr. Scholl's. These things just suck!"

"But they did look nice while you were wearing them," Helios commented genuinely.

"I would have worn heels too if I'd known that I was going to get stuck with tall, dark, and annoying all night," Skye grumbled. At 5'11", she never wore heels. But Kyrian's 6'4" stature made her feel like she was at a disadvantage.

He leaned down to drawl huskily, "You just want to be closer to my lips."

"Don't start!" Hannah snapped, cutting off the tirade that was about to spew from Skye's mouth. "Come on, Jay. Let's go enjoy the dance a little bit more before we have to leave."

The blonde boy grinned broadly as his date took him by the arm. "Lead on, my lady."

The whole group of them made their way back toward the crowded ballroom, but were almost run over in the doorway when several of their classmates came rushing by.

"I'm telling you, man," one boy was saying. "It shocked the hell out of me. I just stepped outside to have a smoke and then I heard something. When I looked up I couldn't believe my eyes. I haven't seen them in person since I was caught up in a mall attack back in middle school."

"Same here!" a girl was gushing. "Some crazy monster thing attacked a carnival I was at when I was about twelve and they showed up. It was way cool!"

"Hey! What's going on?" DJ called out to a boy he knew from his calculus class.

The boy stopped for a moment. "Dude! There's a shitload of monsters attacking the park across the street and the sailor scouts showed up to fight them. There's a pretty good view of the fight from outside, so we're all going to watch. It's a hell of a lot more interesting than this dance."

DJ felt Katie's fingers tighten around his as she whispered, "Oh no! What do we do?"

"Let's go up onto the roof," Alex suggested quietly as he indicated the elevator. "We'll have a better vantage point from up there."

"I can't believe no one called us!" Rini groaned when they were all inside the car. "They would have a conniption fit if we jumped into a fight without telling them first."

"Easy, love," Helios soothed her. "I know it's hard to remember sometimes, but Serena and Darien are your parents' past selves and they have fought many battles without your assistance and can take care of themselves."

Hannah fidgeted anxiously. "What I don't get is where this attack is coming from. Oh, I wish I had my computer with me!"

Emma's eyes widened in shock. "You don't think Discord has found a way to breach the time gate again, do you?"

Kyrian shook his head. "No way! Pluto has sealed the entrance he used the first time. The only other way he could get in would be to use the door in the palace, and there's no chance of him getting in there. The palace is locked down so tightly that I almost couldn't get in. I just got lucky that Kyle and Nick were outside and saw me at the gate. They ran and told Kunzite and he vouched for me."

"Bully for you," Skye grumbled, but her eyes softened at the mention of her little brother she hadn't seen in so long. "So how is Nick doing?"

Kyrian grinned. "Growing like a weed. I don't know what your mom is feeding him, but he'll be taller than you before you know it. He and Kyle are both itching to fight. They begged me to bring them with me."

Emma giggled softly. "That sounds like them, the bloodthirsty little devils!"

"Ryssa's just as bad," Kyrian laughed. "She finally achieved her scout transformation about a month ago, and now she believes that she's ready to do battle."

"My little sister is a sailor scout," Jayden whispered in wonder. "But she's only ten! Nobody's going to let her fight, are they?"

Kyrian laughed. "Calm down, Smokey. You know that Serena has a strict rule that no one under the age of fourteen is allowed to participate in a fight. They don't like it, but it's either behave themselves or the parents threatened to send them up to my home village when the fight breaks out. That shut them up real quick."

"I just bet it did," Rini chuckled as the elevator came to a stop at the top floor and opened. "Well, let's go see what kind of mess is going on now."

* * *

Sailor Mars shrieked and ducked to avoid being fried by the ball of electrical energy that was only milliseconds away from colliding with her. It sailed over her head and slammed into a youma behind her, turning it into dust.

She glared at the tall, auburn haired scout that ran past her, laughing. "I think you're getting just a little bit too much amusement out of this, Jupiter! I probably look like I stuck my finger in a light socket now!"

Jupiter waved off the angry tirade. "Don't be such a prude! I knew you'd get out of the way in time. That freak left itself wide open to an attack, and I just couldn't let that slide."

Jadeite came to a stop next to his fuming girlfriend. He gripped his flaming sword in one hand while he used his free arm to pull her close to him for a moment. "Don't worry. You still look gorgeous to me." Then he kissed her quickly. He jerked back as she shocked him.

"Damn, Neph! How in the hell do you put up with that? It's like biting into a live wire," he asked the nearby general who was in the process of electrocuting a youma with a stream of lightning from his sword.

The chestnut haired man grinned slyly and wagged his eyebrows. "What can I say? Maybe I'm a masochist. I like it."

"Would you two perverts knock it off and pay attention to what we're supposed to be doing!" Kunzite snarled as he joined them. He held a three-foot long, light purple energy blade in each hand. "In case you haven't noticed, we've got youma scattering everywhere and it would be nice if we could keep them contained to this area instead of having to chase them all over the city."

His stern look turned to one of admiration as a bright orange light flashed to life a short distance away and one youma howled as it was vaporized by a flurry of golden hearts while another one found itself tightly bound by a jeweled chain.

"Now there's a woman after my own heart. She knows how to take care of business," he sighed.

Venus glanced in his direction and smiled coyly as she crooked a finger at her general. "Darling, would you please take care of that for me?" she asked, indicating the youma tied up with her love chain.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied smoothly. Then he lunged forward and with a swipe of one of his blades he neatly decapitated her captive. It disappeared in a glittery poof.

"Ooo…nice!" she cooed. "I've always liked a forceful man."

Uranus snorted derisively as she took out a youma with her space sword. "Now I see why Serena called us in to help out with a simple youma problem. The inners and their men can't focus on anything when they are around each other, can they?"

Neptune giggled softly. "You're one to talk, dearest. Who was it that was cursing just a short while ago because her plans for the evening were interrupted?"

Saturn made a gagging sound. "Please try to remember that I am here and that I don't want to hear about your private life. I'll never understand how I grew up at least halfway normal after being raised by you depraved lunatics!"

Neptune ruffled her adopted daughter's hair. "Well darling, you did have the advantage of growing from a baby into a pre-teen in a very short amount of time, so we didn't have to really worry about your formative years."

Uranus grinned slyly. "Oh I don't know about that. I think we had a bigger influence on her than she thinks. What do you want to bet that she and Sammy-boy were getting hot and heavy about the time we got the call?"

Saturn stomped a purple booted foot. "That's none of your business!"

"I don't believe this!" Sailor Moon moaned as she looked around at her friends and comrades. "We're in the middle of a fight and they're all treating it like it's a party. They used to take fighting seriously."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled in her ear. "Well darling, even you have to admit that this isn't much of a challenge for them. They all have developed their skills far beyond defeating simple youma years ago. This is nothing to them."

"I'll say," Sailor Shadow grumbled beside them. She had actually relaxed enough to take a seat on the ground where she had her elbows on her knees and her chin propped in her hands. Every now and then she would pop off an energy blast whenever a youma got close. "This blows! I got all excited, thinking that we were going to see some decent action with there being such a large group of them, but Beryl obviously really sucked when it came to making youma."

Andrew laughed lightly where he was lounging up against a tree trunk next to her. "You sound disappointed."

"I am!" she growled. "If I'd know it was going to be this dull I would have just stayed up on the roof of the hotel with the kids when I went and told them to stay put. It's not like I'm actually needed here."

"I wouldn't write things off so easily if I were you," Mercury chided primly as she and Zoicite joined the group. "While it's true that they are just basic youma, what they lack in skill they make up for with their numbers. We've taken out a good chunk of their forces, but we are still outnumbered at least two to one. So I wouldn't be getting too complacent yet."

Zoicite nodded sagely. "She's right. The important thing is making sure that we keep the youma confined to the park. They may not be a huge threat to us, but a normal human being wouldn't last ten seconds against one if it got loose in the city."

Shadow tossed her dark blonde braid over her shoulder. "So let's just toast their asses and go home then!" Her hands began glowing blue as she placed them on the ground in front of her.

An eerie chuckle came from the tree branches above them. "You're always so impatient, princess. Do you really want to steal everyone else's fun away from them?"

Shadow smirked as she looked up into the darkness. "Sometimes I think you exist for no other purpose than to irritate the piss out of me, Talon."

A dark figure dropped from the tree. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black t-shirt while his longish medium brown hair was tied back at his nape in a short ponytail. His black eyes flashed humorously while the long jagged scar down the side of his face did nothing to detract from his sinfully handsome face. If anything it added to the air of mystery around him.

He grinned at Sailor Shadow. "You should know by now that needling you is my favorite pastime and I never pass up a good opportunity to have some fun."

"What are you doing here?" Andrew practically growled.

Talon seemed unfazed as he shrugged. "My wife, bless her heart, usually can't make it past eight o'clock nowadays before she has to turn in for the night. But I've always been a bit of a night owl so I usually sit up. When I felt the disturbance tonight I jumped at the chance to do something to liven up another boring night. Even if they are just pathetic youma it has to be better than surfing the web or watching a movie I've already seen a hundred times."

Shadow waved a careless hand. "Have fun! I hope you get more enjoyment out of it than I have. They're pushovers."

An evil smirk appeared on his face. "Oh, I don't know. I think it could be fun if it's done correctly." He held up a hand that clenched a sheathed sword. "What do you say to a little contest, princess? Whichever one of us takes out the most creeps wins."

Shadow jumped to her feet, eyes flaring at the challenge. "You're on! But I hope you're ready for defeat, because there's no way in hell you're beating me!" She and Talon jumped into the fray.

Andrew groaned and shoved his hands into the pockets of his long coat as he resumed his leaning against the tree trunk. "I really hate that guy sometimes."

"Are you not going to go after her?" Zoicite asked him.

Andrew visibly flinched as blue light flashed to life and he heard Jupiter yell, "What the hell, Shadow? That was my kill!" He shook his head. "Uh uh! You can feel free to get between her and a fight if you want to, but I value my hide too much."

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "You are so whipped!"

Andrew eyed his best friend and the blonde scout that was practically attached to his side and smirked. "You don't have any room to talk, Tux-boy! Serena cowed you years ago."

Sailor Moon stuck her tongue out at him. "I did not! I've never cowed anybody in my life! The worse thing I ever did was hit him in the head with a test paper."

"And a shoe," Tuxedo Mask inserted quickly. "There's also the million times you knocked me on my ass because you weren't watching where you were going and the dozens of milkshakes you ruined by pouring them over my head. And let's not forget the time you slapped me when you thought I had forgotten your birthday."

"Okay, okay!" Sailor Moon grumbled. "I get the picture. But you don't have to make it sound like I bullied you into a relationship. You could have walked away any time you wanted to."

"You two quit flirting! You're making my stomach churn," Mars snarled as she and the rest of the scouts and generals convened around them. "Who's the idiot that decided to let Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum hog all the action? They're stealing all the fun."

Uranus snorted. "Like it was any fun anyway! What was fun was what I had planned before my communicator beeped and ruined the moment. Now I'm just hoping that the whole night isn't completely shot. May I go home now, oh fearless leader?"

Sailor Moon looked toward Mercury for confirmation that the situation was under control. "Amy?"

The blue suited scout shrugged. "I don't see any reason why not. Jess and Talon seem to be mowing through the dozen that were left. I guess we overreacted and made this out to be a bigger deal than what it was."

Zoicite put an arm around her shoulders. "It was better to be safe than sorry. Having fifty youma open up a portal here was definitely a big deal. We just got lucky that they were neophytes."

Venus giggled. "And I'm glad that we made the kids stay out of it. There was no sense in interrupting their night." She gave a small wave to the group that was peeking over the edge of the roof of the hotel across the street and saw Emma return it before turning away.

"I think we got them all," Sailor Shadow announced as she jogged over to rejoin the group. "I took out six of the suckers."

"Oh man!" Talon groaned. "I only got five. I can't believe you beat me!"

"But that's only eleven, and there were twelve left. That means that there is still one hanging around somewhere," Mercury stated as she flicked her visor into place and began scanning with her computer.

Then screams erupted from the group of high school prom goers that had congregated on the sidewalk across the street to watch the fight. They scattered in all directions to get out of the path of youma that was barreling toward them.

The youma was your normal, run of the mill, stripper looking, scantily clothed youma, but two sets of spider-like limbs protruded from her back. And just like a spider, she began scaling the side of the hotel as easily as walking down a street.

* * *

"This is getting boring," Katie sighed.

Alex nodded. "Yeah. It looks like they've pretty much got everything wrapped up now."

"I'm glad Jess told us to stay out of it. It doesn't look like there would have been much for us to do anyway," Rini said.

"True," DJ agreed. "I say we get back to the dance and let them handle it."

Jayden grabbed Hannah's hand. "Sounds good to me. Come on, Hannah! We still have a half hour left to party it up."

All of the couples headed for the door to the stairs except for one that remained standing at the edge.

Skye looked up at the man standing next to her. "Are you okay?"

Kyrian glanced at her and grinned. "Yeah. I was just a little shell-shocked for a moment. I wasn't expecting to see my dad on this trip." He turned his attention back to the past form of his father, who was across the street with the others. "It's strange. He looks exactly the same."

"I know," Skye replied softly. "I feel the same way every time I look at Lita and Nephrite, or any of the others for that matter. Sometimes it makes it hard to remember that we are in the past and not at home when they are identical to the people I've known my whole life. But let's not dwell on it. We have a party to get back to."

Kyrian smirked. "Is that your way of saying that you want to dance with me some more?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get any ideas! I just want to dance, period. I don't care if it's with you or not. If you don't want to I'm sure I can find someone else to oblige me."

He wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. "I don't think so, Shocker. I am your date for tonight, and you're not dancing with anyone but me."

"Geez! Pushy much?" she grumbled, but she didn't resist when he steered her to follow the others inside.

He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it closed just as quickly when they heard screams from the street below. He turned to run back to the roof's edge, but he had only taken two steps when an arachnid looking youma suddenly vaulted over the ledge and landed in front of them.

Skye felt tingles race down her arm as she called her electricity into her hand, but before she could act there was a blur of movement as Kyrian sprang into motion. All she saw was the glint of something shiny and a muted flash of light before the youma burst into dust.

"Take that, you energy sucking parasite!" Kyrian snarled. "Serves you right for slinking around while I'm trying to enjoy an evening with a beautiful woman."

Skye's breath caught at the impressive sight he made. Damn! He was seriously hot when he was in battle mode. Fighting down a flush, she made her voice sound as normal as possible.

"Well…now I see why you refused to take that coat off all night." She gestured to the slender, samurai-style sword that he had whisked from what was probably a sheath on his back that was hidden by his long coat.

He grinned slyly. "I never go anywhere unarmed. You should know that by now."

"Skye! Kyrian!" several voices called out to them as Rini and the others ran back toward them.

The roof suddenly became very crowded as Sailor Moon and the rest of Tokyo's heroes arrived on the scene.

"Are you guys okay?" the future queen demanded as she flicked her blue eyes over all of them to reassure herself that nobody was physically injured.

"We're all fine," DJ told her quickly. "I barely had time to realize that anything was happening. By the time I turned around the youma was already disappearing."

Talon shoved his way past everyone. Before anyone could blink he had grabbed Kyrian by the shirt in one hand and jerked him so that they were eye level.

"Just who the hell are you?" he snarled. "I don't recognize you as being a member of my tribe, and yet the magic you wielded to destroy that youma is known only to my people." Then he gripped Kyrian's wrist in his other hand and raised it up to take a good look at his sword.

His jet black eyes narrowed even more as he took in the ancient symbols engraved on the hilt and the blade. "This sword bears my brother-in-law's mark. He is one of the most skilled weapon makers among my people. So how the hell did you end up with one of his swords?"

Kyrian's dark gaze sparked with anger. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're insinuating! It was a gift! So don't go blowing a gasket, old man!"

Talon's grip tightened on him. "Oh! So you're a real smart-assed little punk, aren't you? Let's see how big you're talking when I get done kicking your ass!"

"Bring it on! I can take you!" Kyrian growled.

"Stop it!" Skye cried as she tried to push her way between them. "Talon, stop! This isn't what you think!"

"Get out of the way, Skye," Talon warned her in a low ominous voice.

"No!" she screamed. "I'm not just going to stand here and watch you beat him up!"

Kyrian snorted. "Just do as he says, Skye. It will come back to bite him in the ass later."

Tears burned in Skye's eyes. "Fine! Go ahead and get the shit stomped out of you! It's not like I care anyway! You're such a stupid idiot, Kyrian!"

Talon froze at the sound of that name. "Kyrian?" he whispered in awe. He studied the younger man closely. He took in the eyes that were as deep an onyx as his own and the shaggy hair that was the exact shade of dark chocolate. It was Anya's hair.

He let go of him and stepped back as realization began to dawn on him. This young man was hanging out with the others from the future. So maybe he was…

"You're from the future?" he asked quietly.

"I am," Kyrian replied simply as he reached over his shoulder and stuck the sword under the collar of his coat. It made a hissing sound as it slid into the sheath concealed underneath.

Talon bent forward and put his hands on his knees as his head spun. Then he laughed. "That Anya! She's always right about everything. She keeps insisting that we're having a son, and now I have the proof of it standing right in front of me. I can't ever win with her."

Sailor Shadow tapped a finger against her chin. "Well now, I don't know. Even if he is your son, there's no law saying that he is the baby that Anya is carrying right now. He could be another child."

"No. It's me," Kyrian said quietly. "That's why Pluto told me that I couldn't stay here for more than one night. There are now two of me in this time; me, and the past me that has yet to be born. She only brought me here as a favor." He shot a fond look in Skye's direction.

She crossed her arms and huffed. "I thought you said this was all Mina's idea."

He grinned. "It was, in the beginning. But Trista was debating on whether or not she should do it, so I begged her to let me come. I practically got down on my knees in fact. I hadn't seen you in so long that it was driving me crazy. In the end my Uncle Evan helped convince her to bring me here."

Talon sat down abruptly on the ground. "This is completely overwhelming. I don't see how the rest of you put up with it." Then he focused his eyes on his future son. "You have to come and see your mother. She will make my life absolutely miserable if she ever found out that I met you and she didn't."

"Sure. I'll stop by for a minute and say hi," Kyrian said with a smile. "You do know that she is going to flip, right?"

Talon's smile matched his. "Yeah. But she wouldn't be her if she didn't. Do you need any help getting there?"

Kyrian rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? I've been teleporting by myself since I was ten. I could find my way home blindfolded."

Talon's grin broadened. "Okay. Give me a few minutes to wake her up and prepare her. Then you can come." He disappeared in a soft flash of light.

Kyrian shuffled his feet nervously before looking up at Skye uncertainly. "Would you come with me? I'd feel better having someone I actually know with me for this confrontation."

Skye looked skeptical. "Are you sure you want me there? Your mom is hard enough to handle on her own. You'd have to be a glutton for punishment to want to deal with both of us at the same time."

He chuckled ruefully. "Maybe I am. I know mom can be scary for such a little woman, but now that I've met dad I really want to see her before Pluto comes and drags me back to Crystal Tokyo. On the same note I don't want to miss out on any time with you either. I probably only have a few hours left until my time is up. After that I have no idea when I will see you again."

She sighed and shook her head. "You big baby! Come on! I'll hold your hand and protect you from mommy dearest. I never knew you could be such a wimp!" She turned to Jupiter. "I'll be back later after I finish coddling this infant."

"You're the best!" Kyrian crowed as he took her hand in his quickly before she could change her mind. They both disappeared in a flash.

Hannah threw her hands up in the air. "That's it! I can't handle any more drama tonight! Let's get out of here, Jay. Maybe we can find someplace still open on the way home. I could seriously use a scoop of ice cream right about now." She stomped away with her blonde boyfriend only a step behind her.

Sailor Moon and the rest of the adults figured that they needed to make themselves scarce before some of the avid spectators from below decided to come up and investigate to see if they were still there. So they wished the teens a pleasant rest of the evening and leapt away. Soon only three couples remained.

Rini tossed her head. "I agree with Hannah. I've had enough of all of this drama. Let's go to Elysian for a little while, Helios. I could use some peace and quiet."

"As you wish," the dream priest said. A second later they both vanished.

"That's not fair!" DJ grumbled. "Going to Elysian extends her curfew since time moves differently there. She can spend eight hours there and still make it back in time for curfew."

Alex snorted. "That's only if Helios can stand to be around her for that long. And saying that, I think Em and I going to split. We still have a couple of hours left, and I can think of better things to do than to listen to anymore of Chad's pounding music."

Katie giggled. "Speaking of Chad, do you think we should have said anything about his date for tonight?"

"Nah!" Alex drawled. "I'm sure everybody will find out soon enough. I just hope I'm around for the big reveal. It should make for one hell of a show. Anyway, you guys have fun. We're out of here."

He grabbed a laughing Emma around the waist and held her tightly. His blue eyes flared to red orange as he tapped into Apollo's powers and teleported them away.

"What about you?" DJ asked Katie. "Did you want to go back to the dance?"

She shook her head. "Honestly, I think I'm about all danced out for the night. I doubt my poor feet can handle any more."

He grinned devilishly. "In that case…" He scooped her up into his arms, bridal style. "I've got someplace I want to take you." His eyes turned gold as he prepared to teleport with her.

"But what about Darien's car?" she protested.

"We'll come back for it," he told her. "Now hold on tight."

"I can teleport too you know," she grouched good-naturedly. In reality there was nothing in the world right now that would make her want to give up being held by him.

"Ah…but you have no idea where we are going," he said with a superior smirk.

She wound her arms around his neck. "Fine! But this better be good."

"Believe me, you're going to love it," he replied. Then he dipped his head down and kissed her lips as everything faded away around them.

* * *

**A/N **Once again I'm sorry about the long wait for this. I hope you all enjoyed it though. The final fight is coming soon, but there may be a little more fluff thrown in before we get there. So the prom was a success and I think everyone had fun. Now they've all snuck away for a little couple's alone time, except for Skye and Kyrian that is. They have to go deal with yet another set of future parents finding out about their child before he is even born. But I am pleased with the way that their relationship is starting to develop. She is her mother's daughter after all, so it's only natural that she have her moments of Lita-ishness. And don't forget about Chad's mystery date. Hmm…who could it be? Don't worry, all will be revealed. Some of you may have your suspicions about who his new girlfriend is, and if you do I would love to hear your guesses. And will Artemis's elusive brother, Orion, show up? We'll see. There may be some kitty romance before all is said and done. I haven't forgotten about Trista and Evan either. Well, I guess I better run so I can try to get updates ready for my other stories. Drop me those reviews guys! I eat them up! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	30. Mental Mothers and a Sneaky Goddess

**A/N **Update time! I did better this time. You didn't have to wait as long. Yay me! So I know you don't want to hear me rambling, but I do want to take a moment to thank all of you for your feedback on the last chapter. I'm glad you guys seemed to like it, and I hope you enjoy this one as well. Let me get out those hugs now. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**sabina21**

**GoldenDragon326**

**jade2nightwing**

**x-YingYing-x**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**JuliaGulia17**

**Puella Pulchra**

**Chibi Kitt**

**KageNoNeko**

**nileena**

**shar1993**

**Seredhiel05**

**Isis2010**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**FanaticArmy**

**sailorashes**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**SailorMoon20114486**

**saveme57**

**ailzzzz**

**insammity**

**Katie**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**Alix Romanov**

**S dot Serenity**

**rainbabie**

Thank you so much, as always! Now moving on! The prom is over. Our little teens have been enjoying a halfway normal life. But all of that will soon end. Dum, dum, dum!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 28

Mental Mothers and a Sneaky Goddess

* * *

Skye stumbled a little as she and Kyrian appeared in a grassy field high up in the mountains a few hundred miles away from the bustling city of Tokyo. She was grateful for the arms that helped keep her upright. Teleporting was not something that she was used to, and she was pretty sure that she would have ended up on the ground if Kyrian hadn't wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Easy," he cautioned her lightly. "Give yourself a few seconds to get your bearings."

She nodded and then glanced around curiously. A modest sized, log cabin style house stood a short distance away from them with light blazing from several windows despite the late hour. "It looks like your dad woke your mom up with no problem," she snickered.

"Yeah," he agreed ruefully. "This could get crazy. I was too young to remember how mom was when she was pregnant with Julian, but I do remember some of when she was expecting Taylor. And of course we all know how psychopathic she was when she was pregnant with Abby. That was actually one of the reasons why I started spending so much time in Crystal Tokyo. I was too scared to stay at home because of her mood swings."

Skye arched a brow at him. "Are you sure you want to go through with this? It's not too late to turn back."

He heaved a sigh. "I'm sure. Besides, I figure that if this wasn't supposed to happen that Trista would have shown up and stopped me by now. And anyway, she already knows that I'm here in this time by now and I don't want to upset her by standing her up."

A small smile twitched Skye's lips. Kyrian may appear to be a brooding, devil may care playboy at first glance, but he had always been very devoted to his sharp witted and sometimes sharp-tongued mother. And she admired him for that.

"I guess we better get this over with," he sighed as he took Skye's hand in his and began leading her toward the house. To his immense delight she didn't pull away from him. He paused when they reached the front porch. If he were back in his own time he would just push the door open and walk into the house he had been raised in. But he was a visitor here, so he knocked on the door instead.

A muffled squeal came from the other side of the door, followed by a flurry of footsteps. He and Skye shared a conspiratorial grin when they heard Talon fussing, "Slow down before you fall down, Anya!"

Then the door was wrenched open to reveal the petite, very excited, and very pregnant Anya.

Skye stared in disbelief for a moment. Good grief! Anya's belly looked to be twice the size that it had been the last time she'd seen her. The poor woman appeared to be ready to pop at any moment, and she still had another month to go before she gave birth!

Tears filled Anya's coffee colored eyes as she got her first look at her future son. Then she began laughing. "Good lord! It's no wonder I'm as big as the side of a barn! You're huge!" Then she flung herself at Kyrian, going up on her tiptoes so that she could wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

He looked to be in slight shock, but he acted on long standing instinct and automatically bent down to lessen the foot difference in their height.

After a minute, Anya let go of him and stepped back with a giggle as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Now let me get a good look at you. How old are you now?"

"Almost twenty," Kyrian replied with a grin.

"Twenty…" Anya sighed. "That would explain why you remind me so much of your father at that age. He used to strut around like he was the baddest thing in the land."

"Hey!" Talon complained from where he had assumed a leaning position against a wall as he watched the interaction between his wife and future son. "I've never strutted in my life! But I'm still the baddest thing in the land."

Anya smiled a patronizing smile. "Of course you are, dear. But it looks like you might have some competition in the future."

Skye giggled. "I know what you mean. Kyrian likes to walk around and act like he's the king of badasses."

Kyrian grimaced. "I knew that you wouldn't be able to go more than five minutes without you tossing out some kind of an insult about me."

She placed her hands on her hips. "Just remember, smart guy, you're the one that asked me, no, practically begged me to come with you."

"I…I didn't beg you!" he stammered in disbelief.

Skye deepened her voice a couple of octaves to mimic his tone. "Please come with me so that I have someone I know with me. My mom's going to flip out," she mocked him. "Does any of that sound familiar?"

"That's not exactly how I said it!" he insisted.

Anya dissolved into giggles. "Oh, you two are precious together! And Skye, you look absolutely stunning tonight! That shade of maroon suits you so well. I heard that the two of you were attending a prom together."

"Not by choice," Skye muttered darkly.

Anya stopped laughing with a gasp and placed a hand on her distended stomach. "Down there, baby. Momma didn't mean to shake you up." Then she grinned at Kyrian. "Do you play soccer by any chance?"

He looked utterly perplexed. "Not on a regular basis or anything, but I have played some."

"I knew it!" Anya crowed. "I knew that there was no way that this monster baby inside me could kick the way he does and not be able to kick a soccer ball." Then she winced and grabbed her belly with both hands as she almost doubled over.

Talon was at her side in a flash, wrapping an arm around her waist as he chided her. "Damn it, woman! At least come and sit down if we are going to continue this visit. You're getting yourself too worked up."

She looked at her husband in disbelief as he guided her into the living room and lowered her to the sofa. "How can you be so calm about this? This is _our son, _our _future_ son, standing in _our house_ at this very moment! Do you expect me to just sit here all calm and cool and politely say, _'Hello. Nice to meet you,' _like it's no big deal?"

"Of course not!" he snorted. "That would be like asking for a miracle. But I'm sure that Kyrian would like to ensure that you take care of yourself so that he comes into the world when and how he's supposed to."

"He has a point," Kyrian agreed as he and Skye entered the living room and looked around. Despite a thousand years and an ice age, the room was barely different from what he had known his whole life. The furniture and some of the pictures on the wall were different; he only spotted one Jessica Alexander original painting compared to the many that decorated his family home in his time, but it was basically the same.

"We probably shouldn't stay long anyway," he said to the past forms of his parents. "When Trista was explaining the rules of time travel to me she warned me that being too close to my past self could put a serious energy drain on both of us if we were around each other for too long, and I don't want anything to happen to baby me."

"But you just got here!" Anya complained. "Surely you can stay for a few minutes. I made some lemonade earlier. How about I get us some and we can visit just a while longer."

"Oh no you don't!" Talon argued and put a hand on her shoulder as she tried to rise from the couch. "You just sit still and relax."

"He's right," Kyrian interjected. "We'll stay for a little longer, but you don't need to go overdoing things with refreshments and all."

"Now don't try getting all overbearing with me, you two!" she snapped back. "I'm only pregnant, not sick and helpless! I am not some china doll that is going to shatter into a million pieces! So both of you better back off before you piss me off! If I want to go pour a few glasses of lemonade, I will! And neither one of you are going to stop me!"

"How about if I help you?" Skye said quickly, hurrying to the couch and offering her arm to Anya to help the poor ungainly woman to her feet. She gave both the men a look that clearly told them that she would keep an eye on the other woman to make sure that she didn't do anything overly strenuous.

Anya gave her a conspiratorial grin and a sly wink. "Thank god for the power of estrogen! Come on, Skye, us women have to stick together. Maybe the testosterone will have settled down to a normal level by the time we get back."

Skye appeared to follow her meekly into the kitchen, but a tiny smile quirked her lips up. At 5'4", there didn't appear to be much to Anya. But Skye knew better. She had seen this woman run her household of predominantly larger males with the tenacity and ferocity of a drill sergeant. And even though all three of her sons had towered over her by the time they were thirteen, they still gave her a wide berth when she was riled. She was a scary lady when angry, and she wasn't afraid to whip out her magic if the occasion called for it.

It wasn't until they entered the kitchen that Anya allowed the stern expression to drop from her face. She leaned against one of the countertops as giggles came from her mouth. "Oh, that was fun! It's nice to have a partner in crime for a change. Talon has been like a mother hen ever since the moment I found out I was pregnant, but it has gotten worse the last few weeks since I've gotten to where I can't even get up from a seat by myself anymore. He'll probably drive me insane by the time the big day gets here."

Skye laughed lightly. "He probably will. Irritating women seems to be one of the things that the male species excels at."

"Don't I know it," Anya agreed. "And my brother is almost as bad as Talon. He was hovering over me so much the other day that I had to kick him out. I really wish that he would go find himself a woman of his own to pester so that he would leave me alone. But unfortunately Evan appears to be a confirmed bachelor. I've seen women practically throw themselves at him and he barely gives them a second look. He says that he hasn't found the right woman yet. I guess he's expecting her to just land in his lap some day. I keep telling him that it doesn't work like that."

Skye chuckled as she made herself busy around the kitchen. Luckily she had visited this house several times while she was growing up, and it appeared that everything was in the same place. She pulled four glasses out of a cabinet and walked over to the freezer to fill them with ice.

The ease at which the young woman maneuvered herself around her kitchen wasn't lost on Anya. It was clear that she was going to get to know Skye a lot better in the years to come as she watched her grow up. She also hadn't been able to miss the way that she and Kyrian had interacted with each other. There was definitely some tension between the young people, but there was something more there, something deeper.

"I want to thank you for giving me this chance to meet Kyrian," Anya said softly.

Skye turned around from where she had just set the pitcher of lemonade on the counter. "I didn't have anything to do with this."

Anya shook her head. "I think you did. I don't believe that Kyrian would even be in this time right now if it weren't for you. He came to see you. My getting to meet him is just an added bonus."

Skye's face flushed a deep brick red. "It's not what you think. Things between Kyrian and I are…difficult."

"A lot of relationships usually start out that way. Not everybody can have the idyllic, fairytale love at first sight where everything is perfect from day one," Anya told her. "Some relationships take a lot of work to make them happen. Believe me, I know. Talon and I were friends as children and I hero-worshipped him from a young age. Then I suffered the heartbreak of watching him fall into another woman's trap. Being with Beryl was almost the end of him, but I stayed as supportive as I could. And then Discord came along and warped his mind until he was nothing more than a shadow of the man he had once been. I could have left at any time. I almost did on several occasions. It killed me to see him change so much. But I stuck it out and stayed with him, and in the end it paid off."

Skye nodded. She had grown up listening to the stories of the trials and tribulations of building relationships. Her own parents had experienced a rocky start together, as had the other scouts and generals. Even Serena and Darien had gone through their share of ups and downs.

She had also seen her own friends go through ordeals when it came to love. Okay, maybe not Emma and Alex, they seemed to be one of the rare exceptions. But Katie and DJ and Hannah and Jay had all suffered through long periods of fighting together before they had admitted their love for one another. And even though Rini and Helios had been an item for practically years now and everyone knew how much in love they were, they still had their moments of tenseness as well.

But she still didn't know if she could trust Kyrian with her heart. He may not have meant to, but he had broken it once before and she was afraid of the same thing happening again. He said that he loved her. But did he really? She knew that she loved him without a doubt. But to admit that to him could leave her wide open to a fresh new world of pain.

Anya chuckled softly. "Don't look so serious, Skye. All I'm saying is that sometimes you have to take a chance. That's all." Then she winced and rubbed her belly. "I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm carrying a litter in there instead of just one baby with the way he squirms and carries on."

Skye watched in amazement as she saw Anya's whole stomach give a leap beneath the giant t-shirt she wore. "That looks like it really hurts."

"Not always," Anya replied with a laugh. "The only time it really bothers me is when he hits a sensitive spot, like my bladder. The rest of the time I enjoy feeling him move. It lets me know that he is real and alive inside me. Would you like to feel him?"

"I don't know," Skye replied uncertainly.

Anya grabbed her hand. "Don't be silly! Everybody else seems to think that it's open season to touch my stomach. There's no reason for you not to." She pressed Skye's hand firmly against her belly.

Sky stood there for a moment, feeling completely ridiculous. And then she felt the most peculiar sensation. It felt like something was squirming under her hand. And then the firm thump of a kick hit her palm.

"Oh!" she squeaked in surprise. Before she realized what she was doing, she had dropped to her knees so that she was face level with Anya's rounded stomach. Then she pressed her other hand to it as well. Her face was full of wonder as she said, "Hey there, little baby."

Anya giggled. "I think he likes the sound of your voice."

Skye's head shot up. "Really?"

The soon to be mother nodded. "I just felt him flip over. He always does that when he's finally decided to settle down and get some rest."

"Maybe I just bored him to sleep," Skye smirked.

"That's not possible. You could never bore me," a deep voice spoke up from the kitchen doorway.

Skye looked up to find Kyrian watching her with a gentle smile on his face. Embarrassed at being caught in such a position, she tried to scramble to her feet. But the long skirt of her dress made that difficult without ripping it, so she found herself stuck.

Anya giggled mischievously as she picked up two of the glasses from the counter. "I'm going to rejoin Talon. Help the poor girl up, Kyrian. And be nice." She paused next to her future son as he stepped aside to let through. She smiled up at him. "Good grief! You really do remind me of your daddy. I just can't get over it!"

Skye glared daggers at Kyrian as he stepped into the kitchen. "Not one sarcastic little snicker out of you, mister, or I swear I will zap you so hard that your brains will turn into scrambled eggs!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't going to say anything. I promise. You and my mom have always gotten along well together. It's probably because you're both beautiful, stubborn, and hard headed women."

She growled low in her throat. "Calling me names isn't exactly the way to get on my good side, you know!"

He grinned cockily at her. "Hey! I called you beautiful! That has to count for something."

"Just help me up!" she snapped, holding her hands up for his assistance.

He pulled her to her feet and then held her close against him.

She pushed against his chest. "Kyrian! Stop!"

"Nope!" he said with a laugh. "I warned you that I'm going to wear you down, and that's what I'm going to do. I only have a few hours left to work on you tonight before I have to leave, and I'm going to take every opportunity I can get. And then maybe, just maybe, you'll miss me so much when I'm gone that you'll be happy to see me when you come home again."

Oh she knew that she'd miss him, but she wouldn't tell him that. "Don't hold your breath about that."

He smirked evilly. "We'll see." Then he bent her back over his arm and gave her a kiss that caused her toes to curl up inside her shoes.

* * *

_**Somewhere in Japan – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

"Did you get the energy I sent you for?" Discord asked as he felt the presence of the two youma enter the cave where he and his forces were making their temporary base.

One of the youma knelt down and held out a swirling orb of energy before her. "Yes, my lord. It was done as you requested. We were able to hit several large cities and steal the energy from lots of people there without drawing attention to ourselves. I hope you will be pleased by the amount."

It had been slow going in collecting the energy that he required for his plan since he had to work under the radar of Crystal Tokyo. He knew that they weren't stupid and were probably well aware by now that he was gathering energy from the inhabitants of Earth, but as long as he kept the pattern erratic they wouldn't be able to track him.

A wisp of his dark, cloudy being reached out and closed around the orb. It was a decent amount of energy, but he still needed more. "Well done," he praised them. "But I require more than this in order to complete my plan. You will go out and gather more for me."

"Of course, master," both youma intoned respectfully.

"And what of the DNA samples I asked for? Were you able to procure them as I requested?" he asked them.

The second youma went down on her knees next to the first. "It was done as you asked, my lord." She held out a small wooden case that securely held several glass vials. "I still don't see why you needed the DNA of these animals when you've already had so much luck with the predators."

"It's not your place to question me!" Discord demanded harshly as he took the case from her.

She bowed her head instantly. "I'm sorry, master."

He fought back the urge to snarl. He detested youma, but he had to admit that these two had done an admirable job for him so far. Thanks to their mostly human appearance, it hadn't taken much to make them blend in with the humans, especially since they didn't possess the glowing red eyes that his guardians had. And also unlike his guardians, the youma didn't have the same homicidal tendencies and were easier to control. That made them extremely useful for this particular assignment.

"Where would you like us to go this time, my lord?" the youma asked together.

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"So where did you end up last night?" Emma asked in an excited whisper as she slid into the booth across from Katie.

Katie blushed brick red and looked down into her milkshake before murmuring. "We just went somewhere nice and quiet where we could be alone. That's all."

Emma looked taken aback for a moment. "Really? I would have pegged DJ for being a bit more romantic than that. Alex and I…"

"I don't want to hear any mushy details about what you and my brother did," Katie interrupted her suddenly. "I would like to keep my milkshake in my stomach if you don't mind."

"I wouldn't tell you about _that _part," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Of course, that part was…_incredible_." At Katie's strangled sound of mortification she quickly moved on. "Anyway, I know you guys have been practicing teleporting to different spots around the world, but I never thought that Alex would whisk me away to a deserted beach in the middle of nowhere. It was so…_perfect_! We had the place all to ourselves. It was just a shame that we couldn't stay there longer than we did. I would have been content with staying there forever."

Katie snorted. "Yeah, until the shopping bug bit you and there were no malls around. Then you would go on a murderous rampage."

Emma stuck her tongue out at her. "There's nothing wrong with a girl staying on top of the latest fashions. I would have thought that you'd have a bit more appreciation for that after the way you pulled off wearing that dress last night."

Katie giggled. "I don't mind dressing up on occasion, but I'd rather be comfortable. Give me jeans and a t-shirt any day. Besides, do you know how long it took me to wash all of that gunk out of my hair? And it still didn't even hold the curl all night. Nope! I prefer to keep things simple."

Emma shook her head and chuckled. "Then I guess it's a good thing that DJ isn't your typical prince. You two suit each other perfectly. So where _did _you guys go to be alone. At least tell me he took you someplace nice."

"Oh, it was nice," Katie mumbled dreamily. Then, as she realized that she had just spoken out loud, she blushed madly and slapped her hands over her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Emma fussed. "You act like you were a virgin on prom night or something."

"Emma!" Katie exclaimed as she slid down so low in her seat that she was almost under the table.

Emma kicked her lightly in the leg. "Stop acting like the innocent, sacrificial virgin and sit up, you little sex kitten! I'm not asking for details like how many times or what positions." She kicked Katie again when her friend really did almost disappear from sight. "I'm just interested in about where you went."

Katie sat up in her seat again and looked quickly over at the booth where Jess, Serena, and Mina were sitting as they chatted over milkshakes.

"They're not paying any attention to us," Emma told her in exasperation.

"I'm just making sure!" Katie hissed back. "They would probably burst blood vessels if they knew we left the city."

Emma snorted. "Like they could stop you, Alex, or DJ from doing it with your awesome god powers."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Awesome god powers indeed! Anyway, DJ took me to this place he found by accident last week when we were practicing teleporting. I'm not sure exactly where we were, but it was up in the mountains somewhere and there was this waterfall that fell into a pond. It was absolutely gorgeous."

He'd also gone there ahead of time and had left behind a blanket for them to spread out on the grass beside the water, but she wasn't about to tell Emma about that or what they had done on that blanket. That was strictly between her and DJ.

But Emma was happy with her response and squealed, "That is so sweet! Now aren't you glad that you decided to give him a chance?"

Katie looked around the arcade until her eyes connected with the pair of crystal blue that always made her heart beat just a little bit faster. "Yeah, I am." Then she shook herself and returned her attention to Emma. "So where is everyone else today? DJ told me that Rini took off to Elysian first thing this morning, but what about the others?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm not sure about Hannah and Jay. I think they might be at the mall. Hannah said something about wanting to hit the bookstore up." She rolled her eyes at that. "Like we don't have enough to read with school. Oh well, maybe Jay will bring back some good mangas. And Skye, bless her heart, said she was sleeping in. The poor thing looked pretty rough when I went in to check on her. I think she's bummed out that Kyrian couldn't stick around. I would never say this to her face, but she looked like she had been crying."

"Poor Skye," Katie commiserated. "Well I don't think she'll have to wait long before she sees him again. We'll probably be heading home soon."

Emma visibly perked up. "Have you heard something?"

Katie shook her head. "No. It's just a feeling I have. DJ, Alex, and I will be facing Discord soon."

Up at the counter, DJ watched as Katie sat talking with Emma. He never got tired of watching her. Last night she had appeared like an ethereal angel to him, but deep inside he preferred her as she was now. Her wholesome beauty may be understated to some, but he adored it.

A hand waved in front of his eyes. "Dude! If you drool anymore it's going to take a mop to clean up the mess!"

He glared at his friend beside him. "Very funny, Lex!"

Alex grinned. "Just pointing out the facts. Besides, just try to keep in mind that is my sister that you're eying so intently, and it seriously creeps me out!"

DJ elbowed him. "I can look at her however I want. She's _not _my sister. Anyway, it's not like you don't spend all of your time staring at Emma like you're ready to eat her alive, so you don't have any room to talk."

"Whatever!" Alex snorted. "Emma's not your sister either. Can you imagine what it would be like if you had to watch me stare at Rini the way you stare at Kat?"

"Oh man!" DJ groaned. "I need about a gallon of eye bleach after that statement!"

Alex crossed his arms smugly. "I rest my case."

"You're demented!" DJ growled.

"What are you two over here muttering about?" Andrew asked as he appeared behind the counter.

"Nothing," both teens grumbled.

"Are you sure?" Andrew insisted. "You guys aren't having girl trouble, are you?"

"No!" they both insisted.

Andrew held his hands up. "Okay. I was just checking since you two are sitting here while your girlfriends are sitting over there."

"We're just letting them get in their girl talk about last night in without having to listen to it," Alex told him. Then he smirked. "Besides, look who's talking. I've noticed that you've been hanging out up here while Jess is in the back with Serena and Mina."

"Ha ha, smartass!" Andrew quipped back. "They're talking wedding stuff or something and I was banned from the conversation, Anyway, I'm just hanging around in case I'm needed. Lizzy called me earlier and said that she was running behind today for her shift."

Just then the doors to the arcade slid open and it was like a tornado blew in, a tornado that was complete with whirling red hair and snapping hazel eyes.

"Mom!" Andrew gasped as he took in the sight of what appeared to be a furious Kathleen Furuhata.

"Where is she?" she demanded.

"Where is who?" he asked in bewilderment.

In a flash, Kathleen had leaned across the counter and grasped Andrew by the shirt. "Don't play stupid with me, Andrew Furuhata! You know exactly who I'm talking about!"

"What's the matter?" Jess cried as she joined them at the counter, followed closely by Serena, Mina, Katie, and Emma.

"It's that daughter of mine," Kathleen moaned as she sat down on a stool. "I just know that she's getting herself into another bad situation. She wouldn't answer her phone last night or this morning. I went by her apartment, but I can tell that she hasn't been there. She's off with another loser guy! I just know she is!"

"Um…I know where she is," Katie said hesitantly.

Kathleen was off her stool in a flash. She took Katie by the shoulders and shook her a little as she almost shrieked, "What? Where?"

Katie was taken off guard by having the past form of her grandmother that she had loved her whole life acting like such a loon toward her. "Uh, well, I don't know exactly where she is right this minute. But I do know where she was last night. She was at the prom."

"Oh lord!" Kathleen moaned as she let Katie go and slumped back onto her stool. "The girl really has lost it! Now she's chasing after high school boys! What is she thinking? She's twenty one years old!"

"That's not the way it is," Alex interjected with a smirk. "She had a hot date with the deejay last night and came with him while he was working the prom."

"Chad!" Serena and Jess screeched at the same time while Mina just grinned.

"I don't believe this!" Serena muttered. Then she turned to Kathleen. "You don't have to worry about Chad. I've known him for almost seven years now and he's a great guy. He would never do anything to hurt Lizzy. Okay, so he's dated around quite a bit in the past, but he was never a playboy or anything."

Kathleen's expression brightened considerably. "He's a friend of yours?"

Serena nodded. "Yes ma'am. A very close friend actually."

"Then that makes everything all better!" Kathleen almost cheered. "I know that anyone that is a friend of yours is a decent person, Serena. Now I just hope that Lizzy doesn't do something crazy to drive him away. It's about time she found herself a nice guy instead of the bums she usually dates. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll marry him! I want grandchildren, but nobody seems to want to cooperate with me." Her eyes swung back and forth between Andrew and Jess almost accusingly.

Luckily she was too worked up to see the panicked looks that flew between Andrew, Jess, Katie, and Alex. Nor did she hear the strangled gasps that they tried vainly to choke back.

Finally Andrew found his voice. "Geez, mom! Can I at least get married before you start demanding grandkids from me?"

"I suppose," she sighed. "But after you say _'I do'_ I don't want to hear any more excuses. I want at least two from you. A boy and a girl would be nice. But they don't have to be in that order."

'_How about both at the same time?' _Alex's voice rang inside Katie's head, making her have to cover a laugh with a cough.

Kathleen thumped her on the back. "Goodness! Are you okay? You're not coming down with something are you?"

"No," Katie gasped. "I just have a tickle in my throat." Then she glared at her brother who sat grinning like a Cheshire cat and her severely amused looking boyfriend that had heard the comment as well thanks to their three-way telepathy. She leaned across Alex, pushing him completely out of his seat, to grab the soda glass in front of DJ. She took a few gulps before wrinkling her nose. "Ew! Mountain Dew! How can you drink that? It's gross!"

"I didn't make you drink it," DJ replied calmly, but a smirk curved up his lips.

"Real cute, Kat!" Alex growled as he got up from where he had landed on the floor. "Is that any way to treat your big brother?"

"Hmph!" Katie huffed. "Big brother, my left foot! You are only seven minutes older than me! That hardly qualifies you for being my older brother!"

Kathleen squealed and turned to Jess. "Your cousins are so high spirited! I can't wait to see what kind of grandchildren you give me. Strong genes seem to run in your family. Combine that with the Furuhata bloodline and I bet we end up with some extraordinary children."

"You have no idea," Andrew muttered under his breath.

Jess moaned and laid her head on Serena's shoulder. "I feel like a brood mare! I think my future mother in law only wants me for my pedigree."

"There, there, sweetie! It will be okay," Serena consoled her soothingly.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that!" Kathleen exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat. She pulled Jess from Serena's arms and hugged her with amazing strength for such a tiny woman. "You know I love you, dearest! You are exactly what my Drew-baby needs to keep him in line."

The doors to the arcade slid open to reveal an irritated looking Andrew Sr.. The barrel chested blonde man scanned the arcade until he spotted his wife in the middle of the group by the counter. His glittering brown eyes narrowed as they landed on her.

"Uh oh! Someone's in trouble," Andrew whispered loudly. "Dad looks mad enough to bite the head off a rattlesnake."

"Ha! Like I'm scared of him!" Kathleen scoffed. "He's just a big teddy bear full of hot air."

The man in question looked more like a grizzly on a rampage as he crossed the arcade. The mostly teenage patrons of the place parted quickly to make way for him as he stomped toward the counter. He came to a stop in front of his wife and crossed his arms as he stared down at her.

Kathleen put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Don't you look at me like that, Andy Furuhata! What has crawled up your butt and died this time?"

A breath hissed out between his teeth. "You are an almost impossible woman to track down. Did you happen to forget that we have an appointment this afternoon?"

She sniffed. "No, I didn't. But we've got time."

He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her so that she was facing the clock on the wall behind the counter and he pointed to it.

"Oh," she muttered when she saw the time. "Well why didn't you call me on my cell?"

Andy pulled the cell phone in question from his pocket. "I would have if a certain someone hadn't run out of the house screaming like a banshee this morning and left it behind."

"Well I couldn't help it! I was worried about my baby!" she snapped back. "I had no idea where she was or who she was with and I had to get some answers."

Her husband pinched the bridge of his nose. "When are you going to back off and let our kids live their own lives? They are grown now. For crying out loud, Drew is pushing twenty-four and Lizzy is twenty-one. They don't need mommy to rule their lives anymore."

"Amen!" Andrew mumbled softly as a round of bickering broke out among his parents.

"Uh oh! Don't look now, but things are about to get even more interesting," Mina squealed softly as she pointed out the front window of the arcade.

Serena, Jess, Andrew, and all of the teens looked out to see that a black Viper had pulled up to the curb out front. Serena immediately recognized it as being Chad's car. He rarely ever drove it because he didn't like to flaunt his family's money, but obviously he hadn't minded pulling it out in this case.

The brown haired Chad got out of the driver's side and rounded the car to open the passenger door. He reached a hand in and out stepped a beaming, red haired Lizzy. She reached up and pulled his head down to engage him in a lip-lock that was just short of being indecent.

"What the hell!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Holy shit!" Jess said at the same time.

Serena and Mina both slapped their hands over their mouths as they squealed.

DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma all dissolved into laughter at their shock. After all, they were already well aware of Lizzy and Chad's relationship since they came from the future.

"What are all of you going on about?" Kathleen snapped as she looked around at them. Then she followed their gaze out the window. "Oh my…"

When Jess saw her future mother in law's face turn the same color as her hair, she ran for the door. She liked Lizzy a lot, and she figured the poor girl deserved some kind of warning before she walked into the unexpected.

"Hey Liz!" she called out as the doors slid open. "I have one word of advice for you. Run!"

Lizzy pulled her lips away from Chad's to look at Jess in confusion for a moment. But her confusion melted away into fear and all of the color bled from her face when she heard the enraged, "Elizabeth Furuhata! Get your butt in here right now, young lady! We need to talk!" bellow through the open doors.

"Oh my god! It's my mother!" Lizzy gasped. Then she began pushing Chad. "You have to get out of here! She'll eat you alive!"

Chad laughed. "Honey, I'm not afraid to meet your mother. It's going to happen at some point."

"Yeah, but not when she's like this!" Lizzy cried frantically. "I would very much like to keep you alive."

Just then a screech erupted from inside the arcade and Jess whirled around just in time to move out of the way to let Andy stride through the doors. But the amazing part was that he had his wife thrown over one shoulder and was carrying her as she screamed and cursed at him.

He walked right up to Chad and held his hand out. "Hi. I'm Andy, Lizzy's father. It's nice to meet you."

Chad shook the offered hand respectfully. "It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'm Chad."

Andy grinned and indicated the squirming body draped over his shoulder. "This is my wife, Kathy. But I'm afraid she's not in the right frame of mind to meet people right now. Besides, we have an appointment to keep. So we'll see you kids later."

He walked away, with his wife still hanging over his shoulder screaming and ranting at the top of her lungs. "Put me right now you big bully! You are such a caveman sometimes! I swear, you better put me down right now or I'm going to make you sleep in the spare bedroom for the rest of your life! And don't think that I'm ever going to make you another strawberry pie as long as I live! Andy! Please put me dooowwwnn!"

Her wails finally died off when Andy dumped her inside his large gray pick up truck and climbed in behind her. He started it up right away and drove off.

Chad chuckled. "So that's your parents, huh?"

Lizzy slapped her hands over her red, embarrassed face. "Oh my god! I could kill them both right now!"

"Remind me to stay away from my parent's house for the next few days," Andrew said as he came up behind Jess. "It's liable to be a war zone around there for a while." Then he looked over at his sister who had her face buried in Chad's shoulder. "Are you going to get in here and get to work or what?" he called out to her.

She looked up and glared at her brother. "Go to hell, Drew!" Then she stomped by him, making sure to slam her shoulder against his as she passed.

Back at the counter, Katie giggled to Alex, "And grandma thinks we take after mom's side of the family? What a laugh!"

* * *

_**An Undisclosed Location in an Undisclosed Time**_

There was a soft flash of light as the moon goddess, Selene, appeared in the middle of what appeared to be a beautiful courtyard. Riotous displays of colorful flowers bloomed in planter boxes that were scattered all around and benches were situated where people could sit around and enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the wonderfully carved marble fountain in the center.

This seemed out of place since hardly anybody came here except her, Gaia, and Apollo. It was a shame too because this place was just as glamorous as any place that could be found on Mount Olympus, despite the fact that it was located deep underground. But it was easy to forget the fact that you were in a subterranean cave once you were there. Centuries ago, when they had first founded this place, she and Apollo had used their magic to enchant the ceiling so that it appeared as the sky on Earth would. It changed from day to night just like the real thing. And Gaia had used her powers of nature here so that plant life could grow. In addition to the flowers there was grass and trees. Even the air moved in a way that would make you feel like you were outdoors and there were many small animals that scampered around that called this place home.

Selene took a moment to breathe in the peace and tranquility here. She tilted her head back to feel the warmth of the realistic feeling sunlight on her face. Being the goddess of the moon didn't make her begrudge the sun in any way. She knew that the two of them must coexist in order to keep the balance of life. And though she would never admit it to Apollo, she enjoyed the warm, golden glow of the sun almost as much as she enjoyed the soothing, silvery light of her moon.

But she didn't have time to waste today, so she shook herself from her reveries and made her way down the path that led to the fairly large marble building that had been fashioned after the temples that stood on Mount Olympus. As she climbed the steps, the guard that stood before the doors raised surprised, storm cloud gray eyes to hers.

"My lady, goddess! This is a nice surprise," he greeted her. "It has been a while since I have seen you."

She smiled gently. "Hello, my old friend. Yes, it has been a while. I apologize for that. I have been kept busy lately."

The guard snickered. "So I have heard. Gaia and Apollo have both been by recently and have told me some of the events that have been taking place. And Setsuna has visited a few times as well. It sounds as if the new Trinity bearers have been on quite a little adventure so far."

"Yes, they have," Selene replied with a giggle. "But they are coming along nicely now, and it probably won't be long before they find their way here."

A deep sigh came from the guard. "I figured as much. Here's hoping that they have more success against Discord than their predecessors had. The universe would do well to be rid of that monstrosity."

"I agree," the goddess said with a nod. "I believe in them though. They are a high-spirited trio, but they are determined. I believe that they just might be the ones to end that demon's reign of terror for good."

A chuckle answered her. "Gaia agrees with you, but Apollo still has his reservations."

"Of course he does!" she scoffed. "He is probably one of the most pessimistic gods that I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. But these are good kids, and I think they'll do us proud."

"I suppose you want to take a look around," the guard said as he moved to the side so that she could enter the building.

"You don't have to make it sound like I'm checking up on you or anything," she teased as she stepped inside. "I have complete faith in you to keep everything as it should be. You have been standing at this post for many centuries now, and you've never let us down once."

He bowed his head. "You humble me with your praise, my lady."

"Oh pooh! You don't have to stand on ceremony with me. We've known each other for far too long for that," she fussed. Then she fell silent as she entered the large main room of the temple.

It had the look of a throne room at first glance. But instead of there being a throne on the raised dais at the end of the room there were three altars arranged in a triangle shape and topped with velvet cushions. On these altars rested the secret of this place.

She climbed the steps up to the altars slowly and bowed her head reverently for a moment before reaching a hand toward the one covered in white velvet. She sighed blissfully as the hilt of the slender silver sword slid into her hand. This was one of the keys to Discord's fall.

She lifted the sword from its resting place, marveling for what had to be the thousandth time about the beauty of Hephaestus's workmanship. She had no use for the sword as a weapon, but she had been pleased to accept it as a gift from her fellow god.

She looked over at her sword's two companions. Also made by Hephaestus, they mirrored the personality of their owners as well. Both were broader than hers, since Apollo was a man and Gaia was an Amazon when compared to her. The sun god's sword gleamed bright copper against its bed of red velvet while the earth goddess's sword shown bright gold from where it lay against dark blue velvet. All three of these swords must work together in order to achieve victory.

She thought back to the only people who had ever wielded these swords in battle, Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward. They had come so close to defeating Discord when they had faced him. But sadly the doubts that Discord had planted inside them and their overconfidence that they would win had been their downfall. And there was no way to be sure that the same events wouldn't happen again.

Or was there? A bright smile lit up Selene's face as an idea occurred to her. She carefully returned her sword to its resting place.

"It won't be much longer until you have a new wielder," she said softly. "And I have a feeling that this time you will be victorious."

She hurried down the steps, pausing for a moment when she reached the guard. "I will be back soon, my friend. Please continue to guard the swords as magnificently as you have always done."

He inclined his head. "Of course, my lady."

She ran out of the temple and into the courtyard, feeling as giddy as a young girl. She flashed herself from this special place to Mount Olympus. But instead of appearing in her own temple, she arrived at the temple of the goddess of the harvest, Demeter.

A handmaiden met her at the door of the temple. "I'm afraid that the goddess is not in at the moment."

Selene shook her head. "I am here to see Persephone."

The servant bowed her inside. "Right this way."

She led the moon goddess through the temple until they emerged into a stunning private garden. It was deserted except for a dark haired young woman lying on a chaise lounge.

"A visitor for you, Lady Persephone," the servant announced.

Persephone sighed and opened her eyes. Their chocolate brown depths began to sparkle when she saw who her visitor was. "Selene! Oh, it's wonderful to see you!"

Selene hurried forward and hugged to other woman tightly. "I'm glad to see you too. How have you been?"

Persephone dismissed the servant with a wave of her hand. "Absolutely bored to death! I miss my Hades so much! It never fails, every spring my mother drags me back here to be with her, and then she ends up spending most of her time up at the Thecropolis with Zeus and the others talking about _"important" _things. It's almost enough to make me wish I were mortal! Do you know how hard it is to endure months of celibacy after spending months in an extremely hot god's bed? The sexual frustration is almost more than I can bear!"

Selene laughed. "I'm afraid that I have never been in quite that position, but I may have an idea that might help you out a bit. I need a favor from your dear hubby, and as you know he and I don't always get along that great. So I was thinking that maybe if you went with me he might be more open to persuasion."

"I don't know," Persephone muttered. "Mom blows a gasket every time I sneak away to see him. She'll probably bring a famine on some poor country if she finds out."

"I'll take full responsibility for this one," Selene reassured her. "Demeter and I have been friends for a long time. If she finds out I'll explain to her that I needed your help. I'll make sure no innocent humans suffer for it."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Persephone squealed, grabbing Selene's hand.

They flashed themselves from Demeter's temple to the underground entrance into Hades' domain.

"Let me feel him out first," Selene said. "I know he's going to say no because that's just the way he is. If he sees you right away he will probably still say no. You are my trump card, and I have to wait for the right moment to play you."

"Well don't take too long!" Persephone hissed. "The excitement is killing me."

"I doubt that!" Selene snorted. "You're immortal!"

She stepped up to the large double doors and knocked.

"Go away!" a deep voice bellowed from the other side.

"Open up, Hades! I need to talk to you!" Selene yelled back.

The doors swung open and she walked into the chamber to find the god of the underworld draped carelessly across his throne, swirling a glass of wine in one hand while he scowled at nothing.

"Please don't tell me that you are drunk!" Selene snapped.

His glittering black eyes swung to her. "Okay, I won't tell you. So what do you want, your moon-ness? Shouldn't you be off with your little buddies planning out how three teenage humans are going to save the world?"

She put her fingers to her temples. "You are drunk! That's just great! I came here to ask you for a favor."

He waved a hand at her. "Ask away."

She drew in a deep breath. "I wanted your permission to enter the Elysian Fields."

The underworld was divided into two realms. Tartarus was the hell realm where all of the evil souls were taken after their demise to spend eternity in misery. The Elysian Fields, however, was where the good souls went to rest in paradise forever.

Hades chuckled darkly for a moment and then said flatly, "No!"

Selene drew herself up straight and crossed her arms. "You know I wouldn't ask you this if it wasn't important, Hades."

His black gaze narrowed on her. "And I said no. This is my world down here and I rule. I don't need you running around communing with the souls of the dead. Knowing you, you would start an uprising just to piss me off."

"I would not!" Selene gasped in outrage. "Look, I tried to ask you nicely, but now you're going to make me play dirty."

The god laughed. "Are you trying to be intimidating, Selene? That's not your style."

She tossed her silver head. "Maybe it's not, but don't forget that I am a goddess with just as much power as you have, and I know how to deal with arrogant drunkard gods like you. Just ask Ares what happened to him that night a few centuries back when he got falling down drunk and tried to put some moves on me. He may be the god of war, but I won the battle that night."

"Ares is an idiot," Hades drawled. "But I'll play your game. What have you got up your sleeve?"

"I've brought a gift for you if you will be kind enough to let me into the Elysian Fields," she said sweetly.

"You don't have anything I want," he scoffed.

Selene smirked. "But what if I did? Would you let me in then?"

He yawned boredly. "Sure. If you actually had something I wanted, I'd let you go into the Elysian Fields."

"Do I have your word on that?" she pressed.

"Yeah, yeah," he said carelessly. "Now go away."

"Oh not yet," she giggled. "I have your word now and you have to stick to it. So let me get your gift and I'll be on my way to the Elysian Fields."

"You sound awfully sure of yourself," he growled.

"I am," she replied confidently as she turned and waved toward the door.

"What are you…?" he began to demand, but his voice died off as he saw the woman that stepped inside. "Persephone?" he finally managed to croak.

"Hades!" she squealed as she raced across the room and jumped on top of him before he could even move from his throne.

Selene cleared her throat. " I'll just take my leave before you two get too wrapped up in each other. I have your permission, right Hades?"

The god tore his lips from his wife's to glare at the moon goddess. "Yes. Now get out of here. Can't a man make love to his wife in peace around here?"

Selene rolled her eyes. After all of these centuries together those two still acted like a pair of horny teenagers with each other. "Just remember, Seph, I can manage to wrangle you a few hours, but no more than that."

Her friend waved a hand to indicate that she'd heard her, but that was it. She already had her lips otherwise occupied.

Figuring that she better make her escape before the clothes started flying and she was treated to a show of exhibitionism, Selene hurriedly left the chamber. She made her way down the dark passageway until she reached a dead end with two gates that were guarded by the three-headed dog, Cerberus. The dog growled at her, but made no move to attack as she stepped through the gate on the right.

Immediately she found herself in the middle of what really appeared to be a paradise world. There were waterfalls, rainbows, and lush green fields full of colorful flowers. The sky was a perfect shade of blue while the sun shown down without being too hot.

Focusing on the presence she was searching for, she used her powers to teleport to it when she found it. Of course, the person in question wasn't alone.

"Great Selene!" a voice shrieked before she had even fully materialized. Then it said, "Oh my! It really is Selene!"

Selene smiled as she looked around the gazebo she had appeared in and at the four people situated there. "Jonathan, Edward, Althea, it's wonderful to see you again." Then she pinned her descendant with a serious look. "We need to talk, Serenity."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30**__**th**__** Century**_

Evan skipped a rock across the shiny, glassy surface of the pond in the middle of the park. "So if you're always going back to the past and you know my sister and Talon so well back then, how come we've never crossed paths until now?"

Trista shrugged eloquently. "I don't know. Maybe the time just wasn't right, I suppose. I'm not able to see anything that directly impacts my personal life."

A white blond brow arched perfectly over a gold eye. "So I'm part of your personal life now, huh?"

The normally unruffled time guardian blushed furiously. "I…I didn't mean it to come out sounding like that!"

He chuckled lightly. "It's okay, Trista. I would be honored if you would consider me to be part of your personal life."

She felt her face grow even hotter as his words. Good grief! There she went acting like an adolescent girl with a crush again. What was it about this man that brought out the blushing, giggly, feminine side to her? Amara would have a field day if she could see her right now.

She and Evan had spent a little bit of time together since their first walk in the palace gardens. It seemed like he always managed to show up whenever she was in this time, which really wasn't all that surprising since he was acting as Talon's official representative while this mess with Discord was going on, and he was usually able to steer her away for a few minutes of conversation before she had to run off again.

But when she had returned Kyrian to this time early this morning she had stuck around for several hours to visit with her friends here and to offer them what insight she could into Discord's recent movements. Evan had come across her in the gardens while she had been playing with Hotaru and Sammy's little son, Kenny, and at Neo Queen Serenity's insistence she had taken off a few hours to accept his invitation to lunch. They had gone to a small café to eat before ending up here at the park.

"So did Kyrian enjoy himself in the past last night?" Evan asked when she remained quiet. "I tried asking him about it, but he seemed a little depressed."

Trista laughed lightly at that. "I'm sure he did. He's probably just sad over having to leave Skye behind. He's really crazy about her."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. "He's been mooning over that girl for a few years now. I kept telling him to rush in and sweep her off her feet, but they always seemed to butt heads so much. Maybe things will be different between them now."

"Yeah, maybe," she echoed. She had already seen the way that Sky and Kyrian's futures were supposed to play out, and she knew that they would be very happy together, but she couldn't tell Evan that.

He turned to her and grinned as if he'd read her mind. "You don't have to play vague with me. I know you already know if they are going to wind up together or not and that you can't say. It's okay. I can live with that."

She gave him a grateful smile and then sighed. "It's been a wonderful afternoon, but I really should be heading back now. With so much going on I have to keep a close eye on things to make sure nothing goes wrong."

"I know," he said dramatically. "Such is the life of the busy time guardian. You're always in demand."

"It's the story of my life," she agreed with a giggle as he helped her up from where she had taken a seat on the ground.

"So will I see you again soon," he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist instead of stepping away.

"I'm sure I'll be around," she replied softly, feeling a little breathless. "I usually am."

She watched in fascination as his face lowered toward hers. At the last second she pulled back. "Evan, I really like you a lot, but I have my job to do. Being the time guardian doesn't leave me a lot of time for a personal life."

He smirked slyly. "Then I'll take what I can get," he whispered huskily before he closed the gap between their lips and kissed her deeply.

Trista moaned at the feeling and taste of him. She hadn't been kissed in 2,000 years and she had forgotten what it felt like. She had always been afraid that if another man kissed her that it would dredge up all of her old memories of her lost love and that she would be forced to compare the difference between the two.

But Tristan stayed safely locked away in his special place in the back corner of her mind and left her free to enjoy the moment. She wrapped her arms around Evan's neck and ran her fingers through the silky ponytail at his nape as she returned the kiss. She stroked her tongue boldly against his before pulling back slightly to nip at his lips.

He made a growling sound low in his throat. "I had a feeling there was a minx buried inside of you somewhere."

She giggled shakily. "Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I _never _act like this."

He chuckled and stepped back from her as he took her hand in his. "Come on. I better let you get back to work. The last thing I need is for Serena to accuse me of distracting one of her scouts right now while we are in a crisis. But once all of this crap with Discord is over…" he let his voice trail off suggestively.

"We'll see," Trista teased playfully, further shocking herself. She had kissed this man, and now she was _flirting _with him. She must have lost her mind! She had a job to do!

But once Evan had escorted her back to the palace and left her with a gentle kiss on the cheek before teleporting away to his home village for a meeting with Talon, she found herself climbing the stairs of the palace and knocking on a door that she never had before. When the door opened she wasn't sure who was more shocked, her or Mina.

"Trista! This is a surprise!" Mina squeaked. "Would you like to come in?"

Trista shook her head. "No thank you. I have to return to the time gate and this won't take but a moment. I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure," Mina said, stepping out into the hall and closing the door to shut out the loud sounds of her son, Kyle, and Lita and Nephrite's son, Nick, playing video games in her living room. "What's on your mind?"

Trista took a deep breath. "I was just wondering. Do you…Do you think that it's possible for someone who has lost their soul mate to be able to find another one?"

Mina tilted her head to the side. "Well…normally speaking there is only one soul mate out there for everyone. But that doesn't mean that a person can't find a deep and fulfilling love with another person. Many times people fall in love with someone and believe that they have found their true soul mate, but in reality they haven't. It doesn't mean that they can't be happy with their lives though. Does this have to do with you and Evan?"

The time guardian nodded. "Yes. I felt an instant connection with him the moment we met. I have only felt something like that once before when I was a young woman. I was in love with a man that unfortunately died of illness. Since Evan was already alive at the time I know that there is no way that he is the reincarnation of the one I once loved. That's why I was wondering if there was ever a case of their being another soul mate possible."

There was so much that Mina longed to say to her friend to ease her mind, but she had learned long ago that she just couldn't run around telling people who they should be with. Trista was just going to have to figure things out on her own. But she had seen the soul bond that tied Trista and Evan together, and it was strong. Trista may have loved someone else, once upon a time, but he hadn't been her soul mate.

"Trista," she said gently. "There is no doubt in my mind that you and Evan could be very happy together. But only you can decide whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with him. You may have loved and lost once before, but that's no reason to give up on love for the rest of your life. Everyone deserves love and happiness."

Trista looked at her quizzically. "You know something that you're not telling me."

Mina shrugged. "I have my rules to abide by just like you have yours. There are some things that I just can't say. But I think you would be crazy to not give Evan a chance. I think he could be good for you."

Trista surprised her by laughing. "You know what? I think you just might be right!"

* * *

_**The Elysian Fields**_

Serenity sat in shock as she stared at the goddess in front of her. "You want me to what! Did I hear you right?"

Selene nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! I think they need to know. I can only get away with very brief moments of speaking to them without having Zeus coming down on me for fraternizing with the humans. You remember what it was like when you were training with the Trinity. Apollo, Gaia, and I only popped in a few times to speak to you three when we could. But I really think these kids need to know the whole story. And who better than you to tell it to them? I would love it if you, Jonathan, and Edward could all go, but you are the only one who can traverse the astral plane because of your tie to the moon and your daughter's Silver Crystal. Besides, it's not like you haven't done it many times before."

"I know," Serenity groaned, rubbing her temples. "They do deserve to know the facts about what happened when we faced Discord. It's just that I always try very hard not to think about the events of that day. And to share that horror story with them…They are only children!"

"They are _not _children!" Selene insisted. "They are not much younger than you were when you wielded the Trinity. They are intelligent young adults with bright, happy futures ahead of them." She held out a hand and an orb appeared, floating above her palm. It swirled for a moment until a vision of DJ, Katie, and Alex became visible.

Serenity averted her eyes, but the other three leaned forward to get their first look at the new Trinity bearers.

"Oh!" Althea sighed. "Would you look at them! What strong looking young people! That one must be the one they call DJ. He looks just like Endymion, except for the eyes; he has Serenity's eyes. And the other two! The boy has your eyes, Edward! And there's no denying the girl's lunarian heritage with those facial features."

The black haired man at her side put his arm around her. "Calm yourself, love. It seems that there are more important things to discuss other than who our descendants take after."

Jonathan stared at the vision in silence. In his mind he wasn't seeing DJ, Katie, and Alex, but himself, Serenity, and Edward when they were close to the same age. They had been so cocky and thought that they were invincible. And they had almost paid for it with their lives.

"Ren," he said softly. "You have to tell them. I don't want them to suffer through what we had to if it can be avoided. We owe that much to them. It's the least we can do."

Serenity's wide lavender eyes swung to his. "Jon…"

"He's right," Selene whispered. "They have already suffered. But they have found strength in each other and it has only made them stronger. But at the same time they are only human, and it is human nature to have doubts. Discord will prey on that if given the chance. And I don't want to see a repeat of what happened before. If they fail there will be no chance of sealing him away this time because everyone will be dead."

The vision in the orb shifted, showing the blood soaked city of Crystal Tokyo. Bodies littered the ground.

Serenity raised a trembling hand to her lips as she saw the reincarnation of her daughter and her soul mate lying dead in each other's arms. Melody and Motoki's reincarnations lay dead as well, along with all of the scouts, generals, and even their children. The sight of the tiny blonde boy that couldn't be more than five or six years old lying motionless next to Sailor Mercury's body was almost more than she could bear.

"Is this the way that you want their second chance that you sacrificed yourself for to end, Serenity?" Selene asked.

The vision shifted again, showing the dark, inky vapor that was Discord. He hovered over the three dirty, beaten, and bloodied teens. They were all on their knees without the energy to even raise their heads to face their impending death. A wide beam of dark energy shot from Discord and hit them head on. A moment later, all three fell over dead.

"Okay! I get it!" the former moon queen choked out on a sob as she covered her eyes with her hands. "I'll do it!" She felt warm arms around her and sank gratefully into the embrace.

"You'll do fine," Jonathan whispered in her ear.

"They do need to know exactly what they will be facing," Edward said gruffly. "Tell them all of it. Don't let the mistakes of our past be repeated by them."

"Oh! I just wish I could go with you!" Althea cried, her own voice thick with tears.

Serenity uncovered her eyes and gave a wry grin. "I guess we're in luck that the phase of the new moon starts tonight."

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Day**_

"So, Chad and Lizzy, huh?" Darien chuckled as he leaned against the kitchen counter and took a sip of his water. "I didn't see that one coming."

"Neither did I," Serena replied from the depths of the refrigerator where she was pulling out some containers of food that Lita had sent with her earlier. "I about fell over when I found out. So did Jess. Of course Mina was all smug about it. She's probably seen it coming for a long time."

"Probably," he agreed. "How's Drew taking the news? He usually goes a little psycho whenever Lizzy starts dating anyone new."

She giggled as she stepped back and closed the refrigerator. "He's been really good about it so far. I think the fact that he already knows Chad and knows for a fact that he isn't a drug-dealing loser has helped a lot. I think he's okay with it. Now his mom on the other hand…"

Darien burst into laughter. "Did Big Andy really carry her out of the arcade over his shoulder, or were you exaggerating?"

Serena drew an X over her heart with her finger. "Cross my heart! It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Lizzy was mortified. Now she's afraid that Chad is going to believe that insanity runs in her family and break up with her."

"Nah, Chad can handle it," Darien said in amusement. "That's probably one of the best things about him living with Raye for so long. He's used to insanity."

Serena slapped at him playfully. "Be nice! Raye isn't insane! She's just a little…"

"Crazy," he supplied with a smirk.

She placed her hands on her hips. "I could say a thing or two about some of your friends too, so don't start on mine!"

"I was just picking," he told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. He was leaning in for a kiss when a loud growling sound filled the air between them.

"That wasn't me!" Serena exclaimed jumping out of his arms. "So I don't want to hear any cracks about my vocal stomach."

Darien quirked a grin as he rubbed his stomach. "Nope! This time it's all me. I was so busy at work today that I didn't have time to eat. I'm starving!"

Serena rolled her eyes. "Why didn't you eat? I'm sure you could have taken five minutes to eat a little something."

He shook his head. "I literally didn't have the time. My private appointments ran behind all morning and then when I got down to the ER we were swamped. I barely had a chance to think. By the time it slowed down my shift was over. Zoicite was in just as bad of shape. I don't think we said more than two words to each other as we stumbled out to our cars."

Serena heaved a sigh. "I don't see how you doctors can be so hypocritical. You spend all day telling your patients about the importance of eating a well balanced diet while you abuse your own bodies. It doesn't make any sense to me. Shouldn't you practice what you preach?"

He shrugged. "I could, I suppose. But then I think about the man whose life I saved today. He might not be alive and with his family tonight if I had decided to take time off to go find something to eat."

She stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You crazy, wonderful man! You weren't content just to be my hero. You have to go and try to be everyone else's too."

"I'm just doing my job," he said humbly.

"And you're so good at it," she replied softly as she stood on her tiptoes to brush a light kiss across his lips.

Just then his stomach grumbled loudly once again.

Serena giggled. "Come on! Let's get you fed. Andrew said he was cooking steaks tonight."

"I know," Darien groaned. "I can smell them from here. The balcony door must be open."

She snatched up the containers she had set on the table and grabbed his hand to pull him toward the glass doors. "Let's take the quick route. It's dark enough that nobody should see us."

They walked out onto their balcony and looked over to the neighboring one. Sure enough, Andrew was manning a grill while Jess lounged on one of the patio chairs with a sketchbook propped on her knees.

"Make way!" Darien called out in warning as he and Serena both leapt up onto the railing and then jumped across the dozen or so feet.

Andrew saluted them with the beer he held in his hand. "Welcome to the party, neighbors!" Then he handed Darien a frosty bottle as well.

Serena took it from his hand. "At least eat something first. Look, Drew's got some munchies laid out on the table."

"Good thing too," Darien growled. "If he didn't I'd probably rip those steaks off the grill and start eating them with my bare hands."

Andrew chuckled. "I hope you like them extremely rare then, because I just put them on. We have a little while."

"I brought over some pasta and a salad that Lita made. I thought it would go good with the steak," Serena told him. "I'm going to stick it in your fridge."

"Hurry back," Jess called out. "You've got to try this chardonnay."

Serena snickered. "It sounds like you've already made a dent in it."

"I've only had a glass…okay, maybe I've had two," Jess giggled. "But there's no problem. I have another bottle in the fridge."

Serena ducked inside and stowed her goodies away in the kitchen before wandering back out onto the balcony. Darien and Andrew were already deep into one of their _manly _conversations, so she wandered over to where Jess was. She helped herself to a glass of the wine and then paused behind her friend to take a glance at whatever she was creating on the paper in front of her this time.

Serena was barely able to draw more than stick people, so she always found it fascinating to watch as Jess made things come alive on paper. She took a sip of her wine as she leaned over to get a better look at the drawing. She thought she'd see a sketch of the city skyline or of Andrew standing at the grill. Instead she almost choked on that sip a second later at the sight before her.

"Jess," she managed to whisper. "Do you know what that place is?"

Jess looked up at her, wide eyed. "Yes. At least I think I do."

Serena took the book from her and walked over to Darien, where she held it in front of his face. He leaned back to allow the light from inside to shine on the paper. His face went pale. "Crystal Tokyo?" he murmured, looking back and forth between the drawing and Jess.

"Hey! What's everybody looking at?" Andrew said with a laugh as he walked over to them. He looked at the drawing and chuckled, "Dang, baby! Are you still working on this one? You've been at it for the last couple of weeks. Every time I think you've finished it you go back and add some more details."

Serena looked up at him sharply. "So you know what this is too?"

Andrew looked confused. "What do you mean? I just figured it was something for one of her classes."

"Well it's not!" Serena said firmly as she took another good look at the drawing of the sprawling city with the tall crystal palace located in the very center. "I've been there before. It's Crystal Tokyo. Feel free to confirm it with the kids if you think I'm mistaken."

"I think the bigger issue here is how Jess knows exactly how a city that exists a thousand years from now is supposed to look," Darien replied, pinning his former daughter with a dark stare.

Jess cringed under his censuring look as she nervously twirled a loose piece of hair around her finger. "Geez Louise, Darien! Do you have to make me feel like I'm five years old all over again? I don't know whether to burst into tears or run for my life when you look at me like that."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Andrew piped up, trying to ease the tension. "She probably has just heard the kids talking about home or seen a picture. Alex has a ton of them on his computer, even though he has been really careful about not letting us see them."

Serena shook her head. "No way! That drawing is way to accurate to duplicate just from glancing at a picture." It was her turn to stare Jess down now. She arched a brow in an expectant look.

Jess pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes and groaned. "Oh god! The flashbacks! Make them stop!" Then she looked up angrily. "You guys make it sound like I've been withholding some huge international secret from you and I haven't! I've just been drawing what I see in my dreams, okay!"

"In your dreams?" Serena gasped.

Darien relaxed his pose and sat back in his seat. Troublesome dreams was a subject he was well familiar with. "Does this have anything to do with why you went to meet with Helios a while back?"

Jess nodded. "It started back the night before the fight with Discord, Beryl, and Metallia." She turned to Andrew. "You remember that night, don't you?"

Andrew thought for a moment. "Yeah. I had to wake you up because your powers started surging and I didn't want you to bring the whole building down."

Jess sighed. "Well that dream was really confusing, just a bunch of jumbled up things that didn't make much since. So I just put it out of my mind and forgot about it for a while. It wasn't hard to do since we've been so busy lately. But in the last few weeks I have been having these really strange dreams almost every time I fall asleep. And it seems like each time I have one that things come in a little bit clearer."

"And these dreams are of Crystal Tokyo?" Serena prompted gently.

"That's the only rational explanation I can come up with," Jess replied. "Helios pretty much confirmed it when I spoke with him. I keep seeing what happens there when the kids finally go to face Discord."

"So that's the big dream secret you've been keeping from me, huh?" Andrew asked as he took a seat next to her.

Darien sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees. "Maybe it's like what happened with me when my future self sent me those dreams. Your future self might be trying to warn you about something that may be in your future."

Jess shook her head. "I don't know if that's all there is to it or not. I'm not just a casual observer in these dreams. I'm actually there. But I don't see the events through the eyes of my future self. I'm there as me, just like I am right now. And I see my future self as well. It's like there are two of me in the same place. That's the part that has me so confused. I asked Helios about it, but all he would say was that when the time came for the kids to fight Discord that I was going to have to make a choice."

"What kind of choice?" Andrew demanded.

"I wish I knew," she groaned. "Trying to get straight answers out of him is like banging your head against a brick wall. You don't make any progress and you end up with a massive headache afterward. Now go check our dinner before you burn it. I don't want my steak charbroiled."

Andrew jumped up to do as she asked and Serena took his vacated seat. "It sounds like your dream is pretty vague. Doesn't your future self tell you anything?"

Jess gulped. She definitely didn't want to go into the details of her dream. In the ones that she had been having recently, everything started off nice. She could see Crystal Tokyo the way the kids from the future always described it. It was a beautiful city. A lot of it reminded her of the Tokyo of this time, but the glittering crystal palace at its center gave it an air of a city of power.

Then it was as if someone threw a switch. The sky would grow dark and explosions rumbled all around. People were running and screaming in every direction as monsters appeared from everywhere. Some of them were the same guardians and sentinels that Discord had been using, but there were other ones as well, huge, hulking beasts that barreled their way through people and objects like tanks. And then there were the giants. She never could make them out clearly, but they were as tall as buildings. And the whole time Discord's cloudy presence covered the sky as he laughed.

She always found herself in front of the palace, where she would transform and fight. But it seemed like no matter what she did, the ending was the same. Everyone, including herself, was dead.

She shook her head. "No. My future self never says anything to me."

"Well, what do you see?" Serena pressed on.

Jess shot to her feet. "I really don't want to talk about it, okay! The main thing I'm focusing on is trying to figure out this choice that Helios says I have to make, because I don't get it. What decision could I possibly have to make that could impact a fight that takes place a thousand years in the future?"

"Life is always full of choices, little one," a soft voice replied as Queen Serenity appeared in a soft glow of light.

"Mother!" Serena squeaked and almost fell off the lounge chair.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Cute, grandma. I guess knocking would be too subtle of an entrance for you, wouldn't it?"

Queen Serenity laughed gently. "At least I know I have your attention this way, Melody."

"Well you certainly have mine!" Serena gasped. "What are you doing here, mother?"

The queen folded her arms and sniffed daintily. "Do I have to have an excuse to visit my family?"

"Of course not!" Serena exclaimed as she jumped up and ran to give her past mother a hug. Jess followed right behind her.

After a moment, Serenity stepped back and cupped both of their cheeks. "My girls!" she sighed happily. Then she sobered. "I'm afraid that this is more of a business trip than a pleasure one though. I need to talk to the children."

"They're not here," Jess said as she pulled her cell phone from her pocket. "But all I have to do is make a call and I can have them here in a heartbeat."

Serenity waved a hand. "Do not trouble them at this moment. What I have to discuss with them will take some time, and my energy is low tonight since it's only the first night of the new moon phase. I just wanted to speak with you and see if you would bring them to Elysian tomorrow night. That will be when the new moon is official and my magic will be at its peak. I have spoken with Helios, and he has agreed that Elysian is the best place to reveal my story."

"What story is that?" Serena asked in confusion.

The queen drew in a deep breath and looked up with troubled lavender eyes. "I do not want to see the mistakes of your father's, Edward's, and my past repeated, Serenity. All the god powers in the world will not protect those children unless they truly understand the battle that they will be facing. It will be a difficult fight, and they need to be prepared for it. After much deliberation, I have decided that I am going to share with them the story of the original Galactic Trinity, and how we were such vain, ignorant fools that we let our one shot at ridding the universe of that monster slip right through our fingers."

* * *

**A/N **Another chapter down! Yay! So coming up, Queen Serenity's story! The final battle is fast approaching, and she wants to give DJ, Katie, and Alex the best possible chance for victory. And Jess is still having dreams of the future. What could this possibly mean for her and the rest of the past forms of the someday parents? And kudos to all of you that guessed that Lizzy was Chad's mystery date. I figured that most of you would get that. No new mysteries were dropped in this chapter, except for the person who stands guard over the Trinity swords. And most of you can probably put two and two together and figure out who that is as well, but feel free to tell me your guesses. I'm gonna run now. Catch you guys next update! Please continue to leave me those wonderful reviews and tell me what you thought. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	31. The Three Sides of the Triangle Part 1

**A/N **Hey guys! Sorry about the wait. I was actually preparing to post this a few days ago, but I had a family emergency and had to leave town for a few days. And since I have yet to scrape up the money to replace my poor laptop, I was without internet for a while. But I'm home now and I have a nice long update for you. I also want to take a moment to give a shout out to my new partner in crime, Raxius, whom I have recently begun helping with a story that is already in progress. If any of you get a chance, check out _Sailor Scouts Captured By the Dead Moon Circus_. It's a pretty unique storyline that I haven't come across before and I'm looking forward to working on it. So far, all I've done is edit the most recent chapter, but there will be more to come as we bounce ideas off each other.

Okay, moving on. Let me get my hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

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(squeals) Over 700 reviews! Thank you so much. You guys really are the ones that help me build my stories. In fact, this chapter went through a minor overhaul because I got a few requests from some of you after last chapter, so I hope you like it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 29

The Three Sides of the Triangle Part 1

* * *

"Home sweet home away from home," Katie grumbled as she materialized in the garden of Elysian along with a group of several other people.

"I know, right?" DJ snorted next to her. "I was hoping to spend a little bit more time away from here myself before we had to come back."

"Don't be so grumpy, you two!" Alex chided as he pushed between them and threw an arm around each of their shoulders. "It's not like were going to have to spend weeks on end here in exile like we did before. It's just one night."

"Looks like it's going to be a long night," Katie sighed as she looked up at the sun that was still high in the sky. "Thanks to the time flow difference I bet it's only about noon here."

Alex squinted and glanced up. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"I don't see why you have to be so glum about it," Emma chirped in her sometimes annoyingly cheerful way. "We always had a lot of fun here when we were kids. It won't be that bad."

Alex let go of his sister and his best friend to grab his girlfriend's hand. "Try spending two months here without being able to leave. It gets boring pretty quick."

"Yeah, there are no malls to go terrorize," Katie directed at Emma and then wrinkled her nose when her friend stuck her tongue out at her.

Jess giggled as she joined them. "At least this place has been modernized since the Silver Millennium. Try staying here for months with no TV, no video games, and no internet when you're five years old and have the attention span of a rabid puppy."

"Hey! That was no trip to the amusement park for me either!" Serena snapped. "Do you think I liked being stuck here day after day any more than you did, especially with a war going on?"

"Well excuse me, mommy dearest!" Jess teased with a mischievous grin.

"Are we going to stand around here blabbering all day or what?" Rini asked peevishly. "If so, you guys feel free to continue. I'm heading up to the palace to relax for a while."

Darien chuckled and tugged playfully on one of his future daughter's pink pigtails. "What's got your meatballs twisted so tight today?"

DJ smirked. "She's just pissed because our English teacher sprang a pop quiz on us today."

"Don't remind us!" Katie, Alex, and Emma all groaned together.

Rini flipped her brother a rude hand gesture that had Serena and Darien's mouths dropping open in shock while Jess dissolved into giggles.

Andrew slapped a hand over his fiancée's mouth when Serena whirled around to glare her laughing friend. "Maybe you shouldn't encourage Rini's bad behavior," he whispered to her.

"My darlings!" a voice cried, and everyone looked up to see Aurora hurrying down a path toward them. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon!"

Jess shook off Andrew's hand. "Dawn!" she squealed as she rushed forward to hug the woman that had helped her parents raise her. "We decided to come on ahead early after everyone was done with school and work for the day and take advantage of the down time."

Darien nudged Jess aside and scooped the priestess up into a giant bear hug. "That's not a problem, is it, Rory?"

"Of course not!" Aurora scolded, sounding highly offended. "You know that you are welcome here at any time." She pulled herself out of his arms and ran around, bestowing hugs on Serena, Andrew, and the five teens.

Then she returned to Jess's side and wrapped an arm around her waist companionably as she led her down the path. "Let's go and get you settled in. Oh, I'm so glad you've come for a visit."

Andrew snickered softly. "I think it's easy to see who's the favorite around here."

Everybody else chuckled as they shouldered backpacks and overnight bags before following the two women down the path. They caught up with them at the palace doors as Aurora used her magic to open them wide.

A sweet smell hit them as they opened, making Jess, Katie, and Alex all moan together, "Mmm…peach cobbler!"

Aurora burst into giggles. "Of course! I had to make something since I knew you were coming." Then she snapped, "Hold it, you three!" as Jess and the twins began drifting toward the hallway that led to the kitchen, their noses in the air as they followed the heavenly scent.

She suddenly looked more like a drill sergeant than she did a priestess. "First thing's first! You take your bags up to your rooms and put them away. Then you can have a snack."

Jess looked shattered. "But…but…it's peach cobbler! You haven't made me that in _years_!"

Aurora put her hands on her hips. "Jessica Elaine Alexander! You heard me young lady! Go put your things away right now or you get nothing!"

Jess threw her hands in the air. "Fine! Be that way! In case you haven't noticed I'm not ten years old anymore, Dawn! I'm all grown up now!"

"Then act like it!" Aurora snapped back. "Now march, missy!"

"March she says!" Jess grumbled as she hitched her dark blue backpack up higher on her shoulder and heading up the stairs. "Pick your clothes up off the floor, make your bed, don't leave your dirty paintbrushes in the sink…ugh! How in the world I managed to survive living with Dawn-zilla all my life is beyond me! It's amazing that I didn't drown myself in the ocean by the time I was seven!"

"No, you waited until you were twelve to try that one," Aurora called up the stairs after her. "Really, Jessie! Surfing? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Jess rolled her eyes. "Are we really going to start that old argument again? We lived in California! Almost everybody surfed. It wasn't my fault that my balance was crap back then."

"That surfboard hit you in the head and you almost drowned!" Aurora shrieked.

"Not listening!" Jess called back over the banister before walking into the hallway where the bedrooms were located.

Andrew arched a brow at her. "Surfing? I don't think I've ever heard that story before."

She shrugged. "There's nothing to tell. I was at the beach and some people I knew were surfing. They asked me if I wanted to try, so I did. When I tried to stand up the board flipped out from under me and landed on my head. It knocked me silly for a few minutes. After the headache wore off my mom, dad, and Dawn screamed at me for an hour and I was grounded from the beach for two weeks. End of story."

"Our mother, the adrenaline junkie!" Katie and Alex intoned together.

"Oh good lord!" Serena groaned. "I bet both of your parents had tons of gray hair by the time they were thirty." Darien chuckled next to her.

Jess grinned cheekily. "If they did, then they must have been using some kick ass hair dye, because I never saw any." Then she looked around and a breath hissed through her teeth. "What are you going in there for?"

Katie's head jerked up and she yanked her hand away from the doorknob she had been about turn. "This is the room that I always stay in when I'm here. You gave it to me when I was little. But if it's a problem I can go stay in another…"

"No, it's fine," Jess interrupted her. "It just surprised me, that's all." She warily eyed the door that led to the room that had been hers in her past life. In all honesty, she had only been in that room once since she had reclaimed her memories of the past, despite many visits to Elysian. She had long since come to terms with her past, but something about that room made it feel too real.

Katie looked uncertain. "Are you sure?"

Jess stiffened her spine. It was time to let things go completely. Evidently her future self understood that. "I'm sure. If it's your room, then you have every right to stay in it. It doesn't bother me."

"Okayyy…" Katie drawled as she pushed open the door and walked in.

Bitten by curiosity, Jess wandered over to look inside. Yep! Everything was just as she remembered it. There was the tall, four-poster bed with it's ruffled canopy and gauzy curtains. Shelves holding dolls, toys, and books lined the walls. A monstrous dollhouse took up a whole corner of the room. And a low table with four little chairs was set with a miniature tea set as though it were waiting for a little girl to sit down for a tea party.

Jess couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Katie walk over and set her black backpack on the bed. "I'm surprised that you'd want to stay in here at your age. Don't you find this room to be a little childish?"

Katie stuck her tongue out at her. "Hey! Don't knock _our _room. I've had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories in here."

She looked fondly at the tea table as she recalled one of those memories.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Seven-year-old Katie sat in one of the tiny chairs, holding the little teapot in her hands. "Would you like some more tea, momma?"

Jess laughed from her precarious perch across the table on a matching chair. "I don't mind if I do. I think Mr. Giggles and Mr. Bubbles would like a refill as well."

Katie giggled as she refilled the cups in front of the two stuffed teddy bears that had been propped up so that they could enjoy the tea party. Then she carefully poured tea into the cup her mother held out to her.

"Thank you, princess," Jess replied formally.

Katie wrinkled her nose up. "I'm not a princess, momma!"

Jess smiled gently. "Yes you are. You're my little princess."

"Nuh uh!" Katie insisted. Then she grinned, showing off her slightly snaggle-toothed smile where her permanent teeth had started coming in and a few gaps where she had recently lost some baby teeth. "When I grow up I'm going to be a sailor scout like you and help keep everybody safe."

"But I'm an artist," Jess laughed humorously. "And I thought you wanted to play the piano."

Katie jumped up from her seat to run around the table and throw herself in her mother's arms. "Silly momma! You paint your pretty pictures, but you're a sailor scout too. I _do _want to play the piano, but I still want to be a sailor scout. Do you think I'll ever get to be one, momma?"

Jess hugged her close and whispered against her hair. "I think you will. In fact, I think that one day you will be one of the best sailor scouts around."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

'_I miss you, mom,' _Katie thought to herself as she felt the annoying prickle of tears sting her eyes.

She heard a knock and turned around to see that Jess had left and that DJ was now standing in the doorway with one arm propped up against the doorframe.

He gave her a bone-melting smile. "Hey, you okay? You looked like you were a thousand miles away there for a minute."

'_More like a thousand years away,' _she thought as she turned away from him and quickly swiped at her eyes to make sure no tears had leaked out. "I'm fine."

She heard his muffled footsteps crossing the carpet, and then his arms wrapped around her from behind as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "You can't lie to me, remember," he breathed against her ear. "I can read you as easily as I can read myself."

She sighed and settled her back against his chest. "I was just feeling nostalgic. I guess being here has made me a little bit homesick." She turned her head to look at him and saw a flash of longing in his eyes.

He kissed the tip of her nose. "Hey, I miss home too. But we'll be back there before you know it."

"I know," she mumbled. "You would think that I'd have gotten used to being gone after all this time, but I miss my mom and dad. I miss my room and all my stuff and my piano." She felt the tears return and began stammering. "I…I…mi…miss…"

DJ turned her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "I know, baby. I know. We've just got to hang in there for a little while longer. I think whatever Grandma Serenity has to tell us tonight is going to open a whole new door for us. Once we find out what went wrong in the past and what we have to do, we'll be able to go home and get rid of Discord for good. Then we'll get our lives back."

"Oh, I hope so!" Katie sniffled as she buried her face in his chest. "I just want it all to be over!"

"Ahem!" a soft voice spoke up from the doorway. "Are we interrupting something?"

"No!" Katie exclaimed as she turned her head and wiped away her tears before facing the door. Emma stood there watching them with Alex looking over her shoulder. She avoided looking at her brother, knowing that if she did she would see that knowing look in his eye. She couldn't hide anything from him any more than she could DJ.

Sure enough, she heard his voice accuse her inside her head, _'Liar!'_

She glared up at him. _'I'm not lying! I was having a bit of a nostalgic moment, but you two weren't interrupting anything. So I wasn't lying!'_

He audibly snorted. _'You know what I mean. Now you're just being technical.'_

'_I thought technicalities were what you liked, Mr. Techno-Geek."_

'_Don't start on me, Little Miss Mozart!'_

'_Actually, Bach is my favorite composer for the week, and he was from the Baroque Era while Mozart was from the Classical Era. So we're talking about completely different styles of music.'_

'_Ha! And you call me a geek? I guess next you're going to start lecturing me on how Beethoven was from the Medieval Period.'_

"_Of course not! Beethoven was from the latter part of the Classical Era and his later work was part of the Romantic…'_

"Excuse me!" Emma interrupted their silent debate as she stepped between them. "I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining or anything, but not everybody around here is connected by your weird voodoo link and I find it just a little bit annoying to see people carrying on a full blown conversation when I can't hear a word of it."

Katie blinked her eyes for a momentand then grinned sheepishly. "Oops! Sorry, Em. I guess it's just become a habit." She felt DJ's arms shake slightly around her as he held back a laugh. Of course he'd heard the whole debate thanks to their three-way telepathy.

"Anyway," Alex drawled. "I was going to suggest that we go downstairs and hit Dawn up for some of that peach cobbler before Jess gets to it and inhales it all. Maybe after that we can take a dip in the lake. After all, it's always summer in Elysian."

"Sounds good to me," DJ agreed as he took Katie's hand in his and they walked from the room. "We need something to pass the time, and I don't really feel like studying at the moment."

Katie pulled up short and turned to place a hand against his forehead. "Are you feeling okay? Because I don't think I've ever heard those words come out of your mouth before."

He pulled his head back slightly and laughed. "I'm perfectly fine. You make it sound like I don't know how to have fun. Is there something wrong with me wanting to take a swim with a beautiful girl rather than sticking my head in a book?"

Katie blushed and stammered at the compliment. "N-no."

DJ smiled at her stuttering, blushing innocence, but decided not to tease her. He tugged on her hand gently. "Come on. Let's go get that snack and try to enjoy our afternoon."

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

"You're crazy! Did you know that?" Gaia exclaimed as she hurried after Selene, her long legged stride easily keeping up with the fast paced, yet much shorter steps of the moon goddess as they walked the long marble halls of the Thecropolis. "I mean the first part of your idea is great, those kids need to have an idea of what Discord might pull on them, so I totally agree with sending Serenity to them. But now you're about to rock the boat."

Selene just smiled sweetly. "Sometimes the boat needs to be rocked. Wouldn't you agree, Sunny?"

Apollo, who was just a few steps behind them, rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Oh no! I'm not getting in the middle of this one. I'm all for bending the rules and raising a little hell every now and then, but this is all your baby."

"That's typical of you!" Gaia snorted. Then she turned her attention back to the moon goddess. "Really, Selene! Playing around with Hades is one thing, but now you're jumping straight to the front of the line. And you know as well as everyone else that Zeus doesn't play games."

Selene tossed her fair hair over her shoulder, her silver eyes blazing. "I can assure you that I am not playing any games. I am dead serious. I would much rather deal with Hades again myself, but unfortunately he can't help me with this."

Apollo snickered. "Not to mention that your bargaining chip with him is being watched very carefully by her mother after your little adventure yesterday. I hear that Persephone and Demeter caused quite a stir in the Great Hall during breakfast this morning."

"Demeter will get over it," Selene declared, waving a hand. "It's not like she hasn't been dealing with Seph and Hades sneaking around to see each other for centuries upon centuries now. You would think that she would get a life after all this time. Her daughter is a grown _married _woman. But anyway, speaking of people missing out on the spectacle this morning, where were you at, Apollo?"

He grinned secretively. "Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. I'll just say that I was detained and leave it at that."

Gaia made a gagging sound. "Please! Like I don't know what that means! You've been skulking around your sister's temple and messing around with her handmaidens again, haven't you? You are such a horndog!"

Apollo pouted. "I can't help it that Artemis (a/n The goddess of the hunt, Artemis, not our favorite white kitty) has such beautiful women in her service. I may be a god, but I am still just a man, and I have needs. You may be content with laying around and watching human television all the time, but I need real life, physical action."

"Okayyy!" Selene interjected quickly. "That is definitely a lot more information into your private life than I want to hear, Mr. Sunshine." Then she looked up at the double doors she had come to a stop in front of and took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing."

Gaia shook her head. "This is complete insanity! I know that Zeus has been tolerant of our meddling lately, but we never know when his patience will run out. The only reason why things have gone the way they have so far is because he and Chronos are kindred spirits in a way and that he seems to have a soft spot for Setsuna for some reason. But you going in and asking this favor of him could be suicide, Selene! He may curse you into mortality!"

"I don't care!" Selene snapped. "I thought about this all night after my talk with Serenity and the others, and I believe that it could benefit not only our little Trinity bearers, but the others as well. I figure there's no harm in trying. If Zeus hits the roof about it, then I'll drop it. But I feel like I need to at least try."

"Damn!" Apollo muttered under his breath. "I know I said that I wasn't going to get involved with this, but it is a good idea. What the hell! I'll stand with you too."

"All right! All right!" Gaia capitulated. "If you two are serious about this then I'm with you too. Maybe with all three of us he won't get as angry."

The tall double doors before them swung open and they stepped through. As they did, they met the petite, golden haired, blue eyed Nike. She clenched a scroll in her hand and the wings on the backs of her shoes were already fluttering in anticipation of carrying her off on whatever mission the king of the gods had given her.

A timid smile appeared on her pixie-like face. "You three better tread carefully. Old Thunder-butt is not in the best of moods today."

"Nike!" Zeus's deep voice boomed across the room in a warning tone.

"Oops!" she giggled. Then she disappeared in a blur as she sped away. The doors closed behind her, leaving the god and two goddesses alone with Zeus in the surprisingly empty throne room.

Selene's heart sank just a little when she saw the empty throne next to the one Zeus was sitting on. She had been kind of hoping that Hera would be there since she was the one that could usually keep Zeus calm and his temper under control. But then again, perhaps it was best that the queen goddess wasn't there because Selene had come prepared to use emotional blackmail if she had to, and some of it wouldn't be pretty. Hera had been a good friend to her for eons now, and she would hate to hurt her.

The three of them began walking across the marble floor to where Zeus sat on his throne with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. His long, bronzed fingers were buried deep in the silvery-white strands of his hair. At seven feet tall, he was an imposing figure, even when he sat.

Selene gulped. "Zeus…"

"No!" he snapped suddenly. "I already know what you are here for, and my answer is no."

The moon goddess drew in a steadying breath. "Will you not even listen to my reasons?"

He raised his head to look at her, those pale, pale blue eyes cutting through her like a knife. "I have already allowed too much interference in the human world as it is. If I keep this up I may as well just let the three of you go take care of Discord yourselves."

"I could live with that," Apollo grumbled. "I haven't had a fight for centuries. And that would solve the whole problem of us wondering whether or not these kids can pull it off."

"Oh hush, Apollo!" Gaia hissed. "You're not helping the situation!"

Zeus stood up and began pacing the dais on which his throne sat. "I want that bastard gone as much as anyone. If I had known that he was going to turn rogue the moment I decreed that we would no longer interfere with the events on the mortal plane I would have destroyed him myself before setting the new laws in place. That was the only reason why I didn't throw a fit when you three came up with the Trinity in the first place. I caught a lot of flack from the others over that because they saw it as you meddling in human affairs. But I've been able to smooth it over as long as you don't get personally involved."

"And that's why we are here to ask this favor from you, so we don't have to get personally involved," Selene insisted. Then she added slyly, "Not unless you do want to lift the ban and allow us to be able to go into the human realm again. If so, then we'll just take care of the problem for you."

"No!" Zeus thundered. "I never want to go through that again! Have you forgotten what it was like? The gods ran around treating the humans like they were their own personal play toys, as if they were nothing but living dolls that existed only for their amusement."

"We weren't all like that!" Gaia snapped. "I never tampered with the path of a human life if I could keep from it. I was content with looking out for the Earth and her well-being."

Selene reached into her arsenal of emotional blackmail. "You were just as guilty of playing with human lives, Zeus."

He looked astounded. "I never…"

"Need I remind you of Perseus?" Selene asked softly.

Apollo and Gaia both held their breath in astonishment at Selene's bold words. Many, many centuries ago, before the new laws had been put in place, Zeus and Hera had fought and separated for a time. During that time Zeus had entered into an affair with a young human woman on Earth. Zeus had eventually made up with his wife and left his mistress to her mortal life, but shortly thereafter she gave birth to a son, Zeus's son. And she named him Perseus.

Zeus had watched over his son, but always at a distance. He had never revealed his true identity to his lover, so she'd had no idea that she had been sleeping with a god. This left Perseus to be raised thinking that he was completely human. Figuring that it was best to keep his identity a secret, Zeus had left him alone, telling himself that he would explain things to Perseus when he was older.

But when Perseus became a young man somebody, and to this day Zeus had never found out who, discovered who the young demigod was. Zeus had been coming down hard on some of the gods about their actions with the humans in recent years and they weren't too happy with him at the time, so they saw this as an opportunity to strike back. They had pulled Perseus into a series of dangerous, life threatening events.

Zeus had lost it, threatening the entire pantheon with mortality, until Aphrodite had come to him and told him that that Andromeda, the human woman that Perseus was fighting for, was his son's soul mate. Not wanting to take a chance at messing up Perseus's chance at true love, he had contented himself with staying on the sidelines and only giving his son help when he needed it.

In the end everything worked out. Zeus had come clean with Perseus and had invited him to come live a life of immortality on Mount Olympus, but Perseus chose to live a mortal life with Andromeda. That had been when Zeus had declared the human realm off limits to the gods and banned them from there. The humans would be much better off without the gods meddling in their lives.

Now he stared tiredly at the determined looking moon goddess before him. "Why would you bring up that subject now?"

She stared back at him steadily. "I'm just hoping that I can appeal to your paternal side. All of us here are parents many times over. One of your sons stands before you now," she gestured to Apollo. "The point is that we all have had children from unions with mortal beings. You went out of your way to help Perseus when he needed it, would you deny us the right to offer aid to these three children when they are descendants from our own bloodlines, even if they are many generations down the family tree?"

Zeus ran a hand over his face. "It's not as simple as you make it sound, Selene. You are talking about breaching the barrier between dimensions. That is something that even I have never done before."

"But it's all for a good cause!" Gaia cried, jumping on board with her support.

Zeus turned his gaze on his son, Apollo. "And what do you think of all of this?"

Apollo stood straight and proud. "I think it's a good idea."

Zeus sighed and sat back down. He slumped tiredly in his throne.

"Please," Selene begged in a quiet voice. "I know you hold compassion in your heart for the Earth. It's future is in great peril right now. I've seen it in Chronos's mirror. If we don't do what we can I fear that it will be destroyed. I'm not asking you to let us interfere. I'm merely asking for you to give the ones that have a shot at defeating this evil a chance at knowing fully what they what they will be facing. Give them a fighting chance, please."

Zeus was silent for a long moment before he looked up in resignation. "You make a convincing argument. Fine! I will use my powers to do as you ask."

* * *

_**Elysian**_

Serena sighed as she stepped out onto one of the many terraces of the Elysian palace. Night had fallen a couple of hours before and the sky was a sparkling sea of thousands of stars. The moon wasn't visible since it was the night of the new moon, but her eyes easily picked out the spot in the sky where she knew it hung anyway as she wondered what this night would reveal.

Soft piano music floated through the window of one of parlors as Katie played, giving the night a soft, peaceful feeling. But inside Serena was a tightly wound bundle of nerves. She heard the sound of footsteps behind her, but didn't turn.

A few seconds later arms wrapped around her from behind and a deep voice whispered in her ear, "You look nervous."

"I am," she admitted as she turned in Darien's arms and looked up at him. "I've never had to anticipate a meeting with my mother before. She's always just shown up out of the blue. So yeah, I'm feeling jittery about seeing her."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You shouldn't get yourself so worked up. She's just coming to tell us about what happened with Discord the first go around. It will be good for the kids to hear it. Besides, I've always been a little curious about it myself. I remember asking my dad in the past about it when I heard rumors about him being in a huge battle with your parents, but he refused to really talk about it. I'd like to finally know what happened."

Serena shivered in his arms. "I've just got a feeling that it's not going to be a very nice story."

He chuckled wryly. "It probably won't be, but I wouldn't consider the stories of some of the battles we've been through to be good bedtime stories either."

She nodded slowly. "I know. I'm just feeling antsy. Mother seemed so secretive about calling this meeting. And it was strange how she requested that we not call everybody together for this. It's like she doesn't want everyone to know."

"Well if you had failed at something, would you want to share the details with everyone you knew?" Darien asked her.

"No. I guess I wouldn't," she murmured.

The doors to the patio opened and Jess and Andrew walked out to join them.

"So we're still playing the waiting game, huh?" Jess asked in a slightly nervous voice.

Serena nodded. "Yeah. I figured she would have been here by now."

"Tsk, tsk, Serenity," a soft, melodic voice spoke then. "Impatience is not a very becoming trait for a princess."

"Mother!" Serena gasped, whirling around to look over the terrace railing to where Queen Serenity stood on the lawn. But she wasn't alone. Three other people stood with her.

Serena's eyes locked onto the tall blonde man standing just behind the queen and felt her head begin to spin. "Papa?" she whispered softly. Then she practically screamed, "PAPA!" as she jumped the railing. She landed on the grass with the agility of a cat and ran so fast that she blurred to throw herself into her past father's arms.

"Whoa there!" Jonathan laughed as he caught her before they could both go tumbling over. "You've gotten strong, my little bunny."

Serena clung to him as she cried. When she had been growing up in the Silver Millennium she had been a bit of a daddy's girl. King Jonathan had always been her hero who had chased away the nonexistent monsters under her bed and broke her out of lessons with Luna so that they could go do something that he deemed to be more fun. She had loved him deeply and had mourned him heavily for months after his death in an ambush the day after her fifteenth birthday. If it hadn't been for Endymion sneaking around to see her as often as he did and making her laugh again, she didn't know how she would have coped with the loss.

Darien had followed only a split second behind her, and he scooped up the tall, dark blonde woman in his arms and spun her around, exclaiming, "Mother!"

"Endymion!" Queen Althea squealed as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh, my boy! I never thought in a million years I would get to hold you again!"

"I don't understand. How are all of you here?" Darien asked as he set Althea back on her feet and turned to embrace the raven-haired man at their side.

Edward laughed as he pounded Darien's back. "It's a gift from the almighty Zeus! He gave us a free pass for one night to come and help Serenity and make sure that she doesn't mess things up."

The former moon queen tore her misty gaze away from where Serena was still pressed tightly against Jonathan's chest to glare at him. "Excuse me! Me mess things up? Ha! That's a laugh!"

Althea swatted at Edward's shoulder. "Be nice! You're supposed to be here for support, not to pick on people."

Although her slaps were light, Edward flinched away and teased. "Ouch, woman! You don't have to get so physical!"

Serena sniffled a giggle as she finally stepped back from her former father. "I knew that this was going to be a crazy night, but I wasn't expecting this." Then she spotted the two people that were quietly watching the scene and waved to them. "Hey you two! Come on over and join the fun."

Jess and Andrew had come down the stairs from the patio and were standing several yards away. Identical looks of shock were on their faces.

Serenity motioned for them to come closer. "Melody, Motoki, there's no need to be shy."

Althea raised trembling fingers to her mouth as she stared at Jess. "Oh great saints above, Serenity! You weren't kidding when you said she grew up to look a lot like me. Oh my!"

She drifted over until she was standing right in front of Jess. She looked her over from head to toe with teary eyes. "My dear little grandbaby is all grown up now." Then she pulled her into a tight hug.

Jess froze for a moment as long distant memories played through her mind. She hadn't been able to spend as much time with her paternal grandparents as she had her maternal grandmother when she had been a child in the Silver Millennium, but she had loved and admired them as much as she had Queen Serenity. She returned the embrace and whispered softly, "Hi, grandma."

"Okay! Okay! Make way! Grandpa coming through!" Edward laughed as he shouldered his way between the two embracing women. Then he held Jess at arms length as he gave her a once over and let out a low whistle. "There is no way that this stunningly beautiful creature is my little pumpkin-head! What happened to the little girl that used to pull my hair while she rode on my shoulders?"

Finally getting over her shock, Jess threw back her head and laughed before launching herself into his arms. "I may not be a candidate for piggyback rides anymore, but it's really me, grandpa!"

Nearby, Serenity giggled. "I told you that she was still just as energetic as ever." Then she glanced toward Jonathan and her smile faded. "Darling, what's wrong?"

Jonathan set Serena aside and stepped around her and Serenity, his gaze trained on Jess and Andrew.

Jess gulped and slid out of Edward's arms as Jonathan walked toward her. She reached for Andrew's hand as she stared at the former sun prince turned moon king. He looked exactly as he had in the portraits that had hung around the moon castle in her past life: tall, golden haired, blue-eyed, and bronzed skin. But in real life he seemed large, powerful…and slightly intimidating.

When he spoke though, his voice was surprisingly gentle, belying his commanding presence. "So you are the granddaughter that I never got to meet. How extraordinary! I can see the traits from all three of the bloodlines that flow through your veins. The color of your hair and eyes tell of your Terran heritage while your delicate bone structure comes from your Lunarian blood. But your sun-kissed complexion shows that you have Solarian blood in you as well. You even inherited those annoying freckles of mine." He pointed to his face where sure enough, a light scattering of golden freckles dusted the bridge of his nose and cheekbones.

"Oh! Don't remind me!" Serena and Jess groaned at the same time as they both slapped their hands to their faces, trying to cover their freckles.

Jonathan chuckled, and then held a hand out to the granddaughter that he had never known. "You've been hugging everyone else around here. Would you honor me with one as well?"

Jess released Andrew's hand and laid hers gently in her grandfather's. "It would be my pleasure."

Jonathan drew her against him and held her much as he had held Serena only a minute before. Then he looked at Andrew over the top of her head. "So you are Travis and Clarissa's son, the last of the full blooded Solarians. The last time I saw you, you were just a baby in your mother's arms. Your parents were two of my closest friends, and also two very talented fighters. Your father was one of the most skilled swordsmen I have ever seen, and you mother, bless her heart, would jump into the middle of any fight, even after she was forced to resign her sailor scout status. I'm sure you do them proud."

Andrew inclined his head. "Thank you sir."

"Hey! What's going on out here?" Rini's voice called from the terrace. "We thought we heard Serena scream a few minutes ago, and now the Treacherous Trio are claiming that they are getting weird vibes." Her pink head appeared along with Helios's pale one at the railing.

"Your…your majesties!" Helios sputtered after a shocked second of staring in stunned disbelief. "I had no idea that all off you were coming tonight!" He hurried down the steps, pulling Rini behind him.

"Grandma Serenity!" Rini cried happily as they approached but she held back a little at the sight of the strangers. She'd had the opportunity to meet her sort of grandmother on a few occasions, but she wasn't sure what to make of the others. Helios's greeting and seeing the similarities between Darien and the other dark haired man made her suspect who they were though. Still, she sidled around the group until she reached the security of Serena's side.

Althea came over to hug Serena warmly. "Serenity, dear, it's so good to see you again! I hope Endymion isn't giving you too hard of a time."

Darien snorted behind her. "Are you kidding? She's the one that has almost given me a heart attack on numerous occasions."

Serena just giggled. "He hasn't been too bad lately. Besides, I know how to handle him after all these years."

"And who do we have here?" Althea asked, turning her attention to Rini.

Rini was almost struck speechless at the resemblance between this woman and Jess. Sure she was shorter, paler, and bright green eyes looked out of her much rounder face, but with that wild mop of tangled honey blonde curls she could have passed for Jess's sister. Finally she managed to stammer, "Um…I…I'm Rini."

Althea tilted her head to the side. "Rini? What a pretty name. It's very unique."

Rini bowed her head and whispered. "Thank you. It's the nickname that all my friends and family call me. It's short for Serenity."

"What!" Althea squealed. "You're my other granddaughter? I should have guessed with that hairstyle. Let me look at you. Oh my! You are absolutely precious! But I do have to ask; where in the world did you get your hair and eye color? You obviously don't take after your parents on that."

Darien chuckled as he joined his future wife and daughter and put an arm around each of them. "She takes after my mother from this life, at least as far as the pink hair and maroon eyes go. Other than that I call her my little Serena clone."

"Move over, Althea! We want to meet her too!" Edward complained as he and Jonathan walked up. He nudged her aside and took one of Rini's hands in both of his. "It is an honor to meet you, little princess."

Jonathan shoved him out of the way and took his place. "It is indeed an honor to meet such an enchantingly beautiful young lady." He lifted her hand to his lips.

Rini blushed and looked over to Queen Serenity, who had come to stand beside her. "Are they always like this?"

Serenity laughed. "Always. If it weren't for me and Althea I hate to see what kind of trouble they would get into." She rolled her eyes at the two men that were now wrestling, trying to get each other into a headlock.

"Honestly!" she sighed. She shared a look with Althea, and the two of them marched over and grabbed her respective husband by the ear, dragging them apart and making them howl.

"You two are as bad children!" Althea declared as she gave Edward's ear one last tug before letting go.

"She's right!" Serenity agreed. "Have you two forgotten that we are here for a reason?"

"No!" the two former kings grumbled as they rubbed their abused ears.

Serenity shook her head in exasperation. "Where are the others? They did come, didn't they?"

"Yes, your majesty!" Helios assured her quickly. "They were in the music room when last I saw them."

"Not anymore," Jess gasped as she straightened up from where she had been leaning against Andrew's shoulder as she'd laughed at the spectacle of her two former grandfathers acting like young boys. "They've been watching us for the last couple of minutes now."

All eyes swung up to the terrace where DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma were standing, watching them with looks that were a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Edward walked over to stand next to Serenity and Jonathan. "So those are our replacements, huh?"

Serenity nodded. "Yes. Well, not the blonde girl on the end. That is Sailor Venus and Kunzite's daughter. I don't know what she's doing here."

Jess shrugged. "We had to bring her. Alex refused to come without her. Sometimes they act worse than an old married couple."

"Well she looks capable enough," Jonathan drawled. "But I don't know about the others. That other girl looks so frail and skinny that a strong wind would probably blow her over. Don't you agree, Ed?"

Edward nodded. "I do. And those boys seem to be a little on the scrawny side to me. It makes me wonder if they could take on a common youma, much less Discord."

DJ and Alex both seemed to swell with anger at their words, but they remained silent.

Katie, however, didn't feel the same. Her face was livid as she screeched, "Excuse me! You think I look frail? Let me tell you two blabbermouths right now, I can take out ten youmas with my eyes closed, thank you very much!"

She looked mad enough to jump over the railing and confront the men, so DJ and Alex each took her by the arm.

"Calm down, Kat," DJ told her. "I think they're trying to provoke us on purpose."

"That's right," Alex soothed her. "There's no sense in you getting yourself bent out of shape."

Jonathan began chuckling. "Well that was easy enough. In just a few short seconds we've figured out which one's the brains, the hot-head, and the calm one."

Edward joined his laughter. "Yes we did. I have to admit that I am surprised though. I never would have pegged the girl as being the one with the temper."

"Oh! You two stop picking on them!" Serenity fussed. "We're supposed to be here to help them, not to make them mad." Then she faced the teens. "So are you ready to hear our story."

DJ looked between the three of them. He knew that Serenity had been the moon carrier of the Trinity, but did that mean…"Wait a minute! Are you saying that the three of you…" his voice trailed off.

Serenity nodded. "Yes. This is Jonathan of the Sun and Edward of Earth. Together the three of us were the original Galactic Trinity."

* * *

It took over an hour to get everyone calmed down, what with introductions being made and the grandmothers making a fuss over the teens. Even Emma wasn't immune from all of the attention. Althea, in particular, was practically gaga over the fact that she was Kunzite's daughter since she had known the former head general from the time he was born.

But finally they all settled down in the largest parlor of the palace. The adults all sat on the various sofas and settees while the younger group sat around them on the floor. Then all eyes turned to Queen Serenity.

She heaved a sigh before she began.

"I suppose it is best to start at the beginning so that you will be able to understand everything later. Back in the day arranged marriages were very common. When I was born my mother, Queen Selenity, was the ruler of the moon. There was no official alliance between the planets of the solar system back then, but everyone got along together for the most part. There were a few skirmishes here and there, but nothing important.

In those days the moon, the sun, and the earth were by far the most powerful kingdoms, and my mother wanted a union to strengthen the moon kingdom. So she betrothed me when I was hardly more than a baby to a powerful prince." She paused there.

Edward chuckled. "Do you ever wish you'd married me instead?"

"Absolutely not!" she scoffed. "Besides, you were the one to break our engagement, not I."

"Wait a minute!" Serena cried in surprise as she shot to her feet. She looked back and forth between the moon queen and the earth king. "Are you saying that the two of you were engaged?"

Jonathan chuckled and sat back with his hands behind his head. "It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

Darien looked at his former parents in confusion. "But…but how…"

"I'm getting to that," Serenity explained. "As I was saying, arranged marriages were the norm then, and my mother promised my hand to Edward. We never thought anything of it as we were growing up. I always saw him as an annoying brother that I couldn't get rid of no matter how hard I tried. Anyhow, I spent quite a bit of my childhood on Earth and eventually I became best friends with the princess of one of Earth's largest, most powerful countries." She nodded to Althea.

The dark blonde woman laughed. "We sure had some fun back then, didn't we?"

Serenity smiled. "Yes, we did. Especially when two certain people would leave us alone." She looked at the two grinning mean and shook her head. Then she continued.

"I also met Edward's best friend. He was this annoying little prince from the solar kingdom, fifteenth in line for the throne or something like that. He was cocky and he was arrogant and…"

"And it was love at first sight," Jonathan interrupted with a cocky grin.

"It was not!" Serenity retorted. "I was only seven years and you were eight, but I will admit that there was something…intriguing about you. But fast forwarding a little bit. By the time I was twelve we had already begun to hear about Discord's destructive path through the universe, and we knew that it was only a matter of time before he turned he sights on our galaxy. My mother and Edward's discussed the possibility of us marrying then to unite the moon and the Earth in hopes of building a strong force in case he came here. In those days twelve was a perfectly legitimate age to wed and Edward was fifteen by that time. I overheard my mother talking about it and I panicked. I knew by then that Edward and Althea were in love with each other and I wanted them to be together. I snuck onto the sun to talk to Jonathan, and together we went to Earth to see Edward. The three of us were hiding out in this old cottage, trying to come up with a plan to get us out of the marriage, when we received a very unexpected visit."

"Selene, Gaia, and Apollo," Katie answered softly. She was sitting up on her knees, very tense and alert as she listened to the story. DJ and Alex were on either side of her, looking just as intent as she was.

Serenity nodded. "That's right. They popped in from out of nowhere, nearly scaring us to death. Then they began telling us this wild tale about how they had chosen us to be the ones that could wield their power and that we would be able to defeat Discord with it. We were sure that it had to be some kind of a joke, but after they demonstrated their powers to us we believed them. Then they gave us the bracelets."

She reached her hand out to Katie, who quickly held her own hand out to her. She took her wrist in her hands and ran her fingers lightly over the crescent moon on the black leather bracelet. "The moment I put it on I experienced a feeling unlike anything I had ever felt. It was exhilarating, exciting, and a little terrifying all at the same time."

"It was definitely a rush," Jonathan agreed. "I suddenly felt like I had the power of a thousand suns sitting in the palm of my hand. I felt as though nothing and no one could stand in my way."

"It was intoxicating," Edward declared. "I was so punch drunk from it that I went straight home and informed my parents that I wouldn't be marrying Serenity and that I wanted Althea as my wife. They gave in with little fuss. I guess the golden eyes convinced them that I meant business."

Jonathan sighed happily. "And I went down on my knees that same night and asked Serenity to marry me. And to my surprise she said yes. My family wasn't happy about that, but I didn't care."

Serenity sniffed. "That was only because of that long feud between my mother and your father. But we're veering off the subject. After we explained to our parents what was happening, we threw ourselves into training. And we weren't alone. The outer planets tended to stick to themselves, but we had plenty of friends to help us out. My older brother had married the crown princess of Venus, who at that time was Sailor Venus, and they came to help. Sailor Solara and her husband were not about to be left out either, since they were so close to Jonathan. Sailor Jupiter and her brother also came, along with Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars and their betrothed. So all of us trained together for four long years."

Althea giggled. "Well, you did take a little time off every now and then. I had to find some time to get married after all. I wasn't content to wait until afterward like you were."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Well you were slightly older than us. You were sixteen and Edward was seventeen. Jon and I were only fourteen and fifteen and we had a lot going on at the time. But getting back to the story. About two years into our training we started hearing the rumors that Discord was drawing close to our galaxy and began to feel overwhelmed. Even though we had trained with our new powers, we had no idea exactly how we were going to fight him. That was when we received our second visit from the gods, and they told us that there was a next level to their powers."

DJ, Katie, and Alex all went ramrod stiff at that statement. That was the same thing that Gaia, Selene, and Apollo had told them that night on the roof when they had given them the bracelets, but they had no idea what it meant. Maybe now they would get some answers.

Jonathan chuckled. "I think you got their attention with that one, Ren."

Serenity nodded. "Yes. It seems I did. Now I know that the three of you have been training with your powers, and I was told that you have already faced Discord once and did some damage to him. But it's not enough. It's nowhere near enough. You can blast holes in him all day long and it won't destroy him. He will eventually regenerate and come back like a reoccurring nightmare."

"Then what's the use of having this power if it can't destroy him?" Alex demanded. Katie nodded eagerly next to him.

Serenity clucked her tongue. "I never said that it couldn't destroy him. It's just that you can't defeat him for good by blasting him from the outside."

DJ looked thoughtful for a moment. "We have to get him from the inside."

Serenity nodded.

"Whoa! Hold up!" Jess exclaimed as she jumped up from her seat. "How in the hell is anyone supposed to attack him from the inside? He's a giant cloud of vapor. He's like smoke, not solid at all."

"And that is why they need the keys," Serenity replied. She cupped her hands and a glowing orb appeared, hovering over her palms. Everyone moved closer for a better look. Three swords appeared in the orb.

"The silver sword of Selene, the bronze one of Apollo, and the golden one of Gaia; these are the keys to Discord's demise," Serenity said softly. "They were forged by Hephaestus and have the ability to cut through anything, whether it's solid or not. If these three swords were to be plunged inside of Discord and the powers of the gods were channeled through them and inside his being…"

"It would destroy him," Darien spoke up softly.

"But it's not as easy as it sounds," Edward stated. "In a battle he surrounds himself with his minions to act as a barricade. In our case, we expended too much energy trying to get to him, and by the time we got to him we no longer had enough power to finish him off."

"That's the pretty way of putting it," Jonathan snorted. "The truth is that we screwed up. We didn't listen to what we were told and we left ourselves vulnerable. If we hadn't been so impulsive and cocky, we may have been successful."

"Will you tell us exactly what happened?" Serena asked quietly.

Serenity sighed. "It would be easier to show you if you like. I warn you that some of it will be disturbing since you will also be able to hear and see what was going through our minds. But I will show you, if you like."

Everyone nodded, and white light flashed through the room.

* * *

_**The Original Galactic Trinity**_

Serenity stood at the edge of the patio of the Elysian palace, gripping the stone railing with white knuckled fingers. Her long silver hair was out of its usual style, tied back in a single ponytail and then looped up a few times to keep it out of her way. Instead of a long, flowing dress, she wore fitted black trousers and boots with a simple white blouse. The black leather bracelet with the crescent moon on it was strapped around her wrist and Selene's sword was in a scabbard at her side. Her wide lavender eyes looked out over the Elysian landscape as the sun crested the horizon and began to rise.

The glass doors behind her opened and Jonathan stepped out, looking very handsome in black slacks and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled back over his forearms. The bracelet with the sun on it was around his wrist and the bronze sword of the sun god was strapped to his side.

He crossed the patio and wrapped the sixteen-year-old moon princess in his arms. "Did you sleep at all?"

She shrugged. "A little bit. Did you?"

"Some," he replied with a grin. Then he leaned down to brush his lips over hers.

"Ugh! A man could go blind around here with you two always acting so mushy," a grumpy voice complained as Edward came out to join them in the early dawn hours. He was dressed almost identically to Jonathan, but with his dark hair and piercing blue eyes he looked much more mysterious. The bracelet with the Earth symbol was strapped to his wrist and Gaia's golden sword hung from his belt.

Jonathan merely grinned at his friend. "So did you make a clean getaway from the missus?"

"Yes," Edward growled. "I had to wait for her to finally go into a deep sleep. The baby kept her awake most of the night with its kicking."

Serenity giggled. "So it's an 'it' today, huh? I thought you were convinced it's a boy."

The eighteen-year-old future father rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm almost positive it is a boy, and so is Althea, but she keeps telling me to keep an open mind because there's still a fifty percent chance of it being a girl. I just hope I'm still around to find out."

Jonathan laughed and slapped him on the back. "Don't worry, daddy dearest! We'll whip Discord's ass and have you back in plenty of time to welcome your little bundle of joy."

"Hmph! It'll be funny to see you when you are expecting your first child," Edward huffed.

Serenity slapped her hands over her blushing cheeks. "What!"

Edward snickered. "Don't be so shy, Ren. We all know that your mother has plans for you the moment this mess is over with. She's been ruling for close to a thousand years and she's ready to step down and move on. As soon as Discord's history she's going to drag you two in front of a priest so fast it will make your head spin. Then she'll pass the throne on to you and you'll be queen of the moon. And I seriously doubt that you're going to wait over 900 years to produce an heir the way she did."

Serenity tossed her head. "Look who's talking! I've heard that your parents have been talking about giving you the throne and retiring to the country once your baby is born."

He shrugged. "Who knows with them? If they do, they do. But right now we have to make sure that we'll have kingdoms to rule in the future."

"Right!" Jonathan agreed with a firm nod of his head.

Serenity looked a little apprehensive. "Are you guys sure we're doing the right thing by sneaking off to face him like this and leaving the others behind? They have been training with us for so long for this moment, and now we're just cutting them out."

"Of course we're doing the right thing," Edward insisted. "They are our friends and they are excellent fighters, but I fear they could become a liability to us on the battlefield. It will be a distraction to us if we have to worry about them. And honestly, I don't want to see any of them hurt."

"He's right, Ren," Jonathan backed him up. "There's no reason for us to risk them. We are the ones that have to defeat Discord, so we are the only ones that have to go and face him. There's no sense in dragging everyone else into it. We can beat him on our own and keep them all safe."

"You're right," Serenity sighed. "There's no sense in putting them into a situation where they might be injured or even killed. We can handle this ourselves. Our friends won't be happy about this though."

Edward snorted. "They'll get over it. If we're lucky we'll have the whole thing taken care of and be back before anybody even wakes up and finds out that we're gone. So are we ready to go?"

"More than ready?" Jonathan stated.

Serenity looked between the two men. "No matter what, we stick together until the end, all right." She held her hand out.

"Until the end," Jonathan and Edward both agreed, placing their hands over hers.

"Okay then! Let's do this," Serenity said as she stepped back. Her eyes and the golden crescent moon on her forehead changed to silver.

"Right behind you," Jonathan said as a golden sun appeared on his brow and his eyes changed from calming blue to fiery red-orange.

The symbol of Earth flared to life on Edward's forehead as his dark sapphire eyes flashed to gold. "Let's go!"

Then they teleported away in three flashes of light…and found themselves in a dry, barren wasteland.

"Are you guys sure we're in the right spot?" Edward coughed as the dry, dusty air choked him.

"I'm positive," Serenity insisted. "I hacked into Mercury's computer last night and intercepted the warning that her tracking system sent giving the place and time predicted for Discord's arrival. She never got the message, so no one besides us has a clue that he is coming today."

Edward looked slightly awed. "You're a scary woman sometimes, Ren. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Only you, Ed," she quipped back. "And there's nothing scary about it. I just paid attention when Mercury taught me the basic fundamentals about computers."

Jonathan slung an arm around her shoulders. "Aw, quit trying to be modest! You're good and you know you are."

"So how long until big, bad, and creepy gets here?" Edward asked.

Serenity looked up at the sky. "I should be any time now. We should probably scope out the best place to attack. I think it would be wise to steer him away from that canyon." She pointed to the deep canyon about a hundred yards away. "I sure wouldn't want to get trapped down in there when the magic starts flying. The walls could cave in."

"Hmm…" Jonathan mused. "That might not be a bad thing. If we could catch him in a cave in then it would be that much easier to get rid of him."

"What part of _'he doesn't have a corporeal body and nothing can penetrate him but these swords' _did you not get from the gods the last time they visited us?" Serenity asked in exasperation. "The rocks and rubble would pass right through him."

"Oh, right," Jonathan muttered. Then he grinned. "That's why you're the brains of this particular operation while Ed and I are the muscle."

"Ha!" Edward barked. "I feel more like a referee most of the time since I'm constantly having to calm you down because of that hellish temper of yours."

Jonathan shrugged. "I can't help it if I get a little hot under the collar sometimes."

"Um…guys," Serenity said suddenly, pointing up at the sky. "Do you see what I see?"

They followed her finger and saw a black, unnatural looking cloud beginning to darken the sky. It grew larger and larger as it descended toward the Earth.

"Looks like it's showtime," Edward growled. "It's time to see if all the time we spent getting ready for this has been worth it."

"Works for me!" Jonathan laughed. "I'm in the mood for a fight!"

Serenity giggled. "You're always ready for a fight. I guess we should get ready to welcome our little visitor. So how should we do this, loud and dramatic, or quiet and sneaky?"

"I vote loud and dramatic," Edward replied. "If we sneak up on him it would make it too easy."

"Absolutely!" Jonathan agreed. "We spent years preparing for this bastard, and I would feel really disappointed if he up and died on us in less than five minutes. It would seem sort of anticlimactic."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "So you're saying that we should toy with him a little bit."

"Of course!" the two men said together. "That's half the fun!"

"It's not like he can do anything to us anyway," Jonathan drawled. "We have the powers of gods in our hands. And nothing beats the gods. I doubt he could even give us a papercut."

Serenity's silver eyes began to swirl in excitement. "That's true. You guys are right. We should play around with him for a while before we move in for the kill. We've lost a lot of time in our lives over the last four years, time that we'll never get back. I say we make him suffer for it for a while."

They watched until Discord finally landed about a mile down the canyon from them, then they teleported closer to his location where they observed him from behind a large boulder.

'_That's it? That's him?' _Jonathan projected to the others. _'There's nothing to him! He's just an empty blob! What a letdown!'_

Edward nodded rapidly. _'No doubt! I don't see what the big deal about the whole Trinity thing was. I bet just one of us could take him out at our regular power level with just our crystals.'_

'_Four years!' _Serenity shrieked. _'I wasted four years for this! I had things that I could have been doing! I am a princess! I never wanted to be a fighter! I'm so angry I could spit!'_

Then a loud booming voice shattered the silence. "Come on out, my little eavesdroppers. Yes, yes, I know you're there. There's no sense in hiding out behind a rock."

The three would be heroes looked at each other in astonishment for a moment.

"So much for our grand entrance," Jonathan muttered as they stepped out from behind the boulder.

"That's right. Come on out," Discord told them. "Now who do we have here?"

"I am Prince Edward of Earth, heir to the throne," Edward replied in a strong tone. "And I demand to know what you are doing on my planet."

"Ah, a prince," Discord chuckled. And then ignoring his question he asked. "And who are your companions?"

Serenity tossed her head imperiously. "I am Crown Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom."

Jonathan ground his teeth together in anger. "I am Prince Jonathan of the Solar Kingdom, betrothed to the future queen of the moon."

"Sooo," Discord said, the sound coming out like a hiss. "I have two princes and a princess before me. I was under the impression that your kingdoms stood alone. Tell me this, my young ones. Why are the three of you here as if you were lying in wait for me? And why do I feel such power emanating from you? It is not natural for mere mortals to exude such energy."

Edward smirked. "It was a gift. A few of the gods thought that we might have some need to borrow their powers."

"I should have known!" Discord spat. "I knew that I had felt those powers before! Gaia, Apollo, and Selene always despised more than any of the other gods, except for Zeus himself, but he would never let them touch me. Then he passed the law forbidding the gods from interfering with mortals. But I should have known that those three wretches would try to find some way around his decree. But it doesn't matter. You may hold the gods' powers in your hands, but you are only mortals with a limited amount of energy. And those powers feed off of your life forces. How long do you think you can stand against me?"

"Long enough to take you out!" Jonathan snarled. He pulled the sword from his side, preparing to charge forward, but Edward held him back.

Discord seemed to recoil just a bit. "A sword forged by Hephaestus. How did you get that?"

"He's not the only one!" Edward and Serenity said together as they drew their swords.

All was silent for a moment, and then Discord began to laugh. "So you want to play, little ones? Okay. I'll humor you." He swirled around for a moment and a hundred youma appeared between him and the trio.

"Nice trick," Edward muttered. "I guess it's time to get to work."

"It looks that way," Serenity agreed,

Jonathan tossed his sword from hand to hand, grinning in anticipation. "Well let's get to it. Don't hold back on them. Give them all we've got. We'll show him exactly who he's messing with."

They charged the youma, energy bursts flying from their hands and even more energy being expelled as they slashed at any youma that came within arms reach of them. They jumped, twisted, and turned, even teleporting at times to surprise the enemy.

"Now this is finally getting fun!" Jonathan crowed as he slashed his sword and a wave of solar flames shot from it to incinerate three youma at once.

Serenity laughed in glee as she jumped high up into the air, spinning around as silver sparks flew from her fingertips to rain down on the youma around her. They exploded into dust.

"Eh, it's a decent workout I suppose," Edward commented calmly as he flicked his wrist almost lazily to blast one youma and then spun to jam his sword into the chest of another one that had been attempting to sneak up behind him. The blade glowed gold for a moment before the youma howled and burst apart.

Discord growled as he watched his forces fall in groups of as many as five at a time. But when the last of his defenders were destroyed, leaving no defense between him and the ones out to kill him, he began to laugh. "Well, well, it seems that you three actually possess a small amount of talent after all. Congratulations. What will you do now? Will you kill me?"

The three royals looked at him, panting slightly from the exertion. But they were drunk from the exhilaration of the fight and the power pounding through their veins. They had never let loose this much energy before in all of their years of training, and it was intoxicating. They truly felt at this moment that they were invincible. Almost maniacal smiles lit up their faces while their eyes swirled with excitement.

"Awww," Jonathan drawled. "You don't to leave the party so soon, do you?"

Edward nodded. "Yeah. The real fun hasn't even started yet."

Serenity giggled. "We must insist that you remain our guest for a little while longer."

'_Should we have a little fun with him now that we have him where we want him?' _Jonathan silently asked the others.

'_Absolutely!' _they responded together.

And they began an intricate dance, whirling and teleporting around Discord, laughing and taunting him as they shot random blasts at him and jabbed him with their swords. They were thrilled to see that the gods had been right about the enchanted blades. They cut into the transparent vapor like it was skin, and in minutes Discord was sporting several gashes and holes and was leaking a black, tar-like substance onto the ground.

"What's the matter?" Serenity sang as she twirled as gracefully as a dancer. "Aren't you going to fight back?" Then she gasped as a pair of glowing red eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness and bore into her own.

Discord tsked. "Poor, misguided little princess. You think that you are fighting for the greater good and that your betrothed is impressed with your skill. You truly believe in your deepest heart that he loves you. But allow me to show you how your dearest prince really feels about you."

Serenity shrieked as pain pierced her skull. And then it was like a black veil fell over her mind.

_She found herself standing in a large bedchamber, but it wasn't a place that she could ever recall being before. It was very elegantly decorated, not as nice as her chambers at home in the moon castle, but it obviously belonged to someone of high standing._

_A rustling sound caught her ear, and she turned around to see a large, four-poster bed and her jaw dropped open in shock. There, in the middle of the rumpled covers, was a dark haired woman. She sat up straight, moaning and writhing as she made love to the male body underneath her._

_Serenity spun away, her cheeks blazing with embarrassment at witnessing such a sight. She ran quietly to a nearby door and pulled on it frantically, but it wouldn't budge. Horrified, she slapped her hands over her ears as masculine groans of satisfaction joined the woman's. _

_She retreated to a corner and pressed her face into it, wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She had no idea how she had gotten there or why she was seeing this, but she wanted it to stop._

_Then the woman screamed as her pleasure mounted, "Oh, Jonathan!"_

_Serenity's head snapped up. Surely the woman didn't mean her Jonathan. After all, it was a fairly common name. It could be anyone. But morbid curiosity had her turning around to face the bed again. The woman was now draped over the man's chest. She couldn't see his face, but she saw a flash of gold._

_Her feet felt wooden and seemed to have a mind of their own as they carried her to the side of the bed to look down upon the sweaty, panting couple…and then rage ripped through her._

_There was her sun prince, the man she loved more than her own life, lying contentedly in the arms of another woman, a woman that he had just made love to._

_Raking the woman with a furious glare, Serenity realized that she knew her. Her name was Amelia, and she was a princess of one of the Earth kingdom's many countries and had a reputation as being a woman of loose morals. She had attempted to sink her hooks into both Jonathan and Edward at one time or another, but they had brushed her off. At least she'd thought that Jonathan had._

"_Jon-Jon," Amelia purred as she rolled off of him to stretch out beside him. One of her perfectly manicured nails began drawing random patterns on his bare bronze chest. "You don't really want to marry that silly moon princess, do you? She's so pale and…boring. You should marry me instead. Father's health isn't doing so well, and since I am the eldest and have no brothers it will be up to me to run the country when he is gone. I'll need a strong king at my side to help me. I know you don't love Serenity."_

_Jonathan chuckled. "Lia, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference if I love her or not. All that matters is power. I have too many people ahead of me to ever hope to sit on the throne as king of my home kingdom, so I have no choice but to marry a woman of power."_

_Amelia propped herself up on an elbow. "But I could give you power. My country is the second largest on Earth and one day I will be queen. And when Edward takes the high throne it will make for a strong union since he is your best friend."_

_Jonathan sighed and closed his eyes. "That's not enough for me. I want more. Serenity has plans for the entire galaxy that she wants to put in place once she becomes queen of the moon, and I think she will be successful. If she is, then all of the planets will be united and she will hold the position of High Queen, and I will be at her side as High King. That's what I want."_

"_But you don't love her!" Amelia fumed. "Do you honestly think that she would ever be able to satisfy your hunger the way I do?"_

_He laughed. "It's true that my cock may suffer from frostbite the first time I take her to bed, and I shudder to think of what kind of child she would bear me. But it's a small price to pay to achieve the power I want."_

The scene faded and Serenity felt like she was being sucked into a vortex. Her consciousness slammed back into her body, making her jump as reality crashed back into her awareness. She stood there, unblinking and unmoving for several seconds, as she relived everything that she had just seen and heard.

Then she felt a hand on her arm and a frantic voice in her ear. "Ren, sweetheart, what's wrong? Snap out of it already."

She turned her head slowly and looked up into Jonathan's smoldering red-orange eyes. Then she thought about how she'd seen his normal, sky blue eyes glazed with sated lust in that vision. Lust that had been satisfied by another woman with whom he had calmly talked about his impending marriage like it was nothing more than a business contract.

"Get your damn hands off me!" she hissed as she jerked away from him. "Don't touch me! Don't you ever touch me again, you lying, rotten, faithless bastard!"

Jonathan looked genuinely confused. "Honey, what's the matter?" He stepped forward to place his hands on her shoulders.

Serenity's hand moved so fast that she didn't realize what she was doing until she felt the sharp sting of her palm slapping his cheek. Anger and bitterness poured through her. "Don't you _'honey' _me, you pig! Now I know why you were so supportive when I came to you and said that I didn't want to marry Edward and that he should be with Althea, and why you were so quick to propose to me the moment our betrothal was dissolved. You don't love me! You just think that you can gain power by marrying me!"

Jonathan's quick temper flashed to the surface. "Don't be stupid, Serenity! I would think that you would know me better than that after all of these years. I would never marry you if I didn't love you. Power means nothing to me! You're being absolutely ridiculous!"

"No she isn't, little prince," Discord crooned. "I merely showed her the deepest desires that dwell inside you."

Jonathan whirled to glare at the cloud. "Damn you!" Then he found himself held, as if hypnotized, by those glowing red eyes.

"Allow me to show you what your lovely princess has been up to behind your back." Discord chuckled.

Pain burst inside Jonathan's head as he felt like he was being sucked into a void.

_He landed in a clearing that he recognized as being one that was in the woods a short distance away from the earth palace. It was a place that he, Edward, and Serenity had escaped to on numerous occasions when they needed to get away for a little while. But on this day there were only two people laid back on the blanket next to the stream that ran through there._

_Edward sighed as he stared up into the leaves that formed a green canopy over them. "Do you think Jon will make it back soon? My wedding is only a week away, and I can't get married without my best man."_

"_I don't know," Serenity answered glumly. "I'm sure he'll be back in time for the wedding, but there's no telling how long he'll be stuck on the sun. His parents like to use any opportunity they can to try to get him to agree not to marry me."_

"_They're idiots!" he snorted. "You would think that they would want their son to marry well, but instead they let a decades old feud between your mother and their king stand in the way. It's crazy! Hell! Even I'm crazy! I had the opportunity to marry you myself and I threw it away. What kind of jackass does that?"_

"_Don't be silly!" Serenity quipped. "Everything worked out for the best. Now you are about to marry the woman you love."_

"_Am I?" Edward muttered glumly._

_Serenity rolled over onto her side to face him, propping her head up on her hand. "Of course you are! Don't tell me that you're getting cold feet."_

_He rolled over to face her as well. "I'm not getting cold feet, and I'm not backing out of this marriage, but I can't help but wonder if I made a mistake when I let you go without a fight."_

_She giggled. "Why would you have fought for me? It wasn't like you were in love with me or anything."_

_He shook his head. "You're wrong, Ren. I have been in love with you since we were kids. But I never said anything because I knew that you didn't return my feelings. So I moved on to Althea. Don't get me wrong, I love her, but I don't love her nearly as much as I love you."_

_Serenity's lips trembled and tears burned brightly in her eyes. "Why are you telling me this now? It doesn't matter anymore. You are practically a married man."_

_He heaved a sigh. "I guess I just felt the need to get it off my chest before the wedding."_

"_Oh!" Serenity cried as she rolled over onto her stomach and buried her face in her folded arms and began sobbing._

"_Hey!" Edward said in a forced, bright tone as he began lightly rubbing her back. "I didn't mean to upset you this much. I just felt the need to confess all of a sudden."_

_Her head popped up and she glared at him. "You…you idiot! You stupid, moronic…man! I can't believe I threw everything away because of you! I was happy with our engagement. I wanted to become your wife. But you never treated me as anything but a little sister, so when I saw that you were in love with Althea I decided to let you go so that you could be happy with her!"_

_His hand stilled on her back. "What are you saying, Ren?"_

"_I love you!" she screamed at him. "I've loved you my whole life! But I thought you never saw me as suitable wife material so I let you go."_

_Edward gulped. "What about Jon?"_

_She swiped at her tears. "I love him, not in the same way that I love you, but I do love him. He makes me happy, and I know that we'll have a wonderful marriage together."_

_Edward chuckled sadly. "We're a pair, aren't we? We're each marrying people we love, but not the person that we are in love with."_

"_Ed…" Serenity whispered softly._

"_It's okay," he told her gently as he cupped her cheek in his palm and used his thumb to wipe away the tear tracks. "We'll probably laugh about this someday."_

_Jonathan stood in shock, watching the emotional scene. He couldn't believe that after all of the time that he had spent with his fiancée and his best friend that he had never noticed any underlying feelings between the two of them. Most of the time they squabbled like a couple of bickering siblings, always picking and arguing with each other. They had hid their emotions well, and had pulled a fast one over on him and poor Althea._

_As he stood watching them together, rage began to bubble through him. How could he have been so blind? Of course they had feelings for each other. They had been engaged to one another for over a decade and forced to spend time together since they were just little kids. Something was bound to develop between them as time went by._

_Thinking back, he started to see things in a different light. All the times that Edward and Serenity had laughingly teased each other, the times that he had helped her up off the ground when she'd fallen during training, and when Serenity would reach out to smooth back that sweaty black hair in what was supposed to be a friendly gesture, they suddenly meant something more._

_He ran over and tried to kick Edward, but since this was just a vision his foot passed right through him. He landed in a heap on the ground and looked up just in time to see Serenity and Edward begin to kiss each other hungrily._

_The dark haired prince moved so that he was lying on top of the silver haired princess, pinning her between the ground and his body. Serenity moaned as she threaded her fingers into the ebony hair, holding him closer. Edward's hands were groping her breasts, her hips, anywhere he could reach._

"_Serenity!" he gasped as he pulled back a few inches to look down at her. "I want to be with you, just once, before we are both tied down for the rest of our lives. Would you allow me that honor?"_

_She nodded her head and whispered, "Yes, Edward."_

"_Get me out of here! I've had enough!" Jonathan yelled as he pressed his hands to his ears to cut out their sounds of passion and clenched his eyes shut so that he wouldn't be able to see them removing each other's clothes._

And then abruptly he felt like he was sucked into a vacuum and then thrust back into his own body. He jerked his head up to find Serenity still glaring at him hatefully.

"You're one to talk about lying and being faithless!" he snarled at her. "I can't believe I was such a fool that I couldn't see the signs, even when they were right in front of me. I've often wondered why you were willing to marry me when you had a shot at landing the crown prince of Earth, and now I know the answer. Sorry sweetheart, but I don't play second place to any man, even my best friend."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Serenity snapped. "You know why I wanted my engagement to Edward broken. It was because we didn't love each other. I knew that he was in love with Althea and that I had stupidly fallen in love with you, and I wanted us to be with the people that we truly loved so that we could be happy."

"I'm not swallowing your lies anymore, Serenity!" he spat. "You thought that you were being noble, that you were sacrificing yourself for his happiness. But I know that you have been in love with him all along and that I am just a replacement for him."

She stared at him in disbelief. "Have you gone mental? Where did you come up with an ignorant idea like that?"

He gave her a twisted smirk. "No I'm not mental. I've just been enlightened. All this time you have been pretending to be my blushing fiancée, but in reality you've been longing for the prince you let slip away."

"That's not true!" she hissed. "I do not love…"

"Stop lying to me!" he roared, trembling in fury. "I saw how it is between you two. You gave yourself to him!"

She straightened herself up and fixed her haughtiest expression on her face. "I most certainly did not! But while we're on that subject, don't think that I don't know about your unfaithfulness. You seek pleasure in another woman's bed while all the time making plans to marry me just so you can become a powerful king."

Even though it wasn't true, he couldn't help but taunt, "Aw, what's the matter, jealous?"

Her cool façade broke and she shrieked in anger as she lunged at him.

Edward appeared out of thin air and grabbed her around the waist to stop her. "Hey! What's wrong with you two? In case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a battle. This isn't the time for a lover's spat."

Jonathan growled at the sight of Edward's arms around Serenity. "Well, well, don't you two look cozy together."

Another screech tore from Serenity's throat. "Let go of me, Edward! I want to gouge his eyes out! How dare he accuse me of being unfaithful when he's the one that's been slumming in a whore's bed!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Edward exclaimed in surprise. "What are you guys talking about? I know that neither of you has been unfaithful to the other. You're so crazily in love with each other that it's almost sickening."

"Of course that's what you would say!" Jonathan snarled. "Tell me, _friend_, we're you laughing at me the whole time that you were screwing _my princess_?"

Edward's face went blank with shock for a moment before it burned red in anger. "What the hell are you insinuating, Jon? I've never touched Ren in an inappropriate way. She's like my sister!"

Jonathan snorted. "Yeah, sure! So you're saying that if you had a sister that you would be shaking her sheets too? That's just sick!"

"You better watch it, Sunboy!" Edward growled in warning. Then his head whipped around to glare at Discord as the evil entity began chuckling. "What did you do to them?"

Discord's voice was tinged with amusement. "I didn't do anything to them. I merely reached into their minds and found the doubts and fears that they have buried deep inside and brought them to light. You have some too. Let me show you."

"No!" Edward cried, but before he could say any more he was sucked into blackness. He clenched his eyes shut.

_When he opened them again he found himself at home. He was standing in the middle of the royal bedchamber that belonged to his parents, the one that would become his and Althea's when they were crowned king and queen. There was nobody in the room, and he was confused about what he was doing there._

_Then a door behind him flew open and he turned to see Serenity run through it, her face alight with laughter as Jonathan chased her. The golden haired prince caught her up in his arms and spun her around._

"_I've got you now, my pretty!" he said in a low, husky voice._

_Serenity gave him a blinding smile. "And what are you going to do to me now that you have me?"_

_Instead of answering her with words, Jonathan took her lips with his in a deep, scorching kiss. He took a few steps until he had her pinned between his body and the wall. He bent down slightly, never breaking the contact of their mouths, to gather up the long folds of her skirt until it bunched around her waist. The he lifted her slightly off the floor and wrapped her long, slender legs around his waist._

_Serenity broke the kiss and threw her head back with a moan as he ground his hips against hers. "Jon, we shouldn't be doing this here. Anybody could come in."_

"_Nobody will see us," he replied smoothly as he turned his attention to her neck. "Ed's gone on a picnic with Althea, the king and queen are gone on their trip, and almost all of the servants have gone to market day in the village. We practically have the place to ourselves."_

_Her answering giggle turned into a gasp as he began nibbling on her ear. "I know, but to do this here in the royal bedchamber…it feels naughty."_

_He pressed himself against her again, making her moan once more. "That's just the way I like it. Besides, this will all be yours one day. Once you become queen of the moon and implement your new alliance policy, you will become high queen of all of the planets, the Earth included. Sure, technically Edward will be king, but you will be the highest power. And as such, these rooms will belong to you."_

_She sighed. "It will be nice to have all of the planets united together in harmony. It will make us one of the strongest solar systems in the universe. As long as we all stand together we will have nothing to fear from outside sources. I just hope that I will be able to pull it off."_

"_You'll be brilliant," he reassured her. "With your influence and power you'll be able to whip all the other planets into shape in no time. You will be known as the most powerful queen ever, and everyone will bow to you. And I will be right there by your side." Then he smirked at her. "So what do you say, my queen? Should we go ahead and christen our future rooms?"_

_She purred and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well since you put it like that…show me how a high king makes love to his queen."_

_He moved away from the wall and carried her across the room where he laid her down on a pile of cushions before the empty fireplace. Then he stretched himself out on top of her and whispered, "My Queen Serenity…we will rule the galaxy together."_

Edward crashed back into reality with his head spinning. He had known that Serenity had a dream of an alliance between the planets of the solar system, but never had he imagined that it was all a ploy so that she and Jonathan could seize control of all of the planets. Neither one of them had ever seemed particularly power hungry. Evidently that had been what they wanted people to think.

He realized that he still held onto Serenity to keep her from attacking Jonathan, and he pushed her away from him in disgust. "I can't believe you!" he growled.

Serenity stumbled a few steps and almost fell before she regained her footing. She turned to look at the Earth prince in bewilderment. "What? I haven't done anything."

He snorted. "Not yet you haven't! And if I have my way you never will. I always thought your plans for planetary alliance were ambitious, but now I see that it is all part of a master plan for you to take over all of the planets. You're not content just to rule the moon, you want to dominate the entire galaxy." His gaze swung to Jonathan. "And you're wrapped up in it with her."

"What the hell is this idiot rambling about?" Jonathan grumbled.

Edward took a few menacing steps toward him. "It will be a cold day in hell before I allow the two of you to get your grubby little hands on my planet!"

Serenity stepped between them, raking them both with a contemptuous look. "I would rather have a trained baboon as my king, rather than a piece of lying, cheating, solarian filth! And my plans for an alliance have never been about domination. I only want to bring the planets together so that they can benefit from each other. The medicinal knowledge from Mercury, along with the metal working practices of Venus and the battle strategies of Mars and Jupiter alone would do wonders for all of the planets if they would just open up a little."

"And the whole time you'll be sitting your prissy little ass on the throne and ruling it all!" Edward sneered. "You are a treacherous bitch, Serenity. You have the face of an angel, but the personality of a viper."

Jonathan's expression became less angry as confusion began to swirl inside him. "Hey! Don't talk to her like that!"

Serenity tossed her head regally. "I don't need _you _to take up for me! I can take care of myself!"

"I'm so sure you could!" Edward snorted. "You're just a helpless doll, Serenity. How long would you last without others to carry the weight for you?"

"That's it!" Jonathan exploded as he lunged at Edward, knocking Serenity out of the way in the process.

She fell to the ground hard. As she lay there for a moment, she heard muffled thumps, followed by grunts, groans, and curses. She rolled over and sat up, horrified by the scene before her.

Jonathan and Edward were rolling on the ground, each trying to gain the upper hand as they threw punches at each other at every opportunity. Jonathan's lip was already split and bloody while blood streamed from Edward's nose.

Tears began pouring from Serenity's eyes as she watched them, her emotions welling up inside of her as a bit of common sense returned to her. What had happened to them? They were supposed to be fighting together, not against each other. They had known each other most of their lives. They were friends, more than friends really. They knew each other inside and out. So how could they be fighting amongst each other like this?

She heard a low chuckle and looked toward Discord, who seemed to be content to sit back and watch as the team that they had worked so hard to build slowly crumbled and fell apart. "You! You did this to us!" she cried softly.

"Of course," the entity replied smoothly. "I live up to my name well, as you can see. You humans are so easy to manipulate. You think that the bonds between you are so strong, but one well placed doubt can bring everything crashing down."

"You're a monster!" Serenity growled. Then a scuffling noise brought her eyes swinging back around to the fighting men. They had broken apart and were now scrambling to reach their discarded swords.

"They're going to kill each other!" she shrieked as she saw them reclaim their weapons and roll to their feet. Then they lunged at each other.

"No! No! Stop!" she screamed and flung her hands in front of her. Silver light erupted from her fingertips and formed a barrier between Jonathan and Edward.

They both pulled up short and whirled around to stare at her where she knelt on the ground, sobbing.

"Please, stop this," she begged raggedly as she fell forward onto her hands. "Don't you see what is happening? Discord is trying to break us apart by placing doubts and suspicions in our heads. He's turning us against one another so that we can't fight against him."

She raised her head to look at Jonathan, her silver eyes swimming with tears. "I'm sorry. I never should have believed his lies so easily. I know that you would never betray me. I was a fool to think that you only wanted to marry me so that you could become king. Please say that you forgive me. I love you."

The two men looked at each other, shock and confusion on each of their faces. Then a look of understanding passed between them and they lowered their swords. They hurried to Serenity, dropping to their knees beside her.

Jonathan wasted no time pulling her into his arms. He pressed a bruised cheek against her hair as he whispered, "I'm sorry too, Ren. I never should have doubted you." He extended a hand to Edward. "Or you either, my friend."

Edward grinned as he took the offered hand. Gold flashed around them as the cuts and bruises from their recent scuffle were healed. "He pulled one over on all of us. But now that we know better we can go back to concentrating on getting rid of him."

"Right," Jonathan agreed as he stood up and then helped Serenity up beside him. "Playtime's over. It's time to eliminate him once and for all."

"Absolutely," Serenity sighed. "I'm ready for this all to be over."

They all held their swords ready at their sides as they faced their enemy.

"What a pity that you overcame my illusions as quickly as you did," Discord mumbled. "Oh well, it was entertaining while it lasted. But now I guess it's back to business."

He began to swirl around quickly, and when he stopped another hundred youma had appeared.

Edward changed his sword to a two handed grip. "Well, here we go again."

"How many of those things does he have?" Serenity complained.

Jonathan grinned. "Who knows. But the bottom line is that we have to get through them to get to him. So let's get to work."

And they threw themselves into the fight…

_**(To be continued)**_

* * *

**A/N **I know! I know! I hate to leave you hanging like that, but I have to be evil and throw in a cliffhanger from time to time. Besides, this chapter was getting ridiculously long and it seemed like a good place to stop it for now since I haven't finished editing the rest of the battle scene yet. But part 2 is partially done, and I'm going to get on that soon. But first I'm going to try to post the next chapter of _Rekindled _since a lot of people want to know what Dark Endy has up his sleeve. Don't forget to drop me those reviews though. I might be busy, but I take the time to read and absorb every single one of them. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	32. The Three Sides of the Triangle Part 2

**A/N **Hey everyone! First off I am sooooo sorry for making you wait this long for an update. I really don't have any other excuse except that I seemed to have lost my mojo there for a while. I don't know exactly what happened. It was just like my imagination slammed into a proverbial brick wall on all of my stories. I knew where I wanted them to go next, but when I would sit down to write it was like nothing would come out. To put it bluntly, I suffered from the worst case of writer's block that I have ever had in my life. I guess it happens to everyone from time to time. But I seemed to have moved past it for now and I'm back to work. If anyone is still interested in reading this story I hope you can enjoy this nice long chapter. So let me get my hugs out to my absolutely amazing reviewers and we'll move on. BIG HUGS TO:

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Thank you so much, as always, you guys! You are my inspiration. Now, on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 30

The Three Sides of the Triangle Part 2

* * *

_**The Original Galactic Trinity (cont.)**_

'_Ren! Behind you!' _Jonathan's voice rang in Serenity's head. She spun around and yelped when she saw a youma that had managed to sneak up behind her. It swung the whip it held in its hands at her a second before she shot a blast of silver energy at it. She screamed in pain as the whip cut deeply into the calf of her right leg. A moment later the youma howled as her attack hit it and it crumbled to dust.

Serenity buried the tip of her sword in the dirt and leaned heavily against it to keep from folding to the ground. Tears of pain and frustration left muddy tracks down her dirt-smeared face.

'_Are you okay?' _both Jonathan and Edward's voices echoed anxiously through her mind.

She gritted her teeth together. _'I'm fine! Don't worry about me! How many more of these things do we have to go through anyway?"_

She heard Edward sigh. _'More than I care to count. It seems like every time I get rid of one, two more appear in its place.'_

'_Are you sure you're okay?' _Jonathan's worried voice demanded.

Serenity gritted her teeth. _'I said I was fine. It's just a scratch. But I'm starting to get worried. I feel so tired. We've never pushed our energy this far before.'_

"_Just hold on a little bit longer,' _Jonathan attempted to soothe her. _'If we can just get rid of the last of these stragglers we'll have a clear shot at the bastard.'_

Edward snorted. _'Easier said than done. He's making sure to keep a nice little distance between us and him.'_

Serenity's glowing silver eyes focused on the swirling dark cloud that made sure to stay inside the protective circle of youma that he had called forth. _'That coward! He keeps hiding behind those youma instead of facing us."_

'_Yeah, some all powerful, evil entity, huh?' _Jonathan grumbled. _'I wish he did have a physical body though. Blasting the asshole seems too good for him. I would rather rip him apart with my bare hands!'_

'_Calm down just a little bit, hothead,' _Edward cautioned. _'Getting yourself worked up won't solve anything.'_

Serenity shook her head as she heard growls from both of the men echo in her mind. There was still a certain amount of tension between the three of them, despite the fact that they knew that the horrible visions that they had seen earlier had been part of Discord's manipulation of their thoughts. The calm, rational part of her brain told her that there was no way that Jonathan had been sleeping with another woman, that he loved her and only her. But she couldn't completely banish the small amount of doubt that was lingering in the back of her mind.

'_Guys…please,' _she begged as she jerked her sword from the ground and used it to channel her energy as she destroyed a nearby youma. _'Can we please concentrate on the job at hand at the moment? You can bicker later if you really want to.'_

'_Right,' _they both replied grudgingly, and they all set back to work, hacking, slashing, and blasting their way through Discord's forces.

'_Almost there,' _Serenity thought to herself when she saw that finally, only a handful of youma were left between them and their ultimate target.

A reptilian looking youma lunged at her, and she called forth the energy she needed to destroy it. But her sword's blade glowed silver for only a moment before it sputtered and disappeared. A sharp cry left her as the tiny, flashing moon on her bracelet flickered out and she felt Selene's power seep out of her. She fell to her knees as a wave of exhaustion overtook her.

A flare of red-orange energy took out the youma that was only a few yards away from attacking her, and then Jonathan was at her side. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. Selene's power suddenly disappeared. I can't feel it anymore."

He looked concerned. "Maybe you just need to rest and recharge for a minute. We've used a lot of energy."

A yell had both of their heads snapping around, and they stared in horror at Edward, whose eyes were back to their normal deep blue…and he had what appeared to be a spear of some type stabbed into his stomach. As the youma holding the other end of the spear yanked it out, he toppled toward the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" Jonathan snarled, and then dashed forward, unleashing a furious barrage of solar flames on the youma until it was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

"Edward!" Serenity screamed as she stumbled to her feet and half ran, half limped to her friend's side. She fell to her knees beside him and pulled his head into her lap. The sight of his closed eyes chilled her to the bone "Ed! Oh Ed! Don't be dead! You can't be dead! Althea will murder me in my sleep if you die!"

Edward let out a pained moan as his eyes barely opened. "I'm not dead yet, but it might be worth it to see my wife try to take you on. Your crystal may be more powerful than hers, but she's scary when she's angry."

A strangled sound of disbelief tore from Serenity's throat. "Are you seriously trying to crack a joke now, at a time like this? Are you insane?"

"My vote is for certifiably bonkers," Jonathan quipped as he spun around to glance at them after taking out yet another youma. "What the hell happened, Ed?"

"I honestly don't know," Edward ground out between his teeth. "I was about to take down that youma when Gaia's power just vanished. It took me by surprise and the youma was able to get the drop on me."

"Can't you heal it?" Serenity asked, eying the bleeding wound critically.

"I can try," he mumbled, seeming only half conscious. A faint golden glow surrounded him for a few seconds, but died out quickly. The flow of blood slowed a little bit, but did not stop. Nor did the wound appear to heal at all.

He grimaced. "Looks like I'm running a little low in the energy department."

Discord's booming laugh rang out. "I warned you three in the beginning, didn't I? I told you that there was no way that your energy would last long enough to take me on, but you didn't listen."

"Bullshit!" Jonathan growled softly. His still blazing red-orange eyes flaring brighter for a moment. "Ren, stay with Ed."

Serenity reached for his hand as he turned away. "What are you going to do?"

A ghost of his cocky grin touched his lips. "There're only two youma left. I'm going to take them out and then see what I can do about getting rid of that bastard."

"You can't do that alone. It's suicide!" Edward exclaimed as he attempted to push himself into a sitting position.

Jonathan pushed him back down gently. "You two just sit tight. I'll be right back." He bent down and pressed a quick kiss to Serenity's lips. Then he whirled and charged toward the remaining two youma.

"Temperamental idiot!" Edward grumbled, and then broke off with a moan of pain.

Serenity quickly tore off a large piece from the hem of her blouse, folded it into a pad, and pressed it against Edward's wound. Part of her mind processed that the white material quickly turned red, but the other part of her brain was focused on her prince.

Both of the youma attacked Jonathan at once. He managed to destroy one in just a matter of seconds, but as he spun to face the second one, Serenity saw the change happen. The golden sun on his brow disappeared and his eyes faded to soft blue.

"Oh no!" she gasped in horror as she watched the youma barrel into Jonathan and they both hit the ground. His sword flew from his hand. After a minute of scuffling and flying fists, the solar prince managed to kick his attacker off of him and roll tiredly to his feet.

"Enough is enough!" Discord boomed. "This has been mildly entertaining at best, but it has dragged on long enough. It's time to end this so that I can get on with my business." He shot a blast of dark energy toward both Jonathan and the youma.

The youma shrieked as the attack disintegrated it, but Jonathan tried to dodge the blast. He succeeded in avoiding being hit, but the backlash of the explosion sent him flying through the air and right over the side of the canyon.

"Jonathan!" Serenity screamed as she watched him disappear from sight. A sob of relief caught in her throat a second later when she saw a tanned hand clinging to the rim of the canyon wall. "Oh! He's okay!"

"Figures," Edward tried to smirk. "Go help him, Serenity. I'll be fine."

Serenity shook her head and kept applying pressure to the profusely bleeding wound in his stomach. "I can't leave you like this, Edward. Althea would never forgive me if I don't get you home in one piece. You're going to be a father soon, and I promised her I wouldn't let you get yourself killed."

He pushed her away with a growl. "Damn it, Serenity! None of us are getting out of here alive if one of us dies. It's going to take all three of us to get rid of him. Now go!"

She stared at him for a moment with panicked eyes before she staggered to her feet and ran for the edge of the cliff as fast as her feet could take her, ignoring the searing pain in her right leg where the youma's whip had cut into her. She threw herself onto her knees and pushed her silver hair out of her face as she peered over the side.

Her violet eyes widened and her heart pounded in her chest as she spotted her golden haired prince barely clinging to the edge with one hand. "Jonathan!"

He looked up at her in shock. One eye was puffy and already beginning to bruise and he had a bloody gash on his forehead, but his light blue eyes remained clear. "Ren, what are you doing? Don't worry about me. Get back to Edward."

Serenity ignored him and lay down on her stomach, reaching her arms over the ledge. "Grab my hands."

Jonathan growled. "You stubborn woman, don't you ever listen to anything I tell you? You can't possibly pull me up."

Tears poured from her eyes as she begged. "Please Jon. I'm a lot stronger than I look, you should know that by now. Let me help you. Don't ask me to go through the rest of my life without you. I love you too much for that."

The shattered look on her face broke him, and he reached up with his free hand to grab her slender one. He pushed his feet against the side of the cliff and then released his hold on the ledge to grab her other one.

"Don't worry. I won't let you go," she whispered. "I'll never let you go."

After a few minutes of groaning and straining, she was finally able to help him pull himself up over the edge and back to solid ground. After catching their breath for a moment, they ran to their fallen friend.

"Edward!" Jonathan cried. "You still with me, buddy?"

Eyelashes fluttered over the dark blue eyes, but the earth prince was able to gasp out. "Yeah, I'm still here. I can't imagine heaven being this painful."

Serenity choked on a sob. "Don't even joke like that! It's not funny at all!"

Edward chuckled, then grimaced as he clutched his injured abdomen. "Sorry. So what do we do now? We're all too low on power now to use the Trinity to defeat him."

Jonathan cursed softly. "It's my fault. We could have taken him while his defenses were down, but I got cocky and felt like playing with him for a while. It gave him a chance to regroup and become stronger."

Edward reached up and clasped his friend's shoulder. "I'm at fault as much as you are. You didn't hear me stepping up and saying that we should hurry up and take the bastard down, did you?"

"Oh hush, both of you," Serenity muttered angrily. "We've all let the power of the gods go to our heads. It made us careless, and now we're paying the price."

An eerie laugh rumbled around them as Discord's misty form appeared before them. "Yes, you had your chance, but now it's mine. You pathetic little royals thought you could stand against me, but now you know that I am the supreme being. The galaxy put all of their hopes on you, and you failed. Now your kingdoms will be mine to claim."

Anger bubbled inside Serenity. Because of Discord, her friends, her family, everyone she loved was in danger. She couldn't let him get away with this. She had to do something. "Never, ever!" she exclaimed, climbing tiredly to her feet. "Not as long as I have breath left in my body, you monster!"

The disembodied voice cackled in glee. "I'm about to rectify that problem. You three have been enough of a nuisance to me, so I believe it's time to eliminate you."

There was a flash of white light. When it faded, a small, round, silver colored crystal hovered in front of the moon princess.

Jonathan scrambled to her side. "What are you doing, Ren?"

Her sad, violet eyes gazed at him. "I can't let him attack this galaxy. Think of all the innocent people on all of the planets. I can't let them be sacrificed to this demon. I'm going to try to seal him away with the crystal."

The golden haired prince smoothed a hand down her porcelain cheek. Then, in a flash of red orange light, he called forth his own crystal. "You can't do this alone. It will kill you if you try to do it yourself. I'm going to be right here by your side, helping you every step of the way."

"Don't count me out," a voice grunted as Edward laboriously pulled himself up and leaned heavily against a boulder. He glowed a deep gold as his crystal emerged. "I'm in this too. And don't either of you give me any crap about me not being strong enough. We made a pact, remember? Together until the end." He held a hand out in front of him, palm down.

A smile trembled on Serenity's lips as she laid her hand on top of his. "Right. Until the end."

Jonathan added his hand to the pile. "Until the end."

They shared a conspiratorial grin before turning to face the mist once more. It swirled angrily before them.

"Are you done saying your goodbyes?" the voice boomed.

"Not a chance, Discord!" Serenity cried. "We may not be able to defeat you, but we can seal you away. We will never allow you to conquer our kingdoms and those of our friends. You're going down."

"Then give it your best shot!" Discord growled as he shot a wide beam of dark energy at them.

In a flash of silver, red-orange, and gold, the three young royals sent their own energy against the evil entity, valiantly trying to turn back his attack. The battle see sawed back and forth for several moments, neither side able to gain the upper hand.

In a last, desperate effort, they pooled together as much energy as they could without draining every bit of their life forces. The large blast of energy hit Discord, and with a bellow of rage, he disappeared in flash of light.

The last of the light faded, and three limp bodies fell unconscious to the ground, drained almost to the point of death. They were all pale, and their chests barely moved with their shallow breathing, but they were alive and the evil was gone…for now.

_**End of Story**_

* * *

A bright light flashed through the parlor of the Elysian palace, and everyone blinked as they found themselves abruptly pulled from the visions of the past and back in the present time.

"So now you know," Queen Serenity said quietly as she stared down at the hands that she had folded in her lap.

"Oh…um…wow!" Serena mumbled after a moment of silence.

Serenity sighed. "I warned you that it wasn't going to be pleasant."

"That bastard!" Jess spat, her hands shaking where she had them braced on her knees. "Now I wish I'd done more than stab him a couple of times!" She jumped up and began pacing, muttering curses under her breath in her unique mixture of Japanese and English that she always seemed to revert to when she got angry.

"Um…for the record, I'm glad you didn't," Rini quipped snidely. "Some of us around here would like to be born someday. And that would be kinda hard to do if you threw a temper tantrum and caused the planet to go ka-boom."

She squeaked and ducked to avoid the throw pillow that Jess threw at her, causing the pillow to bounce off Emma's head. The blonde looked around with a murderous glare. "Hey!"

Darien let out a piercing whistle. "Down children! Getting all worked up right now isn't going to accomplish anything."

Andrew nodded in agreement and grabbed Jess's hand as she paced by him and forced her to sit back down beside him. "Darien's right. If you keep it up you're going to end up making something explode. And if you do I'm going to let Dawn and Helios have at you."

She stuck her tongue out at him and then turned to face her past grandparents. "I do feel for you guys though. I know what it feels like to have that psycho running through your head and treating it like a playground. He did it to me a couple of years ago and recently tried to do it again until I fought him off. But what he did to me was baby stuff compared to what he did to you."

A bitter laugh echoed around the room, making everyone look toward Katie. She still sat on her knees between DJ and Alex, but now her shoulders were slumped and shaking and her hair fell over her face as she stared down at the floor.

"He really is a master of manipulation…isn't he?" she choked out in a voice that was somewhere between a sob and a sneer. "Freaking asshole!"

Alex and DJ both slapped themselves on the forehead and exclaimed simultaneously, "Oh shit, Kat! I'm sorry! I didn't think about how seeing that would affect you."

Rini rolled her eyes and muttered, "Morons! Of course you didn't!"

Emma picked up the pillow that had hit her in the head only a minute before and began whapping both boys with it. "You insensitive…males! You could try showing a little compassion instead of just blurting out the obvious like that. How rude!"

Both boys howled and covered their heads with their arms to try and protect themselves from the suddenly crazed blonde's attack. Since they were so occupied, it took them a minute to realize that Katie was giggling.

She looked up at them then. Her eyes were glassy and a few tears rolled down her cheeks, but there was a smile on her lips. "Let it go, Em. They can't help it that they were born with the genetic birth defect of being boys. Besides, I'm okay. Yeah, seeing what he did made me relive a few bad flashbacks, but I can handle it. I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to let what Discord did to me rule my life anymore, and I'm sticking to it."

An angry growl rumbled in Jonathan's chest as he got up from his seat on the couch to kneel down in front of Katie and place his hands gently on her shoulders. "What did he do to you, little one?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past. I don't even remember most of it. I've tried to block it out of my mind."

"Of course it matters," Serenity spoke up gently. "Everything matters. If you harbor any shred of doubt inside of you, Discord will take advantage of it. But I have the feeling that you know that already."

Katie jerked away from Jonathan. "I do know that, and I get it! He got the drop on me once, but it won't happen again. This time I'll be ready for him."

Edward snorted as he sat back and crossed his arms. "Beware of that overconfidence. That was exactly what landed us in so much trouble."

"Hmph!" Althea huffed next to him. "Trouble is putting it mildly. The three of you very nearly got yourselves killed with that little stunt, sneaking off by yourselves like that. I nearly had a heart attack when I woke up that morning and found out that you were gone. And there I was pregnant with Endymion on top of everything! It's a miracle he was born healthy! I nearly worried myself to death wondering where you were and what was going on. And then when the others finally tracked you down and brought you back here you three were more dead than alive. I nearly died right there on the spot!"

All three of the original Trinity bearers visibly winced at the familiar rant they had heard many, many times. "Sorry," they mumbled together.

Everybody in the room laughed at the sight of the three monarchs acting like chastised children…except DJ, Katie, and Alex.

"Hold up just a second!" Alex exclaimed. "Do the three of you still have the weird voodoo mind link even after all this time?"

Jonathan chuckled deeply. "No. That was just a coincidence that we spoke together that time. I guess it just becomes a habit after spending centuries with the same people. The power of the three way bond was taken from us when Apollo, Selene, and Gaia stripped us of the right to use their powers."

Serenity shuddered. "That was definitely not a happy meeting. The three of them popped in here that night after we had woken up and were talking. They were so angry and disappointed that I was afraid for a moment that they were going to kill us themselves. But instead they demanded that we hand over the bracelets and the swords and told us that they hoped that one day the ones that were truly worthy to wield their powers would be born. And now they have chosen you three."

Ever the analytical one, DJ couldn't help but wonder, "But why us?"

Edward waved a hand. "It all has to do with genetics and such, at least in a roundabout way. While none of us are technically blood related, your parents are reincarnations of those we did share a genetic link with. Even Motoki was Jonathan's fifth cousin twice removed, or something like that."

Jonathan shrugged. "Beats me. My family tree was too extensive and complicated to try and figure out. But what everything really boils down to is that the dear gods didn't take one small detail into account when they picked you three. And it's something that makes you vastly different than us."

Serena was on the edge of her seat. "Is that different in a good way, or different in a bad way?"

Serenity smiled secretively. "It's not that it's good or bad, but I have to admit that the thought never crossed my mind until Selene brought it up in a recent conversation with her. Can any of you three think of the one thing that would set you apart from us?"

"Because we're just that good?" Alex quipped with a smirk and then yelped and ducked as Emma swung the pillow at his head once again.

Katie scrunched her nose up as she thought about it for several long moments. Then she shrugged. "I admit it. I'm clueless. What about you?" she asked, turning to DJ. She squeaked and scrambled backward, almost into Alex's lap.

"Oh no, Lex!" she exclaimed in mock horror. "Mr. Genius has got his game face on!"

"Very funny!" DJ mumbled absently, but his face never lost its expression of intense concentration. It was the same look he wore whenever a teacher was covering a new subject or he was studying for a test. It meant that he was thinking hard, and his intensity was almost terrifying.

Serena leaned over to whisper in Darien's ear. "He reminds me so much of you when he does that."

Darien gave her a lopsided grin. "Yeah. Now let's see how long it takes him to figure it out."

She arched a brow at him. "You already know, don't you?"

He looked smug. "Let's just say that I have a hypothesis. I could be way off base, but I don't think I am."

"Smartass!" she grumbled. Then she blushed as she caught Queen Serenity's censuring look for her choice of language and giggled. "Oops!"

"Do you have any idea what they are talking about?" Andrew asked Jess softly. "Maybe I should have gotten a degree in solving riddles instead of business."

Jess shook her head slowly. "I'm not entirely sure. At first I thought it might be…but then I thought…but it couldn't be…"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Thanks a lot! That made so much sense."

She glared at him for a second before her eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and then slapped both of her hands over her mouth.

Rini bounced up on her knees. "What? What am I missing?" She elbowed her brother in the ribs. "Hurry up and figure it out before the top of your head explodes, Brainiac! I want to know what's going on!"

DJ ignored the jab to his side and kept analyzing the facts in his head. He knew how he, Katie, and Alex were like the original Trinity bearers. His power came from the Earth the way Edward's did while Katie had inherited lunar energy from the moon the same as Serenity. And, of course, Alex and Jonathan's powers were completely solar based.

There was then the royalty factor. Edward, Serenity, and Jonathan had all been royals while, technically speaking, being the prince of Crystal Tokyo made him the only royal of the group. But he didn't believe that was the issue. He didn't see where being a member of a royal family would make a difference in all of this. Besides, in his eyes both Katie and Alex were just as much royalty as he was. If Jess had chosen to reclaim her lost title when Crystal Tokyo had been founded instead of opting for a position in his parent's court, then Katie and Alex would have born as a princess and prince. So no, that couldn't be the difference Queen Serenity was speaking of.

He looked up at his girlfriend and best friend and then turned his gaze toward the people, who in a wacky way, were kind of his grandparents. Gaia, Selene, and Apollo had chosen a Terran, a Lunarian, and a Solarian to be their champions, people who controlled the power of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. They had done the same thing this time as well. So he couldn't quite see the difference between…

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed suddenly as the answer finally dawned on him. There was a difference, a huge difference. "It's our bloodlines, isn't it? That's what's different. You three are pureblooded Terran, Lunarian, and Solarian while Katie, Alex, and I are a mix of all three. That's what it is!"

Edward snickered. "I told you he'd figure it out, Ren, if you would just give him a minute. Even after a thousand years you still act like your brain is so superior to everyone else's."

Serenity beckoned to Emma with an innocent smile. "Emmaline, darling, could I borrow that pillow you're holding for just a moment?"

Jonathan jumped up quickly. "Whoa! If you two are going to get into another one of your arguments, then at least let me get out of the line of fire first. It seems like every time I get stuck between the two of you that I'm the one that ends up suffering for it."

Serena giggled as she watched her former mother bare her teeth at the former Earth king. She slipped easily to Jonathan's side and wrapped both of her arms around one of his and hugged it close. "I don't think I've ever seen mother act quite like this. I remember that she could have her playful moments from time to time, but this is a completely different side of her."

"Hmph!" Jess snorted as she joined them with Andrew at her side. "You should have been around on the nights that she tucked me in to bed. Nobody told a story quite the way grandma did. You remember, don't you, sweetie? You used to sneak into my room on those nights so you could listen."

Andrew chuckled. "Yeah, I remember. I was in awe of the fact that a queen would run around a room, acting out her stories while doing different voices for the characters. It was a total riot."

Jonathan looked fondly toward his queen, who was now being talked to calmly by Althea. "This is the way she was when I first met her, before she had to settle down and become a queen. She never lost her bubbly, cheerful personality, but once the responsibility of running a kingdom was placed upon her she had to be careful about what she said and did. This side of her only came out when we were out of the public eye. It was a sad day for me when I was forced to leave her side for the Elysian Fields. Most people would be ecstatic to find themselves in a land of paradise, but all I wanted was to come back to her." He glanced down at Serena. "And you too, my little bunny. I definitely didn't want to leave you either, especially when you were so young. You had only just turned fifteen."

"Oh, Papa!" Serena cried as she buried her face in his shoulder. To be honest, she had blocked out most of the painful events of that day from her memory. She could only vaguely recall returning to the moon from a visit to Earth that had been cut short by threats from Beryl's rebels. She and her family had just arrived on the teleportation platform when a group of those traitors, who had snuck onto the moon earlier, had ambushed them. Jonathan had shoved her mother and her toward a group of guards and had ordered them to run for the castle. Then he had turned to face the attack. That had been the last time that she had seen him alive.

Jonathan wrapped her in one of his enormous bear hugs. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to make you sad. I was just reminiscing. Death really wasn't so bad. I was just bored out of my mind for about seven years. It was almost a relief when Edward and Althea showed up. Of course when I heard what was happening it made me mad. I even saw you for a moment."

Serena sniffled and looked up. "You did?"

He nodded. "Mm hmm. Edward, Althea, and I were sitting around, and they were filling me in on events when I saw a flash. For just one brief instance we saw you, Endymion, and Melody there. And then you just disappeared. Your mother arrived a short time later and told us that she had sent you to be reincarnated."

Serena sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah, she gave up the last of her energy to give us a second chance. I can only hope that one day I can be as selfless as she was."

Jonathan chuckled softly. "Oh, I don't think the apple falls far from the tree. Thanks to Ren's link to moon magic we've been able to keep an eye on some of the events that have happened since your reincarnation, and I've seen many occasions where you have put the feelings and safety of your friends and family before your own. You've grown into an amazing woman, Serenity. And I don't think that any father could be prouder."

"Thank you, Papa," Serena replied softly.

"Um, excuse me," DJ grumbled grumpily. "Could we all get back to the subject at hand before everyone loses focus?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I'm still waiting to find out exactly what this all powerful revelation means. I mean, it's not like we're all that special just because we have a mixed heredity. My mom and Rini share all three bloodlines as well."

"That's right," Alex agreed. "I know that technically we are all full blooded Terrans, but if you want to take ancient bloodlines into account then that means that all of our friends have at least two or more types of blood in them."

Emma tilted her head in thought. "That's true. I would be considered Terran, Venusian, and Lunarian because my father is from Earth while my mother's past self was half Venusian on her mother's side and half Lunarian since her father was Queen Serenity's brother."

Queen Serenity nodded. "That's true. And that is what makes all of you so vastly different from those of us that banded together in the past. In our day marriages between the royal families of different planets were not unheard of, but they weren't everyday occurrences either. Most of the planets chose to wed their heirs to a high ranking noble within their own courts to keep the bloodlines pure. But obviously there were a few exceptions, especially if a marriage could form a strong union. That was why my mother originally wanted me to marry Edward and why she supported my brother when he fell in love with the crown princess of Venus, to strengthen our ties. Luckily for me, she was also an understanding woman and believed in love as well. She ruled alone for many centuries, despite the cry of her people to find a king, because she refused to marry someone that she didn't love. Everyone rejoiced when she finally met and married my father. Unfortunately though, fate decided to part them after only a short time. I was so young when my father was killed in a skirmish that I barely remember him. But my mother always said that she was grateful for every moment that she had with him. So when I went to her and declared my love for Jonathan she agreed to let me marry the man of my choice."

Jonathan chuckled. "I think she also found it amusing to thumb her nose at my family. You know, she and my uncle, the king, had that long-standing feud going on. I'm sure she enjoyed every moment of rubbing his face in the fact that a member of his family was going to marry her daughter. Then I went and made things even worse when I allowed Travis and Clarissa to come to the moon with me. My parents threatened to disown me over that stunt."

Jess held her hands up. "Okay! Quick question! Curiosity has definitely gotten the better of me. Just what exactly was this huge rivalry between the sun and the moon that all of you keep talking about?"

Serena giggled. "Oh! I guess I never told you the story of that little family drama. You see, the politics of the solar kingdom worked somewhat differently than most of the others and their royal family was quite large. The eldest child of the current ruler did not always automatically inherit the throne. There were several options to be considered, and one of the most important ones was that whoever took the throne must be married. So when Papa's uncle was up to inherit, he proposed to my grandmother, Selenity, and she turned him down. In a fit of retaliation, he became engaged to a woman in his court, who also happened to be my grandmother's closest friend, and then forbade his soon to be wife from having any contact with my grandmother. But his plan backfired when his precocious fiancée went behind his back and invited grandma to the wedding. It was at their reception where grandma met grandpa. He was Lunarian, and a good friend to the newly crowned solar king, but he had spent many years away from the moon and traveling the galaxy. They hit it off right away and were married not long after that. Needless to say, the king wasn't happy."

"There was more to it than that," Serenity replied softly. "Tensions ran high between the two kings for a few years, but they remained civil with each other. Then the solar king asked my father for some assistance with a bandit problem he was having and that was when my father was killed. There were a lot of horrible rumors about what happened that day, but no one knows for sure exactly what happened. All I know is that mother held a strong grudge against the sun after that. I was just glad that her animosity didn't spill over to Jonathan. She believed in marrying for love."

"And that was why you gave in to me when I made my choice," Serena said quietly.

Serenity arched a brow at both her and Darien. "Well you two didn't exactly leave Edward, Althea, and I with many options in the matter. The two of you were talking about running away if we didn't let you wed, so it was either allow it or risk losing you both. But we did think that we would have a little bit more time to work things out. None of us expected you to get pregnant almost right away."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Hello, people! This has been an interesting history lesson and all, but can we try to get back on the subject, please? So we've established the fact that our blood is a nice, mixed up soup of different heredities. What exactly does that mean?"

"We don't know that it means anything. We just have a hunch," Edward replied.

Althea bumped his shoulder with hers. "Don't be so negative. Earlier, before we came here, you said that it could make all the difference in the world."

"What could make all the difference in the world?" DJ, Katie, and Alex all demanded together in exasperated stereo surround sound.

Jonathan and Edward broke into chuckles.

"Flashbacks to the good old days, huh?" Jonathan joked.

Serenity sighed and sat herself between them. "Okay you two, that's enough. Save the joking for later." She turned her gaze on DJ. "Have you ever attempted to touch your mother's Silver Crystal?"

His blue eyes widened. "No. I never tried to touch anyone's crystal besides my own. I usually leave that to Rini. She's the one that stole the Silver Crystal when we were little and ran off."

Rini stuck her tongue out at him. "I can't believe you brought that up! Besides, if I'm not mistaken I am the one that used mom's crystal to help save Crystal Tokyo. If it hadn't been for me then all of you would have been trapped in that evil sleep spell forever."

He rolled his eyes. "No. The point is that we probably wouldn't have been in that situation if you hadn't been messing around with the crystal in the first place."

Feeling that a possible sibling squabble was about to break out, Darien cleared his throat deeply, bringing both of his future children's attention to him. He shook his head slightly and gave them a stern look to tell them that now was not the time. They quieted quickly under his look.

The former moon queen bit back a smile. "As you all know, your crystals were born from the crystals of your parents. Naturally, Rini would be able to control Serenity's Silver Crystal because it is the parent of her own crystal. In Melody's case she would probably be able to control both the Silver and the Golden Crystals because of the unique origin of her own crystal. They would never be able to use them to their full potential because the crystals do not belong to them, but they would still be powerful. The same is true for you two boys. You would be able to exert some control over your fathers' crystals as well since they created yours."

"That makes sense," DJ mused. "I would never try to find out from first hand experience though. My dad would skin me if I ever laid a finger on the Golden Crystal."

Alex nodded. "Same here. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever even seen my dad's crystal."

Andrew snickered and patted his chest. "That's because I keep it safe and sound right here where it belongs. Besides, you've got one of your own. You don't need mine."

Katie propped her elbows on her knees and put her chin in her hands as she grumbled, "I'm always the odd one out, aren't I? I only got the moon part of mom's crystal, so hers would probably knock me flat on my ass if I ever tried to touch it since half of its power is earth based."

"Hmm…maybe, and maybe not," Serenity replied mysteriously. "Crystals are more than just a concentration of planetary energy. It has even been debated for centuries over whether or not they may even be sentient. I believe they have the ability to see deep inside a person, past whatever powers they have and right down to our genetic code."

Alex tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Okay, now you lost me."

Serenity smiled benevolently. "What I am saying is that the very first crystals that were created and given to the mortals were formed from the powers of the gods, the same power that flows through the bracelets you now wear."

DJ studied the strap on his wrist. "So what you're saying is that these are kind of like super crystals."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," Serenity conceded. "But the root of my point goes much deeper than that. You three have been training with these powers for a while and you've already face Discord with them once with some success. But tell me this, when you were standing before him, were you confident or scared?"

"Are you kidding! My knees were knocking together the entire time," Katie exclaimed.

"Same here!" both guys agreed.

Serenity looked toward Jonathan, who nodded slightly. "It looks like our theory was right after all."

"What theory?" Serena demanded. "This beating around the bush is driving me crazy! Please, tell us what your idea is. And no more hocus pocus mumbo jumbo!"

"Calm yourself, Serenity," Queen Serenity chided gently. "It's very simple actually. When your father, Edward, and I were given those powers they reacted strongly to the powers that we already carried and went straight to our heads, making us cocky. We suddenly believed that we were invincible and that nothing could stop us."

Edward nodded sagely. "We thought that since we controlled the powers of the gods that we were just as infallible as they were. We never took into account that we were merely mortals and that our bodies had limitations despite the powers that we wielded. We were so blinded by the lust of power that it never occurred to us that we could fail. Sometimes I wonder how the others ever put up with us."

Althea sniffed. "It wasn't easy. There were times that you three would get so full of yourselves that I had to turn and walk away before I strangled you. And every time I voiced any concerns about the need to exercise a little bit of caution you would just brush me off. It was quite infuriating at times."

Rini shook her head. "But DJ, Katie, and Alex haven't been acting like that. If wasn't for the fact that their eyes change color and those symbols appear on their foreheads when they call on their powers I would say that they haven't changed at all. Sure, they're faster, stronger, and can teleport, but other than that they've stayed the same."

Emma nodded eagerly. "It's true! If anything, I would say that they have even grown slightly more cautious."

Katie snorted. "Gee, thanks! I don't know whether to feel complimented or insulted."

"Just speaking the facts," Rini quipped back. "I know my brother well. And you and Alex have practically been like adopted siblings to me all our lives, so I know you guys pretty well too. And other than the little bitch fest you went on after Discord kidnapped you last fall you have stayed the same person."

Anger flashed in Jonathan's eyes. "Ah! So that's what you didn't want to tell me about before. That bastard dared to kidnap you!"

Edward snarled low in his throat. "I wonder how much groveling we would have to do to Zeus to get him to return us to our proper bodies with our powers intact for just one hour. That's all the time we'd need to teach Mr. All-Powerful Entity not to mess with our family!"

Althea sniffed disdainfully. "Down, grandpa bears! I don't think our great-granddaughter needs you two grumpy, grumbling grizzlies flying to her defense. She seems to be an independent, capable person and is probably more than capable of fighting her own battles. She must take after me."

Katie grinned as Althea shot her a sly wink. Then she sobered. "So why are we reacting to the god powers differently than you did? Does this mean that we're not as strong?"

"No! That's not it at all," Serenity reassured her. "I believe what it all boils down to is that since you three carry mixed blood it keeps the powers from trying to consume you. You are able to wield the powers effectively and to the fullest extent, but you are able to keep a level head and not let them overpower you. And keeping your common sense around you could make all the difference when the time comes for the final confrontation."

"But we can only achieve victory if we have those swords," DJ muttered in a low voice.

"Great!" Alex drawled sarcastically. "I don't suppose our illustrious predecessors would like to enlighten us about where we could find those swords."

Jonathan shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't laid eyes on those swords since the night that Apollo, Gaia, and Selene showed up to take them away from us. They said that they were going to put them up in a safe place and that if those powers were ever needed again that the ones meant to wield those swords would find their way to them."

Jess rolled her eyes. "Vague, boring, and extremely uninformative, just like everything else in our lives. It would be nice if for once someone could come to us and say, _'Here's your enemy and this is what you have to do.' _Playing Russian Roulette gets pretty irritating after a while."

"Things may not be as vague as you think," Serenity rebuked. "While it's true that we don't know where the swords are, Selene did say something about how the three of them accidentally almost stumbled across them when they were only children. But since they were so young the memory of that event was wiped from their minds."

DJ, Katie, and Alex all stared at one another in shock. Was there something that had happened in their past that they weren't aware of?

* * *

_**Tokyo – Present Time**_

'_I love you.'_

Skye jerked awake as those words echoed over and over in her head. She blinked several times as she tried to get her bearings. After a few moments her dim surroundings came into focus and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was in the bedroom that she had been using since her arrival in the past.

What confused her though was the fact that she was passed out across the bed while the last dying rays of the sun streamed in the window through the parted curtains. She wasn't usually the type of person to give in to taking a nap in the middle of the day. Naps were for babies and sick people. What day was it anyway? Her brain felt like marshmallows.

She rolled over and stared at the ceiling, trying to sort out her thoughts. That's right, it was Monday. She had gone to school that day and then must have come home and zonked out. Now that she thought about it, she supposed it really wasn't that odd that she had given into fatigue. She had barely slept a wink since Friday night. Prom had been on Saturday and she'd had a lot of trouble sleeping since then.

'_But it's not because of him!' _she thought defiantly.

"Oh, who am I trying to kid?" she whispered to herself. "Of course it's because of him. It's all his fault. He just had to show up here and turn everything upside down. That stupid, conceited jackass!"

Okay, she was being harsh and she knew it. Kyrian had been roped into the plot for him to come to the past by Mina and Trista, so it wasn't entirely his fault. But he could have refused to play along with it if he had wanted to. Instead he had jumped right in.

A tiny grin tilted her lips. As mad as she had been when she had first seen him standing in the foyer of the penthouse, she couldn't say that the night had been as big of a disaster as she had thought it would be. In fact, it had turned out to be quite nice. They had finally hashed out some deep-rooted issues between them and she'd had the pleasure of dancing in his arms. Seeing Kyrian visit with the past form of his parents had been amusing as well.

And the kisses that they had shared…well, she refused to let herself dwell on the memory of those. All that did was make her feel like crying, and she detested feeling weak. Saying goodbye to him after only one night had almost been enough to crumble her iron hard self-control. It haunted her dreams every time she fell asleep. That was what had woken her up just now.

_**Dream Sequence**_

It was a couple of hours before dawn and they were in a clearing in the park. Trista stood a discreet distance away from them to give them the privacy that they needed to say their goodbyes.

"You better get going," Skye said, forcing her voice to be firm despite the burning of tears that she felt in her eyes.

Kyrian's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. "I wish I didn't have to go. I would much rather stay here and help you so that we could go home together."

She barked out a shaky laugh. "Ha! The others and I can handle things here just fine on our own. Besides, you have your life to get back to. I doubt you'll even realize that I'm not there."

His pitch black eyes bore down into hers. "That's where you're wrong. Your absence has cut me like a knife every day since you left. I've only been going through the motions of living. My classes pass in a blur and eating and sleeping are the farthest things from my mind. The only reason why I go home is to assure my mom that I'm still alive."

"Suurre!" she drawled. "That's in between hitting the clubs and all of your hot dates. You are one of the biggest playboys around. I don't believe that for a moment."

"It's true!" he insisted. "You can ask anyone and they'll tell you. I've been laying low since you left. The only reason why I went out with those other girls in the first place was to try and get your attention."

She snorted. "Oh yeah! That's real ingenious thinking there. All that ever did was piss me off!"

He chuckled. "You were jealous."

"No I wasn't!" she retorted.

"You were," he replied confidently.

"In your dreams!" she snapped back.

His grin faded. "Yeah, in my dreams. But if that's the only place I can have you with me then I hope I fall asleep and never wake up."

Skye realized that she had hurt him and felt bad about it. "Kyrian…I…"

He shook his head. "It's okay. I knew it would be too much to ask to win you over in just a few hours. But I'm not giving up hope. I think we took some important steps tonight. And I'll be waiting for you when you get home to try and wear you down some more."

She couldn't help but laugh a little. "Your ego is showing again. Do you think that just because we spent a little time together tonight means that I am just going to run straight to you the moment I get back home?"

One corner of his mouth kicked up in a cocky smirk. "Nah! I'll give you a minute to greet your parents, and then I expect you to throw yourself at me and proclaim your undying love."

"Not gonna happen!" she growled.

"We'll see," he whispered softly as he bent down to brush his lips lightly over hers.

"Kyrian, it's time to go," Trista said gently as she approached them.

He nodded and pressed one last kiss against Skye's lips. "I love you," he told her sincerely before letting her go and stepping back to join Trista.

The same words burned on Skye's tongue, but she refused to say them. She desperately wanted to, but she was afraid of what it would mean if she did. Part of her now believed that Kyrian had never meant to hurt her, but she still had reservations about opening her heart completely to him. She needed more time to work out her feelings. So she just stood there until he disappeared in a flash of light.

_**End Dream**_

Skye groaned and rolled over to her stomach to bury her face in the comforter.

'_I should have told him,' _she thought miserably. _'It still would have hurt to say goodbye to him if I had, but maybe I wouldn't be feeling so depressed now if I had. It would have given me something to look forward to when I got home and I wouldn't be laying here wallowing in my own self pity.'_

She snorted in disgust and pushed herself up into a sitting position. This type of weakness was exactly what she despised. The bottom line was that she hadn't confessed her feelings to Kyrian before he left and there wasn't anything that she could do about that until she got back to Crystal Tokyo, so she may as well stop moping because it wasn't going to do her any good.

She heard a knock on her door and sighed, hoping that it wasn't Lita. The younger, past form of her mother was a blast to spend time with, but for the last couple of days she had been slightly smothering and overly cheerful. Skye knew that Lita was just trying to boost her spirits over Kyrian leaving, but it grew tiresome after a while.

She drew in a fortifying breath before calling out, "Come in."

The air whooshed out of her lungs in relief when the door opened partway and two heads poked around it to look at her. She grinned at Jayden and Hannah. "Hey guys! What are you two imps up to?"

Confident that Skye wasn't going to blast them for disturbing her, the blonde teen boy scurried into the room, followed by the sapphire haired girl. They closed the door behind them before hurrying to sit on the side of the bed next to the older girl.

Skye took in their anxious, excited faces. "Well, what's going on? You guys look ready to burst."

Jayden gave her a sly grin. "Hannah and I were talking, and we decided that we don't like being left out of the loop. So we've come up with a plan to get the low down on what's going on."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Skye asked in confusion.

Hannah rolled her bright green eyes. "What Jay is trying to say is that we feel like we're being gypped by not going to Elysian with the others. I know they said that they would fill us in on everything when they got back, but we don't think it's right. We are all supposed to be friends and training as a team, so why should we get left behind while the rest of them get to go on their secret mission to Elysian. It's not fair."

Skye ran a hand through her tousled auburn curls. "I know. I feel the same way. But they asked us to stay here while they went to that meeting with Queen Serenity. I myself would love to go and crash that party, but unfortunately we have no way of getting into Elysian by ourselves."

Jayden chuckled darkly. "Who said it would be by ourselves?"

Skye was intrigued. This was just what she needed, some excitement to take her mind off of other depressing thoughts. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Hannah quickly laid out the plan that she and Jayden had come up with. By the time she finished Skye's slate blue eyes were gleaming as excitedly as theirs were.

"Count me in," she told the two younger troublemakers.

They had to wait about fifteen minutes for it to become dark enough where they wouldn't be easily seen. Then they had to sneak past the few adults that were actually at the penthouse for the evening. Once out they made their way quickly to the roof where they transformed and took off across the rooftops. It was only a few minutes later when the three of them landed on an apartment balcony.

"Are we even sure that she's here?" Skye asked her co-conspirators in a whisper as they slid the glass door open.

"Here's hoping," Jayden whispered back.

Hannah rubbed her hands together in almost maniacal glee. "If she's not then I have a back up plan. There are others that we can interrogate to get our way if we have to."

Skye swore that she could almost see devil horns poking up on top of Hannah's head and she giggled softly to Jayden, "I think your girlfriend has an evil side to her, Smokey."

He bit back a chuckle. "I know! Isn't it great!"

They fell silent as they made their way through the living room and entered a hallway. Their feet made no sound on the thick carpet as they tiptoed down the hall, past a few doors, to the doorway at the end.

Peeking inside the bedroom they had approached, they all held back their squeals of excitement when they saw the one that they were seeking lying asleep on the bed. Skye motioned to the younger two to be quiet and that she would take the lead. Jayden and Hannah nodded their agreement and followed her slowly.

Skye waited until she had reached the side of the bed and her partners had taken up positions to assist her if she needed it. Not that she thought that she would, but sometimes it paid to be safe. Then she leaned over and grabbed her victim with both hands.

"What…!" a voice screeched and then broke off. Eyes widened when the victim saw her attacker.

Skye's grip never loosened as she growled menacingly. "Now listen here! We need your help with something and you're going to give it to us without any problems. Do I make myself clear?"

* * *

_**Elysian – Present Time**_

"Well I'm still drawing a blank here," Alex grumbled. "I've practically dissected my brain and I can't come up with any time that we could have almost stumbled across those swords."

"Me neither," Katie agreed. "I think all I'm doing is giving myself a headache."

DJ shrugged. "I'm just as lost as you guys are. I don't see how something like that could have happened anyway. I seriously doubt that the gods were stupid enough to leave them laying around where someone can easily find them."

Queen Serenity shook her head. "No. That wouldn't be like them at all. I wish I could offer you more insight into how and when such an occurrence may have happened, but I'm afraid that we weren't given that information."

"They'll figure it out eventually," Jonathan said supportively. "The good thing is that we have determined that they hopefully won't be swallowed up by the god powers the same way that we were. Being able to keep their common sense will go a long way in helping them be victorious."

"Speaking of common sense," Edward drawled. "That brings us to the last idiotic thing that we did. You have others that have been training with you, I presume."

DJ nodded. "Yeah. Rini and Emma have both been training with us along with some of our other friends. We've been doing group practices together for a while now."

"That's good," Serenity said softly. "You should believe in your friends and let them help you. Cutting our friends out of our fight with Discord was probably one of the most fatal mistakes that we made. We thought that we were sparing them from the possibility of being hurt, but in reality they were all very capable fighters that could have helped us immensely. If they had been there to help us fight off the youma army that Discord sprang on us then we wouldn't have had to use up all of our energy just to get to him. So keep your friends close and let them assist you. It could make all of the difference in the world."

"Ah ha!" Emma crowed as she latched on tightly to Alex's arm. "You're hearing this, right? Just the other night you were going on about how you wished that I would stay out of the fight when it happens and I told you to shove off. Well now I have confirmation that I should be involved. Face it! You need me."

Althea sighed. "I was an active member of our team too until I became pregnant with Endymion. Not that I would exchange him for anything in the world, but I was a little resentful from time to time about being forced to sit out."

Darien's eyes widened at her statement. "Mother? You knew how to fight?"

Giggles pealed from the former Earth queen. "Endymion, I'm surprised at you! You didn't honestly think that you had inherited your fighting skills from just your father, did you? I was a crystal carrier myself, maybe not the strongest one of the bunch, but I had a few useful talents."

"Yeah, a talent for trouble," Edward grumbled.

Althea elbowed him in the ribs. "You're one to talk about trouble. Besides, I thought you liked my ability to be able to sneak around without anybody seeing me. It came in handy for us when we wanted to get away for a while."

Jess clapped her hands together. "That's right! I got my shadow powers from you!"

"Yes you did," Althea acknowledged. "But I didn't realize that you had inherited my particular gift until Serenity informed me that you had started disappearing and slipping away on your own. It was a logical conclusion that you were using the shadows. There was no other way that such a young child would be able to evade people so easily. I was going to volunteer to teach you how to control those powers when you came for that last visit, but things went crazy before I could."

Jess nodded. "I finally figured it out, but it took me until I was thirteen in this life. I used to wonder, in both lives, why I would get yelled at and accused of sneaking off when I would walk right by people. I always thought that people just weren't paying attention to me, now I know that they couldn't see me. I was using those powers and didn't realize that I was doing it."

"I can do it too," Katie spoke up. "What?" she exclaimed when Jess's eyes snapped toward her. "There is a reason why I'm called Sailor Eclipse. You know, the whole shadow falling across the moon thing. I just don't like using that particular trick unless I have to. I don't like the dark."

She realized that she was sounding childish, but she didn't care at the moment. She felt mentally drained from everything they had heard and was hungry. She needed a recharge before they pressed on.

She climbed to her feet. "I'm heading to the kitchen for a minute. I need a snack and some caffeine, and not necessarily in that order, before I pass out."

"Amen!" Rini seconded as she jumped up beside her. "My stomach has been growling like crazy for the past half hour. I'm surprised that nobody heard it."

"Who says nobody did?" DJ teased. "I thought I was sitting next to a snarling wild animal."

Rini shook a fist at him. "Keep it up and I'll show you a wild animal when I kick your butt!"

Darien took his future son's side. "I know what you mean. I could barely hear any of the conversation over the sound of Serena's vocal stomach."

Serena stood up in a huff and raised her pert little chin regally. "Just for that you can find some other place to sleep tonight, because it won't be next to me you maniacal egotist!"

His eyes glittered playfully. "Ooo, those are big words, Meatball Head. Do you even know what they mean?"

"Why you!" Serena shrieked.

Rini rolled her eyes. "There they go again! Can you two not ever grow up? Never mind! I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall when I'm dealing with you guys. I still swear that I must be adopted; because there is no way that I share any common genes with either of you! Now I'm going to scrounge up some food. Who else is in?"

The adults all laughed as the rest of the teen brigade, DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma, hurried to follow her in search of a junk food frenzy. But when the door was opened they received a shock as three bodies fell inside on top of them from where they had been leaning with their ears pressed against the door.

The next full minute was nothing but a jumbled pile of flailing arms and legs as people tried to detangle themselves from the melee.

"Ouch!"

"Damn it!"

"My back!"

"Who the hell just pulled my hair?"

"Whoever just put their hand on my ass is getting stomped after this!"

"Oops!"

"Get off!"

"I'm trying!"

Finally they got themselves sorted out and the eight of them sat on the floor as the five that had been about to leave the room stared in shock at the three unexpected visitors.

Rini recovered her voice first. "How did you three get here?"

Skye grinned evilly. "We took a hostage." She held up a rumpled ball of orange fur that she had somehow been able to hold onto during the chaos.

Nebula was hissing and spitting as she twisted in the girl's grasp. "Well I never! I demand that you let me go this instant! I did what you asked me to do, so let me go before I slice that pretty little face of yours into ribbons! I bet Kyrian wouldn't give you a second look if I did that!"

"Bitch!" Skye spat as she tossed the feline aside.

Jess quickly scooped her advisor up in her arms. She may have resented the mangy fleabag sometimes for being so bossy, but Nebula had been with her for a long time and had stood by her side through many major ordeals in her life. And though she didn't show it often, she loved the rust colored cat dearly. "Oh, Bula! Did those rowdy teenagers hurt you?"

Nebula wasn't normally a cuddly cat, but she was so shaken that she took comfort from Jess's embrace. "Physically I'm fine. I think my pride is wounded more than anything else. Those three spawns of Satan snuck into your apartment and grabbed me while I was napping. Then they demanded that I bring them here. They weren't going to let me go, so I had no choice."

"Of course you didn't," Jess cooed as she gently smoothed the ruffled fur.

Jayden snickered. "Yeah, go ahead and play up that sympathy card, hairball! We didn't do anything to you."

Nebula bristled indignantly. "I beg your pardon! Hairball! I bet this whole devious plan was your idea, wasn't it?"

The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees as Hannah scrambled to her feet. "I actually came up with the initial idea. Jay and Skye just helped me fine tune it and carry it out."

"Hmph!" Nebula huffed. "And what would you have done if I hadn't been there? It's not like I spend all of my time hanging around Jess and Andrew's place."

Skye shrugged. "Then we would have gone after Luna and made her call you. We had a backup plan in place."

"Ahem!" Queen Serenity cleared her throat as she stood, along with Jonathan, Edward, and Althea. "I believe that perhaps some more introductions need to be made."

Nebula let out a startled meow as she noticed the former monarchs for the first time and jumped from Jess's arms. "Your majesty!"

Serenity dropped to her knees and opened her arms. "Don't you dare be formal with me at a time like this! Come here!"

Nebula may not have been much of a lap cat, but she hurtled herself at her former mistress in less than two seconds. Serenity stood with her in her arms. "Well it seems that this party is getting bigger by the minute."

Serena giggled. "That seems to be the way my life usually goes. I never know who's going to show up where. I hardly ever get a moment's peace. Anyway, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah, this is Jonathan, former king of the moon, and Edward and Althea, the former king and queen of Earth."

Hannah stood speechless in shock while Jayden and Skye both mumbled, "Whoa!" under their breath.

Serena grinned at their reactions before continuing. "Papa, Edward, and Althea, let me introduce the remaining members of our gang of out of control teens. This tall young lady here is Skye. She is the daughter of Sailor Jupiter and Nephrite. The blonde boy with the loud mouth is Jayden, Sailor Mars and Jadeite's son. And the shell shocked girl next to him is Sailor Mercury and Zoicite's daughter, Hannah."

Althea squealed. "Ooo! It's almost like claiming three more grandchildren! I feel like they're all mine since I practically raised their fathers. Honestly, I used to joke and say that I had five sons instead of one. The generals were always as thick as thieves, and Endymion was usually right in the middle of whatever mischief they had going on."

Darien chuckled. "We weren't that bad. Besides, mother, you always said that laughing about our antics kept you feeling young, not that you were ever old anyway."

"You're still a smooth talker I see, Endymion," Althea replied slyly. "You definitely take after your father. He always thinks that his silver tongue will get him out of trouble as well."

Edward grinned smugly. "It usually works, doesn't?"

The former Earth queen blushed brightly, but grumbled, "Get over yourself!"

"Ugh!" Rini groaned. "The grandparents are just as depraved as the parents are! Let's hit the kitchen and leave the adults alone for a while you guys. All this mushy, lovey dovey crap is making me nauseous."

Jayden snickered as the group of teens began making their way out of the room. "Speaking of lovey dovey, where's ole horseboy at Rini? I figured the two of you would be off someplace engaging in some mushy activity of your own."

The pink haired princess growled menacingly. "Shove it up your ass, Jay! He's around here somewhere, but he still has work to do. It's not exactly an easy job to be a dream priest you know! And he's not a horse, he transforms into a Pegasus! There's a big difference."

Jayden rolled his blueberry eyes. "So he's a horse with wings and a horn! It's not that much of a difference. Hey! Does that technically mean that you're in an interspecies relationship? That's weird."

"I'm going to _murder _you!" Rini shrieked and lunged after the laughing blonde as he ran away.

The rest of the teens stood in shock for a moment before bursting into laughter and chasing after their friends.

Jess shook her head and sighed. "Our future will never be boring, will it?"

Andrew chuckled. "Not with that group around. That's why I'm depending on the doc over here to keep me supplied with an infinite store of Xanax in the future so I can keep my sanity." He hooked a thumb at Darien.

Darien laughed. "I know what you mean. I think we're all going to need it to survive raising them."

"They are a spirited bunch," Serenity said softly. "But underneath all of the teasing I can sense the closeness between them all. And that is a good thing. They will need to be a unified force to take down Discord. Now that we have shared our story and explained things to them a little better I can only hope that it's enough. But it's out of our hands now. There's nothing more we can tell them."

"But you're not leaving yet, are you?" Serena cried in a panic. "I thought we had the whole night to be together and there are still hours left before dawn. I'm not ready to say goodbye yet!"

"Calm down, bunny," Jonathan said gently. "We were saving it for a surprise, but I guess now is just as good a time as any. We'll actually get to stick around for a day or so. Call it a divine loophole if you want to. Zeus granted us one Earth night in these bodies, but since we are in Elysian and time moves differently here it gives us more time. We don't have to go back until the current night in the outside world ends."

Serena's eyes shown excitedly. "Really? Oh, this is so amazing!"

Edward elbowed Jonathan. "Maybe we can get those kids to show us what they know and perhaps give a few pointers. I bet we have a few tricks up our sleeves that they don't know about."

Jonathan grinned devilishly. "Are you saying we should invite our dear replacements to a little sparring match? That could be fun."

"Oh no," Serenity moaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I knew bringing you two with me would cause trouble. I should have just brought Althea and left you men behind."

Althea sighed and nodded. "I still don't see how two overgrown children became kings. You two are absolutely impossible!"

Just then a panting, red-faced Aurora appeared in the doorway. "Would anyone around here care to explain to me why my kitchen has suddenly been overrun by a pack of rambunctious teenagers? They almost trampled me to death!"

The eight adults burst into laughter.

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

"I'm sooo bored!" Katie complained, banging her fingers down on the piano keys. "I don't see why we have to stay locked up here like prisoners. I know Trista said it was to keep us from interfering in the past any more, but damn! It's not like we could do anything anyway without a time key. I'm sure I don't have the ability to traverse the time plane anymore like I did before."

Alex grinned up from where he was fiddling with a computer. "Wow! Somebody's grumpy today." Then he sighed. "Okay, I know what you mean. I'm kinda bored myself. I can't get this stupid computer to hook up with the network in the outside world. It keeps popping up 'connection not available'. I've tried every signal that I can think of and I still get nothing. It's like the whole grid is down or something. I can't get a thing on what's going on back home."

"You guys are just suffering from cabin fever," DJ drawled without looking up from the book he was reading. "It was bound to happen sooner or later since we've been here for so long and you two have the attention span of ants."

"Is that a professional opinion, Dr. Shields?" Katie sneered viciously and then looked horrified at herself. "Sorry," she mumbled.

The hurt look in DJ's eyes lingered for a minute before it faded and he smiled gently. "It's okay."

Katie stared down at the piano keys, tears of frustration in her eyes. No, it wasn't okay. She'd had no right to throw it in his face that he had never been able to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor, especially since it had been her actions that had ruined his life. But she had tried her best to fix everything and had succeeded to a point. Her brother was alive once again, and that counted for something. Now they were just waiting to see what would happen when their past selves took action and time reset itself. If only the little brats would hurry up and do something already! This waiting was becoming unbearable.

"Hey, Lex," Emma grumbled as she walked into the room, twirling a small cell phone in her fingers. After much begging and pleading, Rini had allowed Emma to use her specially made phone that was able to call out from Elysian to call Mina and let her know that she was alive and safe. Emma had been careful to not say where she was and who she was with, but it had comforted her mother to know that she was okay. "I was trying to call mom and touch base with her, but I can't get the call to go through. It's like the phone is dead or something."

Alex frowned and took the phone from her to study the screen. He shook his head. "This doesn't make any sense. It's just like the computer. It's not picking up on any kind of a signal. Amy made this phone personally, so I know that it is programmed to scan for a connecting signal even if the regular network goes down. What the hell is going on?"

Just then Rini's enraged voice exploded in the foyer. "What the hell do you mean I can't go home, Helios? I want to go and see my mom and you can't stop me!"

The four inadvertent eavesdroppers hurried to the door to find out what was happening.

Helios held his struggling wife in his arms. "Sweetheart, just listen to me for a minute. You can't go home right now. There's nothing for you to go back to. At this moment events in the past are causing time fluxes and everything is being restructured. That's why I want you to stay here. If you attempt to go home you will be sucked up into the void along with everyone else. Once everything has calmed down you will be returned to your proper place and time."

Rini leaned back to look at him with teary maroon eyes. "But mom, dad, and everyone else…"

Helios shook his head. "Their lives are in the process of being rewritten. But Pluto told me that the outcome of the final battle with Discord hasn't been decided yet, so the time fluxes keep shifting back and forth between two probable futures. So until things calm down I want you to stay here where it's safe."

"So that's why the computer and the phone aren't working," Alex spoke up, announcing their presence.

The white haired priest nodded. "Time outside of this realm is unstable at the moment, so essentially we are closed off until it decides which way it wants to go."

Katie read the worry in those amber eyes and whispered, "Is it bad?"

He sighed. "It's hard to say right now. It could go either way." He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the visions that he had seen. In one, the Earth was saved and everyone went on to enjoy fulfilling lives. Rini still became his wife and everyone was happy. In the other a lot of the people he cared for died and the world became a much different place than it had been.

"Helios," Rini's trembling voice pulled him back to the present. She raised a shaking hand to his cheek. "It is bad, isn't it?"

He gave her an encouraging smile. "It may not be. We have to have hope that things will work out. All is not lost. The Trinity may still be used successfully and rid the world of that monster. We'll just have to wait and see what happens."

DJ spoke quietly to his brother-in-law. "Do you think they can do it, our past selves? Do you honestly believe that they have a shot at pulling this off?"

One side of Helios's mouth kicked up in a rueful grin. "That's the same as asking me if I think the three of you would be capable of defeating Discord. And if you were to ask me that my answer would be…absolutely! When I look at the three of you, I see more than just people that have had to face obstacles that most people could never fathom. I see three people that are filled with determination who will never back down. Your past selves may be younger, but that same fire and passion burns inside of them. I believe that they will fight back with everything that they have. And if the gods are willing they will be victorious."

"I just wish that there was something that we could do to help them," Katie sighed.

"Would you be willing to actually act on that statement?" Sailor Pluto asked as she appeared in a puff of pink smoke. "If you are, then I could use your help, especially you, Katie. You have a particular talent that could be most beneficial. You just have to promise me that you won't turn into a psychopathic rogue again."

"Hey!" Katie snapped. "My sanity may have been questionable the past fifteen years, but I was never a psychopath. I was just…um…crazy?" She looked to DJ to read his response.

He grinned and crossed his arms. "That works for me. You were definitely a Looney Toon. But I still love you anyway."

Katie batted her lashes dramatically. "Aw, baby…you always know just the right words to say to make me melt."

Predictably, Emma went starry eyed at the playful, romantic banter while Alex made a gagging sound and turned away muttering, "Get a room!"

"Anyway, Trista," Katie gushed as she turned back to the time guardian. "What do you need me to do? I could use a little action."

Pluto let out a low chuckle. "Well I'm afraid this won't give you much action. What I need involves a great amount of stealth."

Alex cackled and rubbed his hands together like a movie villain. "Ooo…mystery and intrigue. Sounds like my kind of gig."

Emma snorted. "You play entirely too many video games."

DJ rolled his eyes and then looked to Pluto. "I guess you can count us in."

* * *

_**Elysian – Present Time**_

_She was standing beside a large, ornately carved, white marble fountain, staring at a crescent moon that had been carved into the side._

_"Hey, there's a sun carved here," Alex called out nearby, fingering the picture embedded in the rim of the fountain._

"_Cool. I found the symbol for Earth," DJ said, laying a hand on it._

_She reached out and gently touched the crescent moon with her fingertips. The moment she did she felt a burning sensation on her forehead…then everything went black._

Katie jolted awake, looking around wildly for a moment before she realized that she was in her room in Elysian. She tried to sit up in the bed, but stopped when she felt something weighing her down.

She turned her head to look beside her and smiled at the sight of the raven dark head on the pillow next to hers. She and the rest of the teens had finally given into fatigue in the early morning hours after their long day and emotionally draining night and had decided to retreat upstairs to catch a few hours of sleep and recharge, leaving the adults downstairs to continue visiting with the former monarchs.

DJ had protested at first when she had dragged him into her room with her, claiming that Andrew would kill him if he caught him there. But after a little pouting and begging on her part and her reassurances that she would handle her father's past self if he made a big deal out of things, he had joined her on the bed and held her close as they fell asleep. It had been innocent enough. They had only shared a few kisses before slipping off to dreamland and they were both still fully clothed. There was no reason for any of the _not quite yet parents_ to throw a fit.

Katie reached up and swept back the dark hair that fell over DJ's eyes as she felt her heart swell inside her chest. He was such a major part of her life now and she loved him more than she had ever thought could be possible. Just a few months ago she had thought that she would never have a chance with her prince, and now here he was with her. And it felt right.

DJ shifted a little and the arm he had draped across her waist tightened a fraction before his eyelids blinked open to reveal his hazy, sleep clouded, sky blue eyes. "Hey," he said in a gravelly voice.

She buried her head into his shoulder. "Hey yourself."

He yawned and stretched a little. "How long have we been out?"

She picked up his arm to look at the watch on his wrist, squinting to see the hands in the dim glow of the small lamp burning on a table in a corner. "Umm…a couple of hours maybe. It hasn't been that long. It's still dark outside."

"Hmm…" he hummed. "So what are you doing awake then? We've had a busy day and night and I know you've got to be tired."

She shrugged and pushed his arm slightly away so that she could sit up. "I don't know. I guess my body is just saying that it's had enough rest for now," she replied as she finger combed her long, rumpled, light blonde hair.

DJ's larger hand covered hers, stilling its movements. "Nice try, Kat. But you can't hide things from me, remember. So what's bothering you?"

She laughed softly and gently batted his hand away. "Nothing's bothering me exactly. I just had this really odd dream a few minutes ago and it woke me up."

His brow creased in concern. "What kind of dream?"

"It wasn't a nightmare," she quickly reassured him. "It was just strange. It almost felt real in a way." Her nose scrunched up as she thought. Then she asked, "Do you remember if we ever took any trips when we were little where we explored any caves or caverns?"

He closed his eyes for a minute and she thought that he had gone back to sleep, but then he opened his eyes again and looked at her. "Not that I remember. Why?"

She shook her head. "It's just that you and Alex were in the dream with me and we were in some kind of cave, but we were all little kids again. I just thought that maybe I was dreaming about something that we had done in the past. It's all kind of a blur now, but I do remember seeing a fountain in it."

"A fountain," DJ murmured. He didn't know why, but it felt like her words were trying to jog loose some memory buried deep in his brain.

Katie leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Hey, don't stress about it. It was just a dream. They're not supposed to make sense." She hopped up from the bed and walked over to the window where she parted the curtains slightly. "It looks like the sun will be rising in about an hour or so. I wonder what today holds for us."

DJ groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. "Who knows. After last night it could be anything. I think Grandma Serenity and the others are through with explaining the past to us though."

"Good," she replied emphatically with a shudder. "Seeing what Discord did to their heads was one of the worst things I've ever experienced in my life."

He heard the edge to her voice and rolled back over to look at her standing by the window. He knew he was bringing up a sore subject, but he had to ask. "Kat, what exactly did that bastard do to you when he held you for those three days? I know the general outline, but I want to know it all."

She turned away with a sigh. "No…you don't."

"Yes I do," he insisted as he slid off the bed.

She whirled to face him, and for a moment the cold, anger filled Katie from a few months ago glared back at him. "What the hell do you want to know the whole sordid story for?" she spat hatefully.

He refused to be swayed, so he approached her slowly and cupped her face gently in his hands. "Because I want to know everything about you, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I already know so much, what makes you happy and sad, your favorite foods, movies, and music. I know what a loving and giving person you are. Hell! I feel like I know you better than I know myself. I just wish that you would believe in me enough to trust me with that dark period in your life. You've kept it inside for so long. Please, baby, just let it out."

The coldness faded from her eyes as they filled with tears. The she flung herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist as she cried. "It was a nightmare! No…it was worse than any nightmare!"

"Shh," he whispered as he smoothed a hand over her hair. "Just take your time and tell me exactly what happened."

She sucked in a few shuddering breaths before pulling back a little to swipe at her face. After a few quiet moments she began to speak.

"The night that it all happened was both the best and worst night of my life. I successfully gave my first public performance and had gotten my first kiss from the prince of my dreams. But then you ignored me all through dinner and then ran off to dance with Sasha. I retaliated by dancing with Jack. After a few minutes I had a chance to calm down and slipped away from him to try to find you so we could talk. I thought that maybe you were just embarrassed because you had kissed me, so I was going to confess to you how I felt about you in hopes that you would return my feelings. But when I found you on that terrace you were kissing Sasha."

"Correction, she was kissing me. She threw herself at me and caught me off guard," DJ grumbled.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I know that now, but I didn't then. Anyway, I felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces at that moment and all I could think about was getting out of there. I started to ask Alex to go home with me, but he was having such a good time with Emma that I didn't disturb him. Instead I snuck out and ran all the way home. I was so upset that I didn't realize that anything was wrong until after I got inside. My parents always left a few lights burning when we were out for the night, but when I got there it was dark. I was in the entry hall fumbling for the light switch when the guardian attacked. I could barely see anything except for his glowing red eyes. He tackled me to the floor and I managed to kick him off. I was going to transform, but that was when I remembered that I wasn't wearing my pendant. I ran for the stairs to get to my room, but he blocked the way. That was when he pulled out the knife.

He chased me all over the bottom floor of the house, swinging that knife at me every time he got within arms length of me. He always made sure to cut me off before I could make it to the stairs. It's like he knew what I was after. I fought back with all I had, and I got in a few good hits, but he countered my moves fairly easy. I finally made it into the kitchen, hoping to get my hands on a weapon of my own, but he was right on my tail so I couldn't stop to look for one. All I could think of was staying away from that knife. He had already managed to cut me several times and it hurt so much. At last I caught a break and made it to the staircase before him, but he grabbed me near the top and knocked me down. Then he buried that blade in my arm and sliced me from shoulder to elbow."

She paused then, unconsciously rubbing her upper left arm where the worst of her scars had once been. DJ tried to pull her closer, but she shook her head.

"No, let me finish. I won't be able to if you hold me right now. Well I almost blacked out at that point. But then he loosened his grip on me to reach for something in his pocket and I was able to throw him off. He was back on his feet almost before I was. I made it to my room, but he was so close that I couldn't stop to lock him out. I dove for my jewelry box where my pendant was, but he spun me around and shoved me into my vanity table, scattering everything. I kept fighting back, but I was hurting and dizzy. He threw me around a bit, into the walls and stuff. Then finally he pinned me to the bed and jammed a syringe in my neck. It must have been a tranquilizer or something because I passed out. When I woke up I was in total darkness. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. I never knew a place could be that dark. I was scared out of my mind."

"I'm sure you were," DJ replied in a shaking, anger-laced voice. It was a good thing that Katie had already destroyed the guardian that had assaulted her so brutally, because if she hadn't he would be tempted to go after the demon himself and rip him apart with his bare hands. "What happened next?" he prodded gently.

Katie turned away from him to stare out the window at the few stars that still speckled the dark, early morning sky. "I was alone in the dark, hurting and bleeding. I don't know how long I'd been there, but then the voice started talking to me. I tried to shut it out at first. I just wanted someone to come save me, my parents, your parents, Alex…you. At that point I didn't care who. I just wanted to get out of there. But then visions began filling my head. I saw everyone going on about their lives like my disappearance wasn't a big deal. Every now and then someone would mention trying to find me, but then somebody else would say that I was a big girl and could take care of myself. I kept telling myself that it wasn't true, that my family and friends loved me and would do everything they could to save me. But eventually I became overwhelmed and I let myself give into the despair."

She turned her head to look at him sadly. "I had a crazy fantasy. I pictured you barging in just like the hero princes from the romantic fairytales. I wanted you to come and carry me away from all of the pain and the sadness. But I kept seeing you with Sasha, and it kept playing over and over in my mind like a bad dream that wouldn't go away. Finally I gave up. I figured that if everybody could be happy without me, then what use was I? I wasn't that strong of a fighter, and it seemed that the only thing I was really good at was my music, so I didn't see the need to keep fighting. I just shut down."

DJ leaned a shoulder against the window frame and stared out at the darkness as well. "We looked for you, all of us. Alex and I went crazy with searching. The moment we pieced together enough of the story to know that you had been taken we tore out of your house and began tearing the city apart trying to find you. Alex was wigging out because he couldn't sense you with the twin bond the way he always could. It was like you had simply disappeared. I was close to losing it myself. The only thing I had keeping me grounded was this." He reached out to trail his fingers over the silver charm bracelet on her wrist.

Then he sighed deeply. "I knew the moment that I found it tangled in the blanket on your bed that you had been hurt badly. Of course the blood smeared around only made things worse. I couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. All I could focus on was finding you. My dad and Andrew finally forced Alex and I to take a break after we had been going nonstop for two days. I did finally doze off, and when I did all I could see was darkness and hear you crying that you were all alone. I wanted to save you. I wanted to be the hero that you thought I was and charge to your rescue. I'm sorry that I wasn't."

Katie shook her head violently, tears flying from her lashes. "But you did save me, in more ways than one. I would have drowned in the bay that night if you and Alex hadn't shown up when you did and pulled me out. I remember being tied to that pillar as the water rose. At first I wanted to die. I was wishing the water would hurry and cover me up so that I wouldn't feel pain anymore. But right before I went under I thought of you and my life, and I decided that I wasn't ready to give up yet. I wasn't ready to give into Discord so easily. I thought it was too late though. And then I heard your voice call my name. The next thing I knew I found myself waking up with you hovering over me. Part of me wanted to grab you and kiss you senseless, but I had made a promise to myself during those long moments underwater. It's true what they say, that your life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die. I saw my life, and I didn't like everything that I saw. I didn't want to be seen as weak anymore. I wanted to become strong like my mom, like your mom, like all of the rest of the scouts."

DJ swiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "But you are strong, Kat. You are one of the strongest people I have ever known and have always been. Hell, you rank right up there with my mom and Jess." Then he gave her a lopsided grin. "And you are just as beautiful as they are too."

She giggled despite the blush that rose to stain her cheeks a faint pink and peeked up at him from under her lowered lashes. "You did more than save my life though. You saved my sanity as well. For all of those months after the kidnapping I became focused so much on improving my fighting skills that I lost sight of what living was all about. I let my anger rule me and I turned into a hateful, spiteful person that made everyone around her miserable. I didn't like her too much."

"Neither did I," DJ agreed with a chuckle.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "My point is that when we came to the past I felt like I had a fresh start, a chance to begin again. I had told myself to give up on you, that there was no way that you could ever return my feelings, but you proved me wrong and helped me to become myself again. You gave me my life back, and I will love you forever for it."

He smirked as he snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "So you'll love me forever, huh?"

Katie watched in fascination as his lips lowered toward hers. "Maybe even longer than that," she barely breathed before going up slightly on her toes to close the gap between them and kiss him.

It definitely wasn't the most intense kiss they had ever shared, but it was probably the most emotional. It was slow, almost languid really, but each of them poured every bit of love they could into that kiss, trying to express to each other the feelings that words seemed too weak to explain.

When they slowly parted a minute later DJ whispered, "Wow!"

Katie's starry eyes fluttered open with a smile. "I think that sums it up nicely." Then she hugged him tightly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

His fingers trailed lightly up and down her back. "So do you feel better now that you've finally gotten that weight off of your chest?"

She giggled and squeezed him. "You know what, I think I do. I never thought I'd be able to tell anybody about what happened to me during those three days, not even Alex, and he's my twin. But talking to you is as easy as breathing. Maybe you should consider becoming a shrink instead of a medical doctor."

"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "I don't mind knowing what's going on in your head. I want to know that. But I don't want to spend all of my time picking people's heads and psychoanalyzing them. I don't even know if I'll ever even get to become a doctor at all."

"Well I still have hope for you," Katie replied softly. "The Serena and Darien of this time are pursuing their own dreams despite the fact that they know what their future holds. And your parents love you a lot. I just can't picture them forcing you to give up your dream to do something that you don't want to."

He chuckled. "Maybe you're right. I guess we'll see later on down the road. But for now this wannabe doctor says that we should go back to bed and try to squeeze in another hour of sleep while we can. There's no telling what will happen once the sun rises."

Katie grinned impishly. "Yes sir, Dr. Shields! You're going to tuck me in, right?"

He growled and ducked down to nip at her neck. "You better be glad we're in a palace full of so many people or I might be tempted to do more than that."

She laughed and pushed him gently toward the bed. She didn't know why, but she paused to take one last look out the window. For some reason her eyes were drawn to the distant tree line, and what she saw made her freeze.

"DJ," she said quietly. "I think someone's running around in the woods."

"What?" he replied, rejoining her by the window. "Where?"

She pointed toward the thick trees. "Over there. I swear I just saw someone."

He rolled his eyes. "There's close to twenty people staying here right now. It could be anyone. It's probably just someone out taking a walk."

"In the woods at night?" she countered. "I know this is Elysian and probably one of the safest places in the universe to be, but someone would have to be crazy to go tramping around in the woods in the dark, even if they have superpowers. Besides, this person didn't look exactly human."

That caught his attention. "What do you mean not exactly human."

She shrugged. "It's hard to explain. I just…Look! There it is again, and now I think there are more than one!" she cried, pointing through the glass.

DJ squinted and took a good look. Sure enough, he saw a few figures just inside the trees. They appeared human shaped, but were completely black and shrouded in shadows despite the faint light of the stars. "What are those?"

"Let's go find out!" Katie exclaimed, grabbing his hand to pull him behind her. They paused long enough to put on their shoes and then ran as quietly as they could into the hall.

They were almost to the stairs when Katie ground to a halt, almost wrenching DJ's shoulder out of place. "Alex!" she hissed. "We can't go without him. You know, all for one and one for all."

DJ smirked. "Wasn't that the motto of the musketeers?"

She face palmed and glared at him from between her fingers. "You know what I mean, you jerk! We can't leave him behind though. We're a team."

"Yeah, I knew what you meant, Tinkerbell," he couldn't help but tease. "So go wake the big idiot up and tell him to move it. If we wait too long then whatever those things are out there may be gone."

Katie scrambled a short way back down the hall and eased open the door to the bedroom her brother was using. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but then she saw her brother sprawled across the bed. His light brown hair was messier than ever and he snored lightly with every breath. The golden haired Emma was curled up against his side.

She tiptoed to the bed and shook his shoulder lightly. "Lex! Lex, wake up!" She got no response so she shook him harder. "Come on, Alex! Wake up!"

He snorted in his sleep and attempted to roll away from her.

"Damn it, Alexander! Wake your ass up!" she whisper screamed at him as she grabbed his shoulder roughly.

"Huh?" he grumbled as his eyelids parted. "What the…? Kat? What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Just get up. DJ and I saw some suspicious figures out by the woods, so we're going to check it out. We wanted you to go with us."

His sapphire blue eyes lost their sleepy look and became concerned as he gently slid out from under Emma's arm to sit up on the side of the bed and reach for his shoes. "What kind of suspicious figures?"

"I don't know," she answered. "We couldn't get a good look at them. But it didn't look like anyone from our group so we thought we should take a look."

"Good idea," he agreed as he stood. He paused to pull a blanket over the still sleeping Emma and kiss her lightly on the forehead before pocketing his mini-computer and following after his sister.

"Good morning, Sunshine," DJ joked as they approached him near the stairs.

"Screw you," Alex growled. "What have you got to be so chipper about? It's the freaking middle of the night."

"Are we going or not?" Katie interrupted them as she started down the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah! We're coming," the two boys grumbled as they followed her. In mere seconds they were downstairs, across the grand foyer, and slipping out the front door.

"Which way?" Alex asked when they stood at the top of the palace's front steps.

"That way," DJ and Katie said together as they pointed to the right.

"Let's get going then," Alex replied as they struck out at a brisk run toward the distant trees.

If they had looked up, they would have seen four amused people watching them leave out on their extremely early morning jog from the balcony of one of the upper level drawing rooms. Since they were only spirits temporarily inhabiting human bodies, they had no need for sleep and were simply whiling away the time while the living caught a little rest.

"So where do you think the three of them are sneaking off to?" Jonathan asked his companions.

Edward snorted. "Hmph! They're probably going out to find some trouble to get into."

Althea arched a brow at him. "You're one to talk about getting into trouble."

"I don't think that's it," Serenity stated softly. "I think something momentous is about to occur. Don't you feel it in the air?"

Both of the men shrugged, but Althea gasped as she sensed it. "That power…!"

Serenity nodded. "Somebody out there is leading them toward their destinies."

* * *

**A/N **I'm sorry again for the long wait, but I hope you guys enjoyed this. Well needless to say that there is still more to come in this little drama involving the former and current Trinity bearers, but soon we will be hurtling toward the Grand Finale. DJ, Katie, and Alex have gone off to hunt down mysterious people in the woods, and I'm sure most of you were able to put together who they are and where they are leading them. The full power of the Galactic Trinity is about to come to life, and Discord better watch his ass, because as it was pointed out in this chapter, our new trio is not exactly like the old one. To those of you also reading _Rekindled _and _Bad Boys_, I hope to have updates ready for them soon. As always, reviews are loved, appreciated, and highly encouraged, so feel free to send them my way. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	33. Things That Go Bump in the Night

**A/N **What's up! I never believed that I would be ready to update again already, but this chapter just seemed to flow out of me. This chappie is a little different from my norm, but it's probably one of my faves so far. A lot of you have commented on how much you like Future Kat and DJ, so I think those of you that do will love what I do with them here. But other than that we have some humor and drama thrown in along with a few embarrassing moments because of some…well…_sexual innuendos_. But it's nothing bad. Just some teasing. Now let me get out those hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**sabina21**

**Seredhiel05**

**saveme57**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**FanaticArmy**

**Jasmine Indigo Sappihhra**

**nickybluejess**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**Alix Romanov**

**rainbabie**

**SailorMoon20114486**

**ailzzzz**

**KageNoNeko**

**jade2nightwing**

**Starrlight1812**

**Tiny2008**

**x-YingYing-x**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**S dot Serenity**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Nyx MG**

**nileena**

**R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle**

**GoldenDragon326**

Thank you guys so much! I think I've blabbed on enough for now, so I'm going to let you get to it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 31

Things That Go Bump in the Night

* * *

The dream started out the same as it had every other time she'd had it…

_She was standing on the steps of the Crystal Palace, watching as Discord's latest army wrecked havoc over the city. People were running in every direction and screaming. And in the middle of all of the chaos were flashes of light as the scouts and generals launched their attacks against them._

_And then the dream changed from the norm._

_As the fighting grew more intense, the number of attacks filling the air thickened. In fact, there seemed to be far too many attacks flying for the number of fighters on their team, at least twice as many. As she watched, she could have sworn that she saw two of Sailor Venus's Love Chains whipping through the air as well as two of Sailor Mars's Flame Sniper arrows. That couldn't be right. They could only launch their attacks one at a time._

_Just then a hand grabbed her arm and she turned to see…well…herself. At least that was who she thought it was. The Sailor Shadow standing before her was identical to her, from the long, dark blonde hair dangling in a braid down her back to the snapping dark blue eyes. _

_But her fuku was different. It resembled Eternal Sailor Moon's more than it did the Super Sailor Shadow fuku she now realized that she was wearing. It had a three tiered skirt in silver, gold, and dark blue and rounded, puffed short sleeves that were also dark blue. The blue starbursts at the wrists of the elbow length white gloves were mirrored in sapphire star choker around her neck and the earrings dangling at her ears. Wings of delicate silver and gold swirls adorned the back of the fuku. The only similarities between the two outfits were the silver and gold striped bow at the chest and the knee high, navy blue boots._

"_Did you come here to gawk or did you come here to help?" Eternal Sailor Shadow growled. "Geez! Get with the program already! I know I was never this dense in the past!"_

_Sailor Shadow felt anger bubble up inside of her. "Excuse me! Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"_

_Eternal Sailor Shadow rolled her eyes. "It means it's time to get down to business. I don't have time to hold your hand, little girl! Now let's get moving!"_

Jess came awake slowly as the dream faded away. She looked around curiously, surprised to find herself in the bedroom that she and Andrew shared when they visited Elysian and wondered how she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered had been sitting with Andrew, Serena, Darien, and her grandparents from her past life, listening intently as they told stories from the past. Since she had only lived to be five years old in the past she only had her memories to go by, and some of those were pretty vague at times, so she had enjoyed hearing about her family from the past.

But she had begun feeling tired and found herself drifting listlessly toward Andrew's shoulder. Evidently she must have fallen asleep at some point and he had carried her up to bed, and then had passed out himself if the arms wrapped around her waist and the breath brushing the back of her neck was anything to go by.

She lay there in the semi-gloom of the room, taking comfort from feel of her fiancé's embrace and the slight movement of his chest against her back as she thought about the dream that she had just woken up from.

She had become used to dreaming about the future by now since she seemed to visit the battle in Crystal Tokyo every night, as she had been doing for weeks. But this time it had been different. This time instead of seeing everyone lying dead she had witnessed them fighting.

And then there was who she assumed must be her future self. Usually she was already dead and lying under Andrew's lifeless body by the time she found her in the dream. But this time the woman had been alive and had come to seek her out. She'd even cocked a bit of a nasty attitude with her. But really, what did she expect coming from a woman that was technically her? No matter how hard she tried to contain her anger at times she was still known as Queen Temper. It was just who she was.

But with the change in her dream she couldn't help but think that it was trying to tell her something important. Helios had filled her in on as much as he could when the dreams had first started, and he had told her that she would have a decision to make at some point. But other than that he had remained extremely vague. So maybe the time was drawing close and her dreams were now trying to show her what this all-important decision was.

Feeling the need to talk to the dream priest, and figuring that it was the perfect time since she was already here, she slid carefully out of Andrew's arms and out of the bed. She stifled a giggle when her sandy haired, soon to be husband grumbled something incoherent in his sleep, grabbed the pillow she had been laying on just a few seconds before, and buried his face in it as he crushed it to his chest.

"You big cuddly teddy bear," she whispered fondly as she barely perched on the side of the bed to pull on and lace her tennis shoes. Then she leaned over to kiss his cheek lightly before slipping soundlessly out of the room.

The hallway was empty and all was quiet, making her pretty sure that everyone else had finally given up and decided to try to catch a few winks as well. They probably all needed it after the eventful night they had gone through.

She paused when she heard a noise, thinking that someone else must be up and about besides her after all. But when she heard what sounded like muffled voices yet again and she looked around to find that she was right outside of Serena and Darien's room, she sped away. The memory of what she had heard as she had stood outside their apartment door the night that the kids had gone to prom had been embarrassing as hell, and she _really _didn't want to be subjected to any more. What they did behind closed doors was their business.

She smiled as she passed by the door to her old bedroom from the Silver Millennium and pictured the cozy couple inside. The kids had given up the fight against sleep before the rest of them had and had escaped upstairs to catch a few winks. When she, Andrew, Darien, and Serena had come up to check on them about a half an hour later they had found that none of them were in their beds alone. DJ and Katie had been curled up together as were Alex and Emma. Jayden and Hannah were not quite as close, but they were asleep on the same bed. And they even found Skye passed out in Rini's room where it looked like the two girls had fallen asleep while talking.

Jess stifled a giggle as she remembered Andrew's reaction to seeing their future daughter sleeping peacefully with her head pillowed on the shoulder of the dark haired prince and his arms around her. She'd literally had to clamp her hand over his mouth and physically drag him from the room to keep him from waking the teens up. Of course he'd turned a blind eye to the fact that their future son was sharing a bed with a girl. The curse of the double standard between boys and girls struck again. But after she'd threatened him with no sex until after the wedding and to tell his mother that she thought she might be pregnant, he had reluctantly agreed to keep his complaints to himself.

She heard the sound of voices coming from one of the drawing rooms as she made her way toward the stairs that would take up to next floor where Helios had his private rooms and paused to peek around the doorframe. All four of her past grandparents stood near the balcony doors, conversing together in low voices.

She pulled back and cursed under her breath. She loved the fact that she had the opportunity to visit with them, and she planned on spending a lot more time with them before they had to leave, but right now she needed to talk to Helios. And she knew that if they saw her right now that she would get pulled into a conversation with them. But in order to reach the stairs she needed to make it past the enormous double doorway without being seen.

She glanced around the hall and grinned. There were a few wall sconces giving off dim light, but there were plenty of shadows too. She should be able to pull this off with no problem. She melted into the shadows and tapped into her powers. A darker haze fell over her vision as she became camouflaged.

Then she began to make her way past the doorway, feeling rather proud of herself. The grandparents would never know that she was there. At least that was what she thought until she had almost reached the other side.

"Really, Melody!" Althea's voice called out to her. "Did you honestly think you could hide in the dark from me?"

"Nuts!" Jess grumbled to herself as she let the energy around her fade away and she felt herself become fully visible once more. She grinned sheepishly at the four people that were now looking at her in amusement. "I guess I'm busted."

Jonathan chuckled. "It sure looks that way. Now what are you up to that has you sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

"I…um…well…I wasn't trying to ignore you guys," she stammered. "I just have something that I really need to talk to Helios about."

Edward snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that!"

Jess looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

Serenity rolled her eyes at the two men that were now guffawing like they had heard a funny joke. "What they mean is that Helios might not be in a position for company at the moment."

"I don't want to think about what kind of position he might be in. I don't want to go blind," Jonathan blurted out before breaking into side-splitting laughter and Edward joined in.

Jess shrugged. "Okay, you lost me. What's the joke?"

Althea took pity on her and said, "Little Serenity snuck past this way a short while ago. So it's safe to assume that Helios might be…_occupied_ at the moment."

"Oh," Jess muttered. Then her eyes widened. "_Oh!_ That little sneak! She better hope and pray that Darien doesn't find out what she's up to. There will be hell to pay if he does."

"Aren't they supposed to be announcing their engagement soon?" Serenity inquired.

Jess nodded. "Yeah, when Rini turns eighteen next month. But Darien's liable to burst a blood vessel if he even suspects that they've…well…you know."

"Ooo, look at her blush!" Jonathan snickered. "Good grief, girl! You're almost a married woman! You've been with Motoki for two years and been living with him for most of that time. You've got his ring on your finger. And he's a solarian, so I know that there is no way that he has left you untouched after all this time. We're all adults here and we've all done the deed. There's no sense in stuttering and blushing like a virgin!"

Jess's head flew up. Her cheeks were still red, but her eyes were flashing like sapphires. "Holy shit! You sure are blunt, aren't you?"

Edward chuckled. "And you seem to have developed a potty mouth. I would suggest that you clean up the gutter talk before you give your grandmothers a heart attack."

"You two are infuriating!" Jess squealed as she stomped her foot. Then she turned to Serenity and Althea. "How the hell do you put up with those two? I thought Drew and Darien could drive somebody up a wall when they are together, and don't even get me started on when the generals around too. But these two take the cake!"

"You two stop picking on her!" Althea demanded. "I think both of you get worse with every century that passes."

Edward waggled his eyebrows. "I usually don't hear any complaints out of you, love."

"Wow! Just…wow!" Jess muttered as she felt her face growing hotter at the blatant flirting. "I need some air," she announced, stepping toward the open balcony doors.

* * *

Darien lay on his stomach with his head buried in a pillow as he moaned, "My god! You have got to have the most talented fingers in the world!"

Serena giggled and leaned over from where she was straddling the back of his waist to whisper in his ear. "If you keep moaning like that people are going to get the wrong idea about what we're doing in here."

"I don't care," he groaned. "Let them think what they want. Right now I'm in heaven!"

Serena smiled as she pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder and then sat back up to continue the back massage she was giving her fiancé. "You're so tense, baby."

He turned his head to the side so that he could look up at her with one sleepy sapphire eye. "I won't be after a couple of more minutes of this kind of treatment. If you weren't studying to become a teacher I would say that you had a bright future as a massage therapist."

She wrinkled her nose up at him. "I don't think so. There's only one person whose body I want to run my hands all over, and he's currently right where I want him. Now just relax and let me work my magic. You've been too stressed out lately."

"Sorry," he mumbled around a yawn. "There's been so much going on between work and the kids…it seems like there are not enough hours in the day to take care of everything."

"I know," she sympathized softly. "It makes me wonder sometimes why you would still be willing to marry me knowing some of what our future holds."

Despite his obvious tiredness, he smiled. "I can't seem to help myself where you are concerned. I never have been able to." After that he closed his eyes and fell silent. A few minutes later his breathing became deep and even as he drifted off to sleep.

Serena crawled off of him, being very careful not to disturb him, and sat next to him for a minute just looking at him. It still amazed her sometimes, the depth of the feelings that she had for this man. But the most miraculous thing was that he felt the same way about her. They had always been pegged as an odd couple, in both lives. Where he was quiet, she was loud. He was more reserved while she was carefree. They were even total opposites in looks. He was the pure embodiment of the phrase 'tall, dark, and handsome'. And while she technically didn't fall into the category of 'petite' anymore, she always felt tiny when next to him. And her fair appearance was a complete antithesis to him.

But whatever it was that clicked between them, it worked. The bond they shared was so strong that it had survived death and rebirth. There was only a handful of people that she knew of that could claim that, and they were all members of her extended family. And it was only thanks to her past mother's sacrifice that they had gotten this second chance.

Thoughts of Queen Serenity had her slipping quietly from the bed. Normally she valued her sleep and would have been out in half the time it took Darien to fall asleep, but knowing that her former parents were there and that she only had a limited amount of time to visit with them had her feeling wide awake. She could catch up on her sleep later.

She bent down and kissed Darien lightly on the cheek as she whispered, "Sweet dreams, my prince," before she crept from the room.

Once in the hallway she went in search of her former parents. Everything had been sort of chaotic since they had arrived and she was looking forward to being able to spend a little quiet time with them without having over a dozen other people swarming around. Of course, considering the sheer size of the palace, it could take her a while to find them. Figuring that it was probably best to start at the bottom and work her way up, she headed for the stairs that would take her down to the ground floor.

But as she approached them she saw light spilling out of a nearby drawing room that was accompanied by voices, and it brought a huge smile to her face. It looked like they were going to be easier to track down than she thought. She walked toward the door with a bounce in her step, but she pulled up short when she heard the voices inside raise slightly.

"Ooo, look at her blush!" she heard Jonathan snicker. "Good grief, girl! You're almost a married woman! You've been with Motoki for two years and been living with him for most of that time. You've got his ring on your finger. And he's a solarian, so I know that there is no way that he has left you untouched after all this time. We're all adults here and we've all done the deed. There's no sense in stuttering and blushing like a virgin!"

"Holy shit! You sure are blunt, aren't you?" Serena covered her mouth to stifle a giggle when she heard the voice that could only belong to Jess.

Then Edward chuckled. "And you seem to have developed a potty mouth. I would suggest that you clean up the gutter talk before you give your grandmothers a heart attack."

"You two are infuriating!" Jess squealed sharply. "How the hell do you put up with those two? I thought Drew and Darien could drive somebody up a wall when they are together, and don't even get me started on when the generals around too. But these two take the cake!"

Althea's censuring voice cut in. "You two stop picking on her! I think both of you get worse with every century that passes."

"I usually don't hear any complaints out of you, love," Edward replied smoothly.

"Wow! Just…wow!" Jess muttered. "I need some air."

Serena stepped into the room just in time to see Jess walking out onto the balcony. She eyed the tall, broad blonde man that was currently red faced and doubled over with laughter and scolded, "Papa! How could you talk to her like that? She's practically your granddaughter!"

Then her eyes swung to Edward, who was in the same hysterical state. He looked so much like Darien that it was easy for her to snap at him. After all, she'd had years of practice arguing with his son, in both lives. "And you're just as bad! Honestly! I'm seriously starting to think that you two are nothing more than a couple of immature adolescent boys trapped in men's bodies."

Both men sobered up and Jonathan looked sheepishly at his past daughter. "Sorry. She just looks so darn cute when she gets worked up that I couldn't resist picking on her a little bit." Beside him, Edward nodded.

But Serena wasn't backing down. She placed her hands on her hips and remained stern. "Well that was taking it a bit too far. Jess may be brash and hotheaded, but she does have a sensitive side to her and she's shy when it comes to talking about personal issues. Not everybody is as comfortable as you are talking about what they do between the sheets!"

Jonathan's light blue eyes sparkled mischievously. "Just between the sheets? That's not very inventive of you, Serenity. You're a grown woman that has already been married and had a child in one life, and soon you will be married again. I'm sure that you've had some…experience by now."

Serena felt a blush rising up her neck, but she pushed it back down and met her past father's eyes squarely. "Not that it's any of your business, but Darien and I have a very satisfying life together…and that includes all aspects, thank you very much!"

Queen Serenity clapped her hands together. "That's my girl! You go right on ahead and put them in their place."

Althea sniffed daintily. "Well it serves them right! They can be so crude sometimes."

Jess snickered from the balcony door, where she was leaning up against the doorframe. "Crude is putting it mildly. They took me by surprise there for a moment, but now that I've seen their true colors I'll be ready for them."

Edward chuckled. "You know we're just teasing you, right Pumpkin-head?"

Jonathan tried his best to look contrite. "That's right, sweetheart. We were just poking a little fun. Do you forgive us?"

Jess shook her head with a smile. "Of course I do." Then her expression became serious as she looked at Serena. "Rini is in Helios's room."

Serena sighed. "Well I can't say I'm all that surprised since she comes here most nights anyway. I admit that it's a little gutsy for her to do it while Darien is here, but I'll deal with him if anything blows up. He's just going to have to accept that Rini isn't a little girl anymore."

Jess giggled. "None of our little visitors can be considered children. Well, Jayden and Hannah are still fairly young. But the others, they're practically adults. I just find it funny that they think they can hide things from us. I know you've heard the footsteps coming and going from your apartment at night the same way I have. I caught sight of a hickey on Katie's neck the other day when the collar of her shirt slipped. I'm just glad Drew didn't see it. He would have a stroke."

"They're all in love," Queen Serenity said softly. "And I'm sure both of you are aware how powerful love can be. The love that all of you share is what gives you your strength and will help you through all of the obstacles that lie ahead for you. This battle with Discord is not simply between him and the Trinity. It involves you all."

"Well, our future selves anyway," Serena murmured. "We know that the fight will take place in Crystal Tokyo, so I'm sure our future selves will be eyeball deep in it."

Serenity shook her head. "It will affect you more than you think. In times such as these time knows no bounds. There is no past, present, or future. Things simply are what they are."

Jess shivered as the queen's lavender eyes fell on her. She had a feeling that her past grandmother knew a lot more than she was letting on. "You know, don't you?" she asked softly. "You know about my dreams."

Serenity inclined her head. "I do. We all do. You have a decision that you're going to have to make soon. One that will not only impact your life, but will also involve the lives of everyone around you. What this choice is may not be clear to you yet, but deep inside you know what it is and you have already made your decision. I wish I could tell you more, but unfortunately I cannot. All I can say is to follow your heart and it will lead you in the right direction."

Jess wrinkled her nose. "You ancient people sure love to talk in riddles, don't you? Pluto is just as bad, and don't even get me started on Helios and how vague he can be. What you just told me is probably more than I would have gotten out of him."

"Did you have the dream again?" Serena asked in concern.

Jess nodded as she folded her arms across her chest. "Yeah, but something about it was different this time. It's hard to explain." She turned her head to look out at the dark night. Suddenly she jerked and stood up straight to run to the balcony railing. "What the hell was that?"

The urgency in her voice had Serena flying to her side. "What? What is it?"

Jess shook her head. "I don't know. But there for a minute it looked like the shadows in the woods were…alive."

Serena let out a shaky laugh. "Is that all? You must be really sleep deprived, sweetie. Your eyes are playing tricks on you."

"The hell they are," Jess growled with a shudder as a faint aura of power brushed up against her. "There's someone out there."

"Get real," Serena scoffed. "This is Elysian. It's not like anybody can just waltz in."

"No, she's right," Althea announced. "There are presences in the woods tonight. But there's no need to fear, the Trinity bearers are on the case."

Serena and Jess both spun around in shock.

"Are you telling me that the kids are out there chasing intruders through the woods in the dark?" Serena almost shrieked. "And you've just been standing here calmly talking like nothing is going on?"

"Damn it! Why didn't you say anything?" Jess exploded. "Elysian may be well guarded, but it's not impenetrable. Discord managed to find his way here and attacked the kids once before. Who's to say he couldn't do it again?"

Edward lunged forward and grabbed her arm as she jumped up onto the balcony railing. "Discord is not behind this. Believe me when I say that they are not in any danger."

She jerked away from him. "Then there is no harm in me going to check on them, is there? Forgive me if I sound a little paranoid, but those are my children out there and I'm a little leery about them tramping through the woods at night."

Then she jumped. Blue light burst around her as she fell, and by the time she hit the ground in a crouch she had transformed into Sailor Shadow. She struck off across the grass toward the distant trees.

"Hey! Wait up!" Serena called after her as she jumped as well, also transforming in midair. In seconds, Sailor Moon was running after Sailor Shadow.

Serenity clucked her tongue. "They shouldn't have gone."

Jonathan chuckled. "Oh well! If they get lost out there we'll just have to send Endymion and Motoki in after them."

"I seriously doubt they'll get lost," Althea huffed. "I'm sure Melody can navigate the dark and the shadows just fine and Serenity will be fine as long as she sticks with her. I just worry about them getting on Sailor Pluto's bad side. I'm fairly confident that she has something to do with our mystery visitors."

Edward shrugged. "She probably does, but I'm not going to interfere. Let the oh so great time guardian handle them if they get into trouble."

* * *

"Oof!" the fully-grown and mature Alex groaned as he ran into a tree for what felt like the hundredth time. "Dang, Kat! You weren't kidding when you said that shadow power seriously impedes your vision. I can't see crap! How the hell do you make this look so easy."

"Easy!" the barely visible blonde woman at his side growled. "I can assure you that there is nothing easy about this! I'm not mom, so I haven't exactly perfected my technique or anything."

Alex snorted. "Not surprising, considering that you probably still have to sleep with some kind of light."

A snarl ripped from Katie's throat. "I wish somebody would remind me why I spent half of my life trying to bring you back from the dead, because right now I'm seriously wondering why I bothered!"

Alex gulped before he said hesitantly, "It's because you love me…right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, unfortunately I do and I'm still trying to figure out why."

The black shape that was Alex moved and appeared to strike a pose. "You have to love me because I am your brother. Not just your brother, but also your twin. We were hanging out together before we were even born. You don't get much tighter than that. I also happen to be devastatingly handsome, so that helps too."

Another dark figure appeared beside him and there was a popping sound as a visible hand smacked him in the back of the head. Then a low voice hissed, "You two keep it down before somebody hears us. And Alex, quit distracting your sister. She has to keep her concentration in order to keep us hidden." He held up his hands to show that both of his arms were clearly visible all the way up to his elbows.

"Damn! Sorry about that," Katie muttered. She concentrated for a moment and DJ's arms were swallowed once again by the shadows. "I've never tried hiding other people besides myself before. I guess I'm not very good at it."

"You're doing fine," DJ whispered to her, and then paused to listen to the faint footsteps and voices in the distance. "Great! They're going the wrong way again. They're moving away from us instead of toward us."

"Then I guess it's time to do some more luring," Katie announced as she sprang easily into the branches above her.

"Whoa!" Alex mumbled in appreciation. "Kat must have some serious leg muscles to make that jump so easily."

"Yeah," DJ sighed, sounding a little loopy as he thought about what those long legs felt like when they were wrapped around his waist.

A shadowy elbow was jabbed into his ribs as Alex whined in a disgusted tone. "Ugh! Could you at least try to keep your perverted thoughts about my sister under control when I'm around? It's disturbing."

DJ grinned, even though he knew that Alex couldn't see it. "Sorry, man, but I'm in love. You know what that's like, right?"

He heard a snicker from his friend. "Yeah, I know the feeling. And that's why I want to get this over with as quickly as possible so I can get back to our own time and my lovely lady. I just hope she's speaking to me when we get there. She wasn't happy about being left behind."

There was a rustling above them, and then Katie's voice floated down to them in a harsh whisper, "Are you guys coming or not?"

"Yeah, yeah," they muttered before they jumped up to join her.

As soon as they landed on the same branch as her, she pushed off to jump to the next tree, ignoring the plummeting feeling in the pit of her stomach as she cleared the void and fighting down the nausea as she landed. She had to complete this mission. Her future depended on it. She had to make sure her past self, along with DJ and Alex, were set on the right path. Too many lives were at stake. More than she had ever imagined. Her stomach roiled as she remembered the conversation she'd had with Pluto earlier.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

Katie stumbled from the bathroom, still feeling sick and dizzy. She still had a few hours before they were going to leave for Elysian in the past, so she figured she had time to squeeze in a quick nap. Hopefully that would make her feel better.

She made her way to the room that she had been sharing with DJ, but was surprised to find someone there waiting for her. "Trista," she greeted carefully.

The time guardian's garnet eyes traveled over her from head to toe, and then seemed to zero in on her stomach before she asked, "Have you told him?"

Katie shook her head. "No. Nobody knows. It's been hard to hide how sick I've been, but so far no one has become suspicious. Well, Helios might be a little suspicious, but he hasn't said anything."

"Are you going to tell him?" Pluto asked gently.

Tears prickled Katie's eyes. "I don't know if I should. I mean, does it even matter if I do? When time decides which way it wants to go and everything resets, this will reset as well, won't it?"

Pluto nodded. "In theory, yes. In fact, I wasn't expecting this to happen. It wasn't supposed to anyway. It is indeed an anomaly, more than likely caused by the fluxes in time."

"An anomaly," Katie whispered as the first tear broke free to roll slowly down her cheek. "Is that the way you describe what's happening to me?"

Pluto's expression turned concerned. "I didn't mean for it to come out sounding like that. I just meant that these events were not supposed to happen in this time and place. If anything, it's a testament that time is definitely attempting to right itself. Helios may think that Elysian is impenetrable, and it is to a point, but time is a powerful thing. But all of that aside, I would have thought that after everything that you and DJ have been through that you would be honest with him about this."

Katie sniffled as she walked past Pluto to climb onto the bed. She pulled DJ's pillow to her chest and hugged it close as she curled up on her side and burst into tears. "I can't tell him! Not with everything that is going on! Why should I bother telling DJ that he's going to be a father when this pregnancy won't even exist when we finally get our lives back?"

Her tortured hazel eyes burned up at Pluto from the bed. "When I first began suspecting I was pregnant I was so happy. I mean after all of the years of fighting and trying to kill each other DJ and I are finally together. And the thought of having a child that is a part of him and a part of me is the most miraculous thing I can think of. But it isn't real. Once we return to whatever our lives hold for us I won't even remember any of this. So why bother?"

Pluto sat down on the edge of the bed and smoothed the tousled, light blonde hair away from the wet face. "Katie, listen to me. Just because I said that your baby isn't supposed to exist in this time and place doesn't mean that it will never exist at all. This timeline was skewed from the very beginning, and as a result of trying to correct itself there were several babies that were never born that exist in the original timeline. Don't you find it odd that Rini and Helios, Skye and Kyrian, and Jayden and Hannah have never had children despite being married for several years?"

Katie scrubbed at her wet cheeks. "Yeah, but I just thought that it was either by choice because they didn't want to bring children into our messed up world or because something was medically wrong with them."

Pluto shook her head. "No. They are all perfectly capable of having children. Time has just refused to allow them to be born in this timeline. There are so many little lives that have been denied, but hopefully that will all change soon. The fact that your baby's soul has fought to exist here gives me hope all will turn out as it should."

Katie placed a hand on her tummy and whispered, "So my baby is real? It won't disappear when time resets?"

Pluto laid her hand over hers. "Your baby is very real. She'll just be moved to her proper time and place when the time comes."

"She?" Katie squeaked, her eyes brightening. "I'm going to have a daughter?"

Pluto chuckled. "Believe me, your and DJ's lives will be anything but boring. You have a daughter, followed by twin sons, and then another little girl. And don't even get me started on your brother and Emma. I think they're trying to form their own baseball team with all of the rugrats they keep popping out. And that's not counting all of the other babies that the others have. If things go as they should, and thanks to the medical technology of the 30th century, I'll even get to become an aunt to Amara and Michelle's little girls."

Katie sat up, wide eyed. "But why are you telling me all of this? Doesn't this go against your own rules?"

A large smile appeared on Pluto's face. "I'm telling you this to ease your mind. And also because I know that you won't remember any of this when you go home. But in the meantime, I don't see anything wrong with you and DJ sharing a little happiness here."

Katie grinned and nodded. Then her look turned apprehensive. "Omigosh! Do you think he'll be happy when I tell him? What if he doesn't want to become a daddy? Oh no! Now I'm so nervous I feel like I'm going to throw up again!"

Pluto gently pushed her back against the bed. "Just calm down. You don't have anything to worry about. DJ will be thrilled at the news. But might I suggest waiting until after tonight's job is done. He may not like the idea of you going while you're in such a _delicate condition_."

"You're right there," Katie agreed with a giggle. "He can be so overprotective sometimes. I'll probably be lucky to even walk across a room by myself once he finds out. He'll most likely turn out to be worse than my dad, and I've heard the stories about how he hovered over my mom when she was pregnant with me and Alex."

"Andrew was definitely protective," Pluto mused. "There were a few times that I thought Jess was going to murder him. But right now why don't you try to take a nap and get some rest. You're going to need your energy tonight."

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

Katie rubbed her tummy absently and thought, _'Down baby! Just cut your momma a break for a little bit longer, okay. That's my good girl.'_

The branch she was standing on shuddered as DJ and Alex landed beside her. Though she couldn't see him clearly, she felt DJ's eyes sweep over her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah, you seem out of it tonight," Alex added. "You crashed and took a nap earlier, so I know you can't be tired. So what gives?"

She beamed a bright smile, even though she knew that they probably couldn't see it. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Now let's see what we can do about getting our past selves turned around."

"I still don't see why we are leading our past selves to that cave," Alex grumbled as they began leaping from tree to tree. "What's so important about that crummy old cave anyway?"

"Pluto seemed to think it was important," DJ answered. "But I do wish she would have filled us in on what it's all about."

"Shh!" Katie shushed them as they came to a stop. They peered down into the darkness below them where they could barely make out three shapes in the shadows.

A feminine squeal broke through the darkness. "Ouch! Alex! You stepped on my foot…again!"

"Sorry!" a gruffer voice muttered. "I'm not doing it on purpose or anything. I just can't see a damn thing!"

"Would you two knock it off!" a slightly deeper voice scolded them in a whisper. "We're going to have a hard time tracking down whoever's out here with you guys practically announcing our presence."

The first male voice snorted. "We'll be lucky to find anybody in this darkness anyway. These shadows definitely aren't natural. Hey Kat, can't you make them disappear or something?"

There was a sigh. "Do you think I haven't already tried that, you egghead? Just who the hell do you think I am, mom? I don't think so! I probably should have gone and woken Jess up and gotten her to come with us."

'_Boy, am I glad she didn't!' _the older Katie thought in relief. She had been able to hold off her younger counterpart's weak attempts to disperse her shadow magic, but she knew that there was no way that she would be able to stand up to Sailor Shadow if she became involved.

"Let's go," she whispered to her companions. And they leapt away, causing the leaves to rustle ominously.

"What was that?" they heard the younger Katie squeak in surprise.

"Nothing. It was just the wind," her brother answered, sounding apprehensive.

"No way," DJ's voice, an octave higher than that of his future self, rebuked. "There's no breeze tonight. There's someone out here."

The three people in the trees above stifled laughs as they dropped to the ground a short distance away and began stomping loudly through the brush in the direction of the cave.

"Oh man!" Katie gasped softly. "I think we're scaring the crap out of them."

Alex sounded strangled from choking back his laughter. "They do sound like they're about to piss their pants, don't they?"

DJ cocked his head to the side and listened. "I think we got their attention though. It sounds like they're heading this way."

They all paused for a moment, and sure enough they could hear the sounds of feet crashing through the brush in their direction and what sounded like disgruntled, muttered curses.

Katie sucked in a breath as another feeling washed over her, and this one rattled her to her core. This was not good. "Oh shit! It's mom!" she hissed.

"What?" DJ and Alex both whispered furiously.

She nodded, feeling her control over the shadows starting to slip away as they were pushed back by another, stronger power. The area around them began lightening. She grabbed both of the men by the hand. "We've got to move it! Now!"

With their vision partially restored and growing brighter by the second, the three of them took off like bullets from a gun toward the cave. Barely fifty yards behind them they heard the voice of the younger Katie squeal excitedly, "The shadows are fading! I can see again!" Then they heard her say in a harder tone, "Hey! I think I see someone!"

The future Katie kicked her speed into high gear and pulled ahead of the guys. No matter how many years had passed, she was still faster than them. A stitch began pulling painfully at her side, but she ignored it. Pluto had advised them to lead their past selves to the cave and try to avoid being seen if at all possible. But now that her mother's past self was obviously lurking around somewhere they no longer had the cover of the shadows. It was nighttime still, so it was dark, but not dark enough.

'_Calm down, Kat!' _she tried to reason with herself. _'Their night vision can't be any better than yours. They may be able to see you, but as long as you stay far enough ahead of them they won't be able to tell who you are. Just lead them to the cave and get the hell out of Dodge before something else happens.'_

Yeah, that was good advice. She heard the sounds of DJ and Alex's heavy breathing a few paces behind her and knew that they were still right there with her. As soon as they reached the cave they could use the time key that Pluto had let them borrow to return to their own time.

No sooner had that thought run through her mind than she heard two male voices way back in the distance yell, "Kat!" Then a shower of silver light erupted in front of her. She skidded to a stop, but not soon enough. As her past self suddenly appeared in front of her she rammed into her, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

**(From this point on, younger Katie will remain Katie and future Katie will be Kat. Past Alex will be Alex while future Alex will be Lex. And DJ…well he'll just be DJ. But future _DJ _will be in italics. I thought about using his given name, but calling him Darien could prove to be really confusing. Just thought I'd clear that up.)**

"Ouch!" they both complained together as they hit the ground hard.

_DJ_ and Lex pulled up short at the sight of the two blonde women on the ground. "Are you two okay?" they both asked together.

At that moment there were flashes of gold and red-orange as DJ and Alex teleported into view. Both of their mouths popped open to lay into Katie, but they froze, very much resembling gaping fish, as they saw not only Katie, but also a woman who strongly resembled the psycho future Katie who had attacked them at the hospital benefit a couple of months before.

"You!" they exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's right. Go ahead and get it out of your system now," Kat grumbled as she sat up.

Katie's head shot up at the sound of that familiar voice and she glared. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought we were done with you."

"Well so did I!" Kat snapped back. Then she smirked. "At least I'm not the one with freaky glowing eyes anymore."

Katie's silver eyes flared for a moment before she snarled. "At least I can turn mine off when I want to."

Kat flipped her blonde ponytail, which was now a few inches longer than it had been thanks to the fact that time moved differently in Elysian and she had been there for quite a while now, over her shoulder. "Touché!" Then she held her hands up. "Care to give a girl a hand, darling?"

_DJ _smirked and stepped forward to grasp her hands. "Of course, milady."

Alex's voice squeaked to life. "What in the #%&! (a/n LOL, I'm self censoring here, but the word rhymes with duck) is going on?"

Katie jumped to her feet and smacked him on the back of the head. "Alexander Andrew Furuhata! Mom would skin you alive if she heard you say that!"

He glared at her as he rubbed his now throbbing head. "Like you have any room to talk, Miss Sailor Mouth! I've heard you throw a cussing fit when you go on one of your tirades and you've said a lot worse stuff than that."

Lex chuckled. "Man! Just seeing that is giving me a headache. Is it possible to get sympathy pains for your past self?"

Katie spun around at the sound of that voice and her hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the brunette man that could only be the future form of her brother. Then her wide eyes flew to _DJ_, who was helping Kat up off the ground. "You mean it worked? My killing that sentinel actually brought him back to life? And you two are together and not trying to kill each other? Omigosh…omigosh…omigosh…!"

DJ snapped out of his shock and hurried over to put his hands on her shoulders. "Whoa there, Tinkerbell! Why don't you take some deep breaths before you pass out." He looked up at his future self, and before he knew it he was sharing a conspiratorial grin with him. It seemed that no words were needed between them where Katie was concerned. They both knew her well no matter what time frame she existed in.

Alex walked a wide circle around Lex, studying him closely. "Damn! I don't turn out half bad for a guy that spent fifteen years being dead. As a matter of fact, I am _ripped_!"

Lex leaned toward his younger self to whisper mischievously, "You have a certain love goddess to that for that. She keeps me pretty active and in shape." Then he winked slyly. "But I know that you're already aware of how _insatiable _she can be."

Alex beamed him a grin. "Don't I know it! She's a wild one!"

"Oh god! I think I'm gonna hurl!" Katie snorted.

"Me too!" Kat muttered, but for an entirely different reason.

Then, a woman's voice floated to them on the still night air. "Katie…Alex…"

"Shit!" Kat hissed. "I forgot she was snooping around out here too."

Katie's face paled. "Oh crap! Is that seriously Jess out here looking for us?"

Then they heard a second woman's voice. "DJ…"

"Damn, damn, damn!" DJ cursed. "Serena's with her too!"

_DJ _growled. "We need to get moving. We can't let them find us. It would cause too many questions and we don't need them interfering in what has to be done."

DJ crossed his arms and glared at his older self. "What exactly is that? And why are you three out here leading us on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night?"

Before the black haired man could answer, there was flash of pink light and a poof of smoke as Sailor Pluto appeared.

Furious garnet eyes glanced around before she growled, "I should have known that something would go wrong! This was supposed to be simple. You three would lead your past selves to where they needed to go and then go back to where you belong. But no! Jess just had to realize that something was up and decide to sick her nose into things. And what's worse is that she's dragged Serena into this as well."

She drew in a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "So much for being able to take a couple of hours off! Okay, you three from the future take your younger selves to where they need to go and then go back to your proper time immediately. I mean it! No dawdling! Do I make myself clear? I'll handle Serena and Jess."

The older three nodded and then motioned for their teenaged selves to follow. The six of them hurried away. But at the last moment Lex spun around to give Pluto a quizzical look and ask, "Hey, Trista! Is that a hickey I see on your neck? Just what have you been up to?"

Kat grabbed her brother's arm and hauled him away as a snarl erupted from Pluto. They had just disappeared from sight when Sailor Moon and Sailor Shadow came into view. They both looked relieved when they saw Pluto.

"Oh, Trista! Thank goodness!" Sailor Moon sighed. "Have you seen the kids? They're out here somewhere and Jess and I wanted to make sure that they are okay."

Pluto gave the two someday-to-be mothers a benevolent smile. "I have seen them, and they are perfectly fine. They just have a little business to attend to tonight. Might I suggest we return to the palace and have some tea while we wait for them?"

Sailor Shadow's dark blue eyes grew impossibly wide in astonishment. "You mean you want us to leave them out here alone? That doesn't sound very safe."

"Jess…Serena," Pluto sighed. "You have known from the beginning that they are on a mission of their own. They may not be fully grown adults yet, but they are far from being children. I sent them here because they needed the chance to grow and develop into the people that they have become, and that would have been impossible for them to do as long as they remained in Crystal Tokyo. The risk of Discord coming after them too early was just too high. Your future selves knew that they would benefit immensely by coming to this time. Sure, they've still had to fight, and they've had some really close encounters, but they have also been able to experience having a regular life for the first time in their lives. They have matured and grown since coming here, and they have also flourished under your guidance. But the end of their journey is fast approaching, and it's time for them to unlock the last piece of the puzzle that will turn them into the warriors that they must become."

Sailor Moon sucked in a breath. "You mean the swords, don't you?"

Shadow jerked at this whispered statement. "You mean they're here, in Elysian?"

Pluto shook her head. "The swords are not physically here, but the way to reach them is located here. The gods had to form a gateway to them from the mortal plane so that the true wielders of the Trinity would be able to reach them. And what safer place to put that gate than Elysian? Few people can enter this place so it would be kept from prying eyes."

Sailor Moon nodded. "It does make sense. It's also the last place that anyone would think to look for them. I'm sure Mama, Papa, and Edward would be shocked to know that they were so close after the gods took them away from them."

"The hardest things to find are those that are hidden right under your nose," Shadow agreed. "I know that for a fact considering I spent a little time here in Elysian a couple of years ago and had no idea that the missing part of my crystal was right below us the whole time. So what do we do now?"

Pluto looped an arm through each of theirs. "Now we wait." She cut off both women's protest. "I know you want to help them, but there is nothing you can do. This is something they have to accomplish for themselves."

* * *

"So you've just been hanging out in Elysian all of this time since that night? That's gotta suck!" Katie said to her older self. She had to admit that it was strange to be carrying on a conversation with the woman that she had been fighting against only a short time ago, but it felt easy to speak her now that she wasn't acting like a raving schizo.

Kat threw her head back and laughed, further shocking her younger counterpart. She hadn't believed that the woman was capable of laughter. "It has had its boring moments, for sure. I'm not used to sitting around and doing nothing. But it hasn't been all bad. I've just been treating it like a vacation that's been fifteen years overdue."

_DJ_, who had been walking behind them and talking to his younger self, leaned forward and stuck his dark head between their two light ones. "Don't let her fool you, Katie. She was fairly calm for about the first week or so, but she's been practically crawling the walls since then."

In front of the two women, Lex turned around from where he had been speaking to Alex and began walking backward as he snickered, "She's been crawling all right, but I don't think the walls are _what_, or should I say _whom _she's been crawling all over. I think I've developed cavities just from being surrounded by all of the sickening, sugary sweetness around me."

_DJ _just chuckled snidely while Kat snorted, "Puh-leeze! This coming from the guy who would never let poor Emma leave the bedroom if it weren't for the fact that you had to eat."

Lex stuck his tongue out at her. "You're not fooling me by acting like such a prude."

"Oh my god! I am _not _seriously hearing this!" Katie squeaked as she buried her burning face in her hands. Then she glared between her fingers at DJ and Alex, who were both chuckling. "Shut up you two!"

Kat rolled her eyes and then caught Katie's gaze, which was now identical to her own since the younger girl had powered down. "Don't pay any attention to him. I'm sure you're well aware by now that he got shortchanged when it came to brain cells. I also haven't ruled out the possibility that mom dropped him on his head when he was a baby."

Lex pouted. "Go ahead and make fun of me! But I know that you really love me. In fact, you love me so much that I bet you'll name your firstborn after me."

Kat stumbled in shock at his words and would have fallen if _DJ _hadn't reacted quickly and snagged her around the waist. He frowned as he held her steady. "Are you okay? You're shaking."

She swallowed back the nausea churning in her stomach and pasted a bright smile on her face. "I'm fine. I must have tripped on a tree root or something."

"Are you sure?" he insisted as he laid a hand on her forehead. "You're white as a sheet and clammy."

She waved him off with a careless hand. "Geez! A girl could feel flattered from getting compliments like that. There's nothing wrong with me."

Katie watched the loving interaction between the two with an enraptured expression. Seeing them together like this gave her hope that there was a chance for her and DJ to build a life together. She felt the weight of someone's eyes on her and looked up to find herself drowning in those sky blue eyes that she adored so much. Her DJ was gazing at her with just as much love and devotion as his future self was showing to her future self. After a moment she glanced away as she felt a flush creeping up her neck.

"Gag! Mush alert!" Alex and Lex groaned together and spun back around so that they wouldn't have to see the two happy couples.

"I so cannot wait to get back to Emma," Lex growled under his breath.

"I hear ya," Alex agreed. "I just hope she doesn't wake up while I'm gone. She'll be pissed to find out I snuck out of bed and left her sleeping."

Lex grinned. "She'll get over it. You know that she can never stay angry with you for long. Besides, this journey is almost over." Then he called back over his shoulder, "Hey lovebirds! Let's move it! We're almost there!"

"Almost where?" Katie said in a voice that was just short of a whine. "It wouldn't kill you guys to give us a little hint about why you're leading us off into the woods in the middle of the night."

_DJ _reached over to tug on her long blonde ponytail. "Just keep your britches on for a few more minutes, Little Miss Antsy. We'll be there soon."

Katie squealed in outrage and whirled to poke the older version of the prince she loved in the chest with a finger. "Hands off the hair, buddy! And don't be condescending to me! I think I asked a perfectly legitimate question, thank you very much!"

A low whistle slid past Kat's lips. "Uh, sweetie, I don't think I would be antagonizing her if I were you. I'm sure that with her little power up she packs even a bigger punch than I do, and we both know that I have gotten the better of you on more than one occasion over the years."

"I know I try not to get on her bad side," DJ muttered.

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Katie shrieked as she rounded on her boyfriend. Then she jerked her chin stubbornly. "You know what, never mind!"

She stomped over to where both Alex and Lex were watching the scene in amusement and threaded an arm through each of theirs. "Come on guys! Let's go find out what this big secret is and get it over with!"

DJ stared after her retreating back forlornly for a moment before shaking his head and muttering, "Damn, overemotional fairy!" and taking off after her and the two brunettes.

Kat arched a brow at _DJ_. "Is that what I am, an overemotional fairy?"

He chuckled and pulled her close for a quick hug. "Sometimes. But I wouldn't have you any other way."

She rolled her eyes. "You think you're such a sweet talker."

He kissed the tip of her nose. "And you love me for it. Now let's go after them before they get lost. Lex has a horrible sense of direction and I wouldn't put it past him to lead them the wrong way."

They hurried after the group and found them surprisingly still headed in the right direction.

Katie was jabbering animatedly to both of the Alex's in an attempt to ignore DJ, but as they continued further into the woods she became quieter as a sense of déjà vu began to come over her. Bits and pieces of the dream she'd had earlier began returning to her mind in vivid clarity.

_She was about seven years old, sitting at the piano in the music room of the Elysian palace as she practiced a piece that Michelle had assigned her to learn, when she glanced out the large windows that overlooked the lawn to see Alex and DJ wandering off toward the distant trees. The two boys had told her earlier that they needed some "guy time" and for her to leave them alone, but she was curious as to where they were going so she followed them._

_Once inside the woods there were no detailed paths, but she easily picked up the sounds of the two boys talking and used those as a beacon to locate them._

"_Which way do we go now?" she heard Alex ask._

_There was a pause, and DJ replied, "That way. That's the way I went before. It's not far from here."_

_She could see them now a sort distance ahead of her, but she froze as her foot stepped on a twig and it snapped loudly. She grinned sheepishly as both boys whirled around to look at her._

"_Oh, great," DJ groaned. "Just what we need. What are you doing here, Tinkerbell? Didn't we tell you not to follow us?"_

_She shrugged. "Yes, but I saw you two head into the woods and I got curious. Our parents told us not to wander off."_

_He glared at her. "We're not wandering off. We're just exploring a bit. Anyway, this is Elysian. It's the safest place anyone could be. It's not like anything's going to hurt us."_

_She beamed an innocent smile. "True. So you won't mind if I tag along."_

_DJ moaned irritably. "Alex, would you tell your bratty sister to go away?"_

_"Aw, let her come. She's not hurting anything," Alex drawled._

"_Whatever," DJ muttered._

"_Yay!" she cheered. Then she asked, "Where are we going?"_

"_DJ found a cave near here," Alex told her. "He didn't get a chance to go inside before, so we decided to go check it out."_

"_Sounds like fun," she chirped._

"The cave…" Katie murmured as she came back to the present.

"What?" DJ and Alex asked together.

She stopped walking and looked at both of them intently. "I can't believe I forgot about that. Don't you guys remember? We came here for a visit when we were seven. It was right after the Black Moon Clan attack on Crystal Tokyo. You two snuck out here into the woods and I followed you. Then we went into that creepy cave that DJ had found."

_DJ _leaned close to Kat and whispered, "Do you know what she's talking about?"

"I don't have a clue," she whispered back. She glanced at Lex, who only shrugged.

But DJ and Alex had both frozen with confused expressions on their faces.

"I think I remember something," Alex muttered as he picked his brain.

_The dark opening in the stone wall yawned before them. He peered inside curiously, but the feeling of his sister's cold fingers wrapped around his held him back from going inside._

"_Uh, guys," Katie said quietly. "Don't you think it's kinda dark and creepy in there?"_

"_What's the matter?" DJ sneered. "Is daddy's little 'fairy princess' scared of the dark?"_

_She shot him a heated glare. "No I'm not! Let's go!"_

_He tightened his hand around hers. She was deathly afraid of the dark and he knew it, but she would never confess that to DJ. He gave her a silent look, pleading with her to go back to the palace, and she returned it with a look of defiance. He sighed and led her inside, never letting go of her hand. _

_Thankfully there was a glow that seemed to emanate from the rocks, keeping the cave from being completely dark. A short distance inside there were stairs leading down._

_DJ looked at them with a smirk. "Shall we?"_

_They began descending the stone stairs that wound their way down in a spiral. It was darker down there, and it was impossible to see the bottom._

"_Where do you think this goes?" he asked quietly._

"_I don't know," DJ replied. "But I hope it leads us to someplace cool. Maybe there's a hidden treasure or something."_

"_I don't like this," Katie whispered. "This doesn't feel right."_

"_Well go back to the palace then!" DJ snapped. "Nobody's making you stay here."_

"_Fine!" Katie retorted. "But I bet your dad will really mad when I tell him what you are doing."_

_She turned to start back up the stairs, and then paused as a loud rumbling sound roared over them._

_And then the stairs fell out from under them._

"That damn cave!" Alex growled. "Yeah, I do remember it now."

DJ nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I do too," he mumbled as he thought back.

"_Ouch," Katie complained as she stood and rubbed her bottom where she had landed. "That hurt. Where are we anyway?"_

_He rolled his eyes. "Where do you think we are, stupid? We only fell about six feet, so we're pretty much in the same place we were thirty seconds ago."_

_Hazel green eyes flashed furiously in the semi darkness. "Don't call me stupid, DJ! You're the one that's stupid. I was just as asking a question."_

_He rolled his eyes again. "And I answered it. You are such a blonde sometimes, Katie."_

_Alex raised a silencing hand, cutting off his sister's tirade. "Just save it, Katie. It's not worth it. Why do you have to pick on her so much, DJ? She hasn't done anything to you."_

_He shrugged. "She's just irritating. She thinks she can always get her way, and you make it easier for her by always sticking up for her."_

"_It's okay, Alex," Katie simpered sweetly. "He can't help it if he's nothing but a stuck up snob. I guess that what happens when you're a prince and a momma's boy."_

"_Why you little…" he growled, taking a threatening step toward her._

"_Enough!" Alex yelled. "Both of you stop it. I'm tired of listening to you fight. Right now all I want to do is find a way out of here."_

_He glanced up the way they had come. The rock stairway had crumbled away. "Well we're not getting back that way."_

"_Hey guys," Katie called out. "There's a tunnel over here and I think I see a light coming from somewhere. Maybe this leads out."_

_They joined her and looked down the darkened tunnel. It was long and creepy looking, but there was a definite glimmer of light at the end._

"_What have we got to lose? Let's check it out," he said, leading the other two into the tunnel._

_They crept toward the light, surprised when they found themselves in a large chamber. Instead of cold stone walls, this room seemed to be carved out of solid white marble. A beautifully carved fountain of the same material sat in the center._

"_Wow," they all breathed together._

"The fountain," DJ said excitedly. "I remember a fountain. It was white marble and had the symbols for the Earth, Moon, and Sun carved into it. We touched it. After that, everything went blank. The next thing I knew I was waking up in my room here."

DJ's brow had furrowed in thought. "I think they're onto something. There is something very familiar about all of this."

Kat shook her head. "Yeah, maybe. But why wouldn't we remember it?"

"Yeah," Lex agreed. "It's not like all three of us could come down with selective amnesia at the same time. That's too weird."

"Not if we stumbled across something that we weren't supposed to find," DJ said solemnly.

"Like what?" the three older counterparts asked.

"The swords," DJ, Katie, and Alex murmured together before they spun and began running.

_DJ, _Kat, and Lex stared at one another in confusion for a moment before they exclaimed, "Swords? What swords?" and took off after them. They finally caught up with them in the clearing where the cave opening lay before them.

Lex chuckled humorously. "Well it looks like they didn't need us to guide them anywhere. They knew exactly where they had to go."

_DJ _nodded. "It does look that way. I guess this is where we leave them."

Katie's head jerked around. "You mean you guys aren't coming with us?"

Kat shook her head sadly. "We can't. You're now in the process of completely rewriting our pasts and we can't be involved. We promised Trista that we would see you here and then return to our time. That's as much as we are allowed to do. The rest of it is up to you. We weren't even supposed to let you see us, but that didn't exactly happen."

Alex snickered. "Isn't that the way that our luck usually goes?"

"Hey! Don't jinx us!" Katie and DJ groaned together, making the older visitors laugh.

Then DJ stepped toward his future self. The good manners instilled in him by his parents had him holding out his hand to him as he said, "Thanks for everything. All of it, not just tonight. I admit that I was a little disturbed at first when I found out that you had been slinking around in the past with Katie, but you really helped her through a difficult time and I'm grateful for that."

_DJ _gripped the offered hand firmly. "Hey, it was my pleasure. I did for selfish reasons as much as anything else. My life hasn't been exactly pretty, so I jumped at the chance to change it." Then he dropped his voice where no one would hear. "Take care of her. You'll never find another one like her, no matter how hard you try."

"I know," DJ replied just as softly.

Nearby, Lex shared a knuckle pound with his younger self. "Good luck, man. And do me a favor and try to stay alive, okay?"

Alex tossed his head, sweeping the golden brown hair from his eyes. "Hey! Remember who you're talking to. I've got no plans for dying, that's for sure."

Kat stared at her former self for a moment and was irritated to feel tears stinging her eyes. Geez! Were her pregnancy hormones starting to kick in already? To cover up the fact that she was about to lose it, she grabbed the younger girl up into an almost violently crushing hug.

Taken off guard, Katie's first reaction was to fight back. She and the woman before her had been involved in a few heated encounters after all. But when she heard Kat's quiet voice say in her ear, "Be strong. I know you can do this…for us. You are now living our life for both of us. Make it a good one," she stamped down the urge to strike out at her.

Instead she returned the embrace and whispered in a shaky voice, "I'm going to try my best. I have a lot to live for."

'_You have no idea,' _Kat thought to herself as she released Katie and stepped back, fighting the urge to place a hand over her wildly jumping stomach. A tremulous smile appeared on her face. "I guess we better go guys and let these three get to work then. Good luck, everyone."

She, _DJ, _and Alex walked a short distance away where _DJ _pulled out the time key and activated it. Just before the pink light swallowed them up completely, she took one last look at their past selves. Alex was waving cheerfully while Katie was clinging tightly to DJ's hand. They looked so young and strong. In that moment she knew that they would be able to pull this off. Discord would be destroyed and her life would change. She would have her brother, her lover…and their children.

**(a/n **_**DJ, **_**Kat, and Lex now revert back to normal names)**

Her stomach roiled violently as she was swallowed up by the time void. She stumbled a few seconds later as her feet hit solid ground. She vaguely realized that they had returned to Elysian of their time and were standing in the large foyer. She heard Rini and Helios call out greetings as well as Emma's enthusiastic squeal of delight, but it was all lost as a horrible wave of sickness slammed into her.

She shoved her way past DJ and Alex and darted up the stairs, praying that she would make it in time before she embarrassed herself in front of everyone. She charged into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and made it to the toilet just in time for her stomach to revolt.

Cold sweat broke out all over her body, running down her face to mix with her tears and her head spun dizzily as she clung to the porcelain so hard that it was amazing that it didn't break.

As the worst of the feeling passed the sobs began bubbling in her throat. "Stupid, stupid, stupid me! The whole freaking world is falling apart and I have to pick now to get myself knocked up! I am such an idiot!"

She closed her eyes wearily, but they popped back open a second later when she felt a ripple of shock waver through the air. She looked up through blurry, tear filled eyes to find DJ standing in the doorway staring at her with a blank look on his face. Damn! She'd thought she'd locked the door.

She groaned and banged her forehead against the toilet seat. This was not the way that she had planned for him to find out. She had envisioned something far more romantic than him finding her crying while she puked her guts out. She'd pictured them maybe going for a moonlit walk around the lake. They would find a quiet spot to sit, and when the moment felt right she would tell him he was going to be a daddy. Well that was shot now!

"Go away!" she moaned as more tears flooded her eyes. That didn't sit too well with her temperamental stomach and she heaved over the bowl again. She hoped that he had listened to her and left. This had to be one of the worst moments of her life, and she didn't want an audience.

Then she heard soft footsteps on the tile floor and the sound of the faucet turning on. A few seconds later fingers lifted her damp, sweaty ponytail from the back of her neck and replaced it with a cool rag. She whimpered at the welcome sensation and felt relief as the nausea retreated.

Those sure fingers stroked her wet bangs back from her forehead as his voice asked quietly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Now that the world had stopped spinning around her, she turned her head to look at him. "I was going to tonight. I just thought it was best to wait until we got back. But this is not what I had planned." She cringed a little as his expression turned stern. "Are you mad at me?"

He blew out a pent up breath. "A little bit. You've been out tonight, running through the woods and jumping from trees like a wild woman. And you got knocked to the ground pretty hard by your past self. That's not exactly ideal activities for a pregnant woman to be doing."

She pushed his hands away gently as she staggered to her feet and flushed the toilet. She felt him watching her as she stumbled to the sink and grabbed up her toothbrush and toothpaste. "That's why I didn't say anything before. I knew you would go into Mr. Protective mode. I'm not made of glass, DJ. I won't break that easily."

He remained silent and stood there watching her as she tackled her teeth, ridding her mouth of that horrible taste. For good measure she took a slug of mouthwash and rinsed as well. As she spat it out and straightened up she glared at him in the mirror. "What?"

He shook his head. "How long have you known? You said that you wanted to wait until we got back from the past, but we just found out we were going there today. And I have a feeling that you've known about this a bit longer than that."

She avoided his eyes as she wet another rag. "I started suspecting something a few weeks ago."

He growled behind her. "And you didn't tell me then?"

"Because I wasn't sure!" she shrieked. "Once I left home and I didn't have Amy to go to anymore I went off of my birth control. It didn't matter anyway because I wasn't sleeping with anyone. The only reason I was on it in the first place was for cramps and to regulate my cycle because it's always been out of whack. When we got here and started sleeping together the thought never crossed my mind. Then when I missed my period I didn't think anything of it because that was normal for me. It wasn't until I started getting sick that I started suspecting."

"But that still doesn't tell me why you didn't say anything then," he insisted.

She whirled to face him; fresh tears stinging her eyes as she screamed, "It was because I thought our baby wasn't going to get a chance to live! I thought that there was no reason to get happy about this if our baby was just going to disappear once time settled down."

He cocked his head to the side, studying her expression intently. "But you are happy about this."

She threw the rag at his head. "Of course I am, you ass! I love you and I love our daughter! And nobody can take that away from me!"

He started a little at her words as he caught the rag. "How do you know it's a girl?"

She wilted against the vanity behind her as all of her strength left her, making her feel wiped out. "I talked to Trista earlier about it and she told me. I was upset because I thought this baby wasn't supposed to exist. But she assured me that this baby is real and it's ours and that she will be moved back to the proper timeline with us when the time comes."

"I see," he said slowly as he walked toward her. He boosted her up so that she was sitting on the bathroom counter and began gently wiping her face. "What else did she have to say?"

As she sat there letting him tend to her, the whole story tumbled out. He chuckled at times, especially at the thought of his sister becoming a mother and Alex and Emma's overactive fertility. But emotion burned the brightest in his eyes when he heard what Trista had to say about their future.

He set the rag aside and put both of his hands on her still flat stomach. "So this little one is just one of four that we'll have, huh?"

Katie gave him a hesitant smile. "That's what Trista said. So how do you feel about this, dad?"

He swept her up into his arms, bridal style. "Like I'm on top of the world. Now let's get you and our little girl into bed. You two have had an exciting night."

She squirmed in his arms. "You don't have to carry me. I can walk, you know."

He gave her a placating smile. "I know. But you've made me so happy that I feel this overwhelming need to cater to your every need."

She laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so tired right now that I don't mind. But don't get used to this. I'm a big girl now."

He kissed her forehead. "Maybe so, but you're still my princess and now the mother of my child. And I'm going to make sure that both of you are taken care of."

She giggled softly. "Your _'I wanna be a doctor' _side is showing again."

"Get used to it," he quipped as he carried her from the bathroom.

They had just reached their bedroom door when a voice called out from a door down the hall. "You _are _still going to name her after me, right? She can be an Alexandra."

Katie's head popped up and she glared at the twinkling sapphire eyes of her brother that were peeking at her through the crack in his bedroom door. "You were eavesdropping on us?"

He opened the door farther to face her wrath. "I wasn't eavesdropping exactly. I got worried about you when you rushed off and followed. It's not my fault the bathroom door was left open after DJ barged in."

Emma pushed her way in front of him and began shooing him back into their room. "Okay, sweetie! That's enough out of you. I think it's time we let the new soon to be parents have some alone time."

"Ha! Alone time is what got them into this situation in the first place!" Alex crowed.

"I'm going to murder you!" Katie growled menacingly.

Emma gave Alex a final push and then turned toward Katie and DJ with a wide smile. "You guys have a good night! And congratulations!" Then she snapped the door closed, cutting off Alex's sputtering protests.

DJ shook his head and carried Katie into their room, where he placed her gently on the side of the bed. Then, despite her insistence that she could dress herself, he helped her into a tank top and a pair of shorts before tucking her into bed and climbing in beside her. He held her in the protective circle of his arms as her breathing became the deep, steady rhythm of sleep.

He was close to dozing off himself when he heard the lightest of knocks on the bedroom door. He slid slowly from the bed, being careful to not disturb Katie, and hurried to answer it. He blinked in surprise to find Rini there.

Her pink hair was down to hang in tangled curls and waves that went past her hips and her wide, maroon eyes looked at him uncertainly as she scuffed a foot against the carpet. Then suddenly she went up on her tiptoes to hug him tightly as she whispered, "I'm happy for you, little brother." She kissed his cheek.

After a stunned moment, DJ grinned and patted the top of her head. "Who's calling who little? I'm 6'2" and you barely crack 5'7"."

She scowled at him. "Size doesn't matter. I may not be much older than you, but I'm still your big sister. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you congrats and all. And by the way, if you're planning on naming my niece after a sibling, you better name her after me and not that goofball Alex."

His smile grew. "Ah! I was wondering how you found out my news. I guess Alex couldn't wait to blab. Well Rini, I can assure you that if Kat and I decide to name the baby either Serena or Serenity it will be in honor of both you and mom, okay."

Tears brightened Rini's eyes and she hugged him again, this time around the waist, and said, "Okay." Then she pulled back and waved a hand at him. "All right! That's enough sibling bonding for now. Get back to your baby momma."

"Good night," he said with a light laugh as he retreated back into the room and climbed back into bed.

Katie stirred as he was settling down and murmured, "We are going to have a hard time picking out a name, you know. There are so many choices."

"Ah! You heard that, huh?" he replied as he took her back in his arms. "Well, I wouldn't stress about it too much. We'll figure it out."

"Mm hmm…" she barely breathed as she slipped back into sleep.

DJ reached down and found one of her hands resting protectively on her belly. He laced his fingers with hers and was soon fast asleep beside her as they both touched the spot where their baby rested.

* * *

DJ, Katie, and Alex stared at the spot where their future selves had just disappeared for several moments. Then they all turned warily toward the cave.

Katie shivered violently. "Okay, now that I'm starting to remember this place it seems ten times creepier than it did before. At least last time it was daylight."

DJ squeezed her hand lightly. "It'll be okay. If I remember correctly it's not pitch dark inside there."

"It'll be dark enough," she grumbled.

Alex took her other hand. "Don't spaz out on us, sis. We're both right here with you and we won't let any creepy crawlies get you."

She shot him a scathing look. "Thanks a lot, asshole!"

DJ heaved a sigh. "Well we're not going to find out anything by standing around. Let's go."

The three of them crept cautiously into the cave to find it exactly the same as they had before. The walls glowed softly, showing that the chamber wasn't very large, and then there was the stairway leading down.

DJ looked down the hole, seeing where the stairs ended a few feet down where they had caved in the last time they were there. "Looks like we're going to have to jump for it."

Katie pulled back a step, shaking her head as she eyed the gaping black hole. "Unh unh! No way! I am _not _jumping down there where I can't see. There's no telling what's down there. There could be rats, spiders, and god only knows what else."

"Kat," DJ drawled in his most persuasive sounding voice. "This is Elysian. It's not exactly a hotbed for rodents and insects."

Normally that tone would have melted her on the spot, but not this time. "I mean it! I am not jumping down there if I can't see where I'm landing. We could break our necks!"

"Both of you knock it off! I have a solution," Alex interjected smoothly. He let go of Katie's hand, ignoring her whimpered protest, and inched his way to the edge of the pit. Then he cupped his hands together and concentrated until a small ball of solar fire that resembled a tiny sun sat in his palms. He released it and it floated down into the pit until it reached the bottom. It continued to burn and sent dim light up the shaft.

He dusted his hands together and turned with a grin. "Is that better?"

Katie shot him a death glare. "I didn't know you could do that! Do you mean we spent all of that time stumbling through the woods in the dark and you could have conjured us up a light? You suck!"

He shook his head. "Nuh uh! It wouldn't work on the shadows. I tried. I wasn't even sure if it would work this time. I've only done it once before and that was by accident. It was months ago when we were back home. I was trying to sneak in the house one night after going out and it was dark. I found myself wishing that I had a light and then there it was. I almost set fire to the living room curtains."

DJ chuckled. "That sounds more like something Jayden would do. Well, we can see now at least. So what do you guys say, are you ready?"

The twins nodded and one by one they all dropped down the destroyed stairway. Before them lay the corridor that would lead them to the marble chamber with the fountain. A soft light shown from the end, as if beckoning to them.

Alex extinguished his solar light and they made their way down the corridor, each of them wondering if this trip would actually end up any different than their last one here.

They emerged into the chamber…and there it was, sitting exactly as it had when they had been there nine years before. The ornate fountain looked as if it had been carved out of a solid piece of white marble. Ancient looking symbols were etched all over it, but none were more prominent than the symbols for the sun, moon, and earth that were imbedded in the ledge that surrounded the rim.

As if in a daze, they each went to symbol that corresponded with their powers and held a hand over it. Then they looked to each other for reassurance.

"If I wake up back in bed without anything happening I'm going to be pissed," Alex declared.

"You and me both," Katie agreed.

"I think it will be different this time," DJ told them softly. "Are we ready? On three."

"1…2…3!"

They each touched a symbol, which activated the bracelets they wore and triggered their god powers. Their eyes swirled with power as their insignias appeared on their foreheads.

And then there was a bright flash of light.

For a moment they felt like they were freefalling through the air. Then they hit solid ground that made them stumble. After taking a second to get their bearings, they took in their surroundings in awe.

"Whoa!" Alex breathed. "Where the hell are we?"

They were still standing beside the fountain, but now they appeared to be standing in a beautiful courtyard rather than a cave. The sky above then was a soft blue and the sun shown down brightly on the flowers, bushes, trees, and the large meadows of emerald grass. A white, temple looking building stood a short distance away.

DJ shook his head. "I have no idea where we are. But I don't think it's naturally formed. It looks like someone created this place."

Katie giggled as she watched two bunnies chase each other across one of the paths through the flowers. "Maybe we're on Mount Olympus."

Alex had whipped out his mini-computer and was pressing buttons frantically. "I can't get it to turn on. Something's funny here."

DJ, always the level headed one, said calmly. "Let's take a look around. Maybe then we can figure out where we are."

"You are exactly where you are supposed to be," a male voice suddenly spoke up from out of nowhere.

"Who's there?" the three of them exclaimed together and quickly moved so that they were standing back to back, tense and alert for any possible danger.

There was a rustling sound, and then a cat came around from behind a bush. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. You may relax. You have nothing to fear from me."

Katie gasped. "He looks just like Nebula, Luna, and Artemis!"

Indeed he did. His fur was a deep charcoal gray and a bright golden crescent moon sat prominently above his eyes.

The feline inclined his head to them. "You three must be the chosen ones of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo. You have traveled a long road to get here, and I welcome you. This is the resting place of The Galactic Trinity. I have been its guardian for many centuries now. My name is Orion."

* * *

**A/N **Ooo…Orion! You guys remember him being mentioned I hope. Artemis's lost brother and Nebula's ex has been found! There may be some fur flying before long. And what about Future Kat and DJ? Were they not just too sweet for words! So anyway, the swords are about to be claimed by their new wielders and that's going to open up a whole new world. I really want to know what you guys thought of this, so be the dears that I know you are and drop me those reviews. They are what keep me writing. Catch ya next update! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	34. A Tale of Two Kitties

**A/N **Okay _Rekindled _readers, I know I usually update it before this one, but my mojo was kicking more along this storyline this week for some reason. But never fear, an update for it will be coming soon. And to anyone who is reading this story but not _Bad Boys_, I have a poll on my profile to decide the fate of this saga and I could really use your feedback. I have really been struggling with whether or not it should continue or just die gracefully. The support that I have received so far is almost unanimously in favor of it continuing, but the votes are basically neck and neck on how it should continue. So if you get a moment please drop by my profile page and share your opinion.

Okay, so, lots of things happening in this long chapter. We've got the Trinity bearers about to lay their hands on the gods' swords, Jess starts acting strange, and, as the title of this chapter will tell you, things are about to get furry. That's right! All of you Sailor Moon fans out there know about Luna and Artemis, now it's time to find out about my little kitty creations, Nebula and Orion. There are a few flashbacks in this chapter to help fill in the blanks about things, and we also get to meet Queen Serenity's mother, Queen Selenity. So like I said, lots going on. So let me get out those hugs and we'll get to it. BIG HUGS TO:

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Nyx MG**

**nickybluejess**

**Chibi Kitt**

**SailorMoon20114486**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**sabina21**

**saveme57**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**animegurl9871**

**Swinkinator**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**jade2nightwing**

**JuliaGulia17**

**Seredhiel05**

**GoldenDragon326**

**KageNoNeko**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**LBricker**

**Saiyan Hope**

**rainbabie**

Oodles and oodles of thank yous to all of you guys! Now, on with the story!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 32

A Tale of Two Kitties

* * *

Jess sat in a lounge chair on the patio just outside the kitchen of the Elysian palace with a sketchbook propped up against her knees as her pencil moved quickly across the page. The light shining from the candle lit lanterns around the patio might not be the best for drawing, but she could see well enough. And besides, the sun would be making its appearance before long.

She smiled as she heard the hum of voices coming through the open doors behind her. When she, Serena, and Trista had returned to the palace after their little foray into the woods they had found the four temporarily alive monarchs, plus Nebula, Aurora, and Helios waiting for them. Conversations had started up immediately and had been going nonstop ever since.

"They sound just like a flock of hens trying to squawk over each other," she giggled to herself as she put the finishing touches on the drawing she was working on, feeling grateful for the hundredth time that she had escaped outside. Listening to all of those voices would probably trigger one of the migraines she used to have.

She tuned out the babble as she studied the drawing that she had just completed. She hadn't known exactly what she was going to draw when she had first sat down, but as she had she had begun, more and more of the dream that she'd had earlier had returned to her, causing this image to take shape.

"That is a very accurate depiction of the queen," a soft voice spoke up directly behind her.

Jess jumped, automatically clutching the book to her chest as her head jerked around swiftly. "Dawn!"

The priestess smiled and ruffled her dark blonde bangs fondly. "I'm sorry, Peanut. I didn't mean to startle you."

Jess huffed a laugh. "You haven't called me Peanut since I was ten. You and mom both stopped about that time. Dad was the only one that refused to give it up."

Aurora giggled lightly. "Kim and I only stopped because you told us that you weren't a baby anymore. But Josh…well, he was stubborn. If he were still with us he would probably still be calling you Peanut. No matter how much you grew and matured, he still saw you as being his little girl."

As always, Jess felt a sting of tears at the thought of her poor parents and how they had been ripped from her life so easily on that rainy night nearly four years before. Life was so fragile, and it could change in the blink of an eye. One moment her parents had been vibrantly alive, and the next they had been dead on the highway thanks to the combination of bad weather and a drunk driver. She had always comforted herself with the knowledge that they had died instantly and hadn't suffered. And they had gone together, so neither one of them had to deal with the loss of the other.

She pushed back the tears and looked down once more at her drawing. "So you think I pretty much nailed her? I just drew her as I saw her in my dream."

Aurora nodded. "That is a very stunning likeness of Neo Queen Serenity, at least when she's dealing with business. Most of the time she doesn't appear to be much different than the Serena you know here." Then she paused for a moment before asking softly, "Your dreams are becoming more vivid, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Jess sighed. "I had one tonight, and it was the clearest one that I've had yet. I don't know if it's because I'm here in Elysian or what, but it was very clear." She trailed her fingers down the lines on the paper that made Neo Queen Serenity's long dress. "I think I'm starting to understand what the dreams are trying to tell me."

"I figured that the time was coming," Aurora answered her carefully. "I can also tell that you have already made your decision. But I'm still sensing some hesitation from you."

Jess leaned her head back to look up at the sky. The stars had faded for the night since the sunrise would soon be approaching, leaving the sky a large dark void. "I'm pretty certain what I need to do. But if what I saw tonight is true, then this doesn't just involve me. It involves everyone."

"That's true," Aurora said softly. "But that will be for them to decide. You are the key though. Your decision will impact the outcome of the future the most."

"Great! No pressure there!" Jess snorted. "Geez! I feel like I'm thirteen years old all over again and having to listen to Nebula preach to me about my scout duties and how the world was depending on me. I've had my day in the spotlight and I'm not the important one anymore. The kids are the main focus now."

"That kind of thinking will be what dooms the future," a haughty voice interrupted as Nebula slipped through the kitchen door to join them. "You seem to have forgotten exactly who you are."

Jess rolled her dark blue eyes at the feline. "I know exactly who I am, thank you very much."

"Don't sass me, young lady!" Nebula snapped. "You may know who you are at this moment, but you have lost sight of who you were. You were once the crown princess of two of the greatest kingdoms in history and you are the mistress of one of the most powerful crystals ever created. Discord is after the children to destroy them so that he will be free to annihilate the Earth, but _you _are still his primary target. He wants your power, and he will do anything to get it, even if it means leveling Crystal Tokyo to the ground and killing everyone you love to get to your future self."

"I think you've said enough, Nebula," Helios said quietly as he joined them. "Jess needs to figure out her dreams on her own and make her decision based on her interpretation, not yours."

"But I want to know!" Jess insisted. "Please, Helios! I know you know exactly what my dreams are telling me to do. Just be honest with me. Which decision is the right one to make?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell you that. I am bound by laws that prevent me from interfering with free will."

"Free will!" Jess sneered. "Stop it with the bullshit already! This has nothing to do with free will, or fate, or any other mystical force. This has to do with life and death, and I want to know what's going on."

Nebula grumbled something under her breath and looked away while Helios fell completely silent and refused to make eye contact with the irate woman before him.

Jess turned pleading eyes on the woman who had been her second mother. "Dawn, please."

Aurora looked at her sadly. "I can't, Jessie. I am bound by the same rules that Helios is."

Jess's eyes flashed bright blue for a moment as she lunged to her feet, clutching her sketchbook tightly to her. "If none of you want to tell me, that's fine! I have other ways of getting answers. Trista's done her fair share of rule bending for everyone else, and now she's going to do it for me."

She stalked into the kitchen where six people were sitting around the table, laughing and joking. But Jess only had eyes for one.

"Hey! There you are," Serena called out jovially. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to. Why don't you join us?"

"Maybe in a little bit," Jess replied as her sapphire eyes clashed with a pair of garnet ones. "May I speak to you for a minute, Trista…in private?"

The time guardian sighed softly as she set down her teacup and stood. "I knew this was coming. Yes. Let's go to my place where we won't be disturbed." She turned to Serena. "We'll be back soon." Then she walked over to Jess and placed a hand on her shoulder. A few seconds later they both disappeared in a burst of pink light.

"Well!" Serena muttered, slightly miffed. "I wonder what that was all about."

* * *

Katie's brow wrinkled as she stared at the gray feline before her. "Orion? Why does that name sound so familiar to me?"

DJ snorted next to her. "Probably from the astronomy lessons we had with Nephrite when we were younger. There's a constellation named Orion, remember."

Her blonde ponytail whipped back and forth as she shook her head. "I know that much, Mr. Know-It-All, but I don't think that's it. There's something else that I'm not remembering."

Alex's face held the same puzzled look as his sister's. "I know what you mean, sis. There's something banging away in the back of my head. I just can't quite put my finger on it."

"No surprise there," DJ muttered. "It takes more than one working brain cell to produce complete thoughts."

Katie elbowed him in the ribs and hissed, "Be nice!"

DJ groaned at the impact. "Damn, Tinkerbell! You need some elbow pads! That freaking hurt!"

"Well stop being such a jerk then!" she snapped back. "I know you're under the illusion that your brain is far superior to ours, but we're not stupid!"

"I never said that you were," DJ grumbled as he rubbed his side. "Geez, Kat! I was just teasing."

She rolled her glowing silver eyes at him. "Well it wasn't funny!"

Alex had been tuning out their bickering, but suddenly he jumped as a memory trickled through his head.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

He slammed his Trigonometry book closed with a sigh before rolling from his stomach so that he could sit up on his bed and rub his eyes.

"Finally done!" he muttered. "Man! That Amy can be a slave driver when it comes to homework."

He glanced at the clock and saw what time it was. Unless there had been an emergency at the palace, his dad should have been home from work some time ago and would probably have dinner just about ready by now. His stomach growled loudly at the thought of food and he sincerely hoped that his dad was there. If he wasn't that meant that he would have to fend for himself and would probably be stuck with a frozen pizza or something. That was about the fanciest thing he could pull off cooking and his mom was just as hopeless as he was in the kitchen. Kat was pretty handy when it came to whipping up an edible meal, but she'd had the same amount of homework that he did, so he was sure that she had been busy with it…if she hadn't snuck out to go train again. She had been doing that a lot since she had been kidnapped almost two months ago.

Well, there was one way to find out. He rolled off the bed and stretched his aching back muscles before reaching for his cell phone. He saw that he had two text messages waiting for him, and he paused to shoot back replies, a smartassed one to DJ and a sickeningly sweet one to Emma, before leaving the sanctuary of his red, orange, and black bedroom that was covered in posters of his favorite movies and bands and heading for the room next door. There was a light shining under it, so he knocked quietly and waited for a response.

After about ten seconds a disgruntled voice growled, "Come in."

He pushed open the door and stepped into his sister's haven, a room that was as calming to the senses as his was stimulating. When they had turned twelve their mom had decided that their rooms needed a makeover to change them from children's rooms to rooms that would reflect the young adults that they were becoming. And while both of the twins had opted for black furniture, their color schemes were completely different.

Alex had gone with the fiery colors of his element, the sun, painting his walls a deep shade of orange and picking out bedcovers and curtains in a flaming red color. Emma adored it while DJ said that he always felt like he was going to spontaneously combust whenever he walked in there.

Katie, on the other hand, had kept things light, airy, and simple. Her walls were the pale, off white color of the moon, but Jess had added silver glitter to the paint that made them shimmer in the light. Her bedcovers and curtains were a slightly darker silvery gray color, but she brightened up the place adding an area rug and throw pillows that had every color of the rainbow in them and had draped colorful scarves over her lamps. It really was a place of soothing tranquility, now that the evidence of her violent attack had been erased.

Of course, the seething, irritated girl laid across the bed in much the same way he had been on his a few minutes ago was a complete antithesis to the room around her. Her hazel eyes snapped angrily as she looked up at him and he could feel the tension crackling around her.

"Hey," he said as nonchalantly as he could as he leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. "Homework getting to you too?"

She growled and slammed the book in front of her shut. "The Trig alone that Amy gave us was bad enough. Then Zoicite had to go and make it worse by giving us that science assignment. Don't they get that not all of us can be geniuses the way they, and some other people who will remain unnamed, are?"

"I know what you mean," he agreed in a carefully neutral tone as he bit back a laugh. How pissed would she be if she knew about the text that DJ had sent him that claimed that he had finished the homework in record time and that it had been as easy as pie? She'd probably storm the palace and rip the prince's spine out through his nostrils if she knew that.

"Anyway," he continued casually. "Why don't you give that a break? I'm sure dad's probably got dinner just about ready by now. I don't know about you, but I could use a recharge."

Katie rolled off the bed to stand. "Yeah, I could go for some brain fuel myself. Let's go."

They left the room and made their way down the elegantly carved staircase to the ground floor before turning down a hall that led to the large kitchen at the back of the house that their mom giggling called _'Andrew's Domain'_. They were about to breeze right in, but pulled up short when they heard voices talking.

"I still can't believe you're planning a party with everything that's going on," Nebula was complaining, which was nothing unusual for her. That cat was always griping about something.

A snort, one that could only come from Jess, rang through the air. "Oh please, Bula! You make it sound like I'm planning to put on some fancy, five star ball or something. It's just a simple get together for family and friends. It's not everyday that my kids turn sixteen you know. Drew will fire up the grill and we'll have some cake and ice cream. That's all there is to it. But I can't let such an important day go by and not acknowledge it."

"I'm not saying that you should ignore it," Nebula fired back. "But with the escalating number of attacks happening around the city I would think that you of all people would recognize the importance of using our time wisely to prepare instead kicking back and relaxing."

Jess giggled, "Oh, my wise feline companion! Remember who you're talking to here. I adore a good fight just as much as anyone else does, but I also know the importance of taking a few hours off here and there to relax. One day you'll understand that concept. In fact, I'm willing to bet that by next summer you'll be singing an entirely different tune."

Nebula sniffed disdainfully. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jess's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know exactly who I'm talking about. Orion."

Nebula sputtered angrily.

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

"Now I know where I heard your name before!" Alex said excitedly. "I overheard my mom and Nebula talking about you once."

"Huh?" Katie murmured. "What are you talking about, Lex?"

He smiled mischievously. "Oh come on, Kat! I know you have to remember it too. Remember that night about a week before our birthday when we overheard mom and Nebula in the kitchen talking about our party. Nebula was giving mom a hard time about it until the name Orion was mentioned. Then she shut up real quick after that."

Comprehension sparked in Katie's silver eyes. "Oh yeah! Now I remember! I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but I do remember that Bula was pissed."

Orion cringed a little as he muttered. "I'm sure she was." Then he shook his head. "Anyway, moving on. I could stand here all day and drone on about the old legends and exactly why you're here, but you look like smart young people and I'm sure you know all of this already. So I won't insult your intelligence or waste both your time and mine by repeating the things you already know. You're here for the swords and I will lead you to them."

DJ arched a brow at the cat's nonchalance. "That's it? It's that easy? You're kidding us, right?"

Storm cloud gray eyes glinted with humor. "I know. I know. After everything that you've been through to get to this point you were probably expecting some kind of a challenge or a test. But the fact that you are here at all was the biggest challenge. It means that the gods have judged you and have deemed you worthy to wield their powers in the fight against evil and that they are willing to grant you complete access to those powers. There is no need for you to be tested any more. You have met their criteria and the swords are now yours."

Katie shivered as a chill raced down her spine. "You make it sound so easy, Orion."

He shook his head. "Putting the swords into your hands is easy, but the road before you is dark and difficult. I have been assured though that you three have endured rigorous training for years to prepare you for the battle ahead that you must face. And if you have been trained by Nebula, then I have no reason to doubt your fighting skills. Now follow me."

The three teens fell into step behind the feline as he led them toward the temple-like building.

"Orion," Katie spoke quietly. "I don't mean to pry or anything, but what is your connection to Nebula? I can tell by your expression and the tone of your voice that you know her quite well. So how come we've never seen or really heard of you before?"

Orion sighed and his steps slowed. "It's a very simple story actually. I was an idiot. I was young and foolish and threw everything away in a fit of selfishness. I guess it would be best to start at the beginning."

Katie, DJ, and Alex all tuned in curiously to hear the tale.

_*****ORION"S STORY*****_

"As I'm sure you all are aware, felines of my species originated from the planet Mau that used to reside on the outer rim of this solar system, just past Pluto, until a nearby star collapsed and destroyed it. Luckily my people had plenty of warning and were able to evacuate to the other planets. As a result, they became scattered across the solar system.

My mother's family, along with several others, sought refuge on Venus. My mother went to work in the palace as a companion and advisor to the then crown princess of Venus. It was there that she met my father, who was a bit of an explorer. His family had settled on Venus as well and he visited quite often. They fell in love, and despite my father's absences they decided to marry. My brother and myself were born first and we had two sisters that followed a few years later.

I had a great life growing up on Venus. We lived in the palace as members of the royal family and my mother became the chief advisor when the princess she served took the throne as queen. But for some reason I wanted something more. I wasn't sure what that was until my father invited me to join him on one of his trips. After that I was hooked. Nothing thrilled me more than to travel to different planets and experience different places. I traveled with my father for a while until he unfortunately died of illness, but even after he was gone I continued to explore, even going outside of our solar system to see the planets that lay beyond.

The years passed. I would go home every so often to visit my family, but I never stayed for long. My mother continued to work for the queen, and when the queen had a daughter as well, my brother became the princess's advisor and companion. Queen Serenity had ascended to the moon throne several years before and had united the planets together. Our galaxy was changing, and it was a wondrous thing to see.

When I returned home for one of my visits, I was surprised to find my brother gone. My mother told me that Queen Serenity was building an Imperial Guard of sailor scouts and that the young princess my brother served had been chosen as the scout of Venus and that he had accompanied her to the moon. The moon was one place that I had never visited before, so I decided to travel there and visit with my brother for a while.

The moon was indeed a beautiful place, and I was welcomed by my bother with open arms. He had fallen in love with a young Mauan who lived on the moon and served as Princess Serenity's advisor, and the two of them encouraged me to extend my visit even longer. I had no intentions of staying there as long as I did, but then my brother's intended introduced me to her sister, who was the queen's senior advisor. She was haughty, sharp tongued, and something about her just drew me to her.

My visit that was only going to last a week stretched into a month, then two. It was the longest stretch of time I had spent in one place in a very long time without feeling the need to take off for places unknown, and it scared me. I knew that I had fallen in love with Nebula and that she was in love with me as well. My brother was encouraging me to stay and accept a position as a tactician because I had a knack for it and the moon had been locked in an ongoing battle with some rebels from Earth for a while.

I panicked. I wanted to stay on the moon with Nebula more than anything, but I was afraid that if I did the wanderlust would hit me again at some point and I would break her heart by leaving. So I decided to make another trip. I figured that if I wasn't happy while traveling and felt the need to return to her, then that was where I was supposed to be. And if I discovered that I wasn't ready to give up the life of exploring and adventure yet, then it was better to break things off with her then instead of hurting her worse later on.

She wasn't happy with my decision. She screamed and yelled at me for hours before telling me to go away and that she never wanted to see me again. I tried to explain to her why I was doing it, but she refused to listen. So I left. I was heartsick almost immediately, but I forced myself to push on. I had to make sure for myself that I was ready to settle down in one place.

A week later I'd had enough. I'd made it to a small planet that was just outside our solar system when I decided that the traveling life wasn't for me anymore. All I could think about was getting back to the moon and to Nebula. I was preparing to leave when the word reached me that the moon had fallen under attack and had been defeated. The queen, her daughter, and all of the sailor scouts had been killed along with everyone on the moon. All of the other planets were facing extinction as well as panic and rebellion swept through the galaxy.

I hurried back as fast as I could, unwilling to believe that everyone could be gone. But my fears increased as I reached the outer planets of Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn and found them to be nothing more than cold, dead rocks floating in space. All the others were the same, except for Earth. It alone, along with a large part of its population, seemed to have survived, but it was in chaos because of the death of its high king, queen, and crown prince.

I finally made it to the moon to find that nothing remained of the once beautiful kingdom except rubble. Everyone and everything that I had come to love was gone. It was there that Selene found me, grieving among the ruins. She explained to me what had happened and about Queen Serenity's sacrifice to save her friends and family. I have to admit that I felt much better knowing that everyone wasn't gone forever.

Then the goddess offered me a deal. She explained to me about the Galactic Trinity and how the swords had been hidden here from the time that they had been removed from the original bearers. She said that it would be a thousand years before the sailor scouts would return to guard the galaxy once more, and she was concerned about leaving the swords here unprotected with no one to watch over them in case any evil forces ever discovered them, so I agreed to become the guardian for this place until the time came for the power to pass into new hands. And here I have been, all of these centuries."

_*****END OF STORY*****_

The three teens gaped at the cat as he finished his tale. They had long reached the temple, but they had paused on the steps as they had been spellbound by his story.

DJ finally broke the silence. "Let me get this straight. You are Artemis's _brother_?"

Orion nodded. "Guilty as charged."

"Unbelievable!" Alex crowed. "Old Snowball has been holding out on us! He's never even hinted that he had a brother. Luna has never said anything either. It's a total riot!"

"They probably have no idea that I'm even still alive," Orion muttered. "No one knew where I was at the time everything fell apart, so they probably just assume that I was caught up in the destruction on one of the other planets."

Katie tilted her head in thought. "It explains a lot though, about why Nebula's always been so…"

"Psycho," Alex offered.

"Insane," DJ contributed.

Katie rolled her eyes at them. "I was going to be a bit nicer and say mentally unbalanced. But it makes perfect sense. The reason why Nebula always flips out if she thinks we're flirting while we're training and gripes that our time would be better spent on training instead of dating is because she has been disappointed in love. It's no wonder she's so jaded."

"Ouch!" Orion winced. "Do you have to put it quite like that? It's not like I set out to hurt her on purpose."

Katie swooped down and patted the depressed looking feline on the head. "Oh, I'm sorry, Orion! I didn't mean for it to come out sounding like that. I'm sure that you never wanted to hurt her. But women's hearts can be funny things sometimes."

"Tell me about it!" Alex and DJ grumbled together.

Katie's eyes flared for a moment. "I didn't ask for any smartass comment out of either of you! Come on, Orion! Why don't you show me where these all powerful swords are."

Orion snapped back to business. "Of course! Please, right this way." He led them up the last few steps and into the temple. They crossed a wide foyer and then entered a large room that looked as if it were made for royalty.

"Whoa!" DJ barely breathed. "And I thought home was nice. This makes mom and dad's throne room look like a one room shack.

Katie and Alex both nodded in silent agreement as they took in the opulence around them. Their eyes darted around as if they didn't know what to look at first, the snow white marble floor that looked to be grouted in pure silver or the ceiling above that was edged in what appeared to be real gold filigree and was covered in a beautiful painted mural that depicted the sun, moon, and Earth.

Alex looked down at his dirty tennis shoes and mumbled, "I'm almost too afraid to step on this floor. My shoes are filthy from running around in the woods."

DJ and Katie looked down at themselves as well, taking notice for the first time the dirt and leaves that clung to their feet also, courtesy of their middle of the night escapade. The thought of marring that gleaming floor horrified them as well and they started to kick their shoes off.

Orion chuckled and waved a paw at them. "Don't worry about it. This place was created by the gods. I think you will find it quite impervious to trivial things such as dirt. Now follow me."

They followed him, reluctantly at first, until they saw indeed that they weren't leaving a trail of hideous brown footprints behind them. Then they turned their attention back to studying the room.

"Wouldn't mom get a kick out of getting a look at that ceiling?" Katie whispered to her companions. "She would go absolutely gaga over it." Alex nodded eagerly next to her.

"And check out those silks," DJ said, pointing out the swaths of delicate silk that hung on the walls in shades of white, silver, ocean blue, forest green, and blazing red and orange. "My mom is a sucker for anything silk and she would have a squealing fit if she saw these."

"And here we are," Orion announced, pulling the teens from their perusal to find that they had reached a raised dais at the end of the room. One would think to find a pair of thrones there waiting for a king and queen, but instead they saw three altar-like pedestals arranged in a triangle shape. And on top of each of them lay a gleaming sword on a bed of velvet.

Orion bounded up the steps to stand in front of the closest pedestal. Then he inclined his head toward Katie. "Ladies first."

Katie gulped and shook her head. "Unh uh! Let one of the guys go first."

Alex nudged her with his shoulder. "Scaredy-Kat! Don't be such a wimp! It's just a sword, and you know how to handle one well."

That was true enough. Kunzite had overseen their sword training himself, and he was probably one of the best swordsmen ever born. The only person that could actually go toe to toe with him was Endymion. And even then their matches usually ended in stalemates. She had often wondered why the platinum haired general had been so adamant about them perfecting their sword techniques when they usually attacked using energy blasts, and now she had her answer.

So it wasn't that she wasn't familiar with swords, she felt just as comfortable with one in her hand as she did when she transformed into Sailor Eclipse. But remembering what she had seen happen to the original Trinity holders made her very cautious of the swords' powers. The last thing she wanted was for the power to take her and the guys over and turn them into cocky, overconfident asses with a hero complex. They would never be able to defeat Discord if that happened.

She felt fingers twine with hers and looked up to find DJ looking at her encouragingly, his golden eyes glowing softly.

He squeezed her hand lightly and whispered, "Don't be afraid of it. Nothing's going to happen. Alex and I are right here."

She shook her head. "But what if the power tries to overtake me? We've been lucky up until now, but those swords are going to magnify the effects of the god powers. I don't want to end up like Grandma Serenity and the others."

He reached up to cup her face between his palms and forced her slightly panicked silver eyes to meet his calm gold ones. "That's not going to happen. We're different from them, remember. And we know what happened to them in the past, so we know the consequences if we repeat their mistake. That will give us the strength that we need to control the power instead of letting it control us."

Alex came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "He's right, sis. We're much more informed than they were and we know what to look out for. If one of us starts acting too cocky, then the others will just have to knock them down a peg or two. That's what we're here for, to watch each other's backs."

She grinned at both of them. "I said it earlier, and I'll say it again, _'All for one, and one for all'_. Because if you think about it, we really are kinda like the Three Musketeers, banding together to beat the bad guy and all."

DJ snickered. "I think there's a _huge _difference between Discord and Cardinal Richelieu."

Alex joined his friend. "For real, Kat! And since when did you start paying so much attention to Literature class?"

She wrinkled her nose at them. "Very funny! My scores may not be at the top of the list like _some people_," she cut her boyfriend a _look_, "but I'm solidly in the top five of our class. And _'The Three Musketeers' _happens to be one of my favorite novels. Now let me go so we can get this show on the road."

The boys let go of her and backed away a few steps as she turned back toward the dais. She took a deep breath before climbing up the few steps to stand beside Orion.

The charcoal cat bowed his head respectfully. "I present to you the silver sword of Selene. May it help protect and guide you on your mission to eradicate the universe of the ultimate evil."

'_Well, here goes nothing,' _Katie thought to herself as she slowly reached her hand out toward the shining silver sword. Behind her she could feel both DJ and Alex's auras coil with tension as they waited to see what would happen.

Her fingers closed around the hilt, sliding easily into the grooves in the grip as if it were made for her hand alone. She felt a slight humming sensation, as if the sword was feeling her out as much as she was feeling it. Then she lifted it from its bed of white velvet, marveling at how lightweight it was.

She held it up in front of her as admired the workmanship. The sword might be slender and delicate looking with its engravings of crescent moons along the blade and a few pearls and diamonds decorating the hilt, but there was no denying that it was solidly made. It was the true work of a god.

Then she gasped as the sword flashed bright silver for a moment and she felt a heady rush of energy flow through her body. It was exhilarating and borderline intoxicating, a feeling that there wasn't anything in this world that she couldn't accomplish. But knowing the story of the past, she knew that this feeling was dangerous, so she quickly tamped it down.

'_Are you okay?' _she heard two worried voices ask in her head, and she turned to face them.

"It's amazing!" she told them softly. "Talk about a buzz! I can see how the others were overwhelmed by the power. It's quite intense."

"But you're okay?" DJ persisted.

She nodded. "Yeah. Just to warn you guys though, that first rush is a doozey; so be prepared for it. You'll have to fight it down."

"Ahem!" Orion cleared his throat. "The sword of Selene has recognized you and accepts you as its new mistress. It is now yours until the time that you no longer need its assistance."

The silver belt and scabbard that Serenity had been wearing in the vision of the past appeared around Katie's waist and she carefully slid the sword into it.

"I believe we'll move on to Apollo's next," Orion announced as he moved to stand by the altar where the bronze sword lay on its red velvet cushion.

"I guess that's my cue," Alex quipped as he dashed up the steps with none of his sister's hesitation to scoop up the sword. He grinned as he took in the sun engravings on the blade and the rubies on the hilt. "Hey! This thing is kinda fancy. It almost looks like something more for decoration than it does for fighting."

The blade quivered slightly in his grip before a hot, almost burning sensation shot up his arm to flood his entire body with heat. After seeing Katie's reaction he had been expecting something to happen. But this…this was incredible. It felt like he had just received a central line injection of the world's strongest alcohol…and he loved it.

'_Alex!' _Katie's voice growled in his head. _'Don't make me have to kick your ass already! And I will if you let that power get the better of you. If I can push it down then so can you!'_

Alex luckily paid attention to her words and fought to bring his euphoric feelings under control. Once he felt mostly normal again he grinned sheepishly at his sister. "Sorry. I guess I got caught up there for a moment. You weren't kidding. That was an intense ride."

"The bronze sword of the sun god has been claimed," Orion stated with a chuckle as a black belt and scabbard appeared around Alex's waist. "Now there is only one left." He waved DJ forward with a paw as he turned his attention to the last altar. "Last, but certainly not least, we have the golden sword of Gaia. Her power is probably the most complex of the Trinity in my opinion."

"Why do you say that?" DJ asked curiously as he climbed the steps and approached the altar that held the sword.

Orion shrugged a shoulder. "It's just my opinion, but think about it. The power of the sun and the moon are strictly based on one element, light. And while the silver light of the moon can be sharp and lethal and the blazing light of the sun can be quite…scorching, they are restricted to that one element. The power of Earth, on the other hand, is quite different. It literally holds the ability to both create and destroy life. It controls all the elements of Earth; air, water, even fire to a point, and the very earth itself. The weather, the plant life, all of it is subject to the energy that the Earth creates. You were born with a piece of that power already inside of you. Your crystal allows you to create living plants and to heal the injured, but it can also be used as a weapon to destroy your enemies. Do you see what I mean?"

DJ nodded. "I guess I never thought of it like that."

Katie snorted. "Don't pump up his ego any bigger than it already is, Orion. It's the size of Europe as it is."

Orion bowed his head. "I meant no disrespect. I also do not mean to imply in any way that he is any stronger than you other two. I was merely pointing out the different basis of your powers. You each have your own weaknesses and strengths, but your overall power is evenly matched."

"Ohh!" Katie squealed as she hurried over and dropped to her knees to scoop Orion up in her arms and hug him tightly. "How did such a sweet kitty ever manage to hook up with Nebula? Talk about yin and yang! You two are polar opposites of each other."

Orion let out a startled meow as he found himself encased in slim, but very strong arms. Unlike his mother and brother, he had never formed any attachments with humans. But as he felt the warmth and affection in this girl's embrace he could see why they had been so fond of their human charges. This was nice. He closed his eyes for a moment and purred loudly as he snuggled deeper into her arms.

DJ rolled his eyes. "He's not a stray that you can pick up off the street, Tinkerbell. You can't carry him home and beg mommy to let you keep him."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't pick on me! Now are you going to pick up that sword or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your panties on," he grumbled.

Her eyes sparkled humorously for a moment before he heard in his head, _'Really? Usually you tell me to do the opposite.'_

Alex slapped his hands over his ears. "Whoa! Whoa! No telepathic sex allowed between you guys! I can hear everything you guys are saying, remember. And I sure as hell don't want to hear you two getting it on in your minds. That would scar me for the rest of my life."

Katie flushed red in embarrassment while DJ chuckled. "Sorry, man!" Then he picked up the golden sword in front of him.

His fingers molded around the grip just like they were sliding into a comfortable old glove. He had always been fond of the sword that his father had given to him on his twelfth birthday and that he carried with him whenever he was transformed as his alter ego, but this one…it felt like an extension of his arm. He swung it around experimentally a few times before taking a closer look at it. Hephaestus had truly made it a work of art. The gleaming golden blade was engraved with the Earth's symbol and the sapphires and emeralds in the hilt sparkled brilliantly.

And then he felt it, the slight thrumming of the sword as the energy built. And then it crashed over him like a tidal wave. For a moment he was lost in a sea of sensations as he realized that he could _feel _everything around him. The very ground beneath his feet pulsed like it had a heartbeat and he could feel every molecule in the air around him. They were denser and moved faster in the areas where he sensed Katie and Alex's bodies exerting a slight pressure against the Earth.

It was easy for him to see now how Edward could have gotten so immersed in these powers. It was definitely something that he could have never imagined in his wildest dreams. But the silver and red orange auras that hovered at the edge of his mind kept him grounded enough to know that he had to maintain control of the power and not let it control him. Gradually his heightened senses returned to normal once more. He shook his head to clear it.

"DJ," Katie spoke in a voice that was barely more than whisper. "Are you okay?"

He looked down to see that she was still on the floor next to him and holding Orion cradled against her chest. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him. He grinned his familiar grin at her as he slid the sword into the sheath that had magically appeared at his side and reassured her, "Never better, baby. Don't look so worried."

"Dude!" Alex exclaimed as he came up and clapped him on the shoulder. "There for a moment I was afraid that sword had Medusa's power in it instead of Gaia's. You froze like a statue for about two minutes straight. You didn't even blink. I thought you were about to turn to stone."

"That's not funny!" Katie cried as she buried her face in Orion's fur to hide the tears that sprung to her eyes.

DJ hunkered down in front of her. "Aw, Kat! Don't be so sentimental. I'm fine. I just had a moment of intense sensory overload. But it's all under control now."

She fought back a sniffle and raised her head to glare at him. "It better be, or I will totally kick your ass!"

He laughed as he stood and offered a hand to her. "There's my feisty fairy princess! So what do we do now, Orion?"

The feline in Katie's arms actually managed to look like he was smiling. "Now you go back to wherever you were before you came here. The swords are now in your hands. I just hope that you have a little time to learn more about them before you have to face Discord."

"But what about you, Orion?" Katie asked. "Do you still have to stay here even though the Trinity is no longer here?"

Orion bumped her chin with his head and purred. "Actually, I was hoping that I might be able to catch a ride back with you. My job here is done and I think it's time that I rejoined the real world. Besides, after spending so many centuries here I have become very knowledgeable about those swords and the powers of the gods. I believe that I may be of some assistance to you."

Alex chuckled. "You're one brave kitty. I'll give you that. Nebula is going to eat you alive when she sees you."

The feline shuddered, but said calmly, "I'm sure she will. But I'll have to face her sooner or later. I'm just hoping that Artemis won't hold too much of a grudge against me and will be willing to help me watch my back. That wily female is crafty and cunning, and I don't put anything past her."

* * *

Jess watched Pluto as the time guardian checked the river of time that flowed near the time gate. They had both been silent since they had arrived there a few minutes before, and Jess was trying to figure out the best way to start her questioning. She didn't want to come off as being demanding or overbearing, because she knew that Pluto would clam up if she did and refuse to tell her anything. And she desperately needed answers.

Pluto glanced up at the thoughtful young woman before her and then looked back down into the time stream once more. She swirled her hand through it and brought an image of the little princess from the Silver Millennium to the surface so that she could compare the two.

The little Princess Melody, with her tangled golden curls, gap toothed grin, and laughing sapphire eyes had changed so much, but not in a bad way. In this life she had grown into a strong and confident woman with a fierce fighting spirit. She was rabidly loyal to her friends and family and wouldn't take any crap off of anyone. And even though she commanded one of the most sought after and powerful crystals in the universe, she preferred to live as normal and simple life as possible and not use her powers unless she had to.

"Jess," Pluto said softly, finally breaking the silence. "I know what you have on your mind. So why don't you just go ahead and get it out in the open."

Jess sighed as she fiddled with the end of her braid. "Okay. I'm not trying to sound like a bitch or anything, but I need some information. I know you're not supposed to say anything about the future, but I'm having dreams of it and it's driving me crazy. Considering that I already know a nice little chunk about my future, I didn't think it would cause much harm for you to throw me a small bone this time."

Pluto chuckled. "Well that was definitely getting it out in the open. I normally wouldn't do this, but these aren't exactly normal circumstances we're in at the moment. I am willing to help you decipher your dreams, but first I want to hear your take on them."

Jess nodded. "Fair enough. At first I was just seeing Crystal Tokyo, and it looked like something straight out of a war movie. Buildings were destroyed and bodies were everywhere. Discord's monsters were running around everywhere and I could see him in the sky off in the distance. There were flashes of light, so I'm assuming that the kids were fighting him. But as I looked around I realized that the bodies around me were people that I knew. I saw…" She paused to suck in a shaky breath. "…Serena and Darien, all the scouts and generals, and…"

"You saw Andrew and yourself," Pluto finished for her quietly. When Jess nodded she prompted her gently, "So now the dream has changed?"

Jess wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Yes. The one I had earlier was different, and it was so clear. Nobody was dead, but it was weird. It was like there was two of everyone there fighting. And then my future self came up to me and started talking. It was the strangest thing in the world."

"Hmm…" Pluto mused as she searched the time stream for the scenes she was looking for. "So what do you think your dream is trying to tell you?"

Jess huffed a sound that was almost a laugh. "I know it sounds crazy, but I think it's trying to tell me that I'm supposed to go to the future and help with the fight. But that can't be it, right?"

Pluto looked up at her with serious garnet eyes. "That's exactly what it's telling you." Then she motioned her forward. "Come here and look at this."

As Jess stepped forward she pulled a vision to the surface of the time stream. It showed Crystal Tokyo in ruins as Discord's monsters ran rampant.

"This is what you saw in your first dreams," Pluto told her softly. "This is what will happen if you choose to not go to the future. The kids manage to defeat Discord, but the cost is high. Crystal Tokyo is destroyed and you and Andrew, along with the king, queen, and all of the scouts and generals are killed in the battle against Discord's army as you try to protect the city. Rini becomes queen and the city is rebuilt. Your children and the others go on to live fairly productive lives, but none of them ever quite get over the loss of their parents."

Jess clapped a shaky hand over her mouth. Surely fate wouldn't be so cruel as to leave her children orphans at the age of sixteen the same way she had been. Would it?

Pluto waved her hand and another vision appeared. In this one there were two Sailor Shadows, just like in her dream. They were fighting back to back against Discord's monsters and were surrounded by their friends and loved ones.

"This one shows what will happen if you do decide to go," Pluto told her. "When the final battle begins DJ, Katie, Alex, and the others try to lure Discord away from the city to fight. But Discord has amassed an army that includes not just his usual guardians and sentinels, but some new creations as well. He has experimented with larger animals and with growth hormones to create an army of large, tank-like, mutated animals and giants. He sets them loose on the city while he confronts the Trinity in hopes that they will hunt down and kill your future self so that he can get his hands on the Celestial Crystal. He hasn't given up on it, and he knows that if he were to take possession of it and combine it with his powers that he would be able to hold off the Trinity long enough to destroy the world and take out all the threats against him at the same time. Then he would be free to move on to the rest of the universe. And with your power behind him he would be unstoppable."

Jess's brows knit in confusion. "But what difference does it make if I'm there or not? Doesn't that just make me double the target if there are two of me running around?"

Pluto shook her head. "Don't underestimate yourself. And don't think I don't know what you have been up to at night. You may have thought that Nebula, Helios, and Aurora were the only ones in on your little secret, but not much gets past me. You have been preparing for this since the moment you started having these dreams, because I think that deep down you already knew what was coming. You know what you are capable of doing. Now imagine if there were two of you working together."

Jess's eyes began to glow blue as she watched both herself and her future self in the vision as it exploded in blue light. "We could save the city and everybody in it," she murmured.

"That you could," Pluto agreed. "All of the others will have the choice of rather or not to go to Crystal Tokyo as well. The city will need as many protectors as it can get. But your participation will ultimately be what decides the fate of Crystal Tokyo. Your future self is strong, stronger than you even, but she can't do it alone. The choice is yours."

* * *

"This is worse than a trip to the dentist!" Serena muttered as she paced back and forth in the kitchen of the Elysian palace, shooting glances out the glass doors every so often to where the sky was growing brighter by the second as the sun reached for the horizon.

"Darling, why don't you sit down?" Serenity tried to cajole her. "You're making me dizzy with all of your pacing."

Serena shook her head. "I can't sit down. I feel like I'm about to jump out of my skin. Something is going to blow soon. I can feel it. This has been a long, unusual night, and I've just got this gut feeling that today is going to be even more hectic."

"Calm down, Meatball Head! Are you trying to carve out a replica of the Grand Canyon in the floor?" Darien mumbled around a yawn as he entered the room.

Serena spun around and shook her fist at him. "How would you like a knuckle sandwich, you jerk? Don't start on me! I'm not in the mood!"

Darien arched a brow at her as he made his way to the coffeepot, ignoring the snorts of laughter coming from the group around the table as he poured himself a cup of the steaming brew. He took a careful first sip before asking calmly, "So what's up with you? I know you get in a bad mood when you don't get your full eight hours in, but you seem to be more pissed than normal this morning. What's wrong?"

She grabbed a handful of her hair and looked like she was about to pull it out. "What isn't wrong seems to be the better question to ask right now! At least the answer would be shorter. While you've been catching up on your beauty sleep, I have been going through the strangest night of my life. There are teenagers disappearing in the woods to god only knows where and people popping out for a visit to the time gate. And to top it all off I've had to put up with enough bad jokes and sexual innuendos from our lovely fathers to fill up a very thick book!"

Darien set down his cup and approached the rampaging blonde carefully. He placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to calm her. "Slow down and back up for a minute. You lost me there."

"Morning all!" Andrew greeted cheerfully as he strolled into the room before Serena could answer. Just like Darien had, he made a beeline for the coffee. He glanced around as he poured a cup. "Where's Jess? I figured I'd find her with all of you when I woke up to find her gone."

Serena heaved a sigh. "She took off with Trista a little while ago. Evidently she had something _'important'_," she made little quote marks with her fingers, "to talk about that she didn't want anyone else hearing."

Andrew looked toward Aurora, who gave him a tiny nod. That relieved him a lot. "Oh, okay. As long as I know she's not off doing something reckless and impulsive."

"Reckless and impulsive are that girl's middle names," Nebula grumbled where she sat on the kitchen table. Then under her breath where no one but Aurora could hear she continued, "Why I agree to go along with her hare-brained schemes…"

"Shh," the priestess whispered softly as she laid a hand on the feline's head.

Darien shook his head. "All right, that covers Serena's ranting about the time gate and I caught the gist of the part about the fathers that definitely shouldn't quit their day jobs to become stand up comedians. But what was all of that about teenagers and the woods?"

Serena threw her hands in the air. "Hell if I know! Jess sensed something weird going on with the shadows in the woods earlier and then _they_," she waved a hand toward the four monarchs, "decided to inform us that DJ, Katie, and Alex were out there in the middle of it. So Jess and I went to check on them. Then Trista showed up and told us to leave them alone because it had something to do with those damn swords and made us come back here. But that was a couple of hours ago and they haven't come back yet and I'm getting worried."

Then, several things happened at once. Rini, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah stumbled through the kitchen doorway, yawning, mumbling, and still half asleep. There was a burst of pink smoke in the middle of the room as Sailor Pluto and Jess appeared. And the back door opened to admit the slightly disheveled looking trio of DJ, Katie, and Alex.

"That's it!" Serena screeched. "I can't take any more! My nerves are shot!"

"Whoa! What did we do? We just walked in here," Rini grumbled.

"Not you," Serena growled in frustration at the four wide eyed teens that looked like they were about to duck back out the door they had just come through.

Then she whirled on Jess and pointed a finger at her. "And you! Well…I've given up trying to figure you out. It does nothing but give me a headache."

Then she turned snapping eyes on her last victims, causing Katie and Alex to both squeak and try to hide behind DJ. "But you three…Do you have any idea how worried I've been? You took off into the woods, in the middle of the night, in the dark, and you didn't think to tell somebody first? I know that this is Elysian and that there are no wild animals or anything to worry about, but it was still a dangerous thing to do. You could have fallen out there and broken your necks!"

DJ held his hands up helplessly. "Whoa! Take a chill pill, mom! Nothing bad happened and we're fine."

Serena stomped over to him and grabbed him by the ear. "Don't you _dare _tell _me _to take a chill pill, Darien James! You're lucky that I'm not hauling you across my lap and blistering your butt right this minute! You may have super human god powers, but I will be your mother someday and I won't think twice about punishing you. In fact, don't be surprised if Neo Queen Serenity grounds you for the rest of your life when you get home because I'm making a mental note to myself right this minute to do just that!"

"Okay! Okay!" DJ yowled as she yanked on his ear. "I'm sorry! All right!"

"Sere," Darien said gently as he pried her fingers away from their future son and pulled her into a tight hug for her own protection as much as everyone else's. "You do need to calm down. You're almost hyperventilating. Did you get any sleep last night?"

She shook her head as she buried her face in his chest. "No. I couldn't sleep with everything going on around here."

Jess, who had been quiet up until now, smirked and quipped, "Wow! Did someone spike Serena's drink? Because the only time I've ever known her to act like such a lunatic is when she's been drinking."

Although she was joking, which she did on a regular basis, there was something slightly off in the tone of her voice and in her eyes. The others may not have picked up on it, but Andrew did. He was by her side in an instant and putting an arm around her. "Hey, you all right?"

The smile she gave him was almost convincing, but it didn't quite reach her eyes the way it normally did. He was dying to know what was bothering her, and he knew that something was, but he decided to let it slide for now. He knew that pushing her would only cause a fight between them.

She cupped his cheek in her palm. "I'm absolutely fine. I'm a little tired, but I'll bounce back as soon as I get a shower, some caffeine, and some food."

Serenity, Jonathan, Edward, and Althea had gotten up from their seats and had approached their successors, who were still grouped near the back door.

"Well it looks like your little adventure was a success," Edward chuckled as he gestured to the sword hanging at DJ's side.

"I'll say," Jonathan agreed. "Those swords sure are a sight for sore eyes."

Those words had Serena, Darien, Jess, and Andrew's heads whipping around to stare at the teens as they realized that each of them were indeed in possession of the swords they had seen in the visions of the past.

"It is good to see them again," Serenity said softly. "Let's just hope that they have more success this time around."

Althea peered curiously past DJ's arm to where Katie was still half hidden behind him. "Who's your new little friend, Katie?"

Katie jumped. In all of the hubbub that had been going on she had forgotten that she was still holding Orion in her arms. She nudged DJ aside.

"Uh oh," Serenity murmured, shooting a concerned glance toward the table as she saw the dark gray cat. "This won't be good."

Katie stepped out from behind DJ. "Everybody, this is…"

"_ORION!"_ a piercing scream shot through the room.

"_KATIE! DON"T LET HER KILL ME, PLEASE!" _Orion shrieked as he scrambled up to Katie's shoulder, and then higher still to perch precariously on top of her blonde head.

"What in the hell!" Jess demanded as she turned around to locate both the source of the scream and the hissing and spitting noises she now heard.

Nebula stood on the kitchen table; back arched and her tail sticking straight up in the air, bushed out to three times its normal size. Her hackles were raised in a solid ridge straight down her back and her claws were digging grooves into the wooden tabletop. Amber sparks were practically shooting from her eyes and her chest was heaving like she was having trouble breathing.

"You…you…can't be…" she panted out between gasps. Then suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head and her body fell limply onto the table with a thud.

"Nebula!" Jess and Serenity both exclaimed as they ran to where Aurora had already begun to fan the unconscious feline with a magazine she had been reading.

"Damn, Orion! You sure know how to make an entrance, don't you?" Katie grumbled as she pulled the shaking cat off of her head. "And make sure you keep those claws pulled in. I don't want my scalp pierced. You better not pull my hair either. I hate that."

Orion was still quaking as he was gathered back into Katie's hold, but he managed a shaky chuckle. "Well, she handled it a little bit better than I imagined she would. I'm still alive, for now anyway. I'm dead meat once she wakes up though."

"Nah! Nebula may be all kinds of crazy, but she's not a murderer," Alex cackled, rubbing his hands together evilly. "Besides, it was kinda nice to see her at a disadvantage for once after having her boss us around our whole lives. I say we wake her up and see what happens next." He started for the sink.

"Alexander Andrew Furuhata!" Jess snarled, dark blonde braid flying as she whipped her head around to pin her future son with dangerously glittering eyes. "If you even consider for one second dumping a glass of water on Nebula, I promise that you will regret it severely. _I _am _not _as lenient as Serena is, and I _will _tan your ass so hard that you will be lucky if your butt cheeks have recovered enough to allow you to sit again by the time you're a hundred!"

"Eep!" Alex squeaked, looking a little swirly eyed as an effect of her glare, as he ran back to hide behind his sister. "Mom's scaring me, Kat! Save me!"

"Hmph!" Katie huffed, sticking her nose in the air. "You deserve it, you insensitive ass!" Then she returned to cuddling Orion.

Darien let out a shrill whistle to get everyone's attention. "Okay! Everybody pipe down for a moment and let's figure out what's going on here." He pointed to Orion. "Who is he and what is he doing here?"

"That's what I would like to know," Serena seconded with a nod.

Orion cleared his throat. "Let me see if I can explain…"

There was a blur of silver hair, and then Queen Serenity was standing in front of Katie. Before anyone could blink she had reached out and plucked the stammering cat up by the scruff of the neck.

"Oh you have some explaining to do all right!" she practically growled, her normally calm, lavender eyes flashing angrily. "And you're going to tell me every bit of it, from why you led Nebula on the way you did only to abandon her, to how you survived the fallout that occurred after the Silver Millennium was destroyed, to where you have been all of these centuries. And it better be a good story too, or I will drag you back to the other world with me and let Hades feed your sorry carcass to Cerberus."

As the enraged queen turned and stalked from the room with her prisoner she commanded in her most regal tone, "Sailor Pluto, go and fetch Luna and Artemis for me, please. Nebula may grateful to have her sister at her side at this time and Artemis might wish to see his brother."

Pluto snapped to attention at the order. "Yes, your majesty!" she quickly agreed and then disappeared in another puff of smoke.

"Grandma Serenity!" Katie cried suddenly, giving chase as the former moon queen left the room. "Please don't hurt Orion! It wasn't his fault! He can tell you all about it. Just please, please, _please_ don't take him to Hades…" Her voice faded into the distance.

DJ pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it with her and that damn cat? It almost like they have been joined at the hip since the moment we met that fur ball."

Alex chuckled. "It's like you said earlier, she's like the little girl that comes home, dragging in a stray off the street and begging to keep it. It's probably because we were never able to have any pets because Nebula always threw a fit at the idea of having any other animals in the house. She said that she had already been there and done that, and she wasn't going to live through that again."

Jess winced as she carefully gathered up her unconscious advisor. "I guess that's my fault. My mom had a pet Chihuahua when I was growing up and she thought she ruled the house. When Nebula first showed up the dog would chase her unmercifully every time she walked into the same room. I was going through such a rebellious stage at the time because I resented all of her bossy ways, so I never tried to help her out. I just sat back and laughed."

"What I don't get is that mother said that Artemis is our mysterious Orion's brother," Serena muttered. "I never knew that Artemis had a brother. And Luna has never mentioned anything about him either."

"We'll tell you the whole story," DJ promised. "Orion told us everything. But can we get some breakfast? I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving."

Alex nodded eagerly. "Same here. It's been a long night."

Andrew chuckled. "I think I might be able to whip up something."

"I'll be back soon," Jess told him. "I'm going to go put Nebula someplace where she'll be more comfortable and grab a shower."

He took a moment to study her face and felt like sighing when he saw that the slightly guarded look he had seen earlier was still in her eyes. But he covered it with a smile and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Hurry back. It won't take me long to get breakfast together, and you don't want it to get cold."

"I will," she promised him before she scurried from the room.

Helios and Aurora excused themselves as well, claiming that there were a few duties that they needed to attend to, leaving Andrew to man the stove while Serena, Darien, Rini, DJ, Alex, Skye, Jayden, Hannah, Edward, and Jonathan to gather either in the sitting area or around the table.

"So what's been going on?" Darien asked DJ and Alex calmly. "And exactly who is that cat you brought back with you?"

The two boys looked at each other for a moment before shrugging. Then DJ began speaking, "Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. It all started when Kat…"

"_ALEX!_" a slightly hysterical scream interrupted him.

Alex paled beneath his tan. "Oh shit! I am sooo busted!" he groaned and dove under the table just as Emma appeared in the kitchen doorway with her long hair streaming damply down her back. Obviously she had just come from the shower.

The blonde teenage girl appeared to be on the edge of a panic attack as her gray eyes scanned the room. Then her expression hardened as her gaze zeroed in on the table. Her voice trembled slightly, but was as cold as ice as she hissed in a deadly voice that would have done Kunzite proud, "Oh no you don't mister! You're not getting away from me that easily. I want to know why I woke up a little while ago to find that not only were you gone, but that you had dropped off of my mental radar as well. Do you know how nerve-racking that is? Now start talking, Sunboy! You better not have been off doing something stupid!"

Alex peeked out from under the table to take in his secret fiancée's murderous glare.

Oh crap! He was just as dead as Orion would be once Nebula woke up.

* * *

_"Fine!" she shouted at him. "If you want to leave so badly then go! I don't need you here anyway! I have a job to do."_

"_Nebula," he pleaded. "Please, just listen to me for a minute and let me tell you why I have to go."_

_She snorted. "Oh, I already know why you want to leave. I should have listened to Artemis when he tried to tell me. You're just like your father was, always on the lookout for the next great adventure. Your mother might have been content to sit back and wait for your father's sporadic visits, but that's not me, Orion. So go ahead and head off on your next quest. But don't bother ever coming back to the moon again. I'm done with you."_

"_Nebula, please," he begged._

"_Goodbye, Orion," she stated as coldly as she could as she turned her back on him and hurried away before he could see the tears in her eyes…_

The dream faded slowly from Nebula's mind as her consciousness gradually returned to her. It had been a long time since she had dreamed of the day that Orion had decided to leave her. It was one of those things that she always tried very hard to not think about. It just hurt too much.

She always equated the day that Luna and Artemis had introduced her to Orion to being the beginning of the end of her life. She'd been happy with her life the way it was. She'd started out working as a messenger in the moon castle, carrying messages between the various members of the court. Then one day she had received the assignment that had changed her career path.

She had been summoned to the home of a high standing Lunarian noblewoman and asked to deliver a message personally to Queen Selenity. She had never been given a task of such importance before and had been quite nervous at the prospect. Despite having lived in the castle for some time she had never even seen the queen close up before, only at a distance. But she had listened to others talking around the castle and had heard them describe the monarch as being a kind and benevolent woman.

So she had accepted the message and had returned to the castle. When she arrived her supervisor had directed her to deliver it to the queen's private sitting room. Her legs had been shaking almost uncontrollably as she had climbed the stairs and entered the wing that housed the personal rooms of the royal family. As she'd approached the door, a uniformed guard had bowed her in…and her life had changed forever.

_*****FLASHBACK*****_

She stepped over the threshold and into the queen's inner sanctum, making sure to keep her eyes lowered. No servants were allowed to make eye contact with royalty or members of the nobility until they were give leave to. As the door closed behind her, she bowed.

"Your majesty," she said softly. "I'm dreadfully sorry to disturb you, but I carry a message from Lady Isobella."

She heard the soft _clink _of a teacup being set on a saucer, and then a beautiful, bell-like voice replied gently, "Please rise, my little messenger. There is no need to stand on ceremony with me. We are alone here."

Nebula heeded the permission to be able to look upon the queen, and as her eyes rose she felt as though her breath had been taken away. She had heard the stories of how the queen was descended from the goddess Selene, but nothing could have prepared her for seeing Queen Selenity close up for the first time. She looked like a goddess herself, and she definitely didn't look like a woman who was approaching the age of ten centuries old.

Selenity rose from where she had been sitting on a settee, her silver dress shimmering around her slender, petite body. Her snow white hair flowed like rippling, living silk all the way to the floor from the traditional royal Lunarian buns and her eyes were such a bright silver that they seemed to glow under the golden crescent that marked her forehead.

Then the queen did the unimaginable. She crossed the room to the still speechless Nebula and stooped down to remove the letter from the harness she wore.

Nebula snapped back to life. "Oh, your majesty! Please forgive my rudeness in making you bend so low. Allow me to move to a higher place so that you're not crawling on the floor."

Selenity only laughed. "Sweet little Mauan! It's just a floor. Contrary to what some people think, I'm not going to shatter into a million pieces if something besides my feet touches it. Now what is your name?"

"Neb-Nebula," the rust colored feline stammered.

"What a beautiful name," the queen replied and patted her on the head as she stood once more. "Come, Nebula. You may keep me company as I see what dear Lady Isobella has in store for me today. I'm certain that I will have to pen a reply to her. Would you carry it to her for me?"

"Of course!" Nebula agreed as she followed Selenity to a dainty writing desk across the room.

Selenity sat in a chair and then patted a stool that sat beside the desk. "Now you just take a seat here so that we'll be on a more even level."

Nebula jumped up onto the seat, still in awe over the turn her day had taken. If someone had told her when she woke up this morning that she would be sitting in the queen's private chamber and actually carrying on a conversation with the lovely monarch, she would have told then that their brains must have crumbled to moon dust. But here she was.

"That's much better," Selenity said as she carefully slit open the letter that had been sent to her. "So Nebula, do you have any family?"

"Oh!" she squeaked at the unexpected question. "Um, yes, your majesty. I have a sister named Luna who is a few years younger than I am. Both of our parents have unfortunately passed on, so I'm all she has. We fled here just before our home planet was destroyed."

The queen nodded as she read. "Yes, the loss of Mau was a tragedy. I thank Selene everyday that there was enough warning so that everyone could be evacuated from the planet safely."

Nebula stayed for an hour, talking with the queen as she read her letter and then composed a reply. After that she left to deliver the message, hoping that the Lady Isobella would ask her to wait so that she could send another message back to the queen, but she was dismissed. So she returned to the castle to resume her work.

She spent the rest of the day feeling a little melancholy. She had greatly enjoyed talking with the queen, but chances were low that she would ever get to do it again. The castle employed a lot of messengers, so the probability of her being chosen for such a high-ranking assignment again any time soon was very slim.

At least that was what she thought until that night. Her shift was over and she was preparing to leave to go to the room that she shared with Luna when her supervisor tracked her down and asked her if she had done something to offend the queen.

"N-no! I didn't! At least, I don't think I did," Nebula stammered.

The gruff, yellow striped Mauan supervisor growled at her. "Well you must have done something. Her majesty just sent me word that you are to report immediately to her private suite. So you must have done something wrong to receive such a summons. You've been a good worker, kid, but your tail is in a knot this time. If her majesty fires you there is nothing I can do about it."

Nebula felt so lightheaded that she thought she was going to faint. She hadn't done anything to offend the queen, had she? She thought hard and could come up with nothing. She had been under the impression that Queen Selenity had enjoyed their chat as much as she had.

Her supervisor nudged her in the shoulder. "Well, get moving! If she is angry with you it will only get worse if you make her wait."

"Right," Nebula mumbled dazedly as she stumbled away. The next few minutes passed in a blur, and the next thing she knew she was standing in front of the doors that led to the queen's private chambers once more. Just like before, a guard opened the door and waved her inside.

Her legs were trembling so much that it was amazing that they were still supporting her body. She felt like falling out right then and there. But she had never considered herself to be cowardly, so she marched in bravely. She would face the consequences of whatever she had done to upset the queen.

The sitting room was empty this time, but within seconds of her arrival another door opened and a lady in waiting entered.

"Ah, Nebula! Her majesty is expecting you," the soft-spoken blonde woman said and motioned to her. "Follow me please."

Nebula did as she was asked and followed the woman into a magnificent bedchamber. While it was no less impressive than the rest of the castle, it was immediately apparent that this room had been decorated for comfort more than style. The color scheme was typical of the moon, white, silver, and pastels, but the few chairs scattered around were soft and cushiony looking and the bedcovers look as light and fluffy as air. Even the rugs that covered the floor looked plush enough for someone to sink their toes into.

She only had a moment to take all of this in, however, because the lady in waiting gestured toward a set of open balcony doors that were covered by gauzy silver curtains. "Queen Selenity is waiting for you on the balcony."

She gulped hard. It was time to face the music. The queen was probably planning on dropping her off the balcony for whatever transgression she had committed. At this point all she could hope for was that Luna wouldn't be punished for her crimes as well. Maybe if she begged on behalf of her sister she would be allowed to stay in the castle.

She passed through the curtains and saw the queen standing near the railing of the large balcony, looking out over the nearby village. She wore a light, pastel pink dressing gown and her pure white hair was down and was dancing lightly in the soft breeze.

Nebula had been careful to not make a sound, but the queen turned as if she had sensed her presence and smiled at her. "Oh, Nebula! I was so hoping that you had received my request. I have been looking forward to speaking with you again."

Well, that didn't sound like she intended to pitch anyone headfirst off the balcony. Nebula felt her tense muscles loosen slightly as she inclined her head respectfully. "I came as soon as I received your summons, your majesty."

Selenity waved a dismissive hand. "Oh pish-posh! I thought we had moved past being so rigid with each other. Now! I have been doing some thinking since our earlier conversation, and there is something that I wish to discuss with you."

Well, the old saying _curiosity killed the cat _had some merit. Nebula couldn't help but be intrigued. "And would that be, my queen?"

Selenity looked a little apprehensive for a moment, and then she asked, "How do you feel about children, Nebula?"

That question had sure come out of left field! "Um, ch-children," Nebula stammered. "I guess I've never really thought about it before. Why do you ask?"

Selenity walked back inside, motioning for Nebula to follow her. The queen held a silencing finger to her lips as she approached the bed and patted the foot of it to indicate that Nebula should jump up there. She did and then realized that there was a tiny lump under the fluffy covers.

Selenity pulled back the comforter to reveal a sleeping, silver haired girl of around eight. She was curled up on her side with one small hand tucked up under her chin.

"She looks so much like her father," Selenity whispered as she stroked back some of the silver strands of hair. "Nebula, this is my daughter, Serenity."

"The crown princess!" Nebula squeaked before slapping her paws over her mouth. Princess Serenity was rarely ever seen around the palace and this was the first time that Nebula had ever seen the girl in person. The young princess was usually kept busy with her studies and kept under very heavy guard when she was at home in the castle. But she also spent a considerable amount of time staying with the high royal family of Earth since she was betrothed to their crown prince, Edward.

Selenity giggled. "It's probably safe to make noise around her. I doubt a solar storm would wake her right now. She just returned from a visit to Earth today and was extremely tired. She also seemed to be quite agitated as well. It seems that Prince Edward had a friend from the solar kingdom visiting with him as well, Prince Jonathan I believe she said his name was, and it appears that Serenity and he didn't take too well to each other. But the important thing is that she's home again and I get to keep her here for a while."

Nebula was confused. "I beg your pardon, your majesty. But what does this have to do with me?"

Selenity sighed. "I'm sure you know the story of how my husband died a few years ago."

Nebula nodded. It had happened before she and Luna had relocated to the moon, but she was familiar with the tales surrounding the death of the Lunarian king during a skirmish while he was assisting the Solarian king with a bandit issue.

"Serenity has been so lonely since then," Selenity whispered. "She was too young to remember him all that well, but at least while he was here to help me run the kingdom we had more free time to spend with her. But now that I have to run everything I'm forced to leave her alone far more than I would like. That is why I permit her to spend so much time on Earth. Not only does it give her the opportunity to become better acquainted with the boy she will one day wed, but she also has friends there. But she must spend time here at home as well to attend to her studies and learn her kingdom. She does get visitors from some of the other kingdoms from time to time to break the monotony, but the other young royals she is friends with are busy learning about their own kingdoms as well. But I was talking with the queen of Venus a while back, who was facing the same predicament with her own daughter, and she had come up with a solution. I wanted to get your thoughts on it."

Nebula was floored. "Why me, my queen? I'm sure you have many other, well qualified people to consult with."

Selenity shook her head. "But it's your opinion I want, Nebula. You see, the Venusian queen has appointed a Mauan to act as a sort of companion and advisor to her daughter and it seems to be working well. I wasn't sure what I thought about the idea at first, but after speaking with you earlier I did some serious soul searching. You are bright, intelligent, and caring. And I believe that you would make an ideal companion for my Serenity."

"B-but-but!" Nebula stuttered. "Your majesty! Are actually asking me to serve your daughter?"

"Not exactly," Selenity told her. "You would be much more than a mere servant. You would be Serenity's companion and advisor. I want her to feel that she can come to you with anything if I am not available. Your status would be raised to Lady Nebula, and you would be on the same social level as any high-ranking nobleperson. You would become a member of the court, and will receive the respect due your station. Both your sister and yourself will be given rooms in this wing and you will live as members of the royal family."

Nebula's head spun. She had come here expecting to be fired, and instead was being offered the opportunity of a lifetime. It was too good to be true! But she was still slightly hesitant. "What about the princess? She may not wish to have me as her companion."

Selenity smiled. "Well let's find out, shall we?" She stroked the cheek of the sleeping girl and crooned, "Serenity, my darling, wake up. Momma has a surprise for you."

Serenity scrunched her face up and rolled over, but she didn't seem to wake.

The queen giggled and then tickled the girl's ribs. "Come on now, Serenity. You don't have to wake up for long. I just want you to meet someone. Now open your eyes for just a minute, or I will send your surprise away."

"Mooommaa," a high-pitched, muffled voice moaned. "I'm sleepy!"

"I know you are," Selenity replied humorously. "But I think you might want to see this."

"Okay! Okay!" the princess grumbled as she sat up.

Nebula's breath caught, much as it had when she had first laid eyes on the queen, as she got her first real look at Serenity. She was an absolute doll! Her tumbled silver hair framed a tiny pixie face that was dominated by a pair of striking lavender eyes. This girl would grow to be just as much of a beauty as her mother.

"Serenity," Selenity said gently. "Remember how the princess of Venus was given a companion to help keep her from being alone so much? Well I thought you might like one as well to help keep you company while I'm working." She gestured to the rust colored cat at the foot of the bed. "This is Nebula. And if you are both willing, she will become your companion."

Serenity's lavender eyes grew impossibly wider and filled with tears. "Do you mean it, momma? You mean I will have somebody to talk to besides just my tutors? I've tried talking to the maids, but they never say much and they act nervous when I speak to them."

Selenity nodded. "If Nebula wants the job, then it's hers."

Serenity bounced up onto her knees excitedly, now seeming to be wide-awake. She clasped her hands together at her chest and stared at Nebula with pleading eyes. "Oh please, Nebula! Please say that you'll be my companion! It gets soooo boring around here with no one to talk to. Please, please, please!"

Nebula found herself so enchanted by the young princess that she couldn't say no. "I would be honored to be of service to you, your highness."

Less than a second later she found herself locked in a tight hug as Serenity placed a smacking kiss on top of her head.

"This is so wonderful!" the princess squealed. "I just know that we are going to be the best of friends!"

_*****END FLASHBACK*****_

Even now, all these centuries later, that memory always made Nebula feel warm inside. She and Serenity had become inseparable after that night. She had overseen the princess's studies and watched her grow from an exuberant child into a graceful young woman. She had stood by her when her engagement to Edward had been broken and when she found love with Jonathan. She had stayed strong and helped her through her years of training with the Galactic Trinity. She had been by her princess's side the day she wed her sun prince and ascended to the throne of the moon kingdom. She had then helped her queen draft the Silver Alliance, which formed the Silver Millennium and united the galaxy. When Queen Serenity had been writhing on her bed during the agony of childbirth and screaming that she was going to die, Nebula's voice had had just as much of a calming effect on her as the king's had. And during the dark days that had followed Jonathan's death she had been the only person that Serenity had shown her tears to. Night after night, for months, Nebula had curled up in the bed with her queen and had allowed her to weep her grief into her fur.

Through thick and thin, she had been there for Serenity. Right up until the very last day when her beloved queen had put her into a suspended state and had sent her to the future to watch over her granddaughter, she had remained firmly by her side. There had only been one time that she had broken down and had depended on Serenity for support. And that had been the night that Orion had left her. For once she had cried in her mistress's arms and had allowed her to comfort her.

"You can stop pretending that you are still asleep, old friend. I know you're awake," a soft voice said as gentle fingers stroked her fur.

Nebula blinked her eyes open to find herself lying on the bed in Jess and Andrew's room in the Elysian palace with her former queen sitting next to her. "You know me too well, Ren."

Serenity giggled. "Of course I do. I spent almost everyday of my entire life with you, Bula. You don't spend that much time with someone and not get to know them as well as you know yourself." Then she sobered. "How do you feel? You had me worried there for a little bit."

"Mad enough to spit nails now that the shock is wearing off!" Nebula hissed as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "I can't believe that good for nothing tomcat had the nerve to show up here the way he did after all this time! I have half a mind to claw those damn gray eyes right out of his skull!"

"Ooo! Someone has turned bloodthirsty over the years. Has living with my granddaughter rubbed off on you," Serenity teased.

"Please!" Nebula scoffed. "I have been accused of having a sharp tongue in the past, but even I can't hold a candle to Jess when she gets a bee up her butt. That girl has the wickedest temper I've ever seen on a person and she's not afraid to voice how she feels. It's amazing that I have survived as long as I have with her. And how Aurora has handled her since birth is beyond me."

Serenity snickered gleefully. "She is a bit of a firecracker, isn't she? And I'm so proud of the woman she has grown to be. You did a wonderful job with her, Bula. I always knew that you would though. That was why I knew I couldn't trust her training to anyone but you. And even though she's grown you are still guiding and teaching her, the same way you did for me. But Melody is not my main concern at the moment. You are."

"I'm fine," Nebula insisted as she jumped down from the bed and stretched. "There is no need for you to worry yourself about me. I admit that I was thrown off balance for a moment, but I'm all right."

"Luna's here," Serenity informed her. "She and Melody both sat with you for a while until I sent them on their way. Melody was almost faint from hunger and Artemis needed a bit of consoling after being confronted with the brother that he had believed to be dead for so long."

"Hmm…" Nebula hummed as she jumped up onto a window seat to look out at the bright, typically sunny, Elysian morning. That was one thing you could always count on here, the weather was always perfect.

Her eyes narrowed, however, when she saw the large number of people that were scattered across the emerald grass of the palace lawns. "There seem to be a lot more people here than there was earlier."

Serenity joined her at the window and looked out with a grin. "It has snowballed into quite a circus, hasn't it? When Pluto went earlier to fetch Luna and Artemis, all of the inner scouts and the generals were present. And when they learned that the Trinity bearers had evolved they insisted on coming here as well. Pluto didn't want the outer scouts to feel left out, so she invited them as well. Then Jon and Ed decided to share their fighting wisdom and impromptu sparring matches broke out everywhere."

A growl rumbled in Nebula's throat as she saw Orion right in the thick of things. The gray feline ran over toward DJ, Katie, and Alex and leapt up to land on the blonde haired girl's shoulder. She could see him speaking into her ear and saw Katie smile and nod at whatever he said.

"What does he think he's doing with _my _Trinity bearers?" she hissed. "_I _have been helping them prepare for the upcoming battle, and I _don't _need him interfering in my work!"

"Bula," Serenity sighed. "I had a nice, long talk with Orion earlier. I was furious on your behalf and I raked him over the coals for all of the pain he caused you."

Nebula looked up at her former mistress and arched a brow at her. "Uh oh! I sense a _'But' _about to come into this conversation. Don't tell me that smooth talking devil got to you! Argh! Ren! How could you? You know how he is! He could literally charm a cobra!"

Serenity shrugged. "I will admit that he has a certain…gift of gab, but you also know that I am not a woman that is easily swayed. Of course, what I said to him was fairly mild compared to the verbal abuse Melody heaped on him when she found out a bit of your back-story. I'm sure his ears are still ringing from it. Thank goodness Motoki was able to help bring her under control or Orion would probably be a fireplace rug by now."

"Would have served him right!" Nebula grumbled. "Andrew should have let Jess tear into him. I don't normally condone her temper tantrums, but this time I would have supported her, as long as she me a little piece of his hide to tear into myself."

"Bula," Serenity replied in her most calming voice. "I know he hurt you. Remember, I was there to witness the aftermath of his leaving. My heart wept for you then and continued to weep for you even after I entered the afterlife. I harbored harsh feelings for Orion too for daring to break your heart in such a way, but after speaking with him I have come to understand why he did what he did."

"There is no excuse for what he did!" Nebula spat. "You don't profess your love to someone and then run away and leave them standing there, not knowing if they are ever going to see you again. It's just too cruel!"

Serenity shook her head. "He did it for you. He did love you deeply and wanted to stay with you, but he knew that the wanderlust in him was strong and he was afraid that one day it would rear its head once more and he would be forced to hurt you even worse. So he left that day to test himself and see where his heart truly lay. If he found that his need to travel outweighed his love for you, then he would have left you alone to live your life without the constant upheaval of him coming and going. But he made a discovery on his trip. He found out that being by your side was where he wanted to be most of all. He was on a small planet right outside our solar system when he had this revelation and was preparing to return and beg your forgiveness when he heard that the moon had been attacked. He rushed back, hoping to find you alive, and that was where Selene found him."

Nebula blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes and looked out the window once more to hide them. "What does the goddess have to do with this?"

"She told him everything that happened," Serenity answered. "She also told him that you and Artemis weren't dead and had been sent to the future to help my family and friends. It gave him hope that he would see you again someday. And then Selene offered him a deal to serve as the sentry guardian of the Trinity swords. She promised him that if he did he would be able to find his way back to you and his brother when they were reclaimed. And today that promise came true."

"That's sounds very noble and all, but it doesn't make up for the past," Nebula grumbled. Then she growled as she saw Katie, who was wielding Selene's silver sword, tilt back her head and laugh at something Orion was saying to her. "And if he thinks that he can just come waltzing in here and take over my job just because he's been sitting his furry butt on those swords all of these centuries, then he's got another thing coming!"

She jumped down from the window seat and streaked from the room in an orange blur.

Serenity bit her lip for a moment in worry before she began to giggle. "Oh my! It looks like things might be about to get a little…furry."

* * *

"Like this, Rion?" Katie asked as she held the sword in front of her. Sparkling silver energy danced up and down the blade like a living thing.

"Exactly," Orion said approvingly, feeling a little flushed at the offhand nickname Katie had given him. There was something about this girl that had made him feel connected to her the moment he had laid eyes on her. "Now you have two ways that you can release that energy. If you swing the sword it will release an arc of energy, which is good it you need to take out several enemies at once. But that attack will drain your energy faster. If you are just facing one attacker it would be best to shoot it with an energy blast from your hand or you can point the sword and concentrate its energy into a single beam. Remember, conserving as much energy as possible is the key here."

She nodded. "Right. I get what you're saying." Then she focused on reversing the flow of energy into the sword, slowly pulling it back into the bracelet on her wrist. She was dying to try out popping off a shot from the sword, but there were way too many people around at the moment to take the chance. She would die if she accidentally hurt someone.

She sheathed the sword and then looked around with a grin at all of the people scattered around. Since all of the scouts and generals had arrived Elysian was starting to feel a lot like the picnics they had back home. Some people were sparring while others just sat around talking.

Swords clashed loudly as the generals, Darien, and Andrew took advantage of the opportunity to brush up on their sword skills while the inner scouts and Serena cheered them on from the sidelines. She was used to seeing the generals in their gray uniforms, but when Darien had transformed into a full set of gleaming black and silver armor it had blown her mind. Now she was constantly being bombarded with images of what DJ would look like dressed like a fairytale prince. He was almost Darien's mirror image after all. It was a very yummy thought indeed. No wonder Serenity had fallen so hard for Endymion during the Silver Millennium.

That wasn't to say that her own future father was any less dashing in his full power form with his shining bronze armor and long sweeping cape. Andrew was just as handsome as Darien, just in a totally opposite way. Her mom always claimed that her dad was a major hottie, and she had to agree.

Thinking of her mother had her searching through the crowd, but there was no sign of Jess. She and Trista had been talking under a nearby tree just a little while ago, but they had both disappeared again, making her wonder what in the world they were up to. Now Michelle and Hotaru were sitting in the shade of the tree while Uranus was a short distance away sparring with Sailor Callisto. Jayden and Hannah were acting as cheerleaders for that match as they encouraged Skye to take down the older, more experienced scout.

DJ and Alex had paired off with Edward and Jonathan as the two former kings worked with their successors on learning the secrets of their new swords the same way that Orion had been helping her. Serenity had promised to come back and spend some time with her as well as soon as Nebula woke up. But she kind of hoped that it would be a while before Nebula decided to rejoin the land of the living. Tensions were already running high between Orion, Artemis, and Luna as it was, and adding Nebula to the mix would probably induce mad chaos. Thankfully Rini and Emma had taken Luna and Artemis with them down to the lake, so all was quiet at the moment.

She spotted Althea and Aurora sitting under another shade tree near where DJ, Alex, Edward, and Jonathan were and she headed for them. She wanted to get out of the heat of the sun and sit down for a moment.

Aurora looked up with a smile and patted the spot next to her. "Hey, sweetie! Why don't you come take a load off for a minute. You look tired."

"I am a little tired," Katie sighed as she sat down, transferring Orion from her shoulder to her lap. Then she leaned her head against Aurora's shoulder. "I guess this is what I get for staying up most of the night."

"Poor baby," Aurora cooed as she stroked back some of the slightly damp strands of light blonde hair that had come loose from Katie's ponytail. "You've been working so hard. But it's paying off. Soon you will be ready to go home again. And once you have finally rid the world of Discord you can move on with your life. You can play your music, get married, and have some babies. I could get used to the pitter patter of little feet running around again."

Katie jerked her head up, her face bright red in embarrassment. "Dawn! I'm only sixteen for crying out loud! I haven't even graduated high school yet or gone to college!"

Aurora patted her burning cheek. "I know that, sweetie. I didn't mean right away. But I don't think I'm too far off the mark to say that you and a certain dark haired prince will be tying the knot one day. Anybody with eyes can see how much you two love each other."

Althea sniffed daintily. "I say, why wait? I got married at sixteen and had Endymion not long after I turned seventeen. Serenity waited a tad bit longer, but she was a mother herself at twenty. And let's not forget that Endymion and Serenity were only sixteen and nineteen themselves when Melody was born."

"That may have been fine during the Silver Millennium, but times have changed," Katie grumbled as she looked up through her fringe of bangs to where DJ was standing next to Edward with a glowing golden sword in his hand. She knew that she wanted to marry him someday, but children…she'd never thought that far ahead. She couldn't even imagine herself as a mother. She'd probably be bad at it anyway.

'_Note to self. Make sure to get birth control booster shot on time,' _she thought to herself. Marriage to DJ was definitely on her list of things she wanted to do in her life, but she had other things on that list she wanted to accomplish before she even entertained any thoughts that traveled down the road to parenthood.

"So, any idea where Jess went?" she chirped, desperate to change the subject.

Aurora's expression turned a little apprehensive. "I'm not exactly sure. There's no telling with that girl. She's always fluttering off and doing her own thing. I'm sure she'll be back soon though, so there's nothing to worry about."

Katie grew suspicious. Aurora was speaking way too fast and smiling just a little too brightly. Something was going on.

"What…?" she began to ask, but cut off her question as a vicious, angry snarl interrupted her.

"_O…ri…on!"_

"I'm dead!" Orion groaned.

Katie's head snapped up just as a furiously spitting ball of orange fur launched itself at her and Orion. A ball of orange fur that was fully armed with sharp, extended claws and gleaming, gnashing teeth.

Her mind went blank. She could have used her powers to put up a shield around herself and Orion, but all she could see was a deranged looking Nebula sailing through the air toward them. The cat was even foaming at the mouth. Had she finally lost it, or had she contracted rabies?

Katie jerked out of her stupor at the last possible millisecond and did the first thing that popped into her mind. She clenched her eyes shut and screamed as she waited to be shish kabobbed by Nebula's claws. Well at least DJ or Darien would be able to put her back together again, if there was enough left of her when this was all over. But this was going to hurt.

But the pain never came. She heard a loud snapping sound and then light flashed behind her eyelids. After a few seconds she hesitantly opened her eyes to find a wall of blue energy that crackled with silver and gold in front of her and Nebula lying on the ground on the other side.

Katie looked around anxiously. There was only one person that she knew of that could pull off that move, and that was her mother. Nobody, not even the Jess of this time, put off an energy signature like that. She hadn't mastered control of her crystal well enough yet to do that. That could only mean that, somehow, through some fluke, her mother was there.

"Momma," she murmured, looking around hopefully until she finally spotted Jess standing several yards away from her. She was definitely the younger version of her mother, but the glowing blue eyes and the moon and rose symbol shining on her forehead were so reminiscent of the mother she knew that it was creepy.

"Okay! Now I'm definitely freaking out," she muttered to herself.

She wasn't the only one. Her scream and Jess's unexpected appearance had brought everyone running to see what was going on, but they all maintained what they hoped was a safe distance when they took in Jess's agitated state. Even Andrew fell back a few steps when his fiancée gave him a quick glance with her glowing eyes and shook her head sharply.

Aurora scrambled up from her seat and cautiously approached Jess. "Jessie, honey. Why don't you power down now before something happens."

Jess was panting slightly, but the energy wall stayed intact as she gritted out through her teeth, "Don't worry, Dawn. I've got this under control. Nothing's going to blow up."

Nebula roused herself and stumbled to a standing position before turning angry amber eyes on her charge. "Well I never! When I agreed to help you in your suicidal scheme to see how far you could delve into the powers of the Celestial Crystal without causing the apocalypse I never expected you to use your newfound abilities against me, Jessica!"

"Well I never expected to have to use them because you decided to go Psycho-Kitty either!" Jess shot back. "Geez, Bula! You almost attacked my daughter!"

Nebula raised her chin imperiously. "I wasn't aiming for her. I was aiming for _him_!" She speared Orion with a hot glare.

"I…don't…care!" Jess forced out with a little effort. "If you and lover boy there have a problem, then take it somewhere else." The leaves in the trees rustled even though there was no breeze. "Now I'm going to drop this wall, and when I do you better behave."

"Hmph!" Nebula huffed. "And since when did you become so bossy?"

Surprisingly, Jess smiled. "Consider it payback for all of the times you jumped on me for my temper tantrums. Now the shoe is on the other foot." Her eyes stopped glowing and the symbol faded from her brow as the wall vanished.

Nebula shot Orion one last scathing look before hissing, "I'm not through with you yet!" and stomping off, her tail still bushy and sticking straight up.

Katie let out a shaky giggle as she tightened her arms around Orion and scrambled to her feet. "I guess we dodged the bullet this time, huh Rion?" She hurried over to where DJ and Alex were and leaned over to whisper in her brother's ear, "This is so freaky! There for a second I thought mom was here."

Alex nodded quickly. "Yeah, me too. I didn't know that Jess was this strong already. I've never seen her at this level any of the times that we've been in a fight."

Evidently they weren't the only ones that were thinking the same thing, because Serena marched right up to Jess and demanded, "And just what the hell was that? I've seen you fry light bulbs if someone even looks at you funny. What is going on?"

Jess tried to look contrite, but she couldn't stop the sheepish grin that played around her lips. "I guess my secret is out now. After I started having those wacky dreams about the future I went to Nebula and asked her if she would help me learn how to tap into my powers more. I wanted to find out how far I could push my limits without going overboard, so I've been coming here at night while I sleep and practicing. There have been some close calls, but I think I've found a pretty neutral ground."

Andrew chuckled. "So I guess that explains why you have been spending more time in bed lately instead of being up and down all night. You've been escaping here."

She nodded. "Yeah. I figured it was time to bite the bullet. I mean, what's the use of having a powerful crystal if I'm too afraid to use its power? I know I'll never be able unleash all of it without sacrificing the world, but I figured that I owe it to myself and everyone else to find out what I'm truly capable of."

"Jess, sweetie," Serena sighed. "I've told you before, nobody expects you to be more than who you are. You don't have to prove anything to us. I think it's great that you want to learn your powers, but we sure don't want you putting yourself at risk to do it."

"Serena's right," Darien agreed as he joined them. "Besides, why do you have this sudden urge to delve into the mysteries of your crystal? You were already a formidable fighter with enough of a punch to strike fear into the heart of anyone that crossed you."

Jess shook her head. "It wasn't enough. It was nowhere near enough." She looked to where Trista had come up behind the others and drew courage from the time guardian's small nod of encouragement.

She sucked in a deep breath before saying out loud. "I had to do it. Because when the final battle with Discord happens I will be right there in Crystal Tokyo to watch it happen. That's what my dreams have been telling me. I have to go to the future."

* * *

**A/N **And so we draw a few steps closer to the end. DJ, Katie, and Alex have the swords and are gearing up to fight. It seems that Jess has been doing some secret training of her own and it's paying off big time. She's figured out what her dreams mean and she's made her decision. Now what will the others decide? And let's not forget the two fuzzy stars of this chapter, Nebula and Orion. The fur may fly yet between those two. I'll probably be wrapping up the whole Elysian visit in the next chapter and moving our characters back into the real world. Then the countdown to the end will really begin. So now is the part where I humbly beg for your reviews. Please, please, please let me know what you think by leaving me a review! (Big puppy dog eyes) I depend on you guys to keep my stories alive! Catch ya next update! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	35. Important Update

Hi everyone! I know most of you have clicked on this hoping that this would be an update for this story, but unfortunately it is not. First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Sara and I am Christi's (Sere-chan's) cousin and occasional partner in crime. Some of you may know me better as Mina-chan from some of Sere's author's notes in the past. Anyway, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but my cuz wanted me to dash off a quick note to let all of her readers know why none of her stories have been updated in a while. Last week she was involved in a pretty major car accident. She's doing okay now and she's resting comfortably at home after having to spend a few days in the hospital, but she's understandably not feeling up to par and has a couple of bad injuries that have really slowed her down, the worst one, in her opinion, being that her right arm is in a cast that makes it almost impossible for her to type. But she wants me to let everybody know that she is okay and the story ideas are still flowing through her head. She also wants me to reassure you all that the stories she has in progress will be finished. In fact, she has given me her precious flash drive with the rough copies of what she has written, and with her help I am going to try to get the chapters ready for posting. Pretty much, I'll be doing all of the finger work while she dictates what she wants and she will have final say over editing and whether or not a chapter is ready, so she's still the boss. There is also a Halloween story that she has been trying to get together that we hope to be able to post some time this month.

So we're hoping that everyone can please be patient for just a little while longer while we work together to update these stories and we hope to continue GT, Bad Boys, and Rekindled very soon. Sere says to send out lots of love and hugs as always, and that she will be back in full control as quickly as she possibly can. Thanks for reading! Later!

Sere-chan (Christi) and Mina-chan (Sara)


	36. Final Preparations

**A/N **Hey guys! Well, I'm still slowly making a comeback from my little accident. The good news is that I'm no longer doped up on pain meds so I can think clearly again, the bad news is that I'm still stuck with this bulky cast on my arm, and that makes typing a real pain in the ass. So forgive me for keeping this note short. I know I usually hand out individual hugs to everybody, and I would love to give one to every single person that reviewed the last chapter and has sent me get well wishes, but it would probably take me five hours to type up that list with just my left hand. So I'm sending out about a thousands hugs, and I hope all of you except them as a show of my gratitude to you all. You guys are the absolute best.

I also want to give a huge thank you to Mina-chan. Without her taking the time out of her busy schedule to help me it would have probably taken me weeks to get this chapter ready. But she stuck by me, even through all of my OCD-ness when it comes to wording and editing, and because of that this story is ready to continue. I love you, Mina-chan! Now on with the show.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 33

Final Preparations

* * *

Tears welled brightly in the hazel eyes of the teenage girl that was sitting on the bottom step of the grand staircase of the Elysian palace. Her pale blonde hair fell over her face as she bowed her head to nuzzle the dark gray cat that was sitting on her lap.

Orion purred and rubbed his head gently against her cheek. "Everything will work out, Katie," he said softly.

Next to Katie, Alex sat ramrod stiff. His sapphire eyes blazed like the dark blue flame at the center of a candle as he glared at the closed door of one of the palace's many parlors. "They're both being idiots!" he growled.

Right on cue, raised voices came from the closed room.

"For crying out loud, Drew! I don't see why you're taking this so badly!"

There was a muffled snort. "Are you blind? Of course I'm taking it badly! You just calmly announced that you intend to travel to the future where the evil entity that wants you dead more than anything in the universe just happens to be. You may as well tie a ribbon around yourself like a Christmas gift and walk right up to him!"

"Now you're just being a drama king!"

"No I'm not! I'm just trying to keep you alive!"

"Andrew's letting her build her steam up," DJ muttered with a shake of his head as he joined the twins. He sat down next to Katie and wrapped an arm around her. "You'd think he'd know by now to cut her off early before her temper snaps."

"DJ," Serena chided from where she sat in a nearby chair, trying to pretend that she wasn't listening in on the argument as well. "It's not our place to get involved in Jess and Drew's disagreement."

"Yeah right," he snickered as he looked around at the quiet crowd that was assembled in the palace foyer. "That's why everyone is hanging around eavesdropping."

Serena's cheeks flushed a bit. "I just want to make sure that things don't get too intense between them. We all know how hot Jess's temper is, but it takes a lot for Drew to get this angry. And when he does get mad he can be as scary as she is. People can do impulsive and stupid things when they lose their temper, and I don't want either of them to hurt the other in a moment of stupidity."

"Hmph!" Rini huffed and rolled her eyes as she slid down the wall she was leaning against to sit on the floor near Serena. "You act like you expect the two of them to tear into each other or something. I know they can both be hot headed, but I seriously doubt that they are going to start swinging punches at each other."

"Of course not!" Serena agreed quickly. "But they both have a tendency to speak before they think when they get mad, and those tongues can be razor sharp. I would hate for either one of them to unintentionally hurt the other one's feelings."

Darien chuckled as he entered the foyer with a steaming cup of tea that Serena had asked for. "You can't protect everyone from everything, love. Even couples that are as crazy about each other as Jess and Drew are will have their share of arguments. And there is nothing you can do about that. Hell, even we aren't immune to that. You know I love you more than life itself, but that has never stopped us from fighting."

Serena smiled and took the cup carefully from him and set it on the table next to her. "Okay, so we have a history of bickering, and you were really mean to me when we first met, but we've come a long way since then."

"Yeah, now you two only get into it about once a week instead of three times a day," Mina drawled from where she was draped sideways across a chair with her legs dangling over the arm. "At least now when my phone rings I only have about a five percent chance of it being Serena screeching about how much of a jerk you are, Darien."

"Thanks a lot, Mina!" Serena hissed with a glare. "Need I remind you of the times that you've called me up in tears because Kunzite had to delay or postpone something that you two had planned because something came up with his work?"

The self-proclaimed love goddess waved a casual hand. "Nope! I remember each and every incident quite well, thank you. And trust me, I made him pay every time he bailed on me." Her china blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "Besides, make up sex is the best."

"Oh my god! I think I'm going to hurl!" Emma sputtered as she stood up from where she had been sitting next to Alex. "Could you please try to keep your hormones in check when I'm around, Mina, and remember who I am? That is way more information than I ever wanted to know about you and dad!"

Mina yawned boredly. "Are you sure you're my daughter? Honestly! Sometimes you act like you don't have a drop of Venusian heritage in you. Sometimes I think you take more after your father than you do me."

Emma's silvery gray eyes flared in disbelief. "That's not such a bad thing! At least dad knows when to keep his damn mouth shut instead of blurting out the first perverted thing that pops into his head!"

Katie giggled and raised her face from Orion's fur with a silly grin. "Oh really? Need I remind you of some of the things that you've told me that I could have gone without hearing? That's the pot calling the kettle black!"

"Don't compare me to her!" Emma almost shrieked as she lifted her nose imperiously.

Mina burst into laughter, almost falling out of her chair. "Oh ho! So the truth comes out! You can try to act prudish, but you are affected by Aphrodite's bloodline just as much as I am."

Lita, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to her, reached up and yanked on her friend's long, golden hair. "Give the poor girl a break, Mina! After all, she does have a point. You do run your mouth entirely too much."

"Amen!" Raye agreed wearily. "You have no idea how many times I've wished that there was some kind of a magic spell or something that would strike you mute, Mina."

Mina stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired priestess and then scrunched her face up into a pout, but she didn't bother saying a word in her defense. She figured the others would just pick on her again if she did.

A soft laugh came from where Queen Serenity was seated on a settee with her husband at her side. She laid her silver head against his broad shoulder and sighed, "Oh, Jon! Doesn't this just remind you of the good old days?"

The golden haired king snorted. "Oh, yes! My ears still ring to this day from the sounds of the squeals and screams of five rambunctious little girls. Sometimes I think it's a miracle that I survived as long as I did."

"Papa!" Serena exclaimed in a shocked tone. "We weren't that bad!"

"Ha!" Nebula barked from Serenity's lap. "Keep telling yourself that, missy! There for a few years we had a constant turnover rate with the castle servants because it was almost impossible to find people willing to work in a place where they had to deal with cleaning up after you girls."

Luna snickered from her spot on Serena's lap as she uncurled herself and stretched. "I still well remember the day that every single groundskeeper walked off the job after someone froze the fountain in the garden and burst the pipes."

All eyes turned toward the silent, blue haired girl on the window seat.

Amy's large blue eyes blinked innocently as she looked up from the book she was reading. "What? I didn't mean to do it. I was young and still learning how to use my powers. And I would have fixed it…if I could have figured out how to do it. I thought it would melt and everything would be fine. Unfortunately I didn't foresee that the burst pipes would flood the garden."

Peals of laughter burst from Mina as she sat up properly, squishing poor, brooding Artemis in the process. She batted her lashes playfully. "Why Amy, dear! I thought you were supposed to be a genius. I can't imagine you letting something that simple get by you."

Amy's gaze was as cool as frost. "I was seven years old, Mina. At least I wasn't running around telling everyone who they should or should not be with. It was no wonder people used to hurry away when they saw you coming."

Mina actually looked angry as she growled, "Why you…!"

"If you two are going to have a bitch session then take it somewhere else," Katie snapped at them. "There's enough arguing going on around here right now, and I can't hear what's going on in that room with all of this clucking! This is worse than being on a chicken farm!"

"Ooo, somebody's feeling cranky," Lita drawled sardonically.

Katie rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the closed door. But Jess and Andrew's voices had dropped in volume so that she couldn't hear much more than muffled sounds. "I wish super-hearing was a perk of this whole Trinity thing," she grumbled.

"Tell me about it," Alex seconded. "Of course, I don't know what we could do to break them up even if they start really getting into it. None of our usual blackmail tactics will work on them because they haven't done the things that we can blackmail them for yet."

"It's gotten quiet in there," Rini noted. "Knowing those two, they've probably made up by now and are in there making out."

Normally the twins would react in horror to any implication that the people that would one day become their parents were enjoying a little touchy-feely time, but instead they simply wrinkled their noses in identical gestures and muttered, "Ew!" together.

But DJ sensed the tension in them and glared at his sister. "Now is not the time for jokes like that, Rini."

She folded her arms and returned his glare with one of her own. "Whatever! I was just trying to lighten the mood. God! I can't wait for Helios to get back here. Hanging around you people is a major drag."

"Did I hear someone mention my name?" Helios chuckled as he stepped through the front door. "I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

"It sure felt like it!" Rini grumbled. "Being around this gloomy bunch makes every minute seem like a year."

Darien tugged on one of her pink pigtails and grinned. "Hey! We're not being gloomy. You're just being moody." Then he turned to face the dream priest. "I take it everything is calm."

Helios inclined his head. "As much as can be expected, your highness. I delivered Ladies Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn safely back to their home. They also made me promise to tell you that they are ready to join you at a moment's notice if you need them. All you have to do is summon them."

Serena laughed softly and shook her head. "I never doubted them for a second. What about the others?"

Helios returned her smile. "The generals are still enjoying a round of sparring, and Jayden and Hannah have joined them. King Edward and Queen Althea are taking a stroll around the lake. And Lady Pluto and Skye are attending to our surprise visitors."

"Hmm…" Serena mused. "I guess that's for the best."

In the aftermath that had followed Jess's unexpected display of power, she and Pluto had revealed that they had both disappeared in order to bring a couple of guests into Elysian. Jess had gone to get Talon, while Pluto had traveled to Crystal Tokyo in order to bring Kyrian back with her. None of them had pieced together the reason for the two sorcerers to be there yet, since Jess and Andrew had almost immediately begun arguing after that, but they figured that there must be a point to them being there.

Skye definitely hadn't been opposed to Kyrian's presence, much to everyone's surprise. She had taken one look at her secret love and had grabbed him by the arm to drag him away from everyone to presumably some remote place where they could talk privately.

Katie shot a quick look at Emma and grinned when her golden haired friend winked slyly at her. Skye had been bordering on what appeared to be depression the last few days since Kyrian had returned to Crystal Tokyo. Perhaps by now she had finally come to terms with her feelings for the tall, dark haired sorcerer and was ready to commit to a relationship with him. The two blondes sincerely hoped so. They knew that their auburn haired friend was crazy in love with Kyrian, and they wanted them to be happy together.

The smile slid from Katie's face as the angry voices behind the door began rising again.

"You're crazy as hell for even thinking about doing this, Jess!"

"I'm not crazy! I'm perfectly sane, thank you very much! And I would think that you, more than anyone, would understand the reason why I want to do this."

"You're not going!"

"Excuse me!"

"You heard me! You're not going!"

"Why you pompous, stuck up, son of a bitch! Just who the hell do you think you are? You can't tell me what I can and can't do! You're not my father!"

"No, but I am your fiancé!"

"Who gives a shit? That doesn't give you the right to order me around! In case you haven't noticed, I happen to be a grown woman and I don't need a man to take care of me!"

"You tell him, girl," Lita cheered softly.

Then Andrew's voice yelled loudly, "Well you sure as hell could have fooled me, _princess_!"

Raye shook her head. "Ooo, those are fighting words there! For the twins' sake I hope Andrew is wearing an athletic cup, because Jess just might decide to go for the family jewels after that."

Darien, DJ, Alex, Helios, and Jonathan all shuddered at the ominous imagery those words invoked.

But the room behind the door fell deathly silent after that. There were no screams, howls of pain, or crashes to indicate that the fight had escalated. In fact, the assembled group would have believed that the room was empty if they didn't know for a fact that Jess and Andrew were in there. But the heavy weight of anticipation pressed down on all of them as they waited to hear what would happen next. And the lack of noise was definitely more nerve racking than the yelling had been.

Everyone jumped when the parlor door opened quietly and Jess walked out. Her face was flushed and tears shimmered in her eyes, but her cheeks were dry and her expression was calm as she simply walked by everybody like they weren't even there and slipped out the front door.

Katie stared at the closed door in shock for a moment before she set Orion to the side and scrambled to her feet. She rushed to the parlor and froze a few steps inside the doorway.

"Daddy?" she said in a softly hesitant voice when she saw Andrew. He was sitting on the edge of one of the sofas, hunched over with his elbows on his knees and his head bowed so that his fingers could bury themselves in his sandy hair.

His head rose at the sound of her quiet voice and he smiled sadly at her. "No matter what I do, I can't keep your mother completely at my side. She's always one step ahead of me no matter how hard I try. But her fire and spirit are just two of the many things that make me love her so much."

Tears burned in her eyes as she flew across the room to sit next to him and hug him tightly. "Oh, daddy! I know you love mom, and I'm sure she knows it too. You are just trying to protect her so that she doesn't get hurt."

A reluctant chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Yeah, but I'm wasting my time trying to do that. I should know by now that she's going to do what she wants."

"Is everything okay in here?" Serena asked as she and Darien appeared in the doorway.

Andrew heaved a sigh that sounded as if it came from his toes. "Yeah, everything's fine. Or at least it will be once Jess and I both cool off. I know better than to let her get under my skin like that anyway. In the two years that we've been together I can count on one hand the number of arguments that I have actually won against her, so I shouldn't have even wasted my breath trying. She's going to do what she wants to do, and there's nothing I can do about that."

"Yeah, she can be pretty stubborn once she's set her mind to something," Serena giggled softly.

"Stubborn!" Katie snorted. "That's putting it lightly. She's completely bull-headed! I know I've never won an argument against her. Alex has been able to soften her up enough to get her to bend a couple of times, which is totally unfair considering that she has always told us that she loves us equally. But I guess even she's not completely immune to that innocent puppy look of his."

"It's the eyes," Serena and Andrew said together, and then they began to laugh.

"They do seem to have a power all of their own, don't they?" Andrew chuckled.

Serena waved a casual hand behind her toward Darien. "He's the worst. I think he is definitely the master manipulator when it comes to giving those looks. I've lost count of how many times I've fallen victim to them over the years."

Darien sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you two talking about?"

Serena turned to him and patted him on the cheek. "Nothing, honey. Drew and I were just admiring the hypnotic quality of sapphire blue eyes."

He rolled his deep ocean orbs. "Yeah right! If my eyes are so hypnotic, then why am I still constantly picking your clothes up off the bedroom floor after I've asked you a hundred times to please either hang them back up or put them in the hamper? And besides, you do a fairly good job of giving puppy dog eyes yourself."

"Tell me about it," Katie muttered. Then she flushed dark red when the three adults turned to look at her questioningly and stuttered, "I…It's just that DJ has Serena's eyes, and he definitely knows how to pull off the sad puppy look."

Biting her lip to hold back a knowing smile, Serena faced Darien once more before poking him in the chest with a finger. "I don't know why you complain about my clothes anyway. Nine times out of ten it's your fault that they end up on the floor anyway because you have a hard time keeping your hands to yourself."

Katie squeaked in mortification at the implication and slapped her hands tightly over her ears as her blush went from brick red to the dark purple of a plum.

"Okay! Time for a change of subject!" Andrew interjected quickly. "What do you two think about this whole going to the future thing? Are you going to go too?"

Serena's tiny white teeth gnawed on her bottom lip uncertainly as she glanced up at Darien with an expression that clearly stated that she had made up her mind, but she was worried about how he would take it.

"Well," she hedged carefully. "I've been thinking about that. It seems really strange to me that Trista would offer to let all of us go to the future to help protect Crystal Tokyo, but at the same time it tells me how serious the situation there may become since she's willing to take such a drastic step. She's even gone to Chronos and Zeus and gotten permission for this. They even told her that no one that goes will suffer any ill effects from there being two of themselves in the same time. So a big part of me is really saying that I should go."

"I'm going," Darien stated firmly.

Serena's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Wow! That's a pretty quick decision for you. You usually take your time to study and analyze everything carefully before you decide on something, especially about something this big."

He shrugged. "Like you said, Trista has gone through a lot of trouble to work things out so that we can go. I figure that she wouldn't have gone through the hassle if she didn't think it was pretty important for us to be there."

Serena nodded, but a small frown turned her lips down. "That's true. But honey, what about your little problem? I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to go."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What little problem?"

She sighed in exasperation. "I'm talking about the tiny little fact that you detest your future self. If you go you're going to have to work with him. And the last I heard you said that you wanted to rip his spine out and shove it down his throat."

Katie made a choked sound of surprise. "That's just silly! How can anyone hate a person that is themself? Besides, my Uncle Darien is a great guy. There's no reason for anyone to hate him."

Darien ran a hand through his hair. "Serena, you're taking things that I said out of context. And anyway, it was years ago when I said that and I was still pissed about that nasty little trick he played on us. But I've had time to think about it, and now I can even understand why he did what he did and why I'll do the same thing when the time comes. I've gotten over being angry with him, and I'm sure that I will be able to work with him just fine. Keeping Crystal Tokyo safe is much more important than holding an old grudge."

"I guess that means we're going then," Serena replied as she reached up and gently untangled his fingers from the silky black strands.

"Okay! That's enough weirdness for me," Katie drawled as she got up from the sofa. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about, and I don't want to know. I think I'll just grab the guys and go practice some more. I'll catch you later!" She fled the room, calling out her boyfriend and brother's names as she went.

Andrew shook his head fondly as he watched her go. Then he heaved a deep sigh. "I guess it isn't rocket science to figure this out. You guys say that you're going. And if Jess is so determined to go, then I will too. Someone has to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't overdo things, and I seriously doubt that my future self would be able to handle two of them at the same time without losing his mind. So it's probably best that I go and save my future sanity. But what about everybody else?"

Serena shrugged. "I don't know. No one else has really said anything about it, so we'll just have to wait and see what they decide. The choice is theirs to make. I won't order anybody to take part in this fight."

Darien chuckled. "I'd be surprised if anyone stayed behind. They all have just as much vested in the future as we do. Even if we decided to stay here, I have a feeling that they would go anyway."

"You're probably right," Serena agreed grudgingly. "We really do have a stubborn group of friends, don't we?"

* * *

Skye stomped through the outdoor entrance into the training room, dragging Kyrian behind her. She slammed the door after them and then pushed him, slightly forcefully, against it. "Okay, start talking! What are you doing here?"

His lips turned up in a smirk. "What? No hello kiss? Haven't you missed me?"

Her slate blue eyes rolled. "It's only been a few days since the last time I saw you. I've been too busy basking in the relief of having you gone again to even think about missing you."

He pulled off the sunglasses he was wearing to reveal his humorously glinting dark eyes and stuck them in the breast pocket of the buff colored button down shirt he was wearing. Unlike the last time she had seen him when he had been sharply dressed to attend the prom with her, he was sporting a much more casual appearance. His shirt was slightly rumpled and had been left untucked with the sleeves rolled back over his muscular forearms. He also wore a pair of worn, faded jeans that looked as soft as butter and molded to his form perfectly. The laid back look that was completed by a pair of brown, scuffed hiking boots was slightly ruined by the black, braided, silk strap that ran diagonally across chest and held his sheathed sword on his back, but in Skye's opinion he still looked good enough to eat.

She lightly touched the hilt of the sword, just visible over his shoulder. "Are you expecting to be attacked here?"

His grin grew. "I always like to be prepared. And besides, I never know what kind of problems I may run into with you around. I just think of it as being like my security blanket."

She made an impatient huffing sound and stepped away. "You make it sound like you expect me to attack you at any moment."

He snagged her around the waist and pulled her against him. "Like I said, I never know what to expect when I'm with you." His eyes roamed intently over her face before he said softly, "You have missed me. I can tell."

She turned her head away as she felt her cheeks begin to heat up. "What _are _you doing here?"

He gripped her chin gently to bring her face back to his. "You're changing the subject."

Her eyes flared and turned a bit panicked. "No I'm not! I was just asking a question. Anyway, what makes you think I've missed you?"

His fingers moved from her chin to stroke the delicate skin under her eyes. "Your make-up doesn't completely cover up the circles under your eyes, darling. Have you not been sleeping?"

She shrugged. "I've just had a little insomnia. It's no big deal. And it definitely doesn't have anything to do with you!"

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much," he chuckled. "I know I've missed you. So why don't you just go ahead and admit that you've missed me too?"

She wanted to do just that. But the lack of sleep coupled with the surprise of having him just show up out of the blue had made her cranky and emotional. Her temper snapped when she felt hot tears begin to burn in her eyes and she stomped on his foot as she screeched, "Get over yourself!"

Now Skye was a slim girl, but she was 5'11" and packed quite a bit of muscle onto her slender frame. She'd also inherited large feet from her father, which had made her self-conscious in the past when shoe shopping with her friends. But she was glad to have them now as she brought her foot slamming down on his. That would teach him not to tease her!

However, her feeling of childish satisfaction turned to dismay a second later when her sneaker merely bounced harmlessly off his large, sturdy boot and he snickered, "That tickled!"

She sighed heavily and crossed her arms petulantly. She should have known that it would take more than that to hurt Mr. Magic Macho Man. She was used to being eye level or even slightly taller than most of her friends, and if she had stomped on any of their feet she would have gotten at least an "ouch" out of them, but not Kyrian. He had taken after his Uncle Evan when it came to height. He had surpassed Talon's 6'2" height by the time he was fifteen. And while he had never made it up to Evan's height of 6'8", he stood an impressive 6'5" thanks to the recessive genes passed to him by his petite, dainty mother. It still amazed her to this day that a woman like Anya could have ever given birth to such a giant of a son.

Of course, he also had the added protection of wearing those heavy boots as well, and she sneered, "What do you do, special order shoes to fit those monstrous feet of yours? I doubt any shoe store would stock boots that size."

He stared down in confusion at his feet for a moment before he looked up and shrugged. "Yeah, there's a store in Crystal Tokyo that orders in what I want in my size. I even had the steel toes in these reinforced to help protect me from temperamental sailor scouts when they're throwing a tantrum."

Electricity began sparking at her fingertips. "I am _NOT _throwing a tantrum!"

"Oh, pipe down, woman, and come here and give me a hug!" Kyrian almost growled as he reached forward to pull her into his arms. Thanks to his shielding abilities he felt only the mildest of tingles from the energy radiating off of her. He pushed her head down onto his chest and let his fingers comb through her tousled auburn curls.

"No, you're not throwing a tantrum," he told her gently. "You're just tired, cranky, and probably half sick from not sleeping well. I've been the same way the last couple of days since I had to leave you. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I've just been rattling around my apartment. I haven't even been to class. I tried going home for a while, but my mom was driving me so nuts trying to pull me out of my _'funk', _as she calls it, that I had to leave."

The rumbling of his chest against her cheek had a calming effect on Skye, and she gradually relaxed against him until she even wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tightly. Then she turned her face into him and rubbed her nose against his shirt, breathing in his fresh air and sunshine scent before she whispered softly, "I did miss you, you big idiot!"

He bent down so he could speak directly into her ear. "How much did you miss me?"

Goosebumps burst across her skin and she fought back a shiver as she felt his warm breath brush her ear. She closed her eyes for a moment to savor the sensation before tilting her head back to look up at him and arch a brow. "Are you hinting at something, Kyrian?"

The playful twinkle in his eyes grew brighter. "I was just wondering what a guy had to do to get a kiss around here."

"What makes you think I want to kiss you?" she retorted, but she couldn't stop the tiny smile that played around her lips.

He grinned down at her. "Because you like me. You may not be able to bring yourself to say that you love me yet, but you definitely like me. I can tell."

"You sure have a high opinion of yourself," she muttered, even as her hands began sliding up his chest like they had a mind of their own.

His breath hitched in his chest at her touch. "No. It's just wishful thinking. You may not want to believe me, but I love you beyond all reason, and my deepest desire is that someday you can return my feelings."

Remembering her earlier feeling of depression at not sharing her feelings with him before, and not knowing how long she would have with him before they had to part again, she decided to throw caution to the wind. After all, her parents hadn't raised a coward.

She linked her hands around his neck and asked slyly, "And what would you say if I told that I loved you right now?"

"I'd say that I loved you too and that I was one hell of a lucky man," he returned smoothly.

She pulled his head down to hers so that she could whisper against his lips, "I love you, Kyrian." And then she kissed him with everything she had.

Kyrian couldn't stop the groan that rumbled in his throat at the taste of her. Sure, they had kissed a few times on prom night, but there had still been a certain amount of reservation in Skye when they had. This time she was giving herself over to him fully and was holding nothing back. He let her take control for a minute, luxuriating in the feel of her tongue as it slid past his lips to engage his own in a heated duel. But then he wrapped both arms securely around her waist and straightened up, taking her with him.

Skye broke the kiss with a gasp and then giggled when she found her feet dangling several inches above the floor. "If anybody else had tried that they would probably be in the hospital with a severely injured spine."

He grinned and pressed his forehead to hers. "No. If anybody else had even put their arms around you they would be in the hospital with multiple broken bones because I would stomp the shit out of them."

"Ooo! Possessive much?" she teased him gently.

His eyes bore seriously into hers. "When it comes to you, definitely."

She rolled her eyes at him. "So you never did tell me what you're doing here. Not that I'm complaining or anything. But I'm curious."

He shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. Trista just showed up out of nowhere and asked me if I would come with her. She said something about needing my help with something, but once she mentioned that we were coming here and that you would be here I jumped at the chance without asking any questions. I was just glad that she gave me a few minutes to shower and change, because I had been bumming around in the same clothes for two days."

Skye wrinkled her nose at him. "Thank goodness for small favors. That was decent of Trista though. She usually doesn't have much patience when she wants somebody to do something. She barely gave me, Emma, Jay, and Hannah time to grab any of our stuff before she brought us to the past."

Kyrian chuckled and then rubbed his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. "I'm telling you this in the strictest of confidences, but I think my Uncle Evan may have a lot to do with softening Trista up a bit. They started seeing each other recently, and they seem to be pretty serious about it."

Her eyes widened. "Really? I didn't think they even knew each other."

"They met a while back when Evan came to the palace with me," he told her. "It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. He took one look at her and fell like a ton of bricks. I know he's had a few girlfriends over the years; after all, he and my parents have been around since the Silver Millennium. But I've never seen him like this."

"Hmm…" she mused as her gossipy side flickered faintly to life. "I just might have to talk to Emma about this. She'll be able to check Trista over and tell if there are any fireworks going on with her."

He slid her down his body to set her back on her feet. "Speaking of the others, I guess we should probably go see what's going on. As much as I adore being alone with you, Trista brought me here for a reason, and she might flip her lid if I stay hidden with you for too long."

"If we must," she sighed. "But once all of this mess is over with and I'm back home we'll be able to work on our relationship. And I promise you that I won't put up with your playboy reputation. The first time that hear about you flirting and carrying on with some other girl somebody's going to get hurt."

"Ooo! I like a forceful woman," he practically purred. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You're all the woman I need. Now give me another kiss before we have to go rejoin the others."

* * *

As the group inside the palace began to break up, Orion looked around eagerly. He saw his brother and Luna conversing together a short distance away, but he ignored them for the moment. He knew that he and Artemis still needed to talk some more if they hoped to clear the air between them, but that could wait until later. Right now he had someone more important to talk to.

He looked toward where Queen Serenity was standing together with her husband, Princess Serenity, and Prince Endymion, and was once again startled by the resemblance between the moon princess and her former mother. They were both the same height and had the identical slender, almost painfully delicate looking bone structures that were typical of Lunarian women. They also shared the same heart shaped faces with large, round eyes set in them. But where the former queen was on the extreme side of pale with her luminescent skin and silver hair, the princess was more Solarian in her coloring. Her hair shown as bright a gold as her former father's and she had his vibrant, light blue eyes. And while her skin would still be considered pale by most, she did have just a touch of a light tan.

He had been denied the pleasure of meeting the next heir to the throne of the moon kingdom and her husband when he had visited there in the past, but Nebula had trusted him enough then to tell him the truth about Serenity and Endymion's secret marriage and the daughter that they had. At the time of his visit Serenity had been in hiding in Elysian with Melody while Endymion been occupied fighting against Beryl and her forces on Earth.

But that was all irrelevant at the moment. He looked all around Queen Serenity for any sign of Nebula. She hadn't strayed much further than two feet away from her former mistress since the whole blow up earlier, and he was hoping to catch her alone for a moment or two so that he could try to talk to her. But as he searched he saw no sign of her.

Scanning around quickly, he caught sight of a bushy, rust colored tail slipping through the slightly open front door and hurried after her. He squeezed through the crack in the door and bounded down the front steps calling, "Nebula!"

Her body stiffened and she turned with a hiss. "What do _you _want?"

He skidded to a stop, careful to keep several feet of space between them in case she went crazy again. He wasn't stupid after all. "I…I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"I'm a little busy right now, in case you haven't noticed!" she snapped as she turned away.

"I know," he replied meekly. "There's a lot going on at the moment, so you may not be ready to hear everything that I have to say. But I don't want my presence here to interfere in any way. In fact, I want to help. I can assist Katie, DJ, and Alex in how to use the swords."

Her head whipped back to him, her amber glare almost slicing straight through him. "I don't need your help! I am very much aware of how those swords work and what they can do. I was there during the first Trinity and assisted them then, remember."

He shook his head. "I know you were, but you've got a lot on your plate. You have three neophyte Trinity bearers that need to cram in a lot of knowledge in a short amount of time. And, if I'm not mistaken, you are neck deep in helping the Celestial Crystal holder try to evolve her powers and you have five others that you are training. That's a lot to ask of one person. I am very familiar with those swords. You don't guard something for centuries and not learn anything about them. And I am well versed in tactics and battle strategies. I know you hold a very low opinion of me right now, but I'm here and I'm willing to help."

Nebula sucked in a hissing breath at his words, but her ruffled fur did smooth out. "Fine! I'm only doing this for the sake of Jess and the kids, but you can help. Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward's time here will be up soon. They will try to show the kids everything that they can, but once they leave the new Trinity bearers will still need guidance. I may not think much of you personally, but I would be a fool not to accept your help. We'll need all we can get if we hope to defeat Discord once and for all."

Orion bowed his gray head. "Thank you, Nebula. I will try to do all that I can."

She turned away again, but her voice was softer when she spoke. "Now if you will excuse me. I need to go find Jess and smooth things over with her. We have a lot of work to do, and we don't need any arguments between us."

Orion watched her go with a slightly more cheerful, yet resigned look on his face. He could tell that she still wasn't happy about having him there, but at least she had accepted his help. That was a start. He was just grateful that she was no longer trying to rip his throat out.

But how long would her acceptance last when she found out the terms of his deal with Selene? He would just have to wait and see.

* * *

"So you're not speaking to Andrew at the moment, huh?" Talon asked the fuming blonde woman at his side carefully.

Jess sighed and sent a small rock skipping across the lake. "No. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't love him, but…" she broke off abruptly and sat down hard on the bank. "Sometimes I think he doesn't see the real me, you know. I know he only acts the way he does because he wants to keep me safe, but I'm not some spoiled, pampered, five year old princess anymore. I am a sailor scout! And a damn good one too! I've spent a lot of time debating with myself why I was ever born to begin with. But now I'm really starting to think that I was born for this fight. Does that make sense?"

Talon nodded as he took a seat next to her. "Yes, it does. As you know, there were two prophecies made about your birth in the Silver Millennium. The problem with prophecies is that most people take them for face value and don't bother to read between the lines. The moment that the people of the Earth and the Moon heard that a union between Endymion and Serenity could result in a power that could possibly be destructive, they jumped to conclusions and demanded that the betrothal be void. They completely ignored the part where it mentioned that you could be the world's salvation."

She laid back and put her hands behind her head. "That's just a typical human response. People are leery of anything that may bring them harm. Their survival instinct kicks in and they figure that it's better to avoid the situation all together, even if it means the possibility of giving up something better in the long run. I'm just grateful that Serenity and Endymion were too stubborn and in love to give in. If they had, then I wouldn't be here."

"And what a travesty that would have been," he quipped as he grinned at the reincarnated princess. "I've always been glad that I was the only person that heard the second prophecy and that I chose to keep it to myself. There would have been pandemonium if people had had any inclination that you existed, especially since it called you the angel of darkness. But I believe that it merely spoke of your shadow powers. Prophecies can be vague like that."

"Well I think it's all stupid!" she grumbled. "What gives people the right to decide the outcome of other people's lives just because someone makes a prediction or a prophecy? Maybe your old leader really was a seer or something of that nature, but still doesn't mean that it's right for others to say who can marry and who can't, or who can be born and who doesn't deserve a chance at life."

"And I agree with you," Talon assured her hastily. "It took me a while to see it your way, but eventually I did. Beryl spent years chasing after Endymion, thinking that she would be able to keep him and Serenity apart by making him want her. She thought that if she had him for herself that it would keep the prophecy from coming true. But the moment I came across you in that stable that night I knew that it was already too late. The power that I felt coming off of you told me in an instant that you had been born from a union between the Silver and the Golden Crystal. I admit that I became intoxicated at the thought of having such power for my own."

Jess stared up at the fluffy, white clouds floating in the vibrant blue sky. "Sometimes I wish I could give it all away to someone else so I wouldn't have to deal with it. The prophecy was wrong anyway. I don't have the power to save the world. Not without destroying it, anyway. I can help protect it, and I can use a portion of my power to help seal away evil, but if I were to unleash the full power of my crystal to defeat Discord I would take the entire planet with me. So in reality I can only bring about the Earth's destruction, not it's salvation."

Talon raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Is that what you really think? You're wrong, princess, so very wrong. Your future children are two bearers of the Galactic Trinity. They are the only ones with the power to get rid of Discord for good and save the world. If you had never been born and then died in the Silver Millennium so that you could be reborn here, then those children would never exist. So I believe that you have fulfilled the prophecy. You will be the world's salvation. You will save it from Discord by giving life to your son and daughter. I truly believe that was what the prophecy spoke of."

She propped herself up on an elbow to look at the brown haired sorcerer in surprise. "Wow! That was pretty deep, Talon. Looking at it that way, I guess it does make sense. Everyone thought the prophecies were about me personally because of my crystal. But in reality it meant the kids. In order for them to exist, Serenity and Endymion had to be together in the past so I could be born. Then we all had to die and be reborn here so that the twins and DJ could be born. It makes complete sense now. Who would have ever thought you could be so philosophical?"

His pitch-dark eyes glittered laughingly at her. "I've been known to have my moments from time to time. But now I think I'll take my leave for a while. Someone wants to talk to you, and don't think he would enjoy an audience."

Jess closed her eyes and sighed, but she nodded. She had felt Andrew nearby, watching her, for the past several minutes. But her pride was still wounded enough to not acknowledge him. But her anger had cooled down enough by now for her to be able to think clearly, and she knew that they were going to have to talk things out at some point.

She opened her eyes and sat up as Talon got up and walked away. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she looked across the lake. She could see Edward and Althea on the far side, strolling together hand in hand, and she marveled over the fact that they still seemed to be so in love after all of this time. Their mortal lives my have been cut tragically short, but they had still been together in the Elysian Fields for centuries upon centuries, and they still acted like a couple of newlyweds. Serenity and Jonathan were the same way.

It made her wonder what she and Andrew would be like after they had been together for many years. From what little bit she had been able to pick up from the kids, she knew that they were married and still together in the future. But were they happy? She had no doubt that they were probably great companions. She and Andrew had always been very compatible, despite their differences in personalities. But did that spark still exist between them? Did her future self's heart still beat a little bit faster every time her husband walked into the room? Did he still feel the same way about her?

'_I guess I'll get a glimpse of that when I go to the future,' _she told herself as she felt Andrew approach her. His aura, hot, just like the sun, reached out to envelop her. It should have been stifling since the day was warm and sunny, just like all days in Elysian, but the warmth from him wrapped around her just like a comforting cocoon. It was soothing. She felt him sit down next to her, but she didn't look his way. No matter how much she loved him, she still had her dignity to uphold.

Andrew sat in silence for a moment, but then he bumped his shoulder lightly against hers. "Sorry," he mumbled.

He sounded so miserable that she almost caved right then. But the situation between them was much more serious than her wearing one of his shirts and getting paint on it or him forgetting to bring home a cherry coke from the arcade like she asked him to. She always loved the way he made her feel so loved and protected, but there were times that he needed to set it aside. She was a fighter. She had trained for years for situations like this. He was just going to have to accept that.

"What you said hurt," she finally said, cringing a little at how little girl like her voice came out sounding. So much for the strong, confident woman façade.

He sighed deeply. "I know. I have no right to tell you what to do. I've known about you being a sailor scout from almost the very beginning of our relationship. So I really shouldn't be surprised that you're so determined to join this fight. But damn it…I just want to keep you safe!"

She finally turned to look at him. He was sitting with one leg stretched out in front of him and the other one pulled up with his elbow resting on his knee. He was leaning back slightly, braced by his other hand on the ground, and was staring out over the lake the same way she had been.

She took a moment to admire the sight he made with his sandy blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight and his beautiful, clear hazel eyes. She had tried many times to capture his image on paper, but portraits were not her forte when it came to her art, and she had never been able to completely duplicate his features. When he smiled his mouth hitched up slightly higher on one side than it did on the other and the corners of his eyes would crinkle just a bit. She doubted that there was an artist anywhere that could replicate him exactly as he was.

But right now he wasn't smiling. His eyes were clouded with worry and his brow was wrinkled in concern as he stared off into the distance. Her heart went out to him, but she wasn't going to give in to him on this. Going to the future and helping out as much as she could was something that she had to do. According to Trista, if she didn't, their future would be cut painfully short.

"Do you remember," she began softly, "the night of Serena's birthday party from hell, when that youma came into the arcade and trashed the place? That was the night that you found out that I was a sailor scout."

His face turned toward her, now creased with confusion instead of concern. "Of course I remember. That night definitely ranks on my list of the top five most memorable nights of my life. I doubt I'll ever forget it."

She laid her cheek against her knees and gave him a hint of a smile. "After you chased me down to my apartment that night you told me that you would learn to deal with the fact that I was a sailor scout and that you would stick with me, and you did. You stood by me through all of the crap that we went through with Discord before and you've supported me through everything in my personal life as well. But you've never before treated me like I was weak or helpless…until today."

He closed his eyes for a moment like he was in pain. When he opened them again, they were as anguished as his voice. "I've never thought that you were weak…ever! And if anyone is helpless around here it's me. From the moment I found out that I was a crystal carrier I swore to protect you. But in reality I probably need more protection than you do. You are so much more powerful than I am, and a much better fighter. So why would you need pathetic little me to look out for you?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes blazed. "Excuse me! Just where the hell did that come from? You can drop that Mr. Pitiful act right this second, Andrew Furuhata, because if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here! You rescued me that day in the mountains when you stabbed Discord to keep him from running me through with his sword. And that night on the bridge, when he ripped my crystal from me and I was lying helpless at his feet, you attacked him to keep him from blasting me into little bitty pieces. And don't even get me started on all of the other times you've yanked my ass out of danger's path!"

He shook his head and reached out to cup her cheek in his hand. "You would have found a way out of those situations without me. You're strong and intelligent, and always at least a step ahead of me. And it's not fair for me to hold you back just because I'm selfish enough to want to keep you at my side."

She melted under his loving gaze and turned her head slightly to brush her lips across his palm before nestling her cheek back into it. "Oh, Drew! You're not being selfish at all. But I do think you're seriously underestimating your own power and abilities. We're a team. The only reason why I feel confident enough to run into a battle and start blasting any baddies that are hanging around is because I have faith in you. I trust you to keep an eye on my back and what's going on around us. I know that can't be easy because I tend to lose my head a little when I go into a fight. But you've always kept me safe, and I don't think I could ever trust anyone at my back as much as I do you. I do understand your fears and reservations about this upcoming fight, but I have to do this. I just hope you can understand."

He moved his hand from her face to the back of her neck and pulled her forward until she fell against his chest. Then he wrapped both arms around her and hugged her close as he buried his face into her hair. He breathed in the scent of her citrus shampoo that clung to the silky, sun warmed, caramel blonde strands before he whispered, "You are one stubborn, hard headed woman."

She giggled as she snaked her arms around his waist and squeezed. "Yes I am. But would you want me any other way?"

"No. I guess I wouldn't," he admitted as his lips twisted in a wry grin. "So I guess we're going to the future, huh?"

Her head flew up so quick that it almost bashed him in the nose. "You mean you're coming with me?" she asked in wide-eyed shock.

He tugged on her braid playfully. "Of course I'm coming with you! You didn't expect me to let you go without me, did you? Especially not after that impassioned little pep talk you just gave me."

"B…but…" she stammered. "You _hate _the idea!"

"Hate is a strong word to use," he hedged. "I dislike the idea of you getting wrapped up in this fight. But if you're going, then I'm going. Who else is going to watch your back?"

She shrugged. "I was thinking that I would appeal to your future self. If you're still the same person in the future, I don't think you would let anything happen to me."

He chuckled lightly. "No offense, sweetheart, but I think I am more comfortable thinking about my future not knowing that I have a reservation waiting for me at the nuthouse. And I'm pretty certain that is where my future self would end up if he had to deal with two of you at once."

"You don't have to put it that way!" she pouted playfully. "You make it sound like I have the ability to drive anyone bonkers."

"No, not completely bonkers, just slightly mental," he teased her. Then he rolled away from her and to his feet as she lunged at him with a laughing snarl. "Hey! I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant that you keep me on my toes."

Jess was suddenly standing, having executed a move that would have made even the strictest of sensei proud of their student. At first glance she looked pissed, but Andrew knew her well enough to notice the barest hint of a smile playing at the corners of her mouth and the amused twinkle in her eyes.

"You are so _not _funny!" she growled in a voice that was meant to be threatening, but fell far short of its mark.

"Oh, I don't know," he returned in a lofty voice. "I think there are a lot of people that find me humorous. I've been keeping people entertained in the arcade for years. That's how I always scored the big tips."

"Uh huh!" she muttered with a roll of her eyes. "I hate to break it to you, sweetie, but I think your tips had more to do with all of the teenage girls that like to come in and ogle your butt than it did your winning personality."

Blonde brows arched over hazel eyes. "Really? Is that your way of saying that you think I have a fine ass?" He craned his head over his shoulder to try to look behind him.

Laughter pealed from Jess's throat like bells. "I never pegged you for being such a narcissist! But yes, you have a very nice ass. It was one of the first things I noticed about you."

He took a predatory step toward her. "One of the first, huh?"

She nodded. "The first thing I noticed was your eyes. I was sitting at the counter at the arcade and you came over to ask me what I wanted. I looked up and got sucked into your eyes immediately. After that, I started taking in the rest of you and I liked what I saw. But then you turned away to get my drink and I was like, _'Ooo baby! I'd like to take a bite out of that!' _Why else do you think I spent the entire afternoon sitting there and talking to you?"

His lower lip jutted out in a pout. "So you were just after me for my body and not for who I am on the inside?"

"Oh, now you're just fishing for compliments!" she chided as she slapped lightly against his arm. "You know I love you for who you are. The outside wrapping is just an added bonus. Besides, can you honestly say that it was my personality that drew you to me that first day?"

A slight flush appeared on his cheeks as he grumbled, "Well, no. I turned around and saw you sitting there and felt like somebody had just hit me in the chest with a sledgehammer. I thought you looked like an angel."

She snorted in disbelief. "Yeah right! I've been called many things over the years, and angelic is not one of them. In fact, most people would probably compare me to the devil before they would an angel."

Andrew smirked as he snaked his arms around her waist and jerked her slightly, pulling her off balance so that she fell flush against him. "That just goes to show you that other people are fools. When I look at you I see the whole package. I see a strong, independent, loyal, and loving woman wrapped up inside a beautiful siren with mile long legs."

Now it was her turn to blush as she squeaked, "Mile long legs!"

"Mmm hmm," he murmured as he leaned down to nuzzle her neck softly. "You said that you liked my butt, and I'm telling you that I like your legs. Especially when they are wrapped around me."

"Drew!" she protested as her face flamed. "Stop! You're embarrassing me!"

He chuckled huskily. "You're still such an innocent sometimes."

"It's not funny!" she grumbled. Then she asked, "So are we okay now? I mean, after our fight and everything?"

He lifted his face from her neck to look at her with sincerity. "Yeah, we're okay. I'll just be glad when it's over."

She nodded. "You and me both." Then she closed the gap between them to kiss him gently.

Their lips had barely brushed when an indignant voice interrupted them. "Pardon me, am I interrupting a private moment?"

Jess bent back over Andrew's arms at her waist to hang her head upside down and glare at the intruder. "Of course you're interrupting a private moment, Nebula! That seems to be one of the things that you excel at."

The rust colored feline sniffed indignantly. "Well fine, Little Miss Smarty-pants! I came down here to apologize for my atrocious behavior earlier and to see if we could talk like civilized people, but I guess you've decided to sulk and hold a grudge."

"Oh, keep your fur on, Bula! I was just teasing," Jess muttered as she righted herself and turned to face her advisor. "Everybody is entitled to a good, old fashioned temper tantrum every now and then. Heaven knows I've had my share of them."

Nebula shifted nervously. "Yes, well, it was entirely out of character for me. I should have thought before I acted and I'm sorry that Katie was almost caught up in my…display of displeasure."

Jess giggled and dropped to her knees to scoop up the cat that had been with her for so many years. "And I'm sorry that I blasted you back on your furry little butt. It's easy for your emotions to go into overload when dealing with matters of the heart."

"Matters of the heart indeed!" Nebula snorted. "The only thing I'm dealing with is a major pain in my tail. But in the interest of all of the things we have going on right now, I have decided to put aside my differences with Orion for the time being. As much as I hate to admit it, the lying furball is quite knowledgeable about fighting and he's willing to help out. I would be a fool to not take him up on his offer. The more brains we have on the job, the better."

"I agree," Jess replied with a nod. "I know where we are supposed to go and what we're going there for, but we owe it to our futures to be at our best when we go."

"And you know what that means, don't you?" Nebula said, her voice taking on a commanding tone.

Jess sat her back on the ground and stood. "Right! It's time to get back to work. I want to go into this fight at my strongest. And in order to do that I still have some fine tuning to do."

Then a growling sound filled the air and her expression turned sheepish as she placed her hands over her stomach. "But can training wait until after lunch? I'm starving!"

Andrew burst into laughter while Nebula shook her head and muttered, "Honestly, girl! I don't think you'll ever change. May the gods have mercy on your children."

* * *

Lunch was a chaotic affair. Lita and Aurora had worked together to produce an assortment of sandwiches along with various sides such as potato and pasta salad. But with the palace being overrun be so many people, they decided that it was best to serve lunch as a buffet, so they sat the food that they had prepared, accompanied by several kinds of chips and dips, on a long table that they had set up on the terrace.

The generals, ravenous after their strenuous training session, fell upon the food gratefully, even beating Serena to the punch for once. Eventually everyone had helped themselves and had settled on the bright green grass of the palace lawn to enjoy an impromptu picnic.

Trista finished first, and then stood to address the group. "Everyone, please continue eating. I just wanted to take a moment and tell everyone exactly what's going on. As I explained earlier, Discord will soon make his move on Crystal Tokyo. And when that time comes the attack has the potential to be devastating to the city. There is no way to stop the attack completely, but the more hands that we have on board to help protect Crystal Tokyo, the less destruction there will be."

Rini's hand paused with a potato chip halfway to her mouth. Her eyes grew impossibly wide. "Are you saying that Crystal Tokyo could be completely wiped off the map?"

Trista gave her a sad smile. "I'm saying that I have seen that to be a possibility in one of the possible futures. When the attack happens, you, along with DJ, Katie, Alex, and the rest of the younger group, will lure Discord back out of the city. But he's grown his army to massive proportions and he will split it, taking part of it with him while leaving the rest to ravage Crystal Tokyo. And we're not talking about just the guardians and sentinels that you've become accustomed to fighting. Discord has been experimenting with his creations and has developed what can only be called genetic nightmares. He has made humanoid giants that could take down a building with one swing of their arms and large, tank-like animals that can mow down anything in their path and are so highly venomous that it makes the sentinel poisoning from before look like a common cold."

A collective hiss of disbelief ran through the group.

"That doesn't make any sense," Alex finally muttered. "We're the ones that he wants to kill so badly. So why would he leave behind a chunk of his forces instead of turning them all loose against us? What is he going to gain by destroying Crystal Tokyo? If he manages to take one of us out and disrupt the Trinity, then he's planning on just blowing up the whole planet anyway."

DJ shook his head. "Because he knows that he would still be at risk. Even if he got rid of us; mom, dad, and the others could try to seal him away again."

"There is that," Trista conceded. "But there is something else that he is after as well. And he knows that the only way to get it is to conquer the city and probably the palace also." Her gaze lingered on Jess for a moment.

Jess looked around as every eye flicked to her. She swallowed the bite of food in her mouth before glaring belligerently. "What? It's not like this is big news or anything. He's been after me for a while now, so we should all be used to it."

"And you still want to go, knowing that?" Andrew grumbled next to her.

She bumped his shoulder with hers. "Hey, I thought we had agreed on this already. Besides, he or one of his tacky little minions would have to catch me first."

Andrew sighed. "Do I need to remind you of that night on the bridge? He had you pretty good then."

She fluttered a hand at him as she reached for a handful of Jalapeño Cheetos. "No, you don't have to remind me. I remember every excruciating moment, thank you! I admit that he caught me off guard that night. But it won't happen again."

"Ahem!" Trista interrupted them. "If I may continue. The point is that while Crystal Tokyo has some of the most advanced security cautions set in place, there is no way that they can stand up to an attack of this magnitude. Even the attack by the Black Moon Clan wasn't as potentially destructive as this one, and most of you know how that turned out.

Shivers rippled through Serena, Darien, the inner scouts, and the group from Crystal Tokyo. That was definitely an experience that they all remembered.

Katie's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But the security has been beefed up since then. Aunt Serena set up those wards around the city to keep anybody from getting in. Shouldn't that stop them?"

Trista shook her head. "Those wards are directly linked to the Silver Crystal. Neo Queen Serenity would be able to hold them at bay for a while, but the drain on her energy would eventually kill her if she kept it up for too long. The inner scouts could also cast their energy to protect the palace like they did before, but the palace grounds would be all that was protected, leaving the rest of the city at the mercy of Discord's army and without enough people to keep them safe."

Serena nodded. "So you're thinking double the troops, double the protection, huh?"

"That's one way of looking at it," Trista answered. "It could be extremely advantageous to have two of each of you there. Discord wouldn't be expecting it, and it could give us the edge that we need to defeat his army."

"Well we're going," Darien stated as he reached for Serena's hand. "We've already decided that. And I think it's pretty safe to say that Jess and Drew are going too."

Trista nodded her approval. "I had figured as much. I've already spoken to Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru, and they have agreed to go as well."

Serena looked around at her four remaining scouts. These women were the ones that had been some of her closest friends and had stood by her since they were all fourteen and had been thrust into the sailor scout lifestyle.

"Mina, Raye, Lita, Amy…" she began carefully. "I love you girls dearly, and I hope you know that. You've been by my side and supported me since before we even remembered the first thing about our past lives. Together we have faced down everything from youmas and psychotically obsessed queens to possessed sailor scouts and evil entities. I have never looked at you girls as being merely my sailor scouts or sisters in arms. I have always believed that the strings that tie us together were much stronger than that. You are truly my sisters in everything but blood, and I would never ask or demand that any of you take part in this fight. The decision of whether or not to go is entirely up to you."

"You better shut it up right now, Meatball Head, before I light your ass up!" Raye growled. "Do you honestly think that I would let you go traipsing off to the future without me? You've lost your damn mind if you think that!"

"And that goes ditto for me!" Mina exclaimed. "You just said it yourself. We always stick together. And before you go getting your back up and thinking that I'm just saying this out of duty, let me tell you that I'm not. All of our futures are on the line here and we have to be strong. And we are strongest when we are together."

"I'm in too!" Lita declared passionately. "We've always been a team, and that's how we work best. Besides, I'm not about to sit back and let the rest of you have all the fun."

Amy's blue eyes glittered brightly. "I'm with you guys! We've always vowed to keep the planet safe, and we never specified that it had to be in this time. We've already gone to the future once in order to save the world, and now we're going to do it again."

"Well I guess that settles that," Serena giggled. "Not that I ever thought for a second that any of you would stay behind. But the decision was yours to make."

"Well I can't speak for the other guys, but I'm going," Jadeite drawled. "For one thing, I'm not letting my firefly go into a fight without me. And for another, I live to kick the shit out of bad guys."

"Same here!" was Nephrite's response. "If Lita's going, then I'm going. Anyway, we have to protect the future if we want to make sure we have one."

Mina leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially in Serena's ear, "Don't you find it interesting that the first two mighty generals to speak up and say that they will go wherever their ladies go are the two that haven't screwed up the nerve to propose yet?"

Serena hid a grin behind a hand as she whispered back. "It is definitely interesting. Maybe this means that they will get their butts in gear soon."

Kunzite cleared his throat before speaking in his rumbling baritone. "I'm going as well. This fight isn't just to save the world for ourselves, it's for our children too." He glanced over to where Emma sat next to Alex, and his steel gray eyes softened for a moment.

"It's for everybody on the planet," Zoicite stated firmly. "We may have come a long way from who we used to be, but our mission has never changed. We must do what we can to keep the Earth safe."

"Well I guess that covers everyone," Darien grumbled good-naturedly. "It looks like we're all on board for this battle. I suppose my next question is why they are here." He waved a hand toward Talon and Kyrian.

"Talon's my fault," Jess quickly answered. "When Trista and I were talking earlier she said that Discord has given a few of his creatures some of his mind manipulating powers so that they can help track me, or the at least the future me, down and trap me. So since Talon is the only other person I know of that has that ability, I thought he could help me make sure my mental defenses are as strong as I can make them. Expanding my powers won't do me one bit of good in a fight if some brain whammy gets by me and spaces me out."

Talon inclined his head to her with a chuckle. "It's always a pleasure to be of service to you, princess."

"Smug bastard!" Andrew growled under his breath. He had grown tolerant of their one time enemy, but it still chapped him when the other man played his blatant flirting games with Jess. He knew he didn't have anything to worry about, but still! The guy was married and had a baby on the way for crying out loud!

"Be nice!" Jess hissed as she elbowed him in the ribs. Then she turned her attention back to the time guardian. "When you said that you were bringing somebody back too, I had no idea that you meant Kyrian."

Trista shrugged. "As you know, the brand of magic that Talon and his people control is most powerful when they work in pairs so that they can feed off of each other's energy. Anya has progressed too far into her pregnancy to ask her to expend her energy needlessly, so I decided to bring in Kyrian instead. There was another person that I started to bring…"

"I wonder who that could have been," Skye snickered, still slightly in shock at the news that the usually stoic, prim, and proper Trista had hooked up with the always laughing and jovial Evan.

"…but I thought that Kyrian was the better choice," Trista finished, giving the auburn haired girl a stern look. Then her garnet gaze went to the tall young man that was sprawled out casually on the grass at Skye's side. "I figured that there was no way that you plan on sitting out in this fight. So I thought you might like to help out with the training."

Kyrian slid his sunglasses down his nose and pinned her with a glittering onyx stare. "You figured right. It's just not in me to sit back while there's a fight going on. But I don't think I'm really needed to help with the training. It seems to me that there are more teachers than there are students here already."

Trista's lips twitched like she was almost going to smile. "Modesty has its time and places, but this isn't one of them. Jess!" she snapped, turning back to the befuddled looking blonde. "On the nights that you have spent training here, what seems to have been your most predominate powers?"

Jess winced as she thought about all of the damage she had inadvertently inflicted in Elysian during her secret cram sessions. Thankfully, the magic that surrounded this place always repaired whatever she blew up. "Um…mass destruction?" she mumbled hesitantly.

A pent up sigh rushed out of Trista. "Yes, yes! I'm well aware of the more explosive side of your power. But I was speaking of the other."

Jess tilted her head thoughtfully. "I've been working on shielding techniques, but it's not going very well. I can do small ones like the one I did in front of Katie earlier, and sometimes even those backfire on me. I thought I might be able to make them bigger so that they could cover a larger area and possibly even channel my energy through them to radiate out in an attack, but I haven't figured out how to focus the energy properly."

This time, Trista did smile as she nodded her head in Kyrian's direction. "Well there's your answer. Kyrian may not be a crystal carrier, but he's the strongest shield I have ever known. I think he may be able to help you."

"Whoa! Wait just a minute!" Kyrian exclaimed as he sat up quickly. "I can't teach her! She's the one that taught me how to use my shielding abilities when I was just a kid."

Trista's expression turned smug. "And how do you think she knew how to teach you? Life is nothing but a circle, and time follows that same circle. By coming here and helping Jess, you are ensuring that her future self has the knowledge that she needs to teach you later on. You are both students and teachers in this scenario."

Eyebrows shot way up under the dark chocolate colored hair that fell over Kyrian's forehead. "No offense, Trista. I get the whole _Lion King_, circle of life reference and all, but this isn't Disney. And the last time I checked, my name wasn't Simba. You can't be serious about me teaching her the same stuff she taught me."

"Hey!" Jess snapped, starting to look angry. "You got a problem about working with me, Houdini?"

His eyes skittered away from hers as he grumbled, "No. I guess not. It's just…weird. I know you're not exactly the same person I've known my whole life, but when I look at you it's hard to tell the difference. It's kinda freaky."

Alex leaned over and clapped him on the shoulder. "Welcome to our world. Now you know what our lives have been like the last few months."

"I hate to interrupt," Queen Serenity spoke up then. She and the other three temporarily resurrected monarchs had been watching and listening quietly over on the sidelines, but now she stepped forward. "I know that all of you have a lot of discussing and planning to do, but my and the other's time here is beginning to grow short. And I believe that I promised my great granddaughter that I would share some pointers with her."

"Oh! Right!" Katie exclaimed eagerly as she picked up the silver sword next to her and scrambled to her feet. "I'm ready whenever you are, Grandma Serenity."

"And you two," Serenity declared as she spun around to fix the two former kings with a gimlet gaze. Edward had unearthed an old pack of cards from somewhere, and he and Jonathan had been passing the time by playing poker. They were using potato chips in lieu of money, and the stack in front of the earth king was considerably bigger than the pile the moon king had in front of him.

Serenity sighed and touched her fingers to her temples. "Dear Selene, save me from overgrown boys that masquerade as men. Do you two think you can set aside your game for now so we can get back to work? I know you've spent some time with the boys, but if I know you as well as I think I do, then you probably spent more time goofing around than you did actually teaching them anything valuable."

"Do you think you could ever learn to stop being so bossy? I count myself lucky that I didn't marry you. You're more ill tempered than a shrew sometimes," Edward fired back. But he hissed out a pained breath a moment later as Althea reached out and pulled a hank of his coal black hair and turned to glare at her. "And you're just plain abusive!" he declared.

Jess's resemblance to the former earth queen was more evident than ever as Althea narrowed her bright green eyes on him and crossed her arms threateningly. "Oh, stop whining and take it like a man, Edward! Serenity's right. We're running out of time. You and Jonathan have spent the past ten centuries challenging each other to your silly little games, and I'm sure you'll spend the next ten centuries doing the same. So I think you can afford to take a short break from trying to prove how superior you think you are to focus on something serious for a change."

"I was losing anyway," Jonathan grumbled. "Let's just call it quits, Ed. What have you got?"

Edward smirked and laid his hand down. "Two pairs, Kings and Jacks."

Jonathan crowed as he set his cards down. "Full House, 8's over 5's. Ha! Looks like Lady Luck decided to shine on me this time."

"Yeah, luck is all you've got, because your skills stink," Edward grumbled as he gathered up the cards.

"Okay!" Nebula spoke up briskly. "This is how we're going to work things. DJ, Katie, and Alex, you three are with Serenity, Jonathan, Edward, and…" she paused for a moment and took a deep breath before muttering, "…and Orion. Jess, I want you working with Talon and Kyrian. The rest of the teen brigade is with me."

Rini, Emma, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah groaned at her proclamation.

"I don't want to hear it!" she snapped, cutting off their grumbling protests. "I've been watching all of you, and you've gotten lazy lately. You need a good practice session to whip you back into shape and get you back on top of your game. You won't be able to bungle your way through this fight. So you five are going to train until I think you are performing to the best of your abilities. Even if I have to take you all the way back to the basics."

Rini's mouth popped open, but the rust colored feline interrupted her first. "And don't think you can talk your way out of this, young lady. I won't let you pull rank on me either. Princess or not, you need to be prepared for this fight. I'm sure that your parents would agree with me if they were here."

"There go your plans for your afternoon make out session with Horseboy," Jayden snickered.

Skye and Emma each had to grab one of Rini's arms to hold her back from jumping the laughing blonde boy.

"If you don't mind," Kunzite said to Darien. "I think I'm going to find someplace to catch a quick nap. And I'm going to take Mina with me too. She's almost dead on her feet."

It was true that the love goddess appeared heavy eyed and running low on her usual pep juice.

"That's not a bad idea," Raye agreed as she smothered a yawn. "Some of you have been here longer than the rest of us and have gotten some sleep. But it was late night when Trista came and got us and I had just gotten in from the club. So I'm running on vapors at this point."

Jadeite waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I'm sure we can find a bed somewhere."

"She meant to sleep in, you pervert!" Lita drawled as Nephrite smacked the blonde general on the back of his head.

"That's a good idea," Serena told them. "All of you guys should probably grab some sleep."

"You should probably join them," Darien whispered in her ear. "You didn't get any sleep last night, so I know you've got to be feeling pretty run down yourself."

She shook her head, watching as her past parents walked away with DJ, Katie, and Alex. "I'll sleep after Momma and Papa leave. I don't want to miss any of this time with them."

He sighed and smoothed a thumb over the light purple shadows under her eyes. "You are so stubborn sometimes."

She gave him a tired, but radiant smile. "I know. But that's one of the reasons why you love me."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – The 30th Century**_

"Can either of you hear what they're saying?" Ryssa hissed to the two boys that were practically dangling from the balcony railing as they attempted to eavesdrop on the adults congregated on the patio below.

"We would be able to hear them if you stopped bugging us every five seconds to ask us if we could hear them!" Kyle whispered harshly as he swung his platinum head around to glare at the dark haired girl.

Ryssa almost flinched at the irritation sizzling in his bright blue eyes, but instead she lifted her chin imperiously and muttered, "Well I was just wondering."

"Aw, lay off of her," the chestnut haired Nick said softly as he rolled his dark green eyes at both of them. "She was just asking a question, Kyle."

"She's always asking questions, just like a girl," Kyle grumbled.

Flames began simmering in Ryssa's violet eyes. "I _am _a girl, Hotshot! And there's nothing wrong with asking questions. That's how you learn things."

"Easy," Nick cautioned as he left his spot at the railing and stood between the arguing duo. Then he told Ryssa, "We haven't picked up on much yet. Just that Rini, DJ, and the others will be coming back soon, but they didn't say when."

"They also said something about some other people possibly coming back with them as well," Kyle said as he once more leaned far over the railing in an attempt to hear the conversation below.

"Who?" Ryssa asked insistently.

"We don't know," Nick answered, cutting off Kyle before he could snap at Ryssa again. "But whatever's going on, it sounds like it's going down soon."

"Hannah's coming home?" a tiny voice popped up. Making all three kids whirl around in surprise to find a small boy with wheat blonde hair and inquisitive blue eyes looking at them hopefully.

"Corey!" Nick squeaked. Then he cleared his throat before speaking in his normal voice. "You scared us, big guy."

"Great!" Kyle growled. "Hey kid, I thought you were keeping watch for us so that you could come tell us if any of the adults head this way."

"Don't fuss at him!" Ryssa snapped. "He probably just got bored staking out the staircase by himself. Didn't you, sweetie?"

Corey's blonde waves bobbed as he nodded his head. "Yeah. There's nothing going on. So did I hear you guys say that Hannah is coming home?"

Ryssa stooped down in front of him and smiled. "You sure miss your big sister, don't you?" When he gave her a gapped toothed grin and nodded, she patted his shoulder. "Well it does sound like she'll be back soon, but we don't know when. So why don't you go and keep a lookout for us for just a few more minutes, okay? Afterward we'll tell you everything we found out."

"Okay!" he chirped before skipping back inside.

Nick and Kyle went back to leaning over the rail again while Ryssa stood there watching them. She could hear the faint murmur of voices from below, but couldn't make out any of the words. She wished that she could join the boys and listen in, but after she had almost pitched headfirst over the rail a little while ago and Nick had to scramble to pull her back, she figured she was safer just letting them do the listening.

She watched in silence for a few minutes, not wanting to interrupt them again in case they missed something important. But curiosity started getting the better of her. She had just opened her mouth to ask what was being said when a hand landed on her shoulder. She started to scream, but found her lips covered by warm fingers.

Heart pounding with dread, she looked up slowly until her eyes met the blue gaze of her father. Normally Jadeite's eyes were bright and laughing, but right now they appeared stern as he shook his head once to tell her to be quiet.

Zoicite stood a few feet behind him, holding an ashen-faced Corey in his arms. The little boy's eyes were teary as he looked at Ryssa apologetically for getting caught.

Kunzite and Nephrite slid around them and silently approached the two boys that were almost dangling from the rail. Quick as cobra strikes, they each reached forward and grabbed one of the boys. Kunzite took Kyle while Nephrite handled Nick, wrapping one arm around their waists to haul them back and clamping the other hand over their mouths so that they couldn't yell out. After a few seconds of wrestling, they managed to herd the eavesdroppers inside.

Nick, Ryssa, and Kyle huddled in a group as they quailed under the weight of their father's annoyed looks. Zoicite sat Corey on his feet and nudged him to go over and stand with his fellow eavesdroppers.

Kunzite folded his arms across his broad chest as he surveyed the four children. "Well men, it looks like we have a conspiracy on our hands," he said in a steely voice to the other generals. "Kyle?"

Kyle sighed, but raised his head to meet his father's gaze head on. He squared his shoulders before he replied, "Sir?"

"Would you care to tell us why you were dangling from the balcony like a monkey in an attempt to listen to a conversation that we told you was adults only," Kunzite asked in the same, firm voice.

"We just wanted to hear what was going on," Kyle answered in a voice that wavered just slightly.

Jadeite choked on something that sounded like a snort of laughter and turned away with his hand over his mouth. Nephrite knocked him upside the head before turning back to the troublemakers. "And why should what we adults are talking about matter to you kids?"

"Because you never tell us anything!" Nick shot back, his green eyes fearless. "We may be just kids, but we're not stupid! We know something's going on, something big."

"That's right!" Ryssa added, jumping on the bandwagon. "First Rini left. Then DJ, Katie, and Alex left too. Jayden and the others have been gone a long time as well. And it's all because of this Discord thing. Now you adults go around all the time whispering to each other and having secret meetings. I think we have a right to know what's going on."

Jadeite had sobered up and was rubbing the spot on his head where Nephrite had smacked him. "Ryssa…" he began.

"No, she's right!" Kyle interrupted. "Something is threatening our home. The city is on lockdown. The outer scouts and a lot of other people have moved into the palace. And we each have a sibling wrapped up in whatever is going on behind the scenes. So I think we do have a right to know exactly what's going down."

Corey sniffled and shuffled his feet. "I miss Hannah."

Zoicite scooped the youngster back up into his arms. "Hey buddy! Don't get upset. I'm sure your sister misses you too. And she'll be coming back soon. I promise. She just had to go away for a while so she could learn how to fight against the bad guy."

"Zoicite!" Kunzite snapped. "Don't say too much!"

"That's not saying too much," Nephrite contradicted. "I think they deserve to know why the other kids disappeared anyway. They're going to find out sooner or later when things go down."

Jadeite stared at his daughter for a moment, who was almost a perfect miniature of her mother. Then he groaned deeply. "Aw man! Raye will roast me for this."

"Wear something fireproof then," Ryssa quipped back, violet eyes smoldering as she tossed her raven black ponytail over her shoulder. "Mom will get over it. At least _you _know I'm not a baby."

Kunzite pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine. We will tell you the basics. But before we do you have to promise us that none of this will reach any of your mothers' ears."

Four hands shot up into the air as each of the kids solemnly swore, "I promise!"

* * *

_**Elysian – Present Time**_

"Damn it!" Jess snarled as the shield she had been working on imploded in on itself and the burst of energy knocked her back several feet where she landed on her butt.

Andrew rushed to help her up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled as she dusted off the back of her fuku skirt. "But I think my ass is going to have a permanent bruise on it by the time I'm done."

"You did much better this time though," Kyrian said as he joined them. "That shield was definitely the largest one that you've managed to conjure yet. I'd be willing to bet that it had a two hundred foot radius"

"But I couldn't hold it," Jess grouched. "Making a shield doesn't do me any good if I can't keep it up."

Kyrian tilted his head thoughtfully. "Making and holding shields isn't your problem. It's when you try to radiate your energy out that things fall apart. Instead of flowing out, it's like the energy converges back in toward you. I think you're holding back too much."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I kinda have to. I've been taught for years to keep my powers on a tight leash so that the planet doesn't self-destruct. So I'm still trying to learn what the right amount is and how much is too much. And that's not exactly easy."

A safe distance away, Talon chuckled where he stood next to Serena and Darien. "Do you think she'll ever get a handle on those powers of hers?" he asked them.

Darien shrugged. "I don't know. Part of me wishes that she would give up on trying to evolve her strength. We've all known from the beginning that the Celestial Crystal was dangerous for her to use, and I don't want to see her hurt or accidentally killed because of it."

"Oh, both of you hush!" Serena scolded. "I can't say that I'm thrilled with this either, but I trust her. Jess may be rash and hotheaded, but she knows her limits. I trust her to not overdo things."

"Hmm, I guess we'll see," Talon mused. "In the meantime, she looks like she's starting to wear down."

He caught Kryian's eye and gave him a slight nod. The two of them had been teaming up together at random times while Jess had been training to attempt to break into her mind and try to distract her. So far she had been doing pretty well at holding them off.

Jess was busy talking to Andrew, so she didn't notice when Kyrian stepped out of her sight and began mutely glowing as he channeled his energy to his future father to give his powers a boost.

Serena and Darien both leaned forward eagerly as Talon shot a blast of his mind manipulating energy toward Jess. It usually took her a few moments to erect her mental defenses against an attack, and since Talon was also able to project whatever he was seeing in her head, they had been treated to quick, holographic clips from Jess's past, which amused Serena, Darien, and even Andrew to a point. Jess had given them a basic rundown of her life this go around, and would pop up with random stories from time to time, but it was interesting to see her past from her perspective.

Serena had giggled for almost five minutes when she saw a partial memory from Christmas morning when Jess had been ten. She had declared that Jess had been absolutely adorable in her red pajamas with her tangled hair bushing out wildly around her. Jess had politely growled at her to shut up before stomping away with an extremely flushed face.

"Huh," Talon muttered as Jess's back stiffened under the onslaught. "She's gotten stronger than I gave her credit for. I know she has to be tired, but she threw up her mental defenses before I even got a peek this time."

"You sound surprised," Serena said with a hint of pride in her voice. "You've always known that there was something special about her."

Talon nodded. "I have. The moment I saw her past self at the age of five I knew that she would grow up to be a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes I am surprised that I didn't connect Sailor Shadow with the reincarnated princess any sooner. Her sheer stubborn will alone should have made it obvious. Any little girl that had the nerve to march across a bloody battlefield couldn't grow up to become anything other than brave and fearless."

"Reckless and impulsive you mean," Darien grumbled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning her bravery for a moment. But she does have that streak of wildness in her that could get her in trouble."

"Hmph! And I wonder where she could have got that from," Serena huffed. "We may not share any common genes with her in this life, but her personality has remained much the same as it was. And I just happen to know a certain someone that has just the tiniest problem with a hero complex and throws himself into dangerous situations if he thinks there's even the slightest chance to save someone."

"Ha!" Darien barked. "Like you're not just as guilty, maybe even more so. Need I remind you of all of the times that you've almost gotten yourself killed?"

Serena stuck her nose up in the air. "It was all for the good of the planet. You can't blame me for that."

Talon eyed the now glaring couple with trepidation. "Um…I didn't mean to start an argument."

The tense moment was broken by Jess stumbling over to them. She let her transformation fade as she dropped onto the ground next to Serena and fell over so that her head rested in the blonde's lap.

"I am so dead!" she groaned. "I could lay right here and sleep for the next century."

"You've worked hard and made some excellent progress," Serena praised her as she stroked back some of the burnished curls that had come loose from Jess's braid.

"It's not enough though," Jess mumbled. "I have to do better."

"Sweetie, we've already told you. Nobody expects you to be anymore than what you truly are," Serena mock scolded her.

"Yes they do," Jess barely whispered as her eyes flickered shut. "If I don't get stronger my future self will…yell…at…me…" Her voice faded away entirely.

"Did she seriously just fall asleep?" Kyrian asked incredulously.

"Shh!" Serena shushed him. "She's had a long night and a very busy day. Let her get some rest while she can."

Andrew chuckled humorously. "Why don't you guys go check in and see how the kids are doing? I'll stay with Sleeping Beauty." He lifted Jess slightly so that Serena could slide out from under her. Then he took her spot.

Serena giggled as she watched the other woman's head loll heavily onto her fiancés leg. "She's really out of it. She usually wakes up if somebody so much as breathes in her direction."

"Not when she gets this worn out," Andrew answered with a grin. "She could give you a run for your money when it comes to sleeping when she passes out like this, Serena."

Serena wrinkled her nose at him, but smiled. Then she grabbed Darien's hand. "Come on. Let's go see what all the other little geniuses are up to."

Talon and Kyrian fell into step behind them as they made their way across the Elysian grounds to where the others were. It seemed that the two separate training sessions were over, and the eight teens were now together in a group. Serenity, Jonathan, Edward, Althea, and Trista, along with all four felines, were standing over to the side watching as the young fighters shot attacks toward a group of practice dummies that had been set up.

"How are they doing?" Serena asked as they approached.

Serenity shook her head. "As well as can be expected, I suppose. We've walked the three through everything that we can and shown them every trick we know, but I'm afraid they won't be able to put it to much use until they are actually confronted with a fight."

Nebula nodded soberly. "She's right. The power they wield is too strong to allow them to practice with it against any sparring partners without seriously hurting someone or killing them. They can practice their moves and techniques with the others, but I fear they have gone as far as they can until the time of the actual battle comes."

"Yeah. Being confronted with an actual enemy is a lot different than training with friends," Darien replied. "When you're faced with a life or death situation you have to make split second decisions."

Talon chuckled darkly. "So let's give them something that they can really fight against then."

Nebula tilted her head thoughtfully. "You mean by using your illusion powers again?"

The sorcerer nodded. "Yes. I should be able to give them quite a challenge if Kyrian is willing to give me a little extra juice."

The younger man shrugged. "What the hell. I'm game."

Orion snorted. "What good will illusions do? They may as well be fighting nothing."

Nebula rolled her eyes at him. "I think you just might be surprised at how realistic his illusions can be. Very well, Talon. They're all yours. Let's see how off guard this little surprise takes them."

Talon inclined his head. "As you wish. But all of you may want to back up a bit. This could get hectic."

The whole group retreated back a discreet distance. Then Talon closed his eyes and began to glow faintly. Kyrian followed suit as he lent his magic as well.

The nearby trees rustled loudly, drawing all of the teens' attentions. But that was all the warning they got before at least fifty guardians and sentinels crashed through the foliage to surround them.

The spectators watched in awe as the eight teens moved like a well-choreographed machine. Sailors Crescent Moon, Ishtar, Callisto, and Caloris, along with Flame, immediately formed a circle around DJ, Katie, and Alex, who stood back to back with their swords drawn and ready. Multicolored energy swirled to life around them.

"Amazing!" Jonathan sighed as he eyed the scene like he wished he could jump in.

Edward shrugged. "Yeah, it's impressive. But let's see if they can keep it together."

After a few minutes, it was proven that while young, the group was definitely able to keep themselves together. Sailor Crescent Moon used her wand to take out quite a few of the threats, while Ishtar with her golden bow and arrows and Callisto with her hailstorms of electrically charged stars proved to be equally as lethal. Caloris and Flame racked up an impressive number of casualties themselves by combining their water and fire powers to essentially boil the enemies.

In the meantime, DJ, Katie, and Alex held back, only using their powers to take out an enemy when the others were too busy to stop one from getting through. They were conserving their energy exactly the way that they had been told.

They were steadily plowing their way through the forces, and there were only about ten left, when a dark, inky cloud of vapor, an exact replica of Discord, burst from the trees. The teens all froze for just a fraction of a second at the sight, but then they settled back into business. DJ, Katie, and Alex all turned their attention to the evil entity while the others concentrated on dispatching the remaining enemies.

Talon sent a surge of his mind-altering energy toward the three, just like Discord would be sure to do, but caught nothing more than a few brief glimpses into their minds before they shook his control. Katie, in particular, seemed to almost toss his energy back into his face, much as Jess had done earlier. It appeared that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

It wasn't until the three Trinity bearers had dashed forward, teleporting around to avoid the burst of seemingly dark energy that was sent their way, to send their glowing swords slamming into the cloud that Talon let his illusion fade. He opened his eyes to look at the others with a smirk. "I think they're about as ready as you're ever going to get them. If they can keep their focus like that during a real fight, then Discord doesn't stand a chance."

"That could be a big if," Luna spoke up. "Think about it, Serena. How many training exercises did Artemis and I put you girls through only to have the planned routines fall apart in the heat of battle?"

Artemis nodded. "She does have a point. Things can go seriously wrong without a moment's warning."

"That's true," Orion agreed. "But teaching them a strategy can give them a solid foundation upon which they can build on. When the time comes for them to fight, they may have to variate from the routine, but at least the basic principle is there."

Artemis's hackles raised. "And if things get too chaotic we'll end up with a bunch of kids that are stumbling around blindly. That could get them all killed."

"Down boys!" Serena exclaimed, stepping between the two glaring felines. "The point is that this fight is going to happen. We can't stop it. And the kids will be involved no matter what we do, so we're just going to have to put our faith in them and hope that things turn out okay."

"Always the cheerful optimist," Darien chuckled as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Talon! You asshole!" Katie's voice rang out. "I know that was you that just pulled that crap! It wasn't funny!"

Talon sighed and shook his head. "Like mother, like daughter. Sometimes I wonder if you guys just created clones instead of having children the conventional way. Each one of them is so much like one of their parents that it's almost scary."

"Yeah, it is," Serena said softly as she looked out over the assorted teenagers and evaluated each one.

Rini may have inherited a healthy dose of Darien's dry humor, but her overall personality mirrored Serena's own more closely. She could be bubbly and outgoing, and she was rabidly loyal to those she cared about. She also shared her mother's love of food, manga, and anime.

DJ was almost a carbon copy of Darien in more than just looks. While he wasn't quite as cynical and hardened by life experiences as his father, he was sharply intelligent and completely devoted to his schooling. It was very clear that the boy wanted to do something productive with his life.

Katie was a bit of a wild card, just like her mother. But underneath the short temper and sarcastic wit beat the heart of a true fighter. She had her loving side and she was artistically gifted in her music. She was poised to take the world by storm, and she would fight every step of the way to get there.

Alex, like Andrew, was ambitious and smart. But his laid back attitude allowed him to go through life at a steady pace. He accepted whatever fate decided to hurl his way with a calm level headedness that most people would envy.

Emma was so much like Mina that sometimes it was easy to forget which one you were speaking to. Every now and then a hint of Kunzite would flare up in her tone or her silvery gray eyes. But overall she was as exuberant and as giddy as her mother.

Lita and Nephrite were so much alike in temperament that it was impossible to say which one Skye took after. But with her brash ways and love for a good fight, there was denying her parentage.

Jayden, to put it bluntly, was Jadeite in miniature. He was the smooth talking jokester of the group that enjoyed ogling girls. But when he got serious his telekinesis and fire power was definitely a handy thing to have around.

And sweet little Hannah, she could get loud when she needed to be heard, much like Amy could. But for the most part she remained quiet and watchful as her brain constantly processed information at computer speed.

These were the young people that they were placing the hopes for the future of Earth on. And Serena sincerely felt a surge of hope as she looked at them.

"I think they can do it," she said softly.

* * *

**A/N **The end is coming. Soon everyone will be in the future and the final fight will begin. It should be humorous though when the past and future selves meet. They've all been working hard, and now the time is coming to see if it will be enough. Thank you again to everyone for staying supportive and being understanding of why the chapters are slow in coming. If I had a real Silver Crystal, I would give it to Mina-chan in appreciation for all of the help she's given me. I can't make any promises about when they'll be ready, but we've been working on _Rekindled _and _Bad Boys _as well. So hopefully we'll be able to get those out soon. I also want to say thank you to everyone that helped make _Candy Kisses _a success. Your response was overwhelming! As always, drop me those reviews to let me know what you think. Lots of love and hugs to you all! Be safe!

~Sere~


	37. Some People Need a Push

**A/N **Okay! I know it has been like forever since I updated this story, and for that I apologize. I had actually written the next chapter for this, but when I went back and reread it I was absolutely disgusted with how horrible it was. Serena came off as being whiny. Rini was a brat. And Jess was just plain mental. That doesn't even include how disappointing the other characters were. So I scrapped the entire chapter and started from scratch, and I'm much more pleased with the way that this one turned out. At least no one is completely pathetic in it. It's also super long, so I hope that makes up some for the long wait. Now let me get my hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**JuliaGulia17**

**silvermermaidprincesskerry**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**GoldenDragon326**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**sabina21**

**Luthien Morgon**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**Seredhiel05**

**saveme57**

**Serandi82**

**KageNoNeko**

**kitsune75**

**StarCrumble**

**nickybluejess**

**jade2nightwing**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**S dot Serenity**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**rainbabie**

**(anonymous)**

Thank you to all of you for your wonderful reviews. Once again, I'm sorry for such a long wait, but I just wasn't happy with where the first version of the chapter was leading. But this is a nice, long update, so I hope that helps make up for it just a tiny bit. Lots of little fluffy moments happening here.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 34

Some People Need a Push

* * *

_He stood at the front of the church, waiting at the end of the long aisle that was strewn with red rose petals and bordered by yards and yards of silver silk bunting on either side, as a slender woman in a flowing white gown slowly walked toward him on her father's arm. Beneath the frothy mist of her veil, he could see the golden glow of her sunshine hair and the glimmer of her eyes, as blue as a summer sky, as she looked at him. His excitement was so great that it was hard to keep from sprinting down the aisle to her and sweeping her up into his arms._

_He felt a nudge in his ribs and turned to look at his best man. Andrew stood beside him, looking very distinguished, yet slightly uncomfortable, in his black tuxedo. Just behind him, in a military perfect straight line, were the groomsmen, Kunzite, Nephrite, Jadeite, and Zoicite. All of them were dressed in the same tuxedos, and they all had large smiles on their faces._

_Andrew chuckled as he whispered to him, "Here comes your princess, Romeo. I hope you're ready to do this. And you better not pass out either, because if you do I'm not saving you. Raye has already threatened to light you up if she sees so much as a wobble from you."_

_He looked across the dais that he was standing on at the bridal party. Sure enough, Raye was glaring at him with blazing violet eyes from her spot between Mina and Lita in the line of bridesmaids behind the matron of honor, Jess. And those eyes were full of her intent to deliver on the threat that Andrew had just mentioned. Amy was also eying the hot-tempered priestess warily from her place a few feet away from her. At least if Raye decided to spontaneously combust, there would be someone close by to chill her out._

_He almost snorted at the thought, and then whispered out of the corner of his mouth to Andrew, "I'm afraid that Little Miss Flamethrower is going to be sadly disappointed. I'm not prone to fainting spells, and even if I were, I have no intentions of doing so. I've waited too long for this day to get here, and I'm not going to let anything spoil it."_

_Then he turned his full attention back to the angelic bride approaching him. He descended the steps down to her as she stopped there. Then her father turned to her and lifted her veil, bringing her blushing face fully into focus. The older man then gently kissed her pink cheek before placing her delicate hand into her groom's._

"_Take care of her," her father told him seriously._

"_Always," he vowed. Then he looped her arm through his as they climbed the steps to stand before the minister._

_When they reached the top, she handed her bouquet of red and white roses to Jess. Then she turned to face him, her expression alight with happiness._

_He took both of her hands in his and whispered softly, "I love you, Serena."_

_Her eyes grew brighter with unshed tears and her voice shook just a tiny bit as she replied back, "I love you too, Darien."_

_Then the minister began. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today to witness the union of Serena Tsukino and Darien Shields in holy matrimony…"_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Darien rolled over and repeatedly smacked the blaring alarm clock on his bedside table, almost sending it crashing to the floor, until it finally shut up. Then he rolled to his back and threw an arm across his eyes and groaned, "Why does the alarm always have to go off right when I get to the good part?"

He reached blindly across the mattress, searching for Serena's warm, sleeping form, but all he encountered was bare, rumpled sheets. That discovery had his eyes popping open as he quickly sat up. Had he overslept?

A quick check of the clock, and a glance at the silvery gray sky that was just beginning to take on hints of pink and lavender that was visible through the open bedroom curtains, reassured him that he had awoken right on time and was in no danger of getting a late start. He had plenty of time to spare.

Normally he would get up and go for a jog before showering and dressing for work, but as he stretched and felt the slight soreness in his muscles, he decided to forego it that morning. He had gotten more than enough exercise while he had been in Elysian.

As he rolled out of bed, he wondered where Serena was. True, she had an early class that day, but it was an extremely rare occurrence for her to be up and about before he was.

Then again, he thought with a frown, perhaps it wasn't so unusual for him to wake up in bed alone this morning after all. Serena had been much quieter than normal and even a little depressed since they had come home yesterday after their stay in Elysian. Even though she had known it was a temporary thing, it had still been hard for her to say goodbye to her past parents when their time had been up and they had to return to their afterlife.

It hadn't exactly been easy on him either. Because of the amnesia he had suffered from as a result of the accident that had taken the life of his parents when he was six, he couldn't remember he couldn't remember his mother and father from this life. He had pictures of them, so he knew what they had looked like, his mother with her long layered pink hair and her maroon eyes that reminded him so much of Rini and his father who had been black haired and blue eyed like he was, but he had no memories of who they had been.

Because of that, Althea and Edward were the only people that he could recall as being his parents. Okay, so they had been Endymion's parents, and not his…technically. But when he thought of a mother's soft voice singing a lullaby, he pictured Althea the way she had been as she'd sat on the edge of his past self's bed when he'd been a child. She used to tuck him in at night and would sit beside him and stroke his hair gently back as she sang the same songs to him that her mother had sung to her until he fell asleep.

And when he thought of a father, all he could see was Edward. He may have been the high king of Earth and a very busy man, but he had always made time for his son; taking him up on his horse in front of him as he rode out on his rounds when he had been young, and inviting him along when he had become older and had a horse of his own. Those times together had always been their time to talk about whatever was important; whether it be studies or training, or when he had grown, women and war.

Yes, it had been hard for him to say goodbye to them. But at least this time he had been able to say goodbye instead of having them viciously torn from his life as they had been in the past. Even now, he could feel Althea's arms locked tightly around him in the stranglehold hug that she had given him before they'd left and could hear the sound of her sobs as she'd cried on his shoulder as she'd told him goodbye. He could also feel the way Edward's hand had squeezed his arm when they had parted. No words had been needed between them.

Yet all of his emotions took a back seat when he remembered the shattered look on Serena's face as she had bid her past parents farewell. She had tried so hard to be brave, but by that point she had been so exhausted that she had barely had the energy left to stand, and it had been easy for some of her more turbulent feelings to leak through. She had clung to both of them, Jonathan in particular, Princess Serenity had always been a bit of a daddy's girl, and had tried stubbornly to hold back her tears.

She had done admirably well, especially by Serena standards. She hadn't wailed once, at least not out loud. But on the inside she had been screaming. Darien's head still rang with the sound of the anguished cries that she had kept bottled up inside, and that he had been able to hear through their bond.

She had begun to fall apart near the end, and she probably would have broken down completely, but when she had started sobbing in earnest Queen Serenity had turned to him with tears of her own shimmering in her eyes and said, "Endymion, take her."

As he had gathered Serena in his arms, the four former monarchs had nodded to Sailor Pluto that they were ready to go. And with a wave of Pluto's staff they had vanished. It had perhaps been an abrupt departure, but considering how high emotions had been running it had probably been for the best.

He, Serena, and the others had returned home not long after that, where Serena had prowled around the apartment like a caged animal. He had tried to convince her to get some sleep, but every time he mentioned it she would just give him a sad little smile and tell him that she would later. Eventually though, the vapors that she had been running on had finally given out and she had slumped over on the sofa as unconsciousness had claimed her.

He had carried her to bed and had tucked her in. Then he had kept a careful watch over her for a while. Sometimes, when Serena was overly tired or stressed, old nightmares came back to haunt her. But she had slept deeply, barely even twitching in her sleep, which had comforted him immensely. He was fairly certain that he had detected a faint aura of Helios's power around Serena at one point, and he made a mental note to thank the dream priest for making sure that Serena got the peaceful rest that she needed the next time that he saw him.

So Serena had slept most of the afternoon and evening, and she had still been snoozing heavily when he had come to bed the night before. And while he had often picked on his fiancée in the past about her sleeping habits, claiming that she could sleep 24/7, he knew that it was an exaggeration. But she had easily slept the clock around, so it was no wonder that she would be up before he was.

He reached out with his aura to search for her, and drew in a relieved breath when he sensed her soothing silver presence just down the hall in the kitchen. His relief grew even more when he felt none of the melancholy from the day before in her. She seemed to be a little distracted at the moment, but that wasn't an entirely unusual thing for Serena this early in the morning. She never had been the type to jump out of bed, bright and alert. It normally took her a while to get her bearings.

'_Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop?' _her voice suddenly echoed in his head, making him jump. Okay, so perhaps she was more awake than he had given her credit for.

'_Sorry, love,' _he replied back smoothly. _'I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I was just so surprised to wake up and find myself alone that I thought I better check and make sure that nobody had come and carried you off in the night. But now that I know that my fears are unfounded I'm beginning to think that I should be calling Guinness instead, because this has to be some kind of a record for you.'_

'_Keep it up, Capeboy, and you'll be finding yourself alone in that bed a lot more in the future. And wipe that smirk off your face!' _she snapped back. Then she retreated from his mind.

Darien caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror over the dresser as he was opening up a drawer and saw that he was indeed smirking. That sight only made him chuckle. Sometimes he swore that Serena knew him better than he knew himself.

Reassured that she seemed to be back to her usual, grumpy morning self, he strolled into the bathroom to get himself ready to face the day. Luckily, living such a busy double life for so many years before becoming a doctor had taught him how to use his time efficiently, and even though he took the time this morning to luxuriate in the hot water pounding down on him in the shower, he was still immaculately groomed and dressed in just under twenty minutes.

"What's all this?" he exclaimed a few minutes later when he walked into the kitchen and found not just Serena, but DJ as well, sitting at the table. Books and papers littered the tabletop and both the golden and raven-dark heads were bent studiously over them.

DJ looked up and grinned. He, at least, appeared to be wide-awake. "Just doing some review. Final exams are only about two weeks away, ya know."

"Don't remind me!" Serena groaned as she slammed her English book and shoved it away from her. Then she reached for her cup of cocoa, muttering, "I don't know why I have to learn that stupid language for anyway. I know enough English to follow a conversation. And I watch American movies all the time. I know enough to get by."

"But your speaking ability stinks," DJ snickered in perfectly articulated, barely accented English. "Trust me, you'll be grateful for learning it later on down the road."

"He has a point, Sere," Darien added, also in English, as he wandered over to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

Serena glared at both of them over the rim of her cup and growled stubbornly in Japanese, "Don't you two nerd-brains start on me! It's too early in the morning to keep one language straight in my head right now, much less two."

The future father and son grinned conspiratorially at each other, but wisely kept their mouths shut. Serena on a wailing fit was never an easy thing to endure, and to antagonize her first thing in the morning was as dangerous as waving a juicy steak in front of a hungry lion. They both knew that from experience. So they lapsed into a peaceful silence instead.

That peace was shattered only a minute later by the sound of the sliding door to the balcony opening and a surprisingly chipper voice calling, "Hey! Hey! Anybody alive in here yet?"

"Oh, Great Selene!" Serena moaned, clamping her hands over her ears. "I think Jess has been possessed by Mina. Because if there is one person that is even grumpier than me first thing in the morning, it's Jess."

"Hmph! And Katie," DJ huffed under his breath.

Jess appeared in the kitchen doorway, but her appearance didn't match her cheerful tone of voice. The t-shirt and shorts she was wearing were hopelessly rumpled and wrinkled and her caramel blonde hair bushed out around her in a snarl of waist length, tangled curls.

Serena snickered snidely, "Well, looks like somebody rolled out of bed in a good mood this morning."

"I haven't been to bed yet," Jess quipped back as she plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. "I was in Elysian all night, practicing."

"Could you drop the English, please? I've had enough of that this morning," Serena growled. But in truth she was more concerned than annoyed. Not only did her past daughter look like she had crawled through a battlefield on her hands and knees, but she also had bruise-like shadows darkening the pale skin under her feverishly bright sapphire eyes.

"Sorry about that," Jess mumbled around a yawn, switching back to Japanese. "I tend to slip up more when I get tired."

"I think you're pushing yourself too hard," Darien said as he set a cup of coffee in front of her. His tone was heavy with concern. "I know you're excited about the idea of being able to expand your power and to be able to use it in a way that would not be destructive, but it could also be dangerous for you. Don't forget that the crystal is directly connected to your life force and feeds off of it. If you deplete yourself too much and don't give yourself time to recover…"

"I know that," Jess interrupted him as she wrapped her hands around the mug in front of her. "I know what will happen if I push myself too far. And believe me, the last thing I want to do is die or blow the planet up. Contrary to what people think, I do know what my limits are. But everyone else will be giving it their all when we go into this fight, and I think it's only fair for me to discover how far I can push my power without causing disaster. I've been taught to hold back all of my life, and I don't want to do that anymore. That is one thing that Discord has always been right about. The power of the Celestial Crystal shouldn't be wasted, especially if it can be used for something good. And I think I owe it to myself and everyone else to see exactly what I can do."

Serena looked at the woman across the table from her and read the determination on her face. It was a feeling that she was far too familiar with herself. Darien and her friends had always fussed at her for using the Silver Crystal, especially back in the early days when she still been learning how to control its power, because of the life draining effect that it had on her. No one wanted her to suffer the same fate that had befallen Queen Serenity when she had sacrificed her life to have the power to send them all to be reincarnated.

Over time, though, she had learned how to control the power of the crystal and she knew exactly how far she could go with it before it would endanger her life. Through the many battles that she had faced over the years, she had learned how to hold back and only use enough energy to defeat the enemy.

Except for that one time. There was one time that she had lost control…and had almost lost her life as well. It was still as clear in her mind as if it had happened yesterday instead of five years before. She could still remember the feel of the air rushing past her as she plummeted toward Earth, feeling more lost and alone than she ever had in her life. The Silver Crystal had roared inside of her in response to her grief, and she had given into it completely. Her shoulder blades jerked at the memory of the wings that had sprouted from her back.

She hadn't been surprised by the fact that she had wings. Queen Serenity had had wings, as had her mother before her, and her mother, all the way back through the generations of the Lunarian monarchy. But what had shocked her had been their appearance at that moment. Normally speaking, while all members of the Lunarian royal family bore the mark of the crescent moon on their foreheads, only the queen was bestowed wings. And that didn't usually occur until the crown princess was officially crowned as queen. There had been a few instances throughout history when a moon princess would receive her wings early because of a sudden burst of power during a volatile situation. And almost all of those occurrences ended tragically with the death of the princess when her life energy was completely drained by her crystal.

Luckily, although she had been distraught at the time, Serena had known the warning signs and had fought to gain control of her power as she had faced Galaxia for the last time. It had been tempting, very tempting, to let the full power of the Silver Crystal flow through her and vaporize Chaos, along with Galaxia. But thanks to the Light of Hope, she had been able to hold back the full force of her power and fight back with that hope instead of her pain.

It hadn't been easy, but in the end it had paid off when the Earth and all of her loved ones had been returned. She had paid the price for the amount of energy that she had used though, and it had been at least a week before she had recovered enough that she'd felt normal again. But the memory of how it had felt to have that raw energy pumping through her veins had haunted her ever since, and she'd sworn to never let herself go that far ever again. Even when they had sealed Discord away the first time, she had held back, despite Queen Serenity's assurances that she should embrace her power. Her wings had strained against the muscles of her back that day, but she had refused to let them emerge. Just as Jess was trying to learn her limits, she already knew what hers were, and she would never let herself get so far gone ever again if she could keep from it.

She smiled at Jess. "I understand why you are doing it. Just promise me that you'll be careful. The power of a crystal can sneak up on you and zap you dry before you know it. And I don't want to see anything happen to you."

Jess nodded. "I am being careful. I promise I am. But I have to say that I am thrilled about finding out that I can do more than just take out youmas with a single blast. Last night I was actually able to conjure a shield in Elysian that completely covered the entire palace and extended out about a hundred yards around it and was able to hold it for a full five minutes. I could have held it longer, but it collapsed when I tried to direct my energy through it in an attack. The good news is that at least the attack went out this time instead of rebounding back on me. So I guess I'm making some progress."

Serena grinned encouragingly. "It sure sounds like it."

"Just take care of yourself," Darien cautioned as he sat down. "I know that you're anxious to see how far you can get before we go to the future, but you also need to make sure that you get plenty of rest and eat properly. Being able to pull off impressive moves won't be worth much if you don't have the energy to do it."

Jess stuck her tongue out at him, and then giggled. "Yes sir, Mr. Doctor! I'm not going to run myself into the ground. Kyrian is a pretty tough taskmaster, but he's keeping an eye out for me too. When I left him a little while ago because I told him that I needed to get back and ready for class, he told me not to go to Elysian tonight and get some sleep. I swear, he's just as bossy as his dad sometimes. But I may go to Elysian for a while, at least in my dream form. It's hard to take a break when I'm on a roll."

DJ snorted into his cup of coffee, causing all three adults to look at him questioningly. "What?" he asked innocently.

"And just what was that snort about, little bro?" Jess teased as she reached over and ruffled his hair.

He jerked away with a laugh. "It's nothing. I just couldn't help but think what a Katie statement that was. She has a hard time taking it easy too. She's always pushing herself, thinking that she can turn herself into a better fighter. As if she couldn't whip most people with one hand tied behind her back."

"It's just her superior genetic makeup," Jess quipped with a casual wave of her hand. "Of course I can't take all the credit for it. The poor girl may have inherited my temper, but she got her fair share of her dad's stubbornness too."

Serena huffed a short laugh. "I _know_ you're not trying to say that you're _not_ stubborn. I believe that you would argue with a signpost if you thought it would argue back."

Jess arched a dark blonde brow at her former mother. "I never claimed that I couldn't be stubborn. But even I can't hold a candle to Drew when he gets his mind set on something. He can be worse than a rabid dog guarding a bone when he wants to be."

"If that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is," Darien muttered under his breath. "You're both too thick skulled for your own good sometimes."

Jess stuck her tongue out at him playfully, and then squeaked as her eyes landed on the clock on the microwave. "Crap! I better get moving! I've got a class in just a little while, and I don't want to get on my professor's shit list by being late. The art show judging is tomorrow night, and the outcome of that is a huge chunk of my final grade. The last thing I want to do is lose any brownie points now. I need all the help I can get."

"Yeah right! Like anybody would dare give a Jessica Alexander original painting a bad review," a cranky voice growled as Rini trudged groggily into the kitchen. "You know, you set a pretty high standard for the rest of us by being so _perfect _all the time."

Jess's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected verbal attack. "Whoa! Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning, Miss Merry Sunshine? You were all smiles and rainbows when I saw you in Elysian earlier."

"It's nothing," Rini sighed as she emptied a package of cocoa mix into a mug. Then she banged a drawer shut after pulling out a spoon and raged, "Why do men always have to act so _stupid_?"

"And that's my cue to leave," DJ muttered as he quickly scooped up his school things and almost ran from the room.

Darien stood from his chair, mumbling something under his breath about having left his briefcase in the bedroom. He was hot on DJ's heels in just a matter of seconds.

Jess plunked her coffee cup down and jumped up with a brighter than usual smile. "Yeah…so…I better run. Busy, busy day today. It's still dark enough for me to take the quick way home." She was out of the kitchen and across the living room in flash, slipping through the glass balcony door before anyone could blink.

"Well, I guess I can clear a room, huh?" Rini grumbled as she poured hot water from the kettle on the stove into her cup. She tossed a glance at Serena over her shoulder as she stirred her drink. "Aren't you going to bail too?"

Serena shook her head. "No. Now spill it. What has Helios done now to get you so upset?"

Rini dropped into the chair next to her. "He didn't really do anything. It was more of what he implied." Then she blushed and looked up shyly. "I…I went to Elysian last night, not physically, just in my dreams."

Serena fought back the impulse to laugh at the embarrassed girl and kept her expression calm. "I'm not surprised. I was under the impression that you spent at least part of most nights there. I may not possess Mina's gift for being able to sense bonds between people, but I'm not completely naïve either. Anyone that has spent time around the two of you can tell that you love each other very much. And I seriously doubt that you would be so excited about your upcoming engagement if you weren't head over heels for him. So it only makes sense that you would want to spend as much time as possible with the one that you love."

Relief softened Rini's face. "Thanks, Serena. I was just afraid that you might go all parental and protective if you knew that I was spending my nights with Helios."

Serena shook her head. "Like I said, I'm not stupid. And I doubt my future self is either. I'm well aware of the fact that you and Helios have a…relationship." She quickly held up a hand to cut Rini off when she looked like she was going to speak. "And I don't want to know exactly how deep that relationship goes. You're a good girl…a smart girl…and I trust you to make the right decisions for your life. I know that you and I haven't always seen eye to eye, but I feel like we've grown closer during your visits these last few years. You've come a long way from being that bratty little girl that fell out of the sky to land on my head so long ago. You've grown into a remarkable young woman, and I'm proud of you."

Rini sniffled as tears glazed her eyes. Then she grinned. "You haven't done so bad yourself. You're not exactly the same, whiny meatball head that I met the first time I came here. In fact, right now, you seem to be more like my mother than ever before."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Serena giggled. Then she prodded, "So what did Helios say to rile you up."

A growl rumbled in Rini's throat. "He's just so…backward sometimes. He knows modern culture and he can look the part of a modern man with no problem. But sometimes he just can't let go of that archaic, Silver Millennium mentality of his. And it drives me crazy! He can be such a caveman!"

Comprehension clicked in Serena's brain. "Why do I get the feeling that this has something to do with the fight that's coming up in Crystal Tokyo?"

Rini snorted and rolled her eyes. "Do you know what he had the nerve to say to me? He actually stood in front of me and told me to my face that when the fight starts he thinks it would be a good idea for me to come and stay in Elysian until it is all over. Can you believe that crap? As if I would bail on everybody and run and hide. I'm not a coward!"

"Of course you're not," Serena soothed her. "You are an amazing and brave fighter." She paused for a moment before adding gently. "But I think I understand where Helios is coming from though."

"Hmph!" Rini huffed, taking a sip of her cocoa. "He spouted off some nonsense about how it was dangerous for mom, dad, me, and DJ to all be involved in this fight, and that if something happened and all of us were killed that it would be bad news for the planet to lose the entire royal family. So he thinks that it would be best, since I am the crown princess, for me to stay hidden during the fight. Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous in your life? Doesn't he get it that if Discord wins there will be no planet left for anyone to rule? I doubt even Elysian would survive if that happens."

Serena covered Rini's clenched fist that was laying on the tabletop with her hand and said softly, "Rini, sweetie, he's not saying that because of his old fashioned way of thinking or because he doesn't believe in your abilities. I don't doubt that he is concerned about the rest of us and the future of the world, but what it all boils down to is that he loves you deeply and he's scared for your safety. I have to admit that I would probably think less of him if he didn't show some concern for you. I'm sure he knew from the beginning that it would be a futile effort to try to convince you to sit out of the fight. But the fact that he made the attempt just tells me how deep his feelings for you are. It doesn't have anything to do with him trying to be macho or thinking that you are a weak woman. I believe that it's just an instinctive trait for men to want to protect the women that they love."

"Well what's wrong with a woman wanting to protect the people that she cares about?" Rini grumbled.

"Not a thing," Serena asserted. "And I think we've both proved that many times over since we both teamed up together to take out the Doom Phantom all those years ago. But men are just natural worrywarts sometimes. Do you think that Darien, Andrew, or the generals are happy that all of us scouts are ready to jump into this fight? I can guarantee you that they aren't. They would probably be flipping cartwheels if us girls decided to stay home instead of running off to the future. But deep down they know that we are very good at what we do, and if we have a chance to help out then we have to go. Helios just happens to fall into the same category that they do. He is a man in love, and he just wants you to be safe. So don't hold it against him."

Rini stared at her for a long moment before flinging herself across the small space separating them and throwing her arms around Serena's neck. "Thanks, mom!" she choked out as she hugged her tightly.

"Anytime," Serena replied sincerely as she returned the embrace.

Then, as quick as a flash, Rini was out of her arms and out of her seat. "I've got to get ready for school. If I'm lucky I'll have a few minutes to pop into Elysian and apologize to Helios before class starts. I was kind of a bitch to him earlier and now I feel bad about it."

Serena shot her a quick smile. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Everybody needs to band together now more than ever, with no petty arguments standing in the way. Besides, you shouldn't make the poor guy suffer too long just because he's a man. As Raye always says, maleness is a genetic defect that we women have to learn to put up with. And don't worry about rushing. If you run a little late I'll write you a note to get you into class."

Rini grinned. "You're the best, Serena!" Then she dashed from the room.

Serena carefully stacked her books and papers on the table before going to the sink to rinse out her now empty cocoa mug. As she stood with her hands under the running water she felt Darien's presence come up behind her. Then his arms were around her waist, pulling her back against him.

His breath was hot against her skin as he leaned down to nuzzle her ear. "She's right. You are the best."

She smirked as she turned the faucet off. "What did I tell you earlier about eavesdropping? You're as bad as Mina, Lita, and Amara."

He chuckled against her neck, raising goosebumps on her arms. "I wasn't eavesdropping this time. I promise. I didn't have to. When Rini gets riled up her voice carries as clearly as a bullhorn…just like somebody else I know."

"Don't be a jerk!" Serena said in a joking tone as she swatted him with the dishtowel that she had picked up to dry her hands with.

"Ah! What a shame!" he sighed as he turned her in his arms. "And here I thought you were the one woman who could put up with my…What was it again? My genetic defect of being a man?"

She giggled as she pressed her forehead to his. "You can still be so goofy sometimes."

"And you love me for it," he replied back with a grin. Then his expression turned serious. "So how are you feeling today, better?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I feel much better. I know I was a bit moody and depressed yesterday, but it was just so hard to say goodbye to them…much harder than I ever imagined that it would be. I know that they are not my parents anymore, but it dredged up so many old memories. I love my mom and dad, and I wouldn't trade them for all the money in the world. They've been the best parents that any girl could ask for. But Mama and Papa will always hold a special place in my heart."

"Of course they will," he told her gently. "And that's one of the most beautiful things about you, your capacity to love. Sometimes I believe that your heart must be ten times the normal size for it to be able to hold so much love."

She looked up at him seductively through her sooty lashes. "But if my heart had a heart of its own, it would be you. You have the place of honor at the center of my heart. And you are what keeps it beating."

His dark blue eyes drilled into hers as he whispered, "You _are _my heart, Serena. You are the one thing that I could never live without." Then he dipped his head down to cover her lips with his.

He groaned as he tasted the remnants of chocolate on her lips and tongue. He backed her up a step until she was trapped between him and the counter behind her. He knew that he shouldn't be playing with fire this way. He was due at work in less than an hour. But she looked so damned adorable…

Evidently she was thinking the same thing. She pulled her mouth from his and gasped, "Darien! We don't have time for this! You've got work, and I've got class."

He knew that she was right, but at the moment he didn't care. He quickly ran some calculations through his head. It wouldn't hurt him too much if he were a few minutes late for work. Sure, it would throw his appointments behind, but if he worked through lunch he could make up for it. And Serena would still have plenty of time to get to class. Yeah! That would work.

"Ah, screw it!" he growled, scooping her up, bridal style, in his arms.

Serena squealed as she flung her arms around his neck. "Darien! What are you doing?"

A wicked light glimmered in his eyes. "You'll just have to wait and see." And then he kissed her again, ravenously. If there was one thing he knew about Serena, after a few soul-shattering kisses she would give up her protests and be like putty in his hands.

And, of course, it worked. Oh, she tried to hold out. She tried to resist. But after a minute or so she melted against him and began kissing him back just as hungrily as he was kissing her. He smiled into the kiss as he felt her fingers weave themselves into his hair and knew that she had given up the fight. He started for the kitchen door, fully intending on locking them in their room while he paid homage to his goddess. But unfortunately, not all good intentions come true.

His cell phone began buzzing in his pocket, and the ring tone that filled the air told him that it was the hospital calling. Damn! So much for a pleasant start to his morning.

Serena gave him a slightly aggravated, yet understanding look as she slipped from his hold to stand before him. "Duty calls," she said sweetly.

He bit back a string of curses as he fished his cell phone from his slacks and answered it tersely, "Shields speaking!"

Serena turned away and caught her lower lip between her teeth to keep from laughing out loud at his irritation.

* * *

Jadeite stood on the balcony just off the entertainment room of the penthouse, an uncharacteristic scowl twisting his expression as he stared out over the early morning city.

'_Stupid! Stupid! I'm so damn stupid!' _he railed at himself internally as he clenched his fist, ignoring the bite of something sharp digging into his palm. _'You pathetic bastard! Are you a man or not? It's not that effing hard to do. You just need to stop dithering around like a woman and grow a set of balls already!'_

He jumped at the sound of the door opening behind him. He spun around furiously and glared when he saw Nephrite stepping out to join him. "Oh! It's just you!" he sneered viciously.

Normally, the chestnut haired general would use any opportunity to pick a fight with the blonde. But this time he merely walked over to lean against the rail beside his friend. After a long moment of silence he said gruffly, "So kid, you look like you're in the same boat I am."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Jadeite snapped back. "And don't call me kid! I might be a couple of years younger than you, but considering that we've both been around in some shape or form for over a thousand years it makes it kind of a moot point."

"Simmer down, hothead!" Nephrite growled. "I didn't come out here to start a row between us. I came out here to speak to you as a friend."

Jadeite felt immediately contrite. Although most people would assume that he and Nephrite couldn't stand each other because of the way they usually fought with one another, they would be on the opposite end of the truth. You didn't grow up with and fight alongside someone as long as they had without building some kind of a relationship between them. In reality, they were as close as brothers. And although they squabbled like rival siblings because of their hot-tempered personalities, they always knew that they could trust the other one to have their back. And deep down they both knew that it wasn't because of some oath of allegiance that they took back during the Silver Millennium. It was because they both genuinely liked and cared for each other.

"Sorry," Jadeite mumbled as he turned to lean back against the rail next to Nephrite. "I guess I'm just a little on edge. What did you want to talk about?"

Nephrite snorted. "Well it's certainly not the weather! Although it is muggier than hell out here already, and it's not even 8:00 in the morning yet. This feels more like late August than the first part of May."

"Neph…" Jadeite snarled warningly.

"I was just commenting," Nephrite replied, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture. Then he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and sighed. "Aw, hell! I've never been one for beating around the bush, so I guess I'll just come right out and say it."

One of Jadeite's brows quirked up in slight amusement. "There's a novel idea. Come on, Captain Stargazer, and tell me what's got you acting all nicey-nice like a girl."

"Watch it, you perverted moron, or I might just have to kick your ass for the hell of it!" Nephrite shot back.

The beginning of a grin appeared on Jadeite's face. "Bring it on! My fire can take your little zaps any day."

"Puh-leeze!" Nephrite sneered. "A Bic lighter has more firepower than you do."

This time, one side of Jadeite's mouth definitely hitched up higher than the other. "Ya wanna test that theory?"

Nephrite shrugged. "Nah! Maybe later. Right now I want to talk about that ring you've got all clammed up in your fist."

Jadeite's eyes almost bulged from their sockets. "How did you…" he began as he unclenched his fist to look at the delicate ruby and rose gold ring sitting in his palm.

Nephrite smirked and pulled one hand from his pocket. He unfurled his fingers to show him a platinum band that held a single emerald. "I told you that we were in the same boat. I've been carrying this around with me constantly for at least a week. How about you?"

Jadeite shook his head. "Same here. I keep waiting for just the right moment to happen. I almost had it while we were in Elysian. I was this close," he held his thumb and forefinger almost touching, "to popping the question. We were by the lake, and I had the damn ring in my hand. The words were on the tip of my tongue, and I was about to say them…then Jay and Hannah came running by, screeching at each other, and it ruined the mood."

"I know the feeling," Nephrite chuckled. "I've tried to propose to Lita at least a dozen times in the past week, but it seems like someone or something always interrupts us just before I can get the words out. Take last night for example. We had stopped by the restaurant to check up on things and we were in her office. Okay, I know, it's not the most romantic place to ask a woman to marry you, but we were alone so I thought I would go for it. And I'll be damned if somebody didn't come knocking on the door before I could get more than one word out. So I thought I'd try again when we got home for the night. Then Kunzite stopped me when we came in to ask me something about the drywall contractor for the renovations on those downtown buildings we bought. By the time I got upstairs, Lita was already asleep. I could have spit nails!"

"Tell me about it! Things have been so crazy lately that I can barely think straight. Once or twice I've almost been tempted to just shove the ring into Raye's hand and just ask her yes or no. But that would probably get me barbequed," Jadeite grumbled.

"That definitely wouldn't be a smart move," Nephrite agreed. "Women are emotional creatures, and they expect marriage proposals to be a tad bit more special than that. It just happens to be our luck that we managed to hook up with two of the most temperamental women ever born."

Jadeite rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Or maybe we're just making it a lot harder than it has to be. Think about it. Darien and Andrew both proposed, and they're both only inches away from walking down the aisle. Mr. Uptight himself, Kunzite, not only asked Mina to marry him, but he did it in front of all of us, plus a hundred strangers. And even practical ole Zoicite got Amy to say yes. If they can do it, then why can't we?"

"Exactly!" Nephrite confirmed with a nod. "And that's why I've come up with a proposition for you."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Jadeite exclaimed as he backed away nervously. "Lita is the one you're supposed to be proposing too, not me."

Nephrite pinched the bridge of his nose. "I always knew that you were deranged, you fruit! I'm being serious here! What I was going to suggest was a little wager between us…sort of a test of our manhood to prove that we've still got what it takes. For god's sake! At one time we were two of the most respected men on the planet. Decent people respected us and criminals fled at the mere mention of our names. Are we going to be brought to our knees by the women that we love over the matter of asking them to marry us?"

Jadeite tilted his head thoughtfully. "Okay, I'm listening. What exactly are you thinking we should do?"

An evil grin appeared on Nephrite's face. "It's simple. We man up. We make an agreement between ourselves that by tonight we will both have proposed to our lovely ladies."

Jadeite looked disappointed. "That's it? That's your master plan? It's bullshit! What's to stop one of us from saying the time didn't feel right and putting it off again?"

Nephrite crossed his arms smugly. "That's why we set a punishment for ourselves if we fail. If either one of us backs out of this, they have to wash and detail the other one's car every week for a year."

"That's not fair!" Jadeite exclaimed. "Your truck is huge and has like a million nooks and crannies compared to my sweet ride!"

"And I would expect every one of them to be cleaned," Nephrite said smoothly. "What's wrong? You act like you already know that you're going to fail."

Jadeite's face flamed red. "I will not fail! You'll see! My ring will be on Raye's finger before the night is out. And when I succeed and you don't, just keep in mind that my Lamborghini takes two coats of wax." He stomped away in a huff.

"And when you fall flat on your face, remember to pay close attention to my rims when you're washing my truck. Those babies look good, but they are perpetual dirt magnets," Nephrite called after his retreating form.

The slamming of the door was his only reply.

He began chuckling at the typical, explosive, Jadeite response. Maybe it was juvenile, but he always got a kick out of getting underneath the blonde jokester's skin. He had no doubt that his hotheaded friend would be successful in landing his fiery priestess/businesswoman before the day was over. Jadeite wasn't normally the type of person that needed motivation to do anything. Actually, he was usually the type to jump into anything feet first without thinking about the consequences until he absolutely had to.

But everybody needed a little nudge in the right direction every now and then. And when he'd seen his friend standing out on the balcony, alone and looking despondent, and he'd seen the glint of the ring that he held in his hand, he'd figured that he'd be the good guy for once and give Jadeite the push that he needed. And he was certain that it would pay off for his friend. Despite their sometimes tumultuous relationship, Jadeite and Raye were crazy about each other, and everyone knew it.

He slipped the emerald ring over the tip of his pinky finger. Now he just had to hope and pray that things went as smoothly for him. He wasn't afraid that Lita would turn him down. Skye was proof that they would end up together. But he wanted to make sure that he did it right.

He wasn't much of a romantic, although Lita always said that he could have his moments from time to time. Luckily, she was also a practical woman, and she wouldn't be expecting any flowery speeches or spouting of poetry from him. He shuddered at the mere thought. Straightforwardness always worked best with his sometimes rash girlfriend.

But just the same, he intended to do things properly and go down on one knee when he asked her. He just needed to find a few minutes where they could be alone and uninterrupted. Which was easier said than done when you considered the turmoil their lives were currently in. Surely he could do that.

"Neph…" Lita's voice called to him as she opened one of the French doors and stuck her head out. "There you are."

Hastily, he shoved his hand into his pocket and let the ring fall into it. "Hey! I thought you'd left for the restaurant already."

She scrunched her nose up crossly. "Well, I had intended to, but I spent twenty minutes trying to get Skye out of bed, without any luck I might add. I finally gave up on her. I think she must have convinced Jess to take her to Elysian with her last night so she could see Kyrian, so now she's whipped. I left her a note to get her into class in case she decides to drag her butt out of bed.

Nephrite bristled. He didn't dislike Kyrian, even though he was less than thrilled with the fact that Talon was his father. And Kyrian seemed to be truly enamored with his future daughter and treated Skye with the utmost respect, when he wasn't picking on her at least. It was just the thought of any boy, no, not a boy, a man, being so close to the girl that would one day become his daughter.

Lita huffed a laugh. "Oh, smooth your hackles, Grumpy Bear! Do I need to remind you that Skye is about the same age that I was when you came crashing back into my life? And the age difference between her and Kyrian is much smaller than the gap between us."

He tossed her a teasing smirk. "Are you calling me an old man?"

She snorted. "Hardly! But at least they are both still in their teens. I am going to have to have a talk with her though. I know she's been a little lonely and feeling left out since all of her friends have seemed to pair off, so I don't mind her going to see him. But I don't want it to interfere with her schoolwork, especially this close to graduation."

Nephrite sauntered toward her with a grin. "Is that motherly concern I hear in your voice?"

She rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go that far. I just don't want to see her screw up. I'm sure my future self didn't send her here just so she could flunk out of school."

The ring was burning a hole in Nephrite's pocket as he reached her. They were alone at the moment. Maybe this would be a good time to _"pop the question"_. It might be the best shot he got all day.

He cleared his throat. "Lita…"

"Shit!" Lita exclaimed, looking at her watch. "I am running so behind. The produce delivery will be arriving at the restaurant soon, and I have to be there to let him in. That's what I came looking for you for. I couldn't get my car to start. So I was wondering if you could give me a lift. If you've got something going on I can just walk…"

"I don't have a thing planned," he hastily reassured her as he followed her inside. "In fact, I'm free all day. So I'm at your beck and call. Kunzite didn't have anything scheduled for us today."

"Really," she said absently as she picked up her purse from where she had tossed it on the table in the entry hall. "I guess that explains things then. I saw that his SUV was gone while I was in the garage, but Mina's car is still here. I went up to their room first, because I figured that if Mina was heading into the shop that I would just hitch a ride with her, but nobody was there. I guess Kunzite must have given her a ride."

Nephrite frowned as a slight warning bell began ringing in the back of his head. "Hmm…that's interesting. The love goddess is up out of bed and gone this early? It must be a sign of the apocalypse."

Lita laughed as she led him from the penthouse to the elevator. "I admit, it is strange. But Mina's not quite as bad as she used to be. In fact, I think she's finally starting to grow up just a little bit. She's running a successful salon and boutique, and doing quite well at it, which is shocking. I know Kunzite handles most of her bookkeeping and stuff, but she's really become a hands-on kind of boss. And she's been working on her own clothing line that she hopes to launch next year. Not too shabby for an airhead blonde, huh? She's come a long way from the ditzy, boy crazy Barbie doll that I met at fourteen."

"I wasn't attacking her character," Nephrite defended himself as they rode the elevator down to the garage level. "After all, she is Minako's reincarnation, and we all know how determined Miss Princess Venus could be when it came to work. It's only natural that those traits would appear in Mina."

Lita looked thoughtful as the doors dinged and slid open and they stepped out. "I guess you have a point. I know we've all changed from who we used to be in the past, but I suppose that deep down inside we have basically stayed the same. When I think about it, I guess I haven't changed all that much from who I was in the Silver Millennium, have I?"

"Umm…" Nephrite pondered for a moment, knowing that he was walking a thin line. He and Lita had settled into a comfortable relationship over the years that they had been together, and they didn't fight near as much as they had in the beginning. But there were a few subjects that could send her off into a murderous rage like the ones she'd had when he'd first found himself with her in the present time. She had been dealing with her leftover emotions from the past and had been adamant about not letting him into her life. He had been just as determined to reclaim what they had once had and had pursued her relentlessly until it had paid off.

It hadn't been easy, and there had been many nights that he had laid in bed, his muscles aching and his skin tingling and stinging from their electrifying encounters. It had been hell until she had finally admitted that she loved him and had agreed to give him another chance. It was really more than he deserved after all of the pain and suffering she had gone through at his hands while he had been brainwashed by Beryl, but she had given him this chance, and he was determined to not screw it up this time.

So as he punched in the security code for their garage, he carefully thought over the best way to answer her. Experience had taught him that if he told her that she was a lot like her past self, Makoto, then she would accuse him of loving her only because of who she'd been. But if he stressed the differences between her past and present self, she would either accuse him of never truly loving Makoto, or come up with some crazy idea that he couldn't possibly love her as Lita because she was too different from Makoto.

Feeling like a noose was suddenly around his neck, he looked at her expectant face. "Well…" he began reluctantly.

She tapped her foot. "Well what?"

He heaved a deep sigh. "Look, don't take my head off or anything. We've been through this before. I loved who you were in the past, but I love you just as much. Yes, there are parts of you that have remained the same while some of you has changed because of the times and the life that you've had. I've changed too, and I don't see that as a bad thing. Those changes are what make it possible for us to be together in this time. But I don't believe that our core traits and beliefs will ever change. They are the building blocks that make us who we are."

To his surprise, Lita laughed instead of hurling some scathing insult. "That is just the sort of philosophical answer I would expect out of my Starman!" She rose to her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Now stop looking at me like you expect me to throw a Raye fit and get me to work. I won't be able to serve a single dinner salad tonight if I miss this produce delivery, and that would kill my business."

Relieved to have skated past the shaky topic, he grabbed her hand and pushed open the door to the garage to lead her to his big black 4x4 truck. He smirked to himself as they skirted around her green Camry. He would have to remember to hook her distributor back up before she decided to have the car towed to a mechanic. With any luck she would just write off the car not starting this morning as being a fluke. Maybe it was underhanded of him to sabotage her car that way, but he'd needed a way to make sure that he could be with her today. He couldn't very well ask her to marry him if she wasn't around.

As he rounded the front of his truck on the way to the driver's side, he reached into his pocket to touch the ring. Maybe now was a good time to ask her. But then he decided no. He may not be a romantic, but surely he could do better than a hasty proposal in his truck while they were sitting in the garage. Besides, she was in a hurry to get to work, and he didn't want to rush this. He would bide his time for now.

'_You've been biding your time for weeks now. And what has that gotten you? Absolutely zilch!' _a voice fussed at him in his head. _'This is the same trap that you keep falling into time and time again. If you keep this up, you might end up proposing to her by the time you're both in your fifties. And if that happens you'll end up having to wax Jed's stupid car since you made him that ridiculous deal.'_

He tossed a glare at the gleaming Lamborghini parked in the corner of the garage. Its glossy black paint and the subtle custom flames in shades of red, orange, and yellow, along with its tinted windows and shiny wheels screamed that its owner was at least a borderline narcissist. And he had no intention of having to give up any of his time to pamper Jadeite's _"baby"_.

'_The day is young. You have plenty of time,' _he told himself. And it was true. He had the whole day free to be with Lita. And surely at some point he would find the opportunity to ask her. He'd only made that bet with Jadeite to help motivate his friend. The hotheaded blonde was never one to back down from a challenge after all. But he'd be damned if he'd be the one to fail after it had all been his idea to begin with.

"Are you okay?" Lita asked him as he swung up into the cab of the truck. "You were glaring at Jed's car like you wanted to take a baseball bat to it. You two didn't get into another fight, did you?"

Nephrite snapped back to the present. "What? No! Everything's fine."

"If you say so," she muttered as she stared out the windshield at Mina's orange Miata next to the empty spot where Kunzite's Highlander was usually parked. Then she giggled. "It is kind of crazy for Mina to be out and about already, isn't it? Yes, I know I said that she's doing better, but she's usually just rolling out of bed at 8:00, not already up and gone."

"Maybe she and Kunzite had something planned for the day," Nephrite offered as he keyed the ignition and the powerful engine rumbled to life.

"Perhaps," she mused. Then her eyes landed on the dashboard clock. She squealed, "Oh man! The delivery truck will be at the restaurant any minute!"

He flashed her a roguish grin. "Just buckle up and hang on tight, my lady. I'll have you there before you know it."

"Just don't drive over the sidewalks," she grumbled as she snapped her seatbelt in place.

His grin grew. "I'll try not to," he chuckled. Then he slammed the truck into gear.

* * *

"Don't either of you find this boring after everything that we've found out and been through the past couple of days?" Alex grouched as he sat cross-legged under a tree in the courtyard of Azabu High School. He propped his chin in his hands with his elbows on his knees.

"I mean come on!" he continued when he didn't get a response. "We've got the powers of gods and everyone expects us to save the world, but here we are attending high school like we're just regular people. Does that not strike either one of you as being odd?"

DJ sighed, looking up from the book he was reading. "No, it doesn't, Lex. God powers or not, we still have to finish our education. Once Discord is destroyed we'll still have our whole lives ahead of us. College is creeping up on us fast."

Alex yawned. "I don't see what you're so concerned about. You're a freaking prince! If you wanted to you could spend all day doing absolutely nothing and all night hitting the clubs. You don't even have to worry about running the kingdom because you're not the oldest kid. You could be a playboy prince and nobody would care…Ouch!" he cried as a grinding pain tore through his foot.

"Excuse me!" Katie hissed in a deadly tone as she pulled back her foot from where she had been smashing her brother's toes into the ground.

"Hell, Kat! What was that for?" he yowled as he cradled his sore foot in his hands and glared at his sister, who was sitting next to DJ on a bench beside him.

She tossed her head, sending her long, silvery blonde ponytail whacking into her boyfriend's face. DJ sputtered and shot her a look of agitation, which she ignored. She was too busy staring Alex down.

"I," she began in a haughty tone, "happen to like it that we can still have some normality in our lives in the middle of all of the crap going on around us. School may not be my most favorite thing in the world either, but it's what regular people our age do, and I _like _it. Besides, I don't want to go through life being ignorant either. What good is it if I can play the piano, but not be able to carry on an intelligent conversation with someone? The last thing I want to be known as is the world's dumbest musician."

"How about the cruelest one then?" Alex snapped back. "Now my foot hurts like a son of a bitch! How could you treat me, your own brother, your twin, like this?"

She stuck her nose up in the air. "Well maybe you should start thinking about what you're going to say before you open your mouth and let something stupid spew out! You know that DJ has higher ambitions in life. So how could you mock him for valuing an education?"

Alex's mouth popped open as comprehension clicked, but he snapped it closed once again when he saw DJ shake his head slightly at him in warning to just let it go. But he couldn't stop the snide comment in his head. _'Ah! I see. That playboy prince remark got to her. She's jealous thinking about all of the women that would throw themselves at him.'_

A split second later, he realized that his thought hadn't been as private as he would have liked. He'd forgotten to close the mental channel that the three of them shared, and it had been broadcast to them as loud and clear as if he had spoken it aloud.

DJ slapped a hand to his face, but silver sparks erupted in Katie's eyes like fireworks.

'_I am NOT jealous!' _she shrieked mentally.

"Whoa! Chill, Kat! Geez!" Alex placated her as he held his hands up. "Don't blow a gasket on me. I was just picking. Where's your sense of humor?"

"Probably wherever you left your personality!" she sneered back. "And wherever that is, I wish you'd go and find real quick like, because you're really starting to get on my nerves!"

Alex's face flushed red in anger. It wasn't often that he lost his temper with his sister. In fact, he could usually weather her tantrums better than anyone else. But that was also because she was hardly ever short or sarcastic with him. She used to save the sharp edge of her tongue to use on DJ…but that had been before. Now he shuddered to think about how she might use tongue with his best friend. On one hand he was glad that Katie and DJ didn't fight all the time anymore, and he understood that they were all stressed out right now knowing that something big was going to go down soon, but he wasn't about to become her new whipping boy.

But luckily, except for the short amount of time that he had been under the rage spell that Apollo had sneakily put on him, he rarely gave vent to his anger. He may have inherited a healthy dose of his mother's temper, but he also had a large share of his father's level-headedness. Not that Andrew hadn't been known to lose it and yell on a few occasions himself, but he knew when it was better to just walk away.

Figuring that this was one of those instances, Alex jumped to his feet, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he did. He jammed both of his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he stalked away without a word, leaving Katie and Alex sitting on the bench where they were. Maybe taking a break from each other for a few minutes would help clear the tension between them. DJ always seemed to have a calming affect on Katie these days.

He snorted at that thought. Who'd have thought that he'd ever see the day that he would be able to say that about those two knuckleheads? After watching the two of them either duking it out or tiptoeing around each other for the better part of sixteen years, he had just about given up hope of the two of them ever getting along. But who said miracles never happened?

"Maybe she just needs to get laid," he muttered under his breath, and then let a shudder ripple through him. That was definitely a subject that he didn't want to think about. But still, everybody needed a stress reliever from time to time.

He took a spot beneath another tree where he could see the school gate and leaned up against the trunk. Hopefully Emma would get there soon. She always had a way of soothing him when he was troubled and being able to lighten the mood of everyone around her. Yeah, that's what he was missing, his love goddess.

DJ let out a low whistle as he watched Alex stomp away angrily. "Way to be harsh, Kat. Did you two have a fight or something?"

Beside him, Katie slapped her hands to her face. "Argh! What is wrong with me? I knew that he was just joking around, but I let my temper get the better of me." She let her head slump to DJ's shoulder.

He set his book aside and wrapped an arm around her. Then he kissed the top of her head and whispered in her ear, "Aw, baby, you're just letting your nerves get to you. You need to try to chill a little bit."

"How do you do it?" she mumbled as she snaked her arms around his waist. "How do you always manage to stay so calm? I'm going crazy here, and you're just as cool as a cucumber, same as always. How can you be so…unaffected…after everything that we've learned."

He chuckled softly. "I guess you can thank my dad's genes for that. I suppose what it all boils down to is that we know what is going to happen and what we have to do, and there's nothing that we can do to change that. So there is no reason to drive ourselves into the loony bin by stressing over it. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. What I don't get is why you're so worried about this. I thought you were okay with the job we have to do. Isn't that what your new guard kitty has been doing, reassuring you that everything is going to be fine."

She tilted her head back to look at him. "Don't start harping on poor Orion! He's been a big help to me, and to all of us, since we found him. Grandma Serenity worked with me some while she could, but Orion has shown me things that I would have never figured out on my own. He's even taught you a thing or two as well."

He couldn't deny the truth of her words. The gray feline had proven to be insanely intelligent when it came to strategizing, weapon's handling, and the best ways to use and conserve energy. DJ just wished that the damn cat had found someone other than Katie to latch onto. He had been her almost constant companion from the moment that they had brought him back with them from the god-made realm where they had found Gaia, Selene, and Apollo's swords, and it was beginning to become just a tad bit irritating. In fact, this was probably the most alone time that they'd had since the conversation that they'd had in Elysian the other night when Katie had confessed to him all the horrors of her abduction by Discord.

Orion had even taken up sleeping on Katie's bed, much to his dismay. He had found that out the hard way when he had tried to attempt a late night visit with his girlfriend the night before. Knowing that Alex would be out somewhere with Emma, he had snuck into the apartment next door, just like he had on a few other occasions before. He had checked on her through the connection they shared, and he knew that she was already asleep, but he was happy with the thought of just being near her and perhaps holding her for a while. And if she happened to wake up…Well, he would have been pleased with that too.

But he had hardly done more than pushed open her bedroom door and caught a glimpse of her curled up, sleeping form under the covers, her sleep flushed face, and her silky, tangled, silvery hair when a low voice had hissed, "Is there something I can help you with, your highness?"

Storm cloud gray eyes had practically glowed at him in the dim light of the room from the spot where Orion had been curled up comfortably next to Katie.

"N…no," he'd stammered nervously. "I was just checking up on Kat."

"My mistress is fine," Orion had told him sternly. "Right now she is getting the rest that she needs, and I suggest that you do the same. I'm sure that if she wakes and needs you for anything that she will call for you."

He'd backed out of the room after that, cursing the cat under his breath as he made his way back to Serena and Darien's apartment to toss and turn for a few hours in the lonely bed that waited for him there. That damn Orion was worse than any overprotective father!

But that wasn't the point right now.

"You're changing the subject," he said to Katie with a hint of a smile. "Your psychotic feline friend isn't who we were discussing. I want to know what is bothering you. I thought me, you, and Lex were all on the same page in this."

She sat up abruptly, scrubbing at the few tears that had seeped from her eyes. "Oh! I know I'm being overly emotional here. But I just can't help it! I know what we have to do, and I'm cool with that. But there are so many other people that are involved in this…my parents, your parents, our friends, and their parents. And now we're pulling in everybody here into the madness as well. It's driving me absolutely batty! I know that Trista said that she would come get all of us and take us home this weekend if Discord hadn't made a move by then, but I'm scared to death that something is going to blow at any second. And I'm scared for everybody, DJ."

"Shh…" he shushed her softly as he pulled her back tightly against him. "I know I may act like this whole ordeal doesn't bother me, but deep inside I'm just as scared as you are. Things could go wrong in a heartbeat, and I know that. But remember what Grandma Serenity and the others told us. We have to keep our minds clear and focused on our mission. Discord will prey on our doubts and fears if we let them get the better of us. So we can't think about the bad things that _might _happen. We just need to concentrate on our main goal and what we want the outcome to be. That's the only way we can beat him."

She lifted her head to smile at him. "You're always so logical. Thanks. I feel better now."

He smirked at her. "I was hoping you would." Then he leaned down and kissed her softly. He wished that he could kiss her more thoroughly, but they were on school grounds, and they could get slapped with detention if a teacher caught them getting hot and heavy.

"Mmm…" Katie purred as she pulled back after a few seconds. Her eyelids blinked open to reveal twin pools of hazy, mossy hazel. But her eyes sharpened and turned sad as she glanced over toward where her brother was.

Heaving a sigh, she untangled herself from DJ. "I guess I better go talk to him. I owe him an apology for flying off the handle and acting like a bitch."

DJ gave her an encouraging grin. "That's probably a good idea. We don't need any friction in the team if we can keep from it."

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Friction! I'd like to show you friction, mister!" she growled in a failed attempt to sound threatening.

His light blue eyes darkened and his expression turned positively evil as he drawled, "Promises, promises."

Mortified heat flooded her cheeks as she caught his implication and she clapped her hands to them as she wailed, "DJ! I didn't mean it like that!"

He laughed at her lingering innocence and gave her nudge. "Oh, go on and patch things up with your idiot brother so we can get things back to normal. We may only have a few days left here, and I intend to enjoy them."

She stuck her tongue out at him, still blushing in embarrassment, as she slipped off the bench and scampered across the courtyard toward Alex.

Her hurried footsteps slowed as she approached him, and then stopped completely when he growled, "What now, Kat?" without even looking at her.

She gulped hard and then stammered, "L…Lex, I'm sorry, okay. I know that you were just joking, and I didn't mean to jump all down your throat about it. I've just been…upset. And I'm really, really sorry, all right."

All she could see was his profile and the way that his jaw clenched tensely. As the seconds dragged on she was afraid that he was even madder than she had imagined him to be. She was only moments from flinging herself at his feet and begging him to forgive her when his features softened.

He turned his head to grin at her. "Aw, hell, Kat! You don't have to explain it to me. I know you're wound tighter than a cuckoo clock right now. Don't forget, I'm not just your brother. I'm also your twin. And I usually have a pretty good idea about what's going on in that fluffy blonde head of yours."

She tried to appear indignant. "Well if you're going to insult me, then I take my apology back." But undercurrents of laughter shook her voice.

"Oh, come here, you!" Alex chuckled as he dropped his backpack and pulled her into a bear hug. As he held her in the almost bone crushing embrace he whispered against her hair, "Everything is going to be okay, Kat. Just wait and see. We're going to send Discord's ass packing and get our lives back. Trust me."

She squeezed him back tightly as she choked out, "I believe you, Lex."

They stood that way for a few more seconds, until an almost disgustingly cheerful voice called out, "Morning, Cupcake!"

Alex groaned as he released his sister and waved at his swiftly approaching girlfriend. "God! I wish she wouldn't call me that in public. It's so humiliating!"

Katie smirked at him. "Aww, don't be like that. I think the nickname, Cupcake, is adorable. It makes me think of a big, fat, chocolate fudge cupcake, with mounds of fluffy frosting and sprinkles on top. It's just Emma's way of letting you know how delicious she thinks you are."

"You're depraved!" he muttered out of the corner of his mouth as he caught the exuberant, golden blonde Emma in his arms.

The next generation love goddess wasted no time in fastening her mouth eagerly over his. Yep! That was Emma for you. The girl had no shame when it came to showing her emotions openly.

"You're going to get detention if you aren't careful," Jayden snickered as he and Hannah came up behind Emma. The younger couple was the perfect picture of young love as they stood there holding hands.

"Buzzkills!" Emma grumbled, but she did put a teensy little bit of space between her and Alex.

Katie burst into giggles. "Since when did you join the PDA police, Jay? I thought that was Skye's job." She craned her neck to look around. "Speaking of Skye, where is she? I know she's not off flirting with some guy somewhere now that Kyrian is firmly in the running."

"She's still in bed," Hannah sniffed daintily. "From what I overheard it sounds like she spent most of the night in Elysian instead of getting proper sleep, and now she can't seem to drag herself out of bed for class."

Katie arched a questioning brow at Emma, who nodded eagerly in return before replying, "That does seem to be the general consensus. It seems that your mommy-dearest isn't the only woman getting a late night education in Elysian."

Katie let that sexual innuendo roll off of her with only a mild blush this time. Then she surprised herself by quipping back, "It looks like Rini has joined the club too. She's running behind this morning because she just _had _to run back to Elysian to apologize to Helios for something that happened between them last night."

"Oh, really!" Emma's eyebrows waggled suggestively. "Something must not have lived up to her expectations."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Alex muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Elysian is beginning to sound more like a brothel than it does the land of dreams."

"Sweet!" Jayden crowed. Then he cringed and yelled, "Ow!" as Hannah grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away.

"Aw, Cupcake," Emma drawled in a tone that was like melting butter as she wound her arms around her secret fiancé's neck. "It doesn't matter which term you want to use to describe Elysian, land of dreams or realm of sensual fantasies, we fit in perfect there."

Katie felt her face growing a little green at the vivid images Emma's words caused to sprout in her mind. She quickly gasped, "I'm checking out on that note!" and scrambled back toward the sane and non-vomit inducing safety of DJ's arms.

Emma giggled softly. "Well! I guess that got rid of everyone."

Alex's lips quirked in amusement. "Is that what you were trying to do? I was beginning to wonder. You seem to be even more upbeat than usual this morning. What gives?"

She shrugged casually. "Oh, I don't know! I guess I'm just in a good mood because it's such a beautiful day out. Don't you think so?"

He nodded. It was already quite warm and muggy out, promising a hot day to come. But the heat rarely ever bothered him. After all, his element was the sun. "It does look like it's going to be a nice day. But I've never known you to be so excited by the weather before."

She pouted at him. "Is there a problem with me being happy?"

"No, baby, not at all!" he hastily reassured her. "If you're happy, then I am happy."

She hugged him tight, burying her face in his chest so that he wouldn't see the mischievous twinkle in her eyes or her sly grin.

You see, Emma had a secret, but she couldn't tell anyone about it. Not yet.

* * *

Andrew leaned back in his cushioned executive chair and propped his feet on his desk. He yanked on his tie to loosen it as he scowled into the phone he held between his ear and shoulder.

"I don't care!" he snapped irritably. "You can tell your client that if he wants his shop to go into the galleria, then that is the rent for it. I have a set rate for all of the tenants in the complex, and they all pay the same per square foot. That way it's fair and nobody feels like they have been cheated. But if he wants it I need a definitive answer by the end of the day. That spot is the last space that I have available, and I have other people interested in it. The only reason why I am giving him the first shot at it is because he was the first one to show interest in it. But we've been haggling on this for a while now, and unless he can let me know that he is serious about signing a lease on the place I'm going to have to move on to someone else."

There was a soft knock on the door, and he looked up just in time to see it open just a crack and Jess slip inside. He motioned to her that he would be with her in a minute and then turned his attention back to his phone conversation.

"Fine," he growled. "You call your client and find out what he wants to do. But my deadline stands firm. Either he commits to the space today, or tomorrow it's going to the next available party, end of story. The galleria has been open for business for almost three months now, and I want every unit open for business…Okay…I'll be waiting for your call."

He slammed the phone down and growled, "Bastard!"

Jess dropped her backpack and rounded the desk to stand behind him. She put her hands on his tense shoulders and began to massage. "Oh, honey," she purred. "Have I ever told you what a turn on it is for me to hear you talk tough business? It makes my heart flutter every time."

"You're being silly," he chuckled as he leaned his head back to look up at her tired looking face. "How'd the practice go last night? I waited around for a while this morning, hoping that you would come home before I had to leave."

"Sorry," she mumbled, leaning down to press a kiss to his lips. "Time has a way of getting away from you when you are in Elysian. The practice went good though. I'm making some progress. I just don't know if it will be enough to actually be any help when we go to Crystal Tokyo."

"I'm sure you'll be brilliant, as always," he told her. Then he groaned as her fingers went to work on a knot of muscles at the base of his neck.

"You look worn out, and it's only just past noon," Jess clucked.

He dropped his feet to the floor and spun his chair around so that he was facing her. "We'll make my tiredness a priority when you get rid of those bags under your eyes, missy. Did you get any sleep at all last night?"

She shrugged. "A little bit. Because of the time difference there I was able to squeeze in a few catnaps. And Kyrian was really adamant about me taking regular breaks. And that's not counting the fact that Dawn is almost always hanging around somewhere, and you know how she is."

Knowing that the woman that was practically her adopted mother was looking out for her made him feel much better. He pulled her down onto his lap and let her cuddle there for a moment before he asked, "So how was class today? I'm sure everything's starting to get revved up with graduation right around the corner."

She stifled a yawn. "Yeah, things are pretty crazy right now. I'm not really worried about exams that much, but the art showing tomorrow night has me scared stiff. There are going to be quite a few well known people there helping with the judging, and their opinions will go a long way in determining whether I sink or swim at being an artist."

He rested his chin on top of her head. "You'll do fine. After all, it's not like you haven't already begun making a name for yourself in the art circles."

He couldn't see her eyes, but he was sure that she was rolling them as she said, "A couple of fairly successful local showings hardly qualifies me for entrance into the inner artist's sanctum."

"But it's a start," he told her. Then he grinned as a low rumbling sound filled the air. "Somebody's hungry."

"Maybe just a little," she grumbled. "All I've had today is a granola bar that I snagged on the way out the door this morning."

He shook his head. "Well that won't do at all. Tell you what. I'm about ready for some lunch myself. How about we pop over next door to the galleria and hit up the food court? I'll buy you whatever you want. It's on me."

She slumped further in his arms. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass. My need for peace and quiet away from people outweighs my need for food at the moment. I don't think my brain could handle the crowds without exploding."

He quickly offered a compromise. "Okay. Then why don't I run downstairs to the arcade and grab us a couple of burgers and some fries? We can have a nice, quiet lunch right here with just the two of us."

Her head lifted so she could smile at him. "Now that sounds like a plan. I could definitely go for that."

He stood up while still holding her, and then set her on her feet. "All right! You just sit tight here and I'll be back before you know it." He kissed the tip of her nose.

Jess called after him as he walked to the door, "Don't forget to bring me…"

"A cherry coke. I know," he finished for her with a laugh. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

She shook her head with a grin as she watched the door swing shut behind him as he left. "What did I ever do to get so lucky to land a guy like that?" she murmured to herself.

She turned and looked out the window. Despite the changes that had taken place in this area the past couple of years, the view from this side had pretty much stayed the same as it had the first time she had looked out it when the spot she was standing in had been the living room of Andrew's apartment. There was a bit more traffic because of the opening of the shopping complex and a few of the shops on the street had changed, but the park stretching out lush and green across the street was exactly the same.

A tiny smile touched her lips as one memory of that park in particular flitted through her head. It hadn't been warm and leafy then, instead it had been cold and everything had been covered in white snow. But remembering the way that Andrew had knelt in the snow and his heartfelt proposal when he'd asked her to be his wife always warmed her inside.

She fiddled with the gold, silver, and sapphire ring on her left hand as she looked up to the blue sky. She could sense that there was a storm brewing a few hundred miles away, but for now the sky was soft blue and filled with puffy white clouds.

"Mom, dad," she whispered. "I wish you guys were here. I just know that you would adore Drew just as much as I do. And the kids…well, let's just say that they would fit into our crazy family with no problem. They are half Alexander's after all."

She leaned her head against the window frame. "Well, wherever you guys are, I hope that you will be able to see me when I get married. It's only a little over two months away now. And I'm going to get married on the same day and in the same place that you did. How cool is that? But before I do that I have some things to take care of. When I was little you both told me that I would be able to change the world when I grew up, and you weren't far off the mark. I just don't think what my life has turned into is exactly what you had in mind when you said that. But no matter what, you two always taught me to never give up, so that's what I'm doing. And I hope you are proud of me."

She turned from the window and shuffled over to where there was a sofa set against the far wall. She sighed as she sank down into the soft, plushy cushions and let her muscles relax. The fatigue that she had been battling all day rolled over her in energy zapping waves. Sheesh! She must be more tired than she thought. Now she was grateful that Kyrian had told her to take the night off from training tonight. Right now she didn't think she could blast a youma if her life depended on it.

'_Maybe after I have lunch with Drew I'll go home and catch a nap. That'll perk me up,' _she thought groggily as she let her eyelids flutter shut.

When Andrew strolled back into his office a few minutes later, balancing a tray that held two burgers, fries, and two sodas on it like a pro, he found his soon to be wife draped across his sofa, on her stomach, with one arm and one leg dangling over the side. Her eyes were closed, her face relaxed, and her mouth was just slightly open with the tiniest little snores puffing past her lips.

Andrew chuckled as he set the tray on his desk and crossed over to the sofa. He stood there for a moment, debating over whether or not to wake her so that she could eat her lunch. But in the end he figured that sleep was more important than food. He didn't need the soul bond between them to see that she had blown in here earlier barely running on vapors. So he'd let her sleep for now, and then he'd get her a big dinner later to make up for the missing meal.

He pulled down a light blanket that was over the back of the couch and laid it over her. Then he bent down to lightly kiss her cheek. "Sleep well, princess," he said softly, brushing back a few loose, curling pieces of her burnished hair from her face.

Then he returned to his desk to indulge himself in the messy, piled-high burger and salty fries that he had brought up for himself. It was fine if Jess wanted to sleep, but he was hungry!

And for the rest of the afternoon, when he was supposed to be working, he kept finding his eyes straying over to where his sleeping angel snoozed away. Finally, he had to force himself to turn his back on her so he could concentrate.

He shook his head at himself in disgust. Who would have ever thought that he would become so infatuated with a woman that he couldn't keep his head on straight?

But he wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

* * *

"Hey, Raye! The liquor order just arrived at the back door. Did you want me to check it in?" a dark haired young man asked as he poked his head into the office behind the bar.

Raye looked up from the papers on her desk to nod. "Yeah. Thanks, Logan. Just bring me the packing slip when you're done."

He gave her a thumbs up. "Sure thing, boss lady!" Then he ducked back out.

She looked back down at her desk, biting back a growl of irritation. When she had opened the club she, of course, had hoped that it would be successful, but she had never imagined that it would become as popular as it has so fast. In just two and a half months she'd had to hire several additional staff members and more than double her supply orders to just keep up with the demand."

In a fit of temper, she slammed her ledger book shut and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. Maybe she needed to cut out of here for a couple of hours and go up to the shrine. Meditating in front of the Great Fire always seemed to calm her.

A low, rumbling chuckle that she knew very well filled her ears, and she cracked open an eye to glare at the man now leaning against the doorframe of her office door. "Can it, Jed!" she snapped.

He pushed away from the door and stepped into the room. "Come on, Firefly! Aren't you just the teeniest bit happy to see me?"

"I'd be happier if I came down with the plague," she grumbled, but she didn't mean a word of it. In fact, Jadeite was a welcome sight to her overworked eyes. His faded jeans and red t-shirt hugged his body close, showing off his leanly muscled frame. A pair of dark sunglasses had pushed up on top of his golden curls, leaving his blueberry eyes to twinkle slyly at her.

His signature grin tugged up the corners of his mouth. "Now why am I having a hard time believing that? You can't lie to other people, sweetheart, but not to me. You're glad to see me."

Raye cursed internally as her heart gave that silly little leap that it always did at the sight of that boyish grin. "Okay, maybe I am happy to see you," she admitted grudgingly. "But I'd be even happier if you told me that you've come to whisk me away from all of this."

He propped a hip on the corner of her desk. "If that's what my lady wants. You know that I would be willing to take you anywhere in the world you want to go."

She couldn't stop the smile that sprang to her lips. "I wasn't thinking anything quite so grand. But I was thinking about maybe heading up to the shrine for a while. I'm pretty much caught up for now. The payroll and deposits are done, and the order has come in. I still have to do the schedule for next week, but that can wait. I thought that perhaps a little meditation might help me get my head back on straight."

"That might be a good idea," Jadeite agreed with a nod. "You've been so busy lately that you've been neglecting your time with the fire. Your spiritual balance is probably way off kilter."

"I'm sure you're right," she sighed. "I've run up to the shrine a few times to check up on grandpa and visit with him for a minute, but I haven't visited the Great Fire in almost a month. I haven't gone that long without communing with it since I was twelve. I've meditated at home in front of our fireplaces, but it's just not the same."

"Well how about we remedy that," he answered in an upbeat tone. "I'll personally escort you to the shrine so you can regain your balance." He pulled a sheet of paper with a partially filled in work schedule across her desk and scowled down at it.

"You know," he began carefully. "I know you were against putting anyone else in charge around here besides yourself, but this is really starting to be too much for one person to handle."

Raye bent down to retrieve her purse from a bottom drawer. "So what do you suggest I do? I'm just really not comfortable with the idea of letting someone else run my business."

"I'm not saying let somebody else run the business. I was thinking more along the lines of delegating some of the more menial tasks that take up so much of your time," he told her in a placating tone.

She sat back in her chair and eyed him suspiciously. "Okay, I'm listening."

He stood up, assuming his business-like persona that had helped him close many deals for the real estate investment company that he ran along with the other guys. "All right! Now, just hear me out on this before you completely reject my idea. I got to thinking about this and, you've already made Logan a sort of assistant manager so that he can handle things whenever you do take a night off, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But…"

"Nah ah ah! No buts!" he interrupted her. "I asked you to hear me out. So I was thinking, why not make him manager? He's been with you from the beginning. He helped you set this place up and get it open. He probably knows it just as well as you do. He works behind that bar and knows what needs to be ordered to keep it running, and he works with all the servers and knows their preferences about what shifts they like to work. If you made him manager he could handle things like the liquor orders and scheduling and such."

She rubbed her temples. "It's a good idea, but I'm just not comfortable with the thought of someone else dealing with the financial stuff. Logan is a great guy, but even good people have been known to be tempted to steal when someone else's money is involved."

Jadeite shrugged. "So save those tasks for yourself. You could still do all the bookkeeping, payroll, and deposits personally. But I think he would be just the person to handle the other aspects of the day to day running of this place. You know, even Lita and Mina have managers to help them out with their businesses."

"I'll think about it," Raye told him as she stood. "You're probably right though. We have so much going on in our personal lives that I need somebody to keep an eye on things when I can't be here. And Logan has done a good job of running the show when I'm not around. I might talk to him about it later."

"Yeah, just think it over," he told her encouragingly. "But for now let's head up to Cherry Hill. I haven't had a chance to talk to your grandpa in while."

"That could be a good thing," she muttered as she strode from the office. "Both you and grandpa can be a handful on your own. But you two can become damn impossible to deal with when you are together."

He flashed his grin at her. "Hey! I like your grandpa! He's a cool old dude!"

She snorted. "He's a lecherous old pervert! That's why you like him so much. You're two peas in a pod."

"Nah!" he said as he dropped his sunglasses into place as they stepped out a side door and into the bright, late spring day. "I'll leave the ogling of the teenage girls to him. You're all the woman I need."

She gave another snort. "You're just trying to sweet talk me."

"Always," he drawled, eyebrows waggling above his dark lenses. He gestured to his car parked nearby. "So are we driving or walking?"

"Let's walk," she said after a moment's consideration. "It'll be relaxing. And with the traffic we'll probably get there in about the same amount of time."

"Whatever you want," he replied jovially, and he offered the crook of his arm to her to hold, which she threaded her arm through with no hesitation.

Neither of them spoke much, but the silence between them was companionable during the walk. Barely ten minutes later they found themselves climbing the steps up to the Hikawa Shrine, where they found Raye's diminutive grandfather lounging under one of the sakura trees as he sipped a glass of tea.

The old man's eyes sparkled as he spotted them. "Well, well! What did I do to deserve a visit today? I thought you were too busy to waste your time on an old man like me."

Raye laughed as she hurried to give her grandfather a hug. "I'm sorry, grandpa. I know I haven't been around much. I've just been really busy."

Grandpa waved a hand at her. "You don't have to explain yourself. I understand. Trying to run a successful business and juggle your personal life along with your _extracurricular activities _must be time consuming. But I sense that your spirit is troubled."

She nodded. "It is. I thought that I would visit the fire for a while. It always helps me sort things out, and I've missed it."

The old man chuckled. "I'm sure it has missed you too. Now hurry along and see it. We can visit a little after you have calmed your aura."

She started for the building that housed the Great Fire, and then paused to look back over her shoulder at Jadeite, who hadn't moved. "Aren't you coming with me?"

He shook his head. "I'll join you in a little bit. I think I'll join your grandpa for a cup of tea and catch up with him first."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever floats your boats, you perverts," she muttered as she walked away.

"Well she's sure feisty today," Grandpa Hino chuckled as he poured tea from the pot next to him into a spare cup he just happened to have. "She reminds me so much of her grandmother sometimes. She was a high-spirited woman too. So was my poor Hisana, until she married _him_."

Jadeite accepted the cup of tea offered to him and sipped it silently. He knew that the subject of Raye's father was a sore subject with both Raye and her grandfather, so he kept his words to himself. He didn't particularly care for the senator that had sired Raye either. He had only seen the man in person one time, and he'd been ready to rip his head off for the cruel things that he had said to his daughter. Raye was better off without him in his opinion.

Grandpa sighed. "I guess I really can't find it in me to hate _him _though. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had Raye for all of these years. And that would have been a tragedy."

"I guess you have a point there," Jadeite grudgingly agreed. "I couldn't imagine a world without Raye in it."

Grandpa's eyes glowed with a mischievous light. "So I guess that's why you've finally decided to ask her to marry you, huh?"

"H…how…" Jadeite stammered.

Grandpa snickered. "Raye may have carried over her psychic abilities from her former life, but there is a reason why she was chosen to be born of my line. Her mother was a very gifted seer, and I'm not exactly blind myself. I've seen this coming for a while. But this morning I received a clear vision as I meditated. Your time to speak up has arrived."

Jadeite gulped nervously. "Are you okay with this, sir? I know a man would normally ask the father in this situation, but since you are the one that has raised Raye for so long, I feel that it's only proper that I ask you."

Grandpa shook his head. "My boy, I have known that you were the only one for Raye since the first day that you appeared here and she yelled at you. There is no need for you to ask for my approval because you have always had it. Now why don't you go and claim your bride now while the time is right? I have a feeling that your lives are about to get very busy soon."

Jadeite set his barely touched cup of tea aside with a grin. "Yes sir! I'll do my best! I just hope that she will accept my proposal."

Grandpa chuckled. "My boy, she has been waiting for you her whole life, whether she knows it or not. I doubt that there is anything on Earth that would make her reject you."

"Thank you!" Jadeite exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He practically ran as he left the old priest behind and rushed toward the fire chamber. He slid the door carefully open and slipped inside.

Though they had only been apart for a few minutes, Raye had changed out of the pantsuit that she had been wearing and into a set of her priestess robes. Her eyes were closed as she knelt in front of the fire, but she wasn't far enough into a trance yet to keep her from noticing his entrance.

"Well that was a quick visit with grandpa," she drawled, keeping her eyes closed.

He shrugged. "I didn't have to say much. He already knew what I had on my mind and had his answers ready for me."

Her eyes popped open to look at him curiously. "Did you have something heavy weighing on your mind?"

He nodded as he crossed the room. "I had a little something that I was thinking about. But everything is clear now." He dropped to his knees beside her. "I have something that I want to ask you."

"Ooo! You sound so serious," she joked back. But when he didn't laugh or crack a smile she shuffled around on her knees so that she was facing him. "Okay. What did you want to ask me?"

He took a deep breath and shoved his hand into his jeans pocket to curl his fingers around the ring there. Then he pulled it out and held his clenched fist out toward her.

"Raye Hino, will you marry me?" he blurted out, opening his hand to reveal the ruby ring sitting in his palm.

Her violet eyes grew wide as she whispered, "What did you just say?"

He met her gaze steadily. "I just asked you to be my wife…if you'll have me. I know I can be a bit of a doofus sometimes, and I get on your nerves, but I love you, Firefly. And I can't imagine my life without you. So please say that you'll marry me. I promise that I'll be the best husband that I can possibly be. I'll even…"

"Yes!" Raye cried before he could finish what he was going to say.

He shook his head in confusion. "What?"

She threw herself at him, laughing and crying at the same time. "I said yes, you idiot! I'll marry you. I'll even have your obnoxious clone of a son! But yes! I will marry you! That's all I've ever wanted!"

Relief flooded through him. She'd said yes! But his experiences with her had taught him to be cautious. " Are you sure?"

She shot him a look full of pure venom. "Of course I'm sure, you idiot! I wouldn't say yes if I weren't sure. Now how about you slap that ring on me so we can make it official."

"If that's what my lady wants," he drawled as he slipped the ruby and rose gold ring onto the ring finger of her left hand. "I hope you like it," he told her huskily.

Raye stared at the ring for a minute, her violet eyes filling with tears as she took in every detail of the delicate engagement ring. "I love it," she finally managed to whisper in a tremulous voice. "It's absolutely perfect!"

Then she pushed him down to the floor as she covered his lips with hers in an intensely passionate kiss.

After a minute, Jadeite pushed her back slightly with a mischievous grin. "What about your meditation time? I don't need my future bride suffering from spiritual turbulence."

Her expression turned wicked as she shimmied on top of him. "Who needs the fire when you're around? You're all I need to keep my spiritual balance in line."

And then she kissed him like it was the last kiss that they would ever share.

* * *

"Order up!" Lita called as she set a plate up on the counter to join two others. The waitress that had been waiting for them swept them up onto a tray and then whirled from the kitchen.

Lita used her sleeve to push back her sweaty bangs from her forehead. She hadn't planned on working in the restaurant kitchen today, but one of her cooks had called in because her son was sick, so she had taken up the slack. Thank goodness the lunch rush was almost over.

Nephrite swung in through the double doors to the dining room. "It looks like everything is calm for now. No new parties have been seated. I think things are cool until the dinner rush."

She looked up with a grin. "Thank goodness! Don't get me wrong, I love it when business is booming, but I think everybody could use a break before we all drop."

"You got that right!" one of the busboys, a teenage boy who was just completing his first year of college, groaned as he entered the kitchen, carrying a large tub full of dirty dishes. He set it on the stainless steel counter by the sink and rolled his shoulders. "It's been a madhouse out there."

"The tips have been great though!" one of the young, fresh faced waitresses quipped as she breezed by him to pick up a couple of desserts for one of her tables. "I'm thinking about treating myself to a night out and a movie tonight. Do you want to join me?"

The shell shocked boy flushed brick red and gulped hard before he stammered, "Uh…ye…yeah …sure! Here, let me get that for you!" He hurried to hold the swinging door open for her.

"Ah, young love!" a woman in her mid-thirties laughed as she stood near the back door, fishing her keys from her purse.

"I know! Isn't it cute?" Lita giggled in reply. Despite the differences in their ages, an easy camaraderie had sprung up between the two of them. Mary was a petite, dark haired, single mother, and Lita counted her blessings that she had found her. Mary was a veteran of working in a few high-class restaurants in town, and had started out at _La Foret _as a waitress. But it hadn't taken Lita long to realize that the woman was very knowledgeable about the restaurant business, and she had offered her a manager position, which had worked out very well for both of them.

"Did you want me to take the dinner shift tonight?" Mary asked as she twirled her key ring around her fingers. "I know that it's supposed to be your turn, but you've been here since early this morning and then got pulled into working lunch."

"You don't have to do that. I can handle it," Lita protested.

Mary waved a hand. "It's no big deal. If I don't come in and work I'll just end up sitting at home alone with a carton of ice cream, watching some stupid sitcom reruns. My son has been meeting with his study group every night to get ready for exams, so I have absolutely nothing to do except veg in front of the TV. So I really don't mind coming in. It may help save my sanity."

"Well, since you put it that way…" Lita began hesitantly. "Okay, I accept."

"Great!" Mary grinned. "I'll be back in a little bit then. I'm going to run home, change, and let the dog out. You should really get out of here too. The floor supervisors can handle the wind down and start the changeover for dinner. So why don't you blow this place while you can?"

"I was just about to convince her to do just that," Nephrite stated as he slung an arm around Lita's shoulders.

"Ha! And since when have you ever convinced me to do anything?" Lita shot back.

"I can think of one or two occasions," he replied with a grin. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Sparky. Either you come quietly with me, or I'll toss you over my shoulder like a bag of potatoes and haul you out of here. The choice is yours."

Her dark green eyes flared with challenge. "Are you threatening me?"

He held his hand up with his thumb and forefinger almost touching. "Maybe just a little bit. But I wouldn't have to resort to threats if you just give in peacefully."

"I'd do what he says if I were you, Lita," Mary snickered. "It probably isn't wise to antagonize a man that is the size of a mountain, even if you are taller than the average woman."

"I could take him," Lita grumbled. Then she sighed. "All right, I'll leave quietly. Just give me minute to get my purse from the office." She stalked toward her office; stripping off the apron she was wearing and pitching it into the dirty hamper as she went.

"Thanks for your help," Nephrite whispered to Mary once Lita was out of earshot.

"No prob!" the petite manager reassured him. "I really don't have anything to do tonight. You just concentrate on getting that ring on her finger. I don't want to see either one of you back here until you are a disgustingly happy, engaged couple."

He gave her a mock salute. "I'll try my best."

She flashed him a wink as she walked out the door. "Good luck!"

"I'm going to need it," he muttered under his breath.

"Okay, I'm ready," Lita announced as she joined him a few minutes later. But she was frowning at the cell phone she held in her hands. "I'm getting a little worried though. Mina hasn't returned any of my calls and she still hasn't shown up at either the salon or the boutique. I've called the other girls, but none of them have seen or heard from her today either."

"Kunzite's MIA too," Nephrite murmured. Then he shook his head. "I'm sure it's no big deal. They probably had plans for just the two of them. If they were in any kind of trouble they would find some way to tell us. Besides, they can take care of themselves."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. But it's just really weird for Mina to not answer her cell. Serena told me that she didn't get an answer either when she called. It's just…odd."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," he told her as he picked up a sack sitting on a counter and then held the back door open for her. "They'll show up at some point. If nobody's heard anything from them by tonight, then we'll start getting concerned."

"I suppose you're right," she sighed. Then she eyed the bag he was carrying. "What's that?"

"What, this?" he asked innocently. "It's just a late lunch I threw together. You've been running nonstop since early this morning. I'm sure you've got to be starving by now. I thought maybe we could wander over across the street to the park and find a shady tree to crash under while we eat."

Her stomach rumbled at the thought. "That actually sounds really good. You're on!"

He grabbed her hand with his free one, and together they made their way across the street to the park. A few minutes later they found a large tree near the edge of the lake and settled down beneath it.

"I didn't make anything fancy. It's just some sandwiches," he told her as he began to unpack the bag. "But I did bring this," he pulled out a bottle of chardonnay and two plastic wine glasses.

Lita couldn't help but laugh. "Wine with lunch? What's the occasion?"

He shrugged. "It just sounded like a good idea. We haven't had much time to just kick back and relax lately, and it sounds like we've got more action heading our way soon. I thought it would be nice to take a load off for a while."

"Careful, general. Your sensitive side is beginning to shine through. And we wouldn't want anything to ruin that badass image of yours, now would we?" she snickered slyly.

"Nobody will know unless you rat me out," he joked back as he handed her a carefully wrapped club sandwich.

"Yeah, Jed would have a field day with that," she quipped as she unwrapped the sandwich. She took a bite of it and moaned in pleasure. After she swallowed she told him, "That tastes better than any gourmet meal. I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"Would you like a glass of wine, my lady?" he offered.

She nodded as she took another bite. "Mm hmm. I don't normally drink in the middle of the afternoon, but a glass of wine would top off this moment perfectly." She looked around, realizing that they were almost the only people there. There were a few mothers strolling the paths, pushing strollers or holding the hands of young children, but most people were still at work and school hadn't let out for the day yet. In another hour or so, the place would probably be crawling with people.

Nephrite poured a glass of the wine and set it on a flat spot on the ground next to her. "It's kinda nice to be here without a fight being involved for a change, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," she replied as she picked the glass up and absently took a sip from it. "Wow! That's really good." She took another, longer gulp of it. Then she looked up to find Nephrite watching her intently, his uneaten sandwich and untouched wine sitting next to him. "Aren't you going to eat?"

He started like her question had caught him off guard. "Oh, yeah!" he began fiddling with the wrapper on his sandwich with one hand, and with the other he picked up the wine glass and drained it in just a few seconds.

Lita giggled. "Thirsty much? We better watch it, or we'll end up having to walk home." She held her glass up. "Oh well! At least it's not far. Bottoms up!"

She tilted the glass back, letting the tangy sweetness flow over her tongue. She was reaching the last few drops when she felt something hard and cold touch her lips. She pulled the glass back and heard something clink against the plastic.

"What in the world…" she mumbled, peering curiously into the almost empty glass. A shiny emerald winked up at her.

Her limbs went numb in shock as she stared at what had to be the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen. She tried to speak, but her voice refused to work. All she could do was stare at the ring sitting in a tiny pool of wine at the bottom of the glass. Finally, she raised her eyes to look at Nephrite.

He chuckled nervously. "Whew! For a second there I was afraid you were going to swallow it. That wouldn't have been good."

All coherent thought scattered from her mind as her voice finally creaked to life and she stammered, "I…I…you…"

He took the glass from her numb fingers and tilted it so that the ring fell into his palm. He looked up at her sheepishly. "I was kinda wondering if perhaps you might want to marry me." Then he slapped a hand to his forehead. "That's not how I wanted to ask you! I'm screwing everything up!"

"You're asking me to marry you?" she whispered past lips that barely moved. "You're actually proposing to me now?"

He nodded. "It's not quite working out like I planned though. I had a whole little speech worked out in my head, but now I can't remember it. So I guess I'll just wing it. Lita, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. With Lita it was sometimes hard to tell. But he knew that although she usually came off as being brash and intimidating on the outside, inside there was a gentle and extremely feminine woman. And women dreamed of wildly romantic marriage proposals, not some hastily thrown out question by a babbling idiot.

"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly as he shoved the ring back into his pocket. "I messed that all up. Just forget that I said anything."

Her eyes flared at his words. "Are you taking back your proposal before you've even heard my answer?" She was grateful to hear that her voice had returned to somewhat normal.

He shrugged, looking down at the ground. "It's not that I'm taking it back. But after that pathetic attempt I figured it would probably be best to wait and try again later when I hopefully won't make a fool out of myself."

"I like it when you make a fool out of yourself," she said softly, and then waited for him to look up at her questioningly. "And my answer is yes."

Now it was his turn to freeze in shock. "What did you say?"

She tossed her curly auburn ponytail over her shoulder. "I said that I would marry you, you doofus! Now can I have my ring or not?"

He gaped at her. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack!" she stated firmly as she flung her left hand out and wiggled her fingers. "Now lay it on me, big boy!"

Profound relief surged through him. She'd said yes! Despite his complete failure of proposing to her properly, she had agreed to become his wife!

With her acceptance, his usual attitude returned. He grabbed her outstretched hand and jerked her into his lap. "Oh, I'm going to lay it on you all right!" he growled just before he planted his mouth on hers. And as he kissed her he managed to pull the ring back out of his pocket and slip it onto her finger.

When she pulled back, breathless, a few minutes later, she looked down at the emerald on her finger and giggled. "Well, I guess this makes us official members of the engaged club now. Just wait until Raye sees this. She'll probably spontaneously combust when she does. She's been waiting forever for Jed to pop the question, and he hasn't done it yet. She will be livid!"

"Hmm," Nephrite mused. "We'll just have to wait and see. Maybe we'll be surprised."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You know something, don't you?"

He just grinned. "Nope! I know nothing."

* * *

Mina tilted her head as a musical jangling came from her purse, which was tossed in the corner of the room. "It's Amy this time," she murmured as she recognized the ring tone. "Maybe I should answer it just so she can let everyone know that I'm not lying dead in a ditch somewhere."

Arms wrapped around her waist like bands of steel and held her in place. Then a hot voice murmured in her ear. "Unh uh! Not yet. I'm not ready to let you go."

She lifted her head from Kunzite's chest so she could look up into his silvery gray eyes. "We're going to have to leave our fantasy world and join reality at some point."

He lifted a hand to push a few damp strands of her golden hair away from her glistening face. "I know. I just want us to have a little bit more time before we face the lions."

She giggled as she curled up tighter next to him on the silk sheets of the large bed. "They will probably eat us alive for this, won't they?"

His chest rumbled as he chuckled. "More than likely. I'm not the kind of person that is known for doing impulsive things."

She nipped playfully at his bare chest. "Well, I have to say that you sure shocked the hell out of me with this idea. I never thought you had it in you."

"Do you regret it?" he asked as he combed his fingers through her silken hair.

"No," she whispered. Then she looked around the lavishly posh hotel suite that they were in. "What I'll regret is leaving here. Everything has been so perfect today, but I know that when we leave all of our troubles will be waiting for us exactly where we left them."

His fingers trailed lightly down her arm, raising goosebumps across her skin. "Yeah, we have some matters to take care of, but we will face them together. I'll be by your side every step of the way."

She smiled impishly at him. "You better be. And I'll be right beside you as well. We'll go to the future, kick Discord's butt, and then come back to the rest of our lives."

"And what a life it will be, huh?" he replied huskily as he bent his head down to taste her pink, swollen lips. She sighed and opened to him as he nibbled gently.

The passion that always flared between them ignited, and he rolled her over onto her back as he lay out on top of her. Her breathing became ragged and little moans vibrated in her throat as he slid his mouth from hers to kiss his way down the column of her neck toward her breasts. Then she squeaked as he used one of his hands to pin both of her wrists to the mattress above her head while the other traveled up her leg toward a very intimate place.

"Kunzite!" she panted as she arched toward him.

He grinned against her skin, and then scowled as the unmistakable sound of his phone ringing reached his ears.

"That's it!" he growled as he abandoned his pleasurable pursuit to roll off of Mina and reached for his slacks on the floor. He pulled out his cell phone and answered it testily, "What, Darien?"

He listened for a moment and then snapped, "Well you can tell Serena, and all of the other busybodies that Mina and I are perfectly fine! I didn't think it was a crime to want to get away for a while and spend some quality time with the woman you love!" Then he drew in a deep breath. "Sorry about that. Mina and I just wanted some time alone. Could you please call off the attack dogs for us."

He was silent again for a minute, and then said in his normal, cool tone. "Yeah, we'll be there. Okay. See you later." He disconnected the call.

"What was that about?" Mina asked as she sat up and folded her legs under her.

He shook his head as he tossed his phone back to the floor. "I can't believe that we can't even drop off the radar for a few hours without everyone going nuts. Darien said that everybody was _'worried'_" he made quote marks with his fingers as he said that, "about us because they didn't know where we were. He said that he would pass the word on that we were still living and breathing. Then he said something about Raye inviting everyone to some kind of a party at the club tonight and wanted to know if we would be there. I told him we would."

A feline smile curved up Mina's lips. "So I guess that means that we have a few more hours to ourselves now that we don't have to worry about anybody tracking us down."

He grinned at her. "Indeed we do. So what do you suggest we do with our time?"

She crawled toward him on her knees so that she could wrap herself around him. "Oh, I have a few ideas. Right now I was thinking we could give that hot tub another whirl." She nodded toward the Jacuzzi in the corner.

He swept her up into his arms and carried her toward it. "I like the way you think." He climbed in and settled them into the warm, bubbling water.

Mina sighed as she straddled his hips, facing him. "So we're meeting everyone together, in one place, tonight huh? That should be interesting. I hope we can survive."

"We could keep it a secret," he told her as he began kissing her jaw line.

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to be dishonest with them. And they're bound to find out sooner or later. It's probably best to just go ahead and get it out in the open."

"If that's what you want," he replied smoothly. "I'll protect you from your vicious friends."

"Hmm…" she hummed as her thoughts scattered as his lips and hands began doing wonderful things to her body. "I'll worry about all of that later. Right now I just want you to make love to me."

"Forever," he promised her as he pulled her head down to his to give her a soul-shattering kiss.

* * *

**A/N **So that's it for now. I hope you guys enjoyed it. We finally have Raye and Lita engaged. Yippee! Now it's time to start focusing about what is going to happen in the future. I could have gone on for a little bit longer, but this was getting just entirely too long. So I'll save the rest for the next update. It sounds like Mina and Kunzite have a little something going on behind everyone's backs. Free milkshakes at the Crown to everyone who guesses correctly what that might be! But even if you don't want to make a guess, please take a moment to drop me a review and tell me what you thought. I'd appreciate it very much. Lots of love and hugs! Be safe! And Happy New Year everyone! May we all have a great 2012!

~Sere~


	38. Secrets Popping Up Like Daisies

**A/N **Hey everybody! So…a lot of enthusiastic reviews after the last update. Most people seem to think that Mina and Kunzite eloped. Is that what happened? Well…you'll have to read to find out. I think eloping sounds so romantic. My hubby and I almost eloped, but then we decided that it would hazardous to our health to do that because our moms would kill us…and I really didn't want to die so soon after getting married. So anyway, I don't have a lot to say except that this is a nice long update, so I hope you guys like it. Now let me get out those hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

**little princess of mercury**

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Thank you so much! As always you guys are both my biggest inspiration as well as my harshest critics. Just like always, there is a little bit of everything thrown into this chapter, so I hope you all like it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 35

Secrets Popping Up Like Daisies

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

"Really, darlings," the stunningly beautiful blonde goddess drawled as she stroked lazily through the water. "You two have been so melancholy lately. Perhaps we should get together for a night of fun. There are plenty of young demigods around that I am sure could lift your spirits."

Athena's bright green eyes peeked over the edge of the scroll she was reading. "I'm sure you've let all of them lift your spirits many times, Aphrodite. That has always been your specialty. Don't you ever get tired of having men grunting, heaving, and sweating all over you after all of these centuries?"

Aphrodite's china blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "What can I say? I love to love! And believe me ladies, nothing sounds more like music to my ears than hearing a man's groans of passion and knowing that you are the one that was able to bring him to that state. It's quite intoxicating."

The flame haired Artemis snorted as she floated by on her back. "Yes. Hearing a man in the grips of passion is a wonderful thing, but only if you are on the receiving end. I've had to ban that selfish pig of a brother of mine from my temple just so I can get some sleep at night. I've never cared how many of my handmaidens he screws, or how many times he screws them. But if I have to hear, _"Oh! Yes! My lord, Apollo!"_ screamed one more time, I just might be tempted to go to Zeus and beg him to take mercy on me and turn me mortal just so I can escape it."

Selene and Gaia, who had been sitting at the edge of the bathing pool with their legs in the water, giggled at the description of their partner in crime by his twin sister.

"So they do know how to laugh after all!" Aphrodite exclaimed jubilantly. "I was beginning to worry about you, my sweets!"

The silver haired Selene covered her mouth delicately with her fingers in an attempt to hold back her giggles, but they continued to burst and bubble past her lips.

Artemis moved her arms to float closer to them. Her jade colored eyes narrowed as she scowled. "Am I missing some joke here? I didn't think what I said was all that funny. Actually, I thought I sounded pretty desperate myself. Don't get me wrong; Apollo is my twin, and I love him dearly, but he's such a man-whore!"

Selene waved a hand as she gasped for breath. "I wasn't laughing at your misfortune, Artie. Honestly I wasn't. I just have a hard time figuring out why those silly girls always make such a huge fuss over him. He's such a grouch most of the time."

"Well…he is good looking," Aphrodite said slyly as she climbed the steps out of the pool. Water streamed down her flawless nudity until she used her powers to summon a sheer, golden silk robe onto her body.

Gaia snorted. "Please! Looks are not everything when it comes to a man. I wouldn't let him into my bed if he were the last god on Olympus."

A quiet laugh came from the chaise lounge where Athena was hidden behind her scroll once more. After a moment, the goddess of wisdom set it aside to smile at the Earth goddess. "That wasn't what you told me a few millennia ago. I was under the impression that you were quite enamored with Mr. Sunshine."

"Oh really," Artemis purred as she climbed from the pool as well. A white sheet manifested around her body. "I never heard this before. I thought you hated my brother, Gaia."

Gaia winced. "Hate is a strong word. I prefer to say that I _intensely dislike _him. He is a vain and pompous egomaniac. And he gets on my nerves. I did have one moment of insanity where I blurted out some nonsense about him, but I didn't mean a word of it. I had been sitting with Dionysus that night and had indulged in a little too much wine."

Athena rolled her eyes. "Of course you did if you were silly enough to take a seat with the god of wine and excess. But my point is that alcohol usually brings the truth from people's lips. I've always wondered though. Have you and Apollo ever, you know…?" The goddess of wisdom arched a questioning brow.

"N-no! Absolutely not!" Gaia sputtered. "Where on Olympus would you get a crazy idea like that?"

Artemis cackled. "Me doth think the goddess protests too much."

Gaia's face burned red. "I swear on Zeus's name that I have never had a sexual interlude with that moron!"

"I don't know," Aphrodite mused. "You two have been spending quite a bit of time together lately." A crease formed between her brows as she then turned her eyes on Selene. "In fact, I've seen the three of you standing around several times with your heads pressed together like you were plotting something. The last time I saw you act like that was when…" Her voice trailed off.

"Exactly!" the moon goddess replied primly.

Athena sat up straight, suddenly looking tense. "It's happening again?"

Gaia nodded. "Yes, but I think he can be destroyed once and for all this time. We have some very capable people on the job."

Artemis sighed. "I sure hope you are right. You thought the same thing last time, and that bastard almost won. Could you imagine what would happen to us if he managed to destroy the Earth?" A shudder rippled through her. "We depend on the beliefs of the mortals to keep us alive and the highest concentration of them are on Earth. The rest of you may have a handful of followers scattered around on some distant planets, but I don't. The only temples built in my honor are on Earth. And if it goes, I go."

"Oh, Artie!" Selene exclaimed, jumping up to embrace the shaken, red-haired goddess. "This is why we haven't said anything about it. We didn't want anybody to be upset. Everything is going to work out fine. You'll see."

"Damn, Zeus!" Athena growled. "If it weren't for that asinine edict of his stating that we can't interfere with events on the mortal plane we could take care of Discord ourselves. I am a goddess of war as well as wisdom."

Gaia shook her head. "Zeus wants the humans to be able to fight their own battles. And as much as I would like to dismember that demon myself, I have to agree with Zeus. No good ever came to the humans when we were free to meddle in their lives. They became petty, spoiled little creatures who thought that they could call on us for their every little need. And then they cursed us when things didn't turn out exactly the way they wanted them to. So the separation from them has been a good thing. Sure there are a few bad apples in every bunch, but overall the human race has grown to be strong."

Artemis giggled shakily. "Well, here's hoping that whichever little humans you have picked out are up to the job. I really have no interest in losing my existence. This also explains why Eris has been running around lately as giddy as a kid in a candy store. I overheard Hades complaining just last night that she has been turning Tartarus into her own personal playground recently. He said that she has been sneaking in to torture the condemned souls and disrupting his entire routine. I always knew that she was crazy."

"What else do you expect from the goddess of discord?" Athena asked with a wave of her hand. "She probably looks on that horrendous entity like a favorite nephew or some such nonsense. What she fails to realize, and is too dimwitted to see, is that though she may relish in the destruction that he causes, her own existence will disappear if he succeeds in destroying the Earth."

Aphrodite sniffed daintily. "It's probably because she stays drunk most of the time. She has been hanging out with Ares, Hermes, Dionysus, and the rest of that drunken crowd lately. And you ladies don't even want to hear the tales I've heard from Eros and Psyche about the orgies that have occurred in that group."

The other four goddesses recoiled, squealing, "Eww!"

Aphrodite giggled as she lay gracefully across a chaise. "But anyway, there is nothing we can do about the humans except let events play out like they will. So what do you ladies say to us having a girls' night at my place? I'll invite Psyche and maybe even persuade Demeter to let Persephone off of her chain for one night."

"Good luck with that!" Selene retorted. "That woman has been as rabid as a watchdog ever since I snuck Seph in to see Hades a while back."

"I'll talk to her," Artemis stated. "I'll convince her to let her daughter have a little fun for a change. If she doesn't, I'll threaten her with my brother. After all, Apollo is also a god of plagues. I bet she wouldn't want to see her beautiful harvests eaten up by locusts or something."

"Nooo…" Gaia moaned. "Please don't make the Earth pay for Demeter's short-sightedness."

Artemis waved a hand. "Fine, Mother Earth! Whatever you say!" Then she turned to Aphrodite excitedly. "You are going to invite some of those demigods you were talking about earlier, aren't you?"

Athena made a sound of irritation. "This coming from the woman who is supposed to be the _virgin _goddess."

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Please! That's just what the humans like to think. I've had many lovers in my time. I just haven't had one in a while. The pickings have been rather slim since we are no longer allowed to go to Earth. And I never get a chance to really check out the men we have floating around here because Zeus watches me like a hawk when we are assembled to make sure that I'm not flirting. It gets quite taxing at times."

"But if we have men there it won't be a _girls' _night," Athena pointed out.

Selene and Gaia looked at each other and smiled as a round of good-natured bickering broke out between the two goddesses. Silently they agreed that spending an evening with their friends was just what they needed to take their minds off of all of their worries. Neither of them were particularly interested in some of the _extracurricular activities_ that Aphrodite was sure to come up with, but it would be nice to escape the stress for a little while before the big finale.

* * *

_**Tokyo**_

"Bye, Michelle!" Emma chirped as the last bell of the day rang. She jumped up from the stool where she had been sitting and snagged the girl sitting at the piano by the arm before she'd even had time to get up from the bench.

"Whoa there, Speedy!" Katie exclaimed as she dug her heels in. "What's your rush? I haven't even had a chance to put my sheet music away yet."

Emma tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Well hurry up then! Geez! I've never known you to be a slowpoke before."

"And exactly how much caffeine did you have at lunch?" Jayden muttered as he set the guitar that he had been playing in its stand against the wall.

The golden blonde blew a raspberry at the boy. "I barely had anything at lunch, thank you very much! I was a little busy."

"Yeah! You were too busy trying to get the lowdown on Rini and Skye's personal lives," Katie snickered. "You'll be lucky if either one of them are even speaking to you this afternoon."

"Puh-leeze!" Emma drawled. "You can't sit there and deny that you weren't just as curious about they had been up to as I was. For crying out loud! Neither one of them showed up until third period."

Katie slipped her sheet music into a folder and then slid the folder into her backpack sitting next to her. "I confess that I may have been a little curious, just for curiosity's sake. But I never would have been gutsy enough to question them outright the way you did. It's their business anyway."

Jayden cackled gleefully. "I thought Skye was going to literally hit you when you asked her if she'd found yet if Kyrian _measured up_."

Katie fixed a mock scowl on her face. "Shame on you, Emma! Just look at what you've done! You have corrupted the mind of an impressionable young boy with all of your perverted talk!"

Emma snorted. "Impressionable young boy, my fanny! Jay was born corrupt! Sometimes I seriously think that he is really my brother and that he and Kyle were switched at birth or something."

"Shh!" both Katie and Jayden shushed her harshly.

Emma clapped a hand over her mouth at her slip up of talking about her little brother. They weren't supposed to talk about the younger children that had stayed behind in Crystal Tokyo. She shot a quick glance at Michelle, but luckily the aqua-haired woman was busy at her desk checking her voicemail and hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying.

"Smooth move, Ex-Lax," Jayden drawled.

Katie shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like they aren't going to find out about the others when they go to the future with us."

"So anyhow," Emma trilled, quickly recovering from her gaffe. "Let's get moving! The others will be waiting on us."

Katie and Jayden stared at the overly exuberant girl for a moment like they thought she was on drugs, and then shared an eye roll between them. Emma might be the next generation scout of love and have the singing voice of an angel, but she was as hyperactive as a Chihuahua on speed. The two of them shrugged and shouldered their backpacks as they prepared to follow her.

"Hold up just a second you three!" Michelle called out to them as she got up from her desk chair, slipping her cell phone into her pocket. "There was something that I wanted to mention to you before you go."

"What is it, Michelle?" Katie asked curiously.

The scout of the seas looked a little hesitant before she replied. "I know that our situation here is…uncertain. These next couple of days may be the last that you spend at this school. But if by some chance you find yourselves back here after our business is taken care of, I wanted you to know about the end of the year talent contest coming up in a couple of weeks. I really think that the three of you would have a shot at winning it, especially if you perform the song that Katie wrote."

Emma and Jayden's eyes were immediately alight with interest.

"It's not that good," Katie grumbled skeptically.

"Nonsense!" Michelle declared with a wave of her hand. "It is a very moving piece with a lot of depth and feeling to it. I am certain that it would rival anything on the current charts if it were to be recorded and released. I just wanted to put a bug in your ear about the show, just in case you happen to be here when the time comes."

"I'll think about it," Katie mumbled. Then she trailed out of the room behind Emma and Jayden with a heavy heart.

On one hand, she was ecstatic that Michelle, the woman who had been both her teacher and her harshest critic her entire life, thought so highly of something that she had created. On the other hand she felt a little dejected because she knew now that her dreams were not going to pan out exactly the way that she had pictured them.

Time moved the same, whether she was in the past or in the future, and she knew that at home it was the exact same date that it was in this time, just in a different year. And that meant that she had missed the date that she'd had circled in red on the calendar on her bedroom wall for well over a year by two days now. It was the date of the Julliard entrance auditions. So unless Sailor Pluto was willing to bend a few rules for her later, if she survived the battle with Discord anyway, she had lost her chance to attend her dream school.

But she hadn't let it get her down too badly. In a strange way, she was even okay with it. She didn't know where any of them would be once all the dust had settled, but she had decided that wherever she was, she wanted it to be by DJ's side. His educational future was still up in the air, but wherever he ended up was where she wanted to be. It didn't matter to her if they both stayed at home in Crystal Tokyo and attended the university there or if he got his chance to attend Harvard. If he went to America she would go with him. There were plenty of colleges where she could take some classes. And if her musical ability was half as good as everyone always said it was, then she would find a way to make it on her own. She didn't need some fancy-shmancy Julliard training to do it! Her mother had turned down several offers to attend some pretty prestigious art institutes so that she could stay in Tokyo with the man that she loved, and she had still become an artist that was fairly well known worldwide. And if Jessica Alexander Furuhata could do it, then so could she!

Her spirits had lifted considerably by the time she had reached her locker, and she smiled and hummed a few bars from her song under her breath as she dialed in her combination. She felt even giddier as she realized that none of her teachers had assigned any homework for tonight. There were no tests or quizzes looming on the horizon either, which meant that she didn't have to lug any of her books home. She gratefully unloaded all of her textbooks from her bag, leaving in only the folder with her music in it and the now two large, ragged, spiral bound notebooks that were full of her scribblings. Yep! It was a light load today.

Of course, she felt his presence several seconds before a hot breath blew past her ear and a husky voice chuckled, "Somebody seems to be in a good mood."

She turned with a smile, and immediately felt herself get sucked into her boyfriend's soft blue eyes. "I am in a good mood. I had a very nice afternoon session with Michelle, Emma, and Jayden. How were your classes?"

DJ placed a hand on either side of her head, against the lockers, caging her in. "Mostly review, just like in our morning classes. We've completed everything in the courses, so now it's just a matter of getting ready for exams. We'll still have to take them, whether we're here or at home. Personally, I'd rather take the tests here. I'd definitely feel better prepared for the ones here. Anything Amy and Zoicite come up with is bound to be ten times harder."

Katie nodded. "I would be nice to finish school here and have a real graduation, wouldn't it? You know, to have another one of those normal teenage things to add to the list before we become full-fledged adults. It just seems so much more momentous than having Amy hand us a diploma and sending us on our way."

"Yes it does," he agreed with a quiet laugh. Then his expression turned serious. "Speaking of becoming adults, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. I've been doing some thinking, and I've decided that I don't have to go to Harvard. There are plenty of other medical schools, good schools too. Take Columbia for example. It's in New York, just like Julliard. I could apply there. And if I get accepted maybe we can rent a little apartment somewhere and live together while we both go to school. What do you think?"

Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them show. She couldn't believe that he was willing to give up Harvard for her! It was his biggest dream! Ever since he had first started considering medicine as a possible career he had been hooked on his dad's stories about the time that he had spent going to school there and hoping that he could experience the same. And now he was talking about throwing it all away…just for her! She didn't think that she had ever loved him more than in that moment.

She thought briefly about telling him that he didn't have to give it up because she had missed her audition, but she knew that it would upset him. Instead she just raised a hand to his cheek and smiled. "Let's talk about it later, after everything else is done. Okay?"

He nodded. "Okay." Then he sighed. "I'm probably jumping the gun anyway. I'll probably end up at staying at home studying political science anyway while you take off to go halfway around the world."

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes," she told him firmly but gently. "And whatever happens, we'll deal with it."

He gave her his signature smirk. "When did you become the rational one in this relationship?"

"I have my moments," she quipped back lightly.

The locker next to her shuddered, and she looked to see that Rini was slouched beside her.

"Okay!" the pink haired princess growled darkly. "I want to know who slipped the drugs into Emma's coke at lunch so I can murder them, because she's definitely acting like she's high on something! I could barely make it to my locker before she started screeching at me to hurry up. What has she got up her sleeve that's so damn important?"

"Watch your language, Miss Tsukino, or I'll have to give you detention!" Miss Haruna warned her as she walked by.

Rini sulked quietly for a moment before sticking her tongue out at the auburn haired teacher's retreating back. "No wonder Serena always despised her when she had her. I used to think that she was exaggerating because Haruna always slapped her with detention for being late or sleeping and eating in class. Now I see that she really is Satan incarnate! But seriously, what is Emma's problem?"

Katie shrugged. "I don't have a clue. But she has been acting crazier than usual all day. She tried to drag me out of class almost before the bell rang."

"What is that stupid blonde's damage?" an infuriated voice demanded suddenly.

The crowd in the hall parted to make way for the seething Skye as she stalked toward her friends. The slightly amused looking duo of Jayden and Hannah trailed along behind her.

"Goddess of love, my ass! I swear she's the goddess of insanity instead!" she snarled under her breath as she reached them. "I'm seriously starting to believe that there was more than just coke in that can she was drinking out of at lunch."

"That's what I said too," Rini grumbled.

Skye's hard, slate blue eyes pinned her in place. "And you! How could you just sneak off and abandon me the way you did when she ambushed us coming out of the Home Ec room?"

Rini actually looked a little intimidated. "Um…I have the right to remain silent?"

Skye's scowl intensified. "We're in Japan, not America! That line won't work here."

"I'm sorry, okay!" Rini exclaimed. "I saw Emma headed our way and I panicked. She was practically foaming at the mouth like she had chomped on an Alka-Seltzer or something and I was afraid that she was going to start her interrogations again like she did during lunch. There was a break in the crowd, so I took it. It didn't matter anyway. She still caught me at my locker. But I don't know what's wrong with her though."

Katie giggled. "I don't think it has anything to do with either of you. She's been acting more rabid than usual all day, even before you two showed up. She blew through the front gates this morning and almost mauled poor Alex on the spot."

Hannah's blue head bobbed rapidly. "That's true. She did. I've been thinking it over, and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that maybe she saw a couple fall in love during our walk to school this morning. I don't remember seeing anything except the normal hustle and bustle of business people and students hurrying to get to where they needed to go. But then again, she can see things that we can't."

Jayden shook his head slowly. "No, I don't think that's it. She was acting a little goofy before we ever even left out this morning. When I walked into the kitchen she was in there, dancing around and singing into her orange juice. But since she always acts a little odd I didn't think much of it. Then she whirled over to me, patted me on the head like I was a dog, and started blabbing a hundred miles an hour about what a beautiful day it was. Honestly, it kinda creeped me out a little."

DJ muffled a snort of laughter in Katie's ponytail. "Well don't look now, but here she comes. Everybody get ready."

Emma came rushing up to them, clinging tightly to Alex's hand as she pulled him behind her. Her already bright gray eyes almost began to glitter when she saw all of her friends together. "Great! You're all here! Now does everybody have their things so we can get out of here? I'm ready to blow this place!"

"What is your hurry, Barbie?" Skye muttered. "We're just going to the arcade like we normally do. I don't think it's going anywhere."

Emma shrugged. "I just feel like getting there soon. I'm really, _really_ craving a milkshake right now."

"I think more sugar is the last thing you need," Rini sneered.

But Katie grew concerned as she studied her friend. After taking in the more hyper than usual blonde's feverishly burning eyes and extremely flushed cheeks, she shrugged out of DJ's arms to walk over and place a hand on her brother's girlfriend's forehead. It was warm, but not hot.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked her as she cupped Emma's face between her palms. "I swear you look feverish. Are you coming down with something?"

Emma pulled her face away with a laugh. "No, silly! I feel great! Better than great actually. Life is good!"

"Hmm…" Hannah mused from where she had partially hidden behind Jayden so that she could slip her mini-computer from her pocket and scan the blonde. She frowned at the conflicting readings. "This is odd. There are no signs of a virus, and her white blood cell count is normal, so that rules out infections. But her pulse, respiration, and body temperature are all slightly elevated."

Skye leaned over and whispered evilly to Rini, " Maybe Miss Aphrodite-Complex is giving a new meaning to the term _a bitch in heat_." They both cackled in amusement.

"I heard that!" Emma snapped. And from the looks of at least Katie and Hannah's madly blushing faces, she wasn't the only one that had. Luckily, the guys still wore normal expressions. So they must have missed the rude comment.

Emma's face became irate looking. "Look, this has absolutely nothing to do with me personally." Her eyes swung back and forth between Skye and Jayden. "Have either of you consulted a calendar today? Do you even know what day it is?"

Jayden's brow creased in concentration for a moment. "Uh, it's like May 7th, right?"

"Yeesss," Emma drawled like she was waiting for a more complete answer. When Skye and Jayden merely looked at each other and shrugged, she threw her hands up in the air. "Am I the only one that sees things clearly around here?"

Everyone exchanged confused looks. Katie and DJ looked to Alex, who had been standing quietly behind his ranting girlfriend. _'I have no idea what she's talking about,' _he told them in their silent way. Then they looked to each other. The month of May meant nothing to either of them except for DJ's birthday. But that was still a good two and a half weeks away.

Everybody looked around, sharing shrugs and _"What the hell is she smoking?" _looks.

After a minute, Emma sighed in defeat and murmured, "Never mind. You guys will find out later. Let's go." Then she turned and trudged toward the exit with much less enthusiasm than she had shown a few minutes before.

Alex hung back for a moment to ask Hannah, "Are you sure her scans came back fine?"

The younger girl looked slightly offended that he questioned her, and her voice was brisk as she answered, "I scanned her using mom's program. And it said that she's fine."

Alex nodded. He ran that program on his own mini-computer, and he knew that it was so sensitive that it could pick up on something as minor as a hangnail. "Okay. I was just double checking. I just wish I knew what has her so worked up. Whatever it is, she's keeping it under pretty tight wraps, because I'm not getting anything from her. And it's frustrating the hell out of me." He shoved an agitated hand through his light brown hair as he spun to go after his girlfriend.

DJ and Katie looked at each other and shrugged before they followed him. Jayden and Hannah trailed quietly after them.

Skye arched a brow at Rini. "Who the hell needs soap operas around here? I feel like we're living one every single day."

"True," Rini agreed. Then she grinned. "So now that all the eager ears are gone, how are things progressing with Kyrian?"

The auburn haired girl's face exploded in a bright red blush. "Oh…um…things are…fine."

Rini snickered. "Better than fine I'd say by the look on your face."

Skye slapped her hands to her burning cheeks and wailed, "Riinniii!"

The young princess just laughed and took her by the arm. "I always knew that you were a fake. Underneath all your brash bravado, flirting, and tossing out sexual innuendoes, you're just an innocent little marshmallow. Now let's get going so we can see how the rest of the day's drama pans out."

* * *

Darien finished scribbling on the prescription pad and ripped off the top sheet before handing it to the anxious looking woman sitting in the chair in the examination room, who was holding a teary-eyed four-year-old boy on her lap.

"Okay," he told her kindly. "This is a prescription for Amoxicillin. That should clear up the ear infection with no problem. I want him to take it three times a day for ten days. The pain should disappear completely within a few days, but don't stop giving it to him. Make sure he takes all of it. And continue to give him Tylenol or Ibuprofen for the fever until it goes away. That should also help with his pain until the antibiotic kicks in."

The young mother smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much, Dr. Shields, for squeezing us in like this. I have been at my wits end since last night. He's had a runny nose and a little cough for a couple of days, so I thought that he had just picked up a bug from school or something. But then last night he started crying about his ear hurting around bedtime. Needless to say, neither my husband nor I got much sleep last night. Then I almost died this morning when I called your office and they said that you were booked solid for the day. But Nora, bless her heart, said that you might be able to slip us in at the end of the day so that we wouldn't have to wait for tomorrow."

Darien chuckled. "It was no problem. I was glad to do it. The sooner we get him started on the medicine the better." Then he ruffled the brown hair of his little patient. "Okay, Cody! You get to feeling better, all right. And don't give your mom a hard time about taking the medicine. That is what will make the earache go away."

The little boy turned his face from his mother's chest to look up at his doctor with large, glassy brown eyes. One tiny hand held his ear while his other was at his mouth with his thumb between his lips. He pulled the thumb from his mouth before whispering tremulously, "Will the med'cine taste bad?"

A laugh rumbled in Darien's throat. "No. At least I don't think it tastes bad. Do you like bubblegum?"

The brown head nodded.

Darien grinned. "Well that's what this medicine tastes a lot like. It's almost like drinking candy. And speaking of candy…" He reached into the pocket of his white lab coat and pulled out a handful of suckers that he kept for his younger patients. "Why don't you pick out one for being such a brave boy today."

Cody's eyes widened for a moment as he stared at the colorfully wrapped suckers. After a few seconds of contemplation, he chose a red one and stuck it in his pants pocket. "Thank you, Dr. Shields."

"Any time, buddy!" Darien replied as he stood from the stool he'd been leaning against and closed the file folder he was holding.

The mother set the boy on his feet and gathered up her purse as they followed him out into the hall and toward the reception desk where he handed the file to Nora, his receptionist.

"Give me a call if he seems like he's getting any worse," he told the mother. "And keep your eyes open for any signs that he's having any allergic reactions to the medication." He saw the main door leading into the reception area open in his peripheral vision, but he ignored it to continue talking about his patient's well being. "He should be fine though since I prescribed this for him once before about a year ago and he had no reaction. But it always pays to be safe."

Suddenly, Cody ripped his hand from his mother's and began running across the room, squealing, "Miss Serena!"

Darien jerked his head around to see that it was indeed his fiancée that had entered a few moments before.

Serena dropped to her knees and opened her arms as the little boy barreled into her. She hugged him tightly as she gushed, "Oh, Cody, sweetie! I was wondering where you were when you weren't at school today. Did you catch that nasty little bug that has been going around?"

"I gotta ear 'fection," the boy told her solemnly. Then he grinned. "But Dr. Shields gave me some med'cine to make it go away. And look what else he gave me." He pulled the red sucker from his pocket with a flourish.

"Nice!" Serena complimented him on his acquisition.

"Miss Tsukino, what a surprise to see you here of all places," Cody's mother said with a smile. "You haven't gotten sick from being around all those children, have you?"

Cody's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Being around us made you sick, Miss Serena?"

"Oh no, sweetie! I'm not sick!" Serena immediately reassured her tiny student. "Remember when I told you kids that I was going to marry a doctor? Well Dr. Shields is the doctor that I'm marrying."

"Ohhh!" he said in comprehension. And everything was right in his little world once more.

"Well what a small world!" Cody's mom laughed. "I knew that both of you were engaged, but I never would have guessed that it was to each other, especially in a city this size."

Darien chuckled. "It's funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it?"

They talked for a few more minutes before bidding mother and son goodbye and saying goodnight to Nora, who was preparing to leave for the evening. Then they headed down the hall toward Darien's office, passing the closed door to Zoicite's on the way. The other doctor had seen his last patient and left an hour ago.

Serena whirled on Darien the second that they were inside his office with the door closed. "Okay! I heard you earlier, but I was kind of busy at the time. I think I heard you right though. You finally tracked them down?"

He nodded as he removed the stethoscope from around his neck and hung it up along with the lab coat he'd shrugged out of. "I guess you could say that. After hours of constantly calling in between patients, Kunzite finally answered his phone."

"Thank goodness!" she sighed in relief and leaned against the edge of his desk. "And he said that they were okay?"

He yanked at his already loosened tie, loosening it even more. "Not exactly in those words. He sounded really pissed actually. He assured me that they were both still alive and that they had just wanted to get away by themselves for a little while."

Serena sniffed haughtily. "Oh, that's all well and good for them to disappear without a word to anyone just because they felt like it! If you and I did something like that we would never hear the end of it. It's such a double standard! Do you know that Mina insisted on me giving her all the information on the place that we are going to for our honeymoon after I booked the trip?"

He smirked at her. "And did you?"

She tossed her head. "She thinks that I did, but I didn't. I gave her the name, address, and phone number for a resort that isn't even on the same island we will be going to. She claims that she only wants to know in case there is an emergency, but I know what she's up to and I don't want to spied on while we are on our honeymoon."

He walked up to her and looped his arms loosely around her. "I completely agree. But giving them bogus information won't stop them. If we want to be left completely alone we're going to have to take more drastic measures."

She tilted her head back to look up at him. "Like what?"

He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "Well first off, we'll have to cloak our auras and our crystals' energy signatures. Amy will be able to track us in a second if we don't. It would also be a good idea to leave our phones at home and just pick up a cheap prepaid one in case there is an emergency. Then we make sure to not use any credit or debit cards on our trip so they can't trace us that way. We can get one of those prepaid credit cards."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to threaten all of them with long, slow deaths if they follow us?" she huffed.

He shrugged. "We could. But do you think that they would actually listen?"

"Probably not," she grumbled. "We could order them to leave us alone. But I really don't want to do that. I don't like the idea of forcing my will on others just because of my position."

"It wouldn't matter anyway," he told her. "Kunzite and Mina still retain the right to overrule any order we give if they think that it's in the best interest of our safety. So if we want to ensure that we have some privacy we're going to have to go about this the sneaky way."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You've already been planning this out, haven't you?"

He flashed his lopsided grin at her. "Just a little bit. I figured that it would come up at some point, so I thought it best to go ahead and have some of the details lined out. I know that at some time in our lives we'll reach the point where it will probably be nearly impossible for us to go away somewhere completely alone together. But that time hasn't arrived yet. This is going to be the start of _our _married life, and I want to do it right. I want it to be just you and me alone together on some private beach and drinking some kind of fruity, frozen, tropical drink. And if we decide to get freaky, throw off our clothes, and roll around in the sand, I want to be able to do that and be assured that we're not the subjects of voyeurism."

"I like the way your dirty little mind thinks," she purred as she pressed a little closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If we manage to pull this off it will definitely be a honeymoon to remember."

"I think we owe it to ourselves," he told her in a husky tone. "After all, we have saved the world multiple times. And besides, we got screwed out of having a honeymoon the first go around. Staying in Elysian for a few days after sneaking off to get married in a secret ceremony that only a handful of people knew about doesn't exactly match the traditional definition of a honeymoon."

Serena stared up at him for several long moments, her lower lip slowly poking out a few degrees per second until a full-blown pout was on her face. Then she pushed him back a few steps, a little forcefully, and stomped to the other side of the room to put some distance between them.

"What?" he asked in bewilderment.

She spun around to face him, her eyes snapping angrily. "I can't believe you even have to ask that! I happen to have _loved _our first honeymoon. True, we may not have gone anyplace exotic, but we were together, and I would never trade a moment of that time."

Darien couldn't help but grin as her words stirred up memories from another lifetime. And he had to admit that she had a point. While his past self and his young secret bride hadn't been able to take the traditional wedding tour, as had been customary in those times, they had still had a beautiful start to their marriage. It had been the first time that Serenity had visited Elysian, and Endymion had enjoyed taking her around the land of dreams and showing her the sights.

That trip hadn't been all fun and games though. He still remembered his surprise and delight when he had discovered that, despite her innocence, his princess had harbored a furiously passionate nature buried deep inside. The moment their lips had met at the end of their wedding ceremony in the most intense kiss they had ever shared, he'd begun to wonder how in the world he had been able to keep his hands off of her up until that point. He'd been sorely tempted to sweep her up into his arms right then and carry her off to his room, but her mother, his parents, and both of their guards had been there. And such an action would have been highly inappropriate. So he'd patiently waited, playing the part of the attentive groom throughout the small dinner and reception that they'd had with those in attendance. But that night…

A hand waved in front of his face, jerking him back to the present. He blinked to find a still slightly disgruntled looking Serena standing in front of him. But her eyes were curious as she asked, "What were you thinking about? You looked like you were a thousand miles away."

He smiled goofily at her. "Nope! Just a thousand years away. I was remembering our wedding night."

A blush immediately flooded her cheeks with pink and she stammered, "O-oh!" Then she giggled shakily. "I was so nervous that night. I wasn't completely naïve. I knew how things were supposed to go. And I was perfectly calm and collected until Minako started handing out her _helpful _advice. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown after that. The other girls weren't much help either since they kept chiming in with their ideas as well. Even Ami wasn't immune once she'd had a couple of glasses of wine."

He chuckled as he put his arms around her waist and tugged her to him. "The guys were just as bad with me. Of course Jed and Neph were the worst. Do you know that those two knuckleheads actually tried to drag me into a brothel a few days before the wedding?"

Serena's eyes widened. "You never told me that."

He nodded. "Yep! They thought that I might benefit from having one _experience _before our wedding night so that I would halfway know what I was doing. They snuck into my room, ambushed me, tied me up, and dragged me to the nearby village. I was afraid that I was going to have to seriously hurt the two of them in order to get away, but luckily Kunz and Zoi figured out what they were up to and came after us."

A hysterical laugh bubbled past Serena's lips. "And I thought what the girls did to me was bad! Two nights before the wedding, Minako and Rei snuck these two; well I guess nowadays that we would call them male exotic dancers, into the castle. One of them was from Venus and the other from Mars. They burst into my sitting room and began, um…putting on their show. I was in shock the entire time."

Now it was Darien's turn to be surprised. "They got you strippers?"

She nodded. "Yeah. They had lied to the guys and told them that it was a late birthday present for me. Luckily they didn't stay long. Makoto said that I looked like I was going to pass out, so she herded them out of there. I had never been so embarrassed in my life."

Darien shook his head. "Well, at least this time it won't be as bad since we've done things a little backwards. We're older and not as innocent as we were before. I'm sure they'll still find ways to mess with us, but at least we'll be better prepared to handle it. And I meant what I said before. I'm willing to take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that we can enjoy our honeymoon in peace and quiet. I don't want our friends hanging all over us like they did when we were in Elysian."

An impish smile turned up Serena's lips. "They weren't with us all the time. After all, we were in Elysian so they knew we were safe. In fact, I seem to remember quite a few times that they left us alone. At least they left us alone enough that I was able to walk away from those days with something special."

His eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

She huffed a quiet laugh. "You do the math, my dear doctor. Melody was born in April, almost exactly nine months to the day after our wedding. What does that tell you?"

"That we got lucky on the first try," he quipped back as he leaned down to brush a kiss across her lips. "But we don't want a repeat of that this time."

She shook her head. "Definitely not. My birth control pills will be the first thing that I pack to take with us. Trista would have our heads on a platter if we messed up the timeline." Then she glanced at the clock and saw that the time was swiftly approaching evening. "So what is this get together that Raye is wanting to have tonight all about. She left me a voicemail earlier, but she didn't say much. She just told me to come to the club tonight and that if I didn't show that she would never forgive me."

Darien shrugged. "I have no clue. Jed called to see if I was free tonight, and then invited me. But he didn't give me any particulars. He seemed really jazzed up about something though. If I had to guess, I'd say that he finally proposed to Raye and that she said yes."

Serena nodded. "That makes sense. And it's about time too. I was expecting them to be engaged long before this. Now we just need Lita and Neph to make things official and everyone will be on the engagement train, at least until Jess and Drew start the marriage rodeo in a couple of months. Are Mina and Kunzite coming tonight?"

"Kunzite said they would be there," he told her.

"Good! I can't wait to give both of them a piece of my mind," she grumbled. "I don't really mind that they wanted to get away for a while. I actually think that it's very sweet. Kunzite can be a bit of a stuffed shirt sometimes, so I think it's nice that he whisked Mina off for some alone time. But still, I know that they would give us the third degree if we did something like that. Which reminds me, why didn't Amy just use the Mercury computer to track them down?"

Darien kissed the tip of her nose and then moved around her to start gathering up his briefcase and other things that he intended to take home with him. "Because she was here most of the day doing observations and she doesn't bring her computer here. We discovered that whatever frequency it runs on interferes with some of the medical equipment, so she leaves it at home. She doesn't like doing it, but the patients' health comes first. By the time she left I had already spoken to Kunzite."

"Oh! That makes sense," she replied. "So are you about ready to get out of here? I still need to go home and change before we meet up with everyone. And I hope that food is included in this little pow-wow, because I am starving!"

"Spoken like a true Meatball Head," Darien joked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't start being a jerk!" She spun and stomped to the door, flinging it open and disappearing into the hall.

Darien laughed quietly to himself as he followed her.

* * *

"No way!" Lita and Raye squealed together at the same time as they stared in surprise at the rings on each other's fingers. After a few seconds of gaping they grabbed one another up in a tight hug and began jumping up and down.

Nephrite shook his head at the duo and slid over to where Jadeite was leaning against the fender of his car. "Very nicely played," he murmured to the blonde.

Jadeite grinned at him. "You too. I guess this means we'll be washing our own cars, huh?"

Nephrite snorted. "I always knew that you would pull through. I was just trying to give us both the incentive to get up off of our asses and stop dragging our feet."

"Well, it worked," Jadeite agreed as he watched his new fiancée, that word still gave him the tingles, wipe a few stray tears from her eyes.

She hadn't intended to tell anyone of their engagement until later at the club. But when they had run into Lita and Nephrite in the parking garage when they had come home, and Lita had apologetically declined the invitation for tonight, Raye had blurted out the news to her. Lita had astonished her by showing off her hand that was now sporting an emerald ring and announcing that she was engaged too.

"Now you have to come tonight," Raye said as she pulled away from her friend. "Can't you just picture the look on Meatball Head Serena's face if we drop a double whammy on her like this. It will be epic!"

Lita giggled. "Not to mention what this news will do to Mina. She thinks she's such a know it all love goddess, but this slipped right past her radar. You better believe I'm in. Besides, I'm curious as to where she and Kunzite have been keeping themselves all day."

Raye let out a contemptible snort. "Knowing those two sadist, they've probably been locked up in some den of perversion somewhere practicing some strange bondage rituals or something. I'm sure Mina will be sure to fill us in on it and probably give us more details than we care to hear."

Jadeite snickered. "Careful who you're calling a sadist, sweetheart. I happen to know that you have a pretty freaky side yourself."

She growled at him, "You better watch your step. It's not too late for me to take this ring off and throw it at your head!"

He held his hands up in surrender. "I was just saying…"

"Well keep it to yourself!" she snapped. Then she turned back to Lita. "Do you think you could get your guys over at the restaurant to whip us up a little spread? If not, I'm just going to order in a bunch of pizzas from somewhere."

"I'm already on it," Lita reassured her as she whipped her cell phone from her pocket and began dialing. A few seconds later she was squealing to her manager, "Mary! You won't believe what's happened…"

Nephrite arched a brow at Jadeite. "I don't know whether or not this is a premonition, but I've got the feeling that this is going to be a _really _long night."

Jadeite shot a glance at Raye, who was studying her ruby with a look of supreme satisfaction on her face, and he grinned. "I think you might be right. But it will be one hell of a ride."

* * *

_"Ready or not! Here I come!" the little girl called as she finished counting and lifted her head from where she'd had it buried in her folded arms against one of the statues that stood in the gardens of the moon castle. She looked around for a moment before skipping off down one of the paths. The frilly skirt of the pale yellow dress that her mother had chosen for her that morning swished around her knees as she went._

"_Toki! Where are you?" she sing-songed as she made her way merrily along. "I'm going to get you!"_

_Leaves rustled nearby, but she wasn't sure from where. And then she heard a laugh, followed by a voice saying, "You'll have to find me first."_

"_Oh, I'll find you," stated boldly. "And when I do it will be your turn to be it."_

_The voice came from a different direction this time. "Only if you catch me before I make it back to base."_

_Her jaw clenched in determination. "I can catch you!"_

_He laughed again. "Not with those short legs of yours. I'm older, bigger, and stronger than you are."_

"_I don't think so," she muttered under her breath, but she had been following his voice. It sounded like he was staying hidden in the bushes and trying to circle around her so that he could make a mad dash back to the statue that was their base. _

_She backtracked a little ways, keeping her ears open for the slightest sound. When the bushes to her right rustled just the tiniest bit, she burst through them, squealing, "I've got you now!"_

_The sandy blonde boy crouched behind the bushes shot her a startled look before jumping to his feet with a short yelp and taking off running like his life depended on it._

_She shot after him like a bullet, her golden curls streaming behind her as she pumped every bit of speed she could into her legs. The distance between them slowly began to close._

_He tossed a look over his shoulder at her. "Ha! I told you that you wouldn't be able to catch me, Melly!"_

_His taunt infuriated her, and she forced her already burning legs to move even faster. The rows of bushes and hedges around her were a blur. The next thing she knew, she was right on him, and she reached out to tag him on the shoulder. "You're it!"_

_He spun around to face her, and there was a flash of light. When it faded, she was surprised to find that they were now adults. She was in her princess form, complete with the long, royal blue gown and its streamers of silver and gold ribbons that cascaded from her waist. A warm spot on her forehead told her that her moon and rose symbol had appeared as well._

_He looked magnificent in his solarian officer's uniform. The bronze armor glowed with a highly polished shine and the dark blue underlining of his long, sweeping cape contrasted beautifully with the top layer of copper colored material. His messy, sandy blonde hair fell over his hazel eyes as he smirked at her. _

_He suddenly pulled her into his arms and growled, "No. You're it, princess!" Then he bent her back over his arm as he gave a kiss so intense that she felt her toes curl up inside her slippers._

_She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back with reckless abandon._

_When they were both almost faint from the lack of air, he pulled away from her lips, but only to kiss his way down her neck to her chest. He was hovering right above the swells of her breasts that were visible over the low neckline of her gown when she felt him sigh against her skin._

"God, please tell me that you are awake, Jess. Because I don't want to be accused of taking advantage of you while you're sleeping."

Her eyes popped open and she found herself lying on the sofa in Andrew's office and feeling a little fuzzy about how she'd gotten there. Then her brain finally caught up and she began to remember. She'd come to Andrew's office to visit for a minute after her morning class and he'd offered her lunch. She'd sat down on the sofa to wait for him while he'd run downstairs to grab them some food…and that was all she remembered.

Her lips felt tingly, like she had just been kissed, and her body felt weighted down. Just about the time that she realized that the fingers of one hand were buried in something soft, she felt a hot rush of air brush her chest.

She looked down and saw Andrew's sandy blonde head at eye level with her chest, and the sight made her giggle. "Well, well, isn't this a pleasant way to wake up."

His head popped up and he looked slightly guilty, like a little boy that had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar just before dinner. But he covered it with a roguish grin. "It looks like the fairytales are true. Sleeping Beauty can be kissed awake."

She arched a brow at him. "It seems to me that you might have something more in mind than just kissing a sleeping princess awake."

"I was just trying to get your attention," he quipped as he moved up her body so that their faces were even with each other.

Jess bit her lip to hold back a moan as his weight settled more firmly against her. Heat flooded her body, making her nerve endings crackle in awareness. She'd heard people talk before about how the newness and the excitement in a relationship usually simmered down after being with someone for about a year or so. But after two years of being with Andrew she could honestly say that he still made her burn just as hot as he had in the beginning of their relationship. Okay…maybe even hotter. It seemed that every time she thought that she couldn't possibly love him any more than she already did, her heart would take another plummeting plunge.

"Well, you certainly got my attention," she replied in a slightly breathless voice. Then, noticing that the light in the office was much dimmer than it had been before she'd fallen asleep, she asked, "How long have I been out?"

He gently brushed her bangs back from her forehead. "You've been dead to the world all afternoon. You didn't even twitch a muscle when the kids came in here after school, and they weren't exactly quiet. It actually concerned me a little bit because normally you wake up if the wind blows."

She wrinkled her nose up at him. "I guess I was just more tired than usual. I had a full, busy day and night in Elysian while everybody else slept here."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "I guess it wouldn't do any good for me to get down on my knees and beg you to stop doing this to yourself, would it?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "It won't be for much longer though. I've pretty much reached the limits of my comfort zone anyway, and I'm scared if I go any further that it could be disastrous. Besides, I'll need to rest and build my energy back up before Trista comes for us this weekend. If I'm going to face this, then I'm going in at my best."

A small chuckle rumbled from Andrew. "You're always so stubborn."

"And you love me for it," she joked back. Then she giggled as she remembered the dream she'd had just before she woke up.

He grinned down at her. "What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "It's nothing really. I was just thinking about this dream I just had. It made me think about how stubborn I really am."

"Care to share?" he asked curiously.

"Sure, why not," she answered with a shrug. "I guess it was more like a memory than a dream. It was about you and me in the past. We were playing hide and seek in the castle garden and it was my turn to be it. So I counted while you hid. Then when I went looking for you, you kept moving around your hiding spot and teasing me that I wouldn't be able to catch you. But I did find you, and then I chased you down until I tagged you, despite the fact that you kept insisting that I wouldn't be able to." She blushed slightly as she remembered the erotic turn the dream had taken after that.

But Andrew didn't notice. He groaned and leaned his forehead against her shoulder. "I don't know why I always did that. You always managed to catch me in the end. I think it was because I was confused because I couldn't figure out how this tiny little girl, who was of mixed blood no less, could catch me when I was clearly bigger, older, stronger, and full blooded Solarian. It was always a mystery to me. Of course now I know that it was because you are special."

She turned her face away, embarrassed. "I'm not that special."

He cupped her cheek and turned her eyes back to him. "You are special. At least you are to me. I wouldn't care if you didn't have one supernaturally powerful bone in your body, you would still be special to me. And I would still want to marry you with every fiber of my being."

A warm flush of pleasure spread through her at his words, but she couldn't help but tease, "Have you been taking sweet talking lessons from your dad again?"

He looked back at her, completely serious. "Why? Is it working?" Then the façade cracked and he grinned. "Nah! I'm ten times the sweet talker that my dad is. Mom might be taken in by his charm, but I'm much more of a romanticist."

Jess's expression turned mischievous. "I don't know. Your dad has a smooth, debonair quality about him. My heart has fluttered a few times just from being around him."

"Ah! I'm crushed!" Andrew cried dramatically as he rolled off of her to land on his back on the floor. "I knew it all along! You're only marrying me to get to my dad! Oh, the heartbreak!"

Her laugh tinkled like bells as she slid off the sofa to straddle his hips. "Poor baby! Don't worry! I still love you more than your dad."

He cracked one eyelid open to squint at her. "Do you promise?"

She leaned down and rested her forearms on his chest. "Of course I promise, you goofball!"

"Whew! What a relief!" he laughed. "But speaking of the parents, my mom was bugging me earlier about our honeymoon. She was wanting to know if we've decided where we're going yet."

She sat back up, chewing on her lower lip out of nervous habit. "I've been thinking about that, and I wanted to run an idea by you."

He crossed his arms behind his head. "Lay it on me."

"Well," she began hesitantly. "What do you think about America?"

"Hey, I'm game!" he replied immediately. "I'm not quite as fluent as you are in English, but I definitely know more than enough to get by. So what did you have in mind, Las Vegas, or maybe Hawaii?"

Once again, her teeth closed down on her lip before she said, "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of southern California."

That was enough to bring him into a halfway sitting position, propped up on his elbows. "Are you sure about that?"

She nodded rapidly. "Yeah. I think I'd really be okay with it. I haven't been back there since I stopped there for a couple of days on my way from my aunt and uncle's place in New York to here. We wouldn't even have to stay in a hotel because I still have my house there. Okay, technically I don't take possession of it for a few more years when I get my full inheritance, but it is mine. And there's so much to do there. I could take you around and show you all the places I remember from growing up. There's also Disneyland and the boardwalk at the Santa Monica pier not that far away."

He took in her happy expression and the way that her eyes sparkled. "You really want to do this, don't you?"

"Only if you do," she told him. "This honeymoon is supposed to be for both of us, so I want us to go somewhere that we both agree on."

He shook his head. "I don't care where we go, as long as were together. And I would love to see your old stomping grounds. I just don't want you to spend the whole trip as an emotional mess."

Her look turned defensive. "I can't promise that I won't shed a tear or two while we're there, but I'm not going to have a meltdown or anything. A lot of people may not believe this, but I _have _grown up a lot in the past couple of years. I'm not some silly, emotional little girl that can't face up to the fact that her parents are dead. I thought that you of all people would give me some credit for that."

Sensing that a full blown Jess tirade was on the way, and that he needed to nip it in the bud before it started if he didn't want to find himself sleeping on the couch instead of in his comfortable bed with her, he quickly sat all the way up, with her still straddling his hips.

"What are you, umph…" Jess began to protest, but her voice cut off as she found a hot, insistent mouth over hers. She sighed into the kiss and returned it eagerly for a moment before pulling back to attempt to give her fiancé an aggravated look. "You're trying to distract me."

He gave her a boyish grin that reminded her so much of when they had both been children and best friends in the past that her heart ached just a little bit. "Yeah, I am distracting you. Is it working?"

Her fingers moved to the buttons of his shirt as she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Is that door locked?" She swirled her tongue around his lobe.

He groaned softly. "Uh…yeah…but I forgot to tell you, we're supposed to be meeting everybody for some kind of a meeting or something over at the club in a little while."

Her nails scraped his chest as she continued slipping the buttons through the holes. "At what time?"

He was having a hard time focusing his thoughts. "Um…around 7:30 I was told."

She took his hand in hers so that she could look at the watch on his wrist. Then she smiled a purely feline smile. "That gives me more than enough time."

He tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "For what?"

"To start preparing for our honeymoon. After all, practice makes perfect," she mumbled against his lips. And then she kissed him, pushing him back down on his back on the thick, plush carpet.

* * *

Orion sighed as he looked out over the city while sitting on the edge of the roof of the apartment building. This was the first time that he had allowed himself to take in the sights of Tokyo since he had arrived there. Up until now he had preferred to remain in the sanctuary of Katie and Alex's bedroom, barely venturing out at all except to take care of personal needs. And even then he hadn't allowed himself the luxury of admiring the city. What was the use anyway?

But tonight had been different. His new young mistress, her brother, and the past forms of her parents were all out for the evening, which had left him alone in the apartment with Nebula. He had expected his former lover to disappear into Elysian, which is what she often did to avoid being around him, but tonight she seemed to be in rare form and had chosen to remain there. He had tried to stay out of her sight and out of her way, but her ranting and shrieks had carried to him all the way to where he had been curled up on Katie's bed.

Finally he'd had enough and had escaped out the balcony door to make his way up here so that he could have some peace and quiet as he pondered the mess that his life had become. He'd always known that returning to the real world after his long stay in the god's realm wouldn't be easy, but this was even worse than he had imagined. Nebula would be happy to see him dead. Luna was almost as vicious with her insults as her sister was. And his brother…well, he and Artemis had barely spoken more than a handful of words to each other since his return, and that hurt him just as much as Nebula's homicidal attitude did. He and his brother had always been close, despite their different personalities. But there was a wide chasm between them now…one that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to close. At least not in this time.

"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" a quiet voice spoke up behind him.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder at the white feline who had joined him, and he sighed, "Yes it is. It reminds me a lot of a city that I visited once on a planet that sat just outside the rim of our solar system."

Artemis jumped up on the ledge to sit next to him. "Is that where you were when the Silver Millennium fell?"

He nodded. "Yes. I tried to immerse myself in the hustle and bustle of that city. I was testing myself to see if I still craved the excitement of the foreign and the unknown. But I couldn't get the moon out of my head."

"Or Nebula either," Artemis said knowingly.

"She was a huge part of it," Orion admitted. "But it was more than just her. I have traveled the galaxy and seen places that most people could never even dream of. But do you know what some of my fondest memories are? They are of growing up on Venus. Sure, dad wasn't around as much as we would have liked, but we had a good life there, you, mom, our little sisters, and me. We lived like royalty in the palace since mom worked for the queen. True, I wanted to see what else was out there. But when I came to visit the moon, it felt peaceful, like I had finally found a place where I could truly belong. And it scared me."

Surprisingly, Artemis chuckled. "Mom always did say that you were a free spirit. She even teased me about having a bit of the wandering bug in me because I always enjoyed traveling to the other planets with Minako when she would go on one of her visiting sprees. But she always believed that you would settle down one day. And she was happy with her life. She loved her job working for Minako's mother, and she still had Astrid and Starla with her."

Orion nodded a little sadly as he thought about his mother, Diana. She had been petite, even for a Mauan, but what she had lacked in size she more than made up for in spirit. She had been a kind, gentle, and loving mother, but a firm disciplinarian as well. And there hadn't been much that her four children could get away with without her knowing. Even now, he could remember the way her light gray hair would stand on end and her blue eyes would crackle when she'd caught him doing something that he shouldn't have, and that had been often.

Pushing aside his reminisces of the past; he turned to look at his brother. "So what brought you up here to speak to me tonight? I thought you were avoiding me."

Artemis winced. "I wasn't avoiding you exactly. I was just trying to get my thoughts straightened out. It was a huge shock to learn that you were still alive after all of this time. I had reconciled myself to thinking that you had probably died on one of the other planets during the fall of the Silver Millennium, so I never expected you to just suddenly show up out of the blue the way you did. But now that I've had a chance to calm down I thought it was time for us to talk. Luna went to visit with Nebula for a while, and since Nebula and I aren't exactly bosom buddies, I figured now was as good a time as any. I mean you're here for good now, so we may as well try to work things out."

Orion shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, brother. I may be here now, but I won't be staying. I wish I could, but I made a deal with Selene when I agreed to become the guardian of the Trinity swords, and I have to abide by it."

There was a sharp gasp behind them, and they both whirled around to see Luna standing there, looking at them in wide-eyed shock.

And beside her stood an infuriated Nebula.

"Damn!" Orion hissed.

* * *

"I just don't get it!" Nebula was complaining as she paced back and forth in front of the sofa in Jess and Andrew's living room. "Why is he still here? I know he's just going to take off again just like he always does, so I wish he would go ahead and go! It would make it much easier on everyone if he did."

"Bula," Luna sighed as she surveyed her older sister from her spot on the arm of the sofa. "I know it's not easy on you, having him come crashing back into your life like this and all. But have you even stopped to listen to what he has to say yet."

"Please!" Nebula retorted. "That no good alley cat could talk a blind person into buying one of Jess's paintings. He should be a car salesman with his slick maneuvers. But I know the way he operates, and I'm not going to get sucked in by him again. And I would have thought that I taught you better than to fall for his tricks, little sister! He's a con man, pure and simple. I just can't believe that I am the only one that can see that. He's got Katie all twisted around until she thinks that he is the best thing that has come along since the invention of electricity. And Jess, that traitor! I caught petting and fawning all over him last night while she fed him a salmon dinner. Salmon! Can you believe that? I usually have to beg her to get me salmon when I have a hankering for it. And if it hadn't been for Aurora all of these years I probably would have never gotten it."

Luna had to fight to hold back a snort of laughter at the rust colored cat's indignation, but she couldn't help but tease, "Oh, dear! The horror of him getting to enjoy your favorite meal!"

Amber eyes shot sparks at her. "I'm being serious here! He's weaving his spell over everyone. Besides, he's been under the care of gods for the last ten centuries. So I seriously doubt that he's been deprived of good food in that time. He's probably been eating like a king, dining on succulent fish fillets and the highest quality cream every night. I'm surprised he's not as round as a balloon by now!"

"Bula," Luna said gently. "I don't think he's the same as he was before. All you have to do is take a good look at him. The Orion I remember from the past was always a carefree, fun-loving kind of guy. But now he just seems…sad all the time. I hate to say it, but he reminds me a lot of how Serena was when we were battling Chaos back about five years ago and Darien went missing. He's going through the motions of living, and he may even crack a smile here and there, but I think he's crying on the inside."

Nebula stopped her pacing and turned a haughty look on her sibling. "So you think that I should just forget about everything he did to hurt me in the past and take him back like nothing ever happened?"

Luna shook her head. "No. But I do think that you should at least give him the benefit of the doubt. I'm not condoning him leaving you in any way, and I would love to slice him to ribbons for breaking your heart the way he did. But he is Artemis's brother. And while they may have different personalities, I do understand that they both have complex ways of thinking. I believe that there is more to his story than either one of us are giving him credit for."

"Are you talking about that cock and bull story he fed Queen Serenity about how he needed to find himself?" Nebula snorted. "That sounds like the whininess of a teenage child if you ask me. I went through the same thing with Jess after her parents died and she was forced to move to New York with her aunt and uncle. She went wild for a while and was out club hopping with that cousin of hers with a fake ID. She claimed that she was trying to find herself as well. She got over it after a while and began focusing on what was important. I don't think that Orion will ever grow up."

"Well you won't know unless you talk to him," Luna countered back. "Look, I'm not taking his side in this, but I think he deserves the chance to tell his side of the story."

A hiss left Nebula. "You've been around Princess Serenity too long. Her over-forgiving and naïve nature is beginning to rub off on you." She sighed when Luna's cinnamon colored eyes leveled on her. "Fine! I'll go talk to him. But I'm not promising anything."

Luna appeared pleased with her declaration. "Good! We need some solidarity, considering what we are facing. He's up on the roof. Artemis noticed him when we got here and decided to go talk to him."

"Whatever!" Nebula muttered. "I just want to get this over with so that I can get his excuses behind me and continue hating him."

"There is a thin line between love and hate," Luna said wisely. "Believe me, I've seen it many times over. You only had one teenage sailor scout to worry about. I had five. And Artemis was absolutely no help when it came to dealing with girl issues, especially about boys. If you only knew some of the drama I had to put up with, it would probably turn your whiskers gray."

"Please!" Nebula scoffed. "I'm surprised that my entire coat hasn't turned gray after putting up with what I've had to deal with out of that hellion. Jess may only be one girl, but she has enough energy for ten and the personality of a rabid Rottweiler. And as far as that thin line between love and hate nonsense, I can assure you, dear sister, I am certain which side of the line I stand on with him. And it's not love."

At least that was what she kept telling herself, but when she and Luna walked out onto the roof of the apartment building a few minutes later and she saw Orion sitting at the edge of the building with Artemis, her heart gave a peculiar little leap.

'_Easy, girl,' _she thought to herself. _'You aren't some naïve little female anymore that can get taken in by a pair of nice looking eyes and a bunch of meaningless words. Yes, he's here now, but he could be gone tomorrow. That's just the way he is. He's a wanderer. He'll never be able to settle down in one place.'_

But as she took advantage of the fact that he had his back to her and took the opportunity to study him closely without him knowing, she began to notice what Luna had said before. He did look sad. There was a definite slump to his shoulders that she had never seen in him before. What had happened to the guy that used to laugh at everything?

And when he spoke, he sounded defeated. But his words packed a punch that hit Nebula straight in her stomach and made her feel like she was going to be sick.

"That's where you're wrong, brother," he was saying to Artemis. "I may be here now, but I won't be staying. I wish I could, but I made a deal with Selene when I agreed to become the guardian of the Trinity swords, and I have to abide by it."

A gasp left her lips at the same time Luna gasped as well. But it took less than a split second for her disillusionment to turn to anger. She glared at Orion with enough heat to fry an egg as he and Artemis both spun around.

"Damn!" he hissed.

Nebula's rage bubbled over. "Damn! That's all you have to say for yourself? You've been running around the past couple of days making nice with everyone and winning them over with that silver tongued personality of yours, and now I find that, just like always, you have no intentions of sticking around. I came up here thinking that I might give you the benefit of the doubt, but I see that my first instincts about you were correct after all and you haven't changed a bit! How despicable!"

"Bula!" he cried desperately as he jumped down from the ledge. "It isn't what you think. I…"

"Just save it!" she snapped back, interrupting him. "I'm not interested in hearing your excuses. I'm sure I've heard them all before. I get it! You're a free spirit that can't handle being in one place for too long. Fine! Maybe you should just run off to Romania and join the gypsies or something. That seems to be right up your alley!"

He was across the roof in a flash to stand in front of her with his face barely inches from hers. His whiskers were trembling in anger and his dark gray eyes resembled storm clouds.

"Damn it all, woman!" he roared. "I'm tired of pussy-footing around you all the time. For once you are going to shut that enormous mouth of yours and listen to what I have to say!"

Nebula took a step back in shock. She had never before heard him raise his voice in anger. She hadn't even known that he was capable of losing his temper. But as she looked in wide-eyed surprise at the almost spitting feline, she realized that he was most definitely capable of getting angry. And right now he was pissed!

But so was she. She hissed in his face, "Did you just dare to…"

"Baby, you haven't even begun to see what I would dare to do!" he fired back. "Now! All I'm asking is for five minutes of your precious time. So for once in your life, sit down, shut up, and let me get a word in edgewise for a change. I am sick and tired of you always jumping to conclusions about me. So for once I'm going to lay it all out in the open for you. And if I have to tie a gag around that pretty little mouth of yours to be able to say what I have to say in peace, then that's what I'll do. You got it?"

Luna and Artemis watched from the sidelines as the two stared each other down for several long seconds. This volatile situation could result in fur flying at any moment.

"This could get bad. Should we intervene?" Luna murmured quietly to Artemis.

He watched his brother as he faced off against his soul mate's sister. Wow! Talk about tension. In the end, he shook his head. "Nah! Let them hash this out between them. It's been a long time in coming."

Finally, Nebula took a deep breath, and calling upon the grace and dignity that she had learned from all of her years in the Lunarian court, she sat down regally with her tail curled around her feet. Then she replied haughtily, "Fine! I will listen to what you have to say. But don't expect it to change my opinion of you."

He eyed her for a moment. Evidently he was suspicious of her willingness to listen to him. Eventually, he backed up a few steps and sat as well. "Okay. First off, I want my chance to say what I was trying to tell you before you took off on me that last night that I was on the moon."

Nebula snorted. "You don't have to go through all that. Queen Serenity already filled me in on what you told her."

"Nevertheless, I want my opportunity to explain things to you personally," he countered back smoothly. "So please, just listen quietly and let me say this."

She rolled her amber eyes, but waved a paw at him to continue.

He sighed heavily. "Now, I do admit that leaving the way I did was a pretty crappy thing to do, especially in light of the weeks that we had spent together. But what I wish you could see was that I did it to try to protect you. It's true; I was a wanderer. It was the only life I had known all of my adult life. The only time that I'd had a stable home had been when I had been growing up on Venus. After that I spent years hopping around the solar system and even beyond it. I would change locations every few days just to keep the excitement fresh. Then I met you, and I started thinking that perhaps I could find a life worth living that didn't involve taking off to a new place every few days. I actually pictured myself being happy staying on the moon with you, and it scared me. Not that I was afraid of making a commitment to you, but because I was afraid that I would hurt you later. I was scared that I would settle down with you, and then later my need to search out new places would rise up again and that I would break your heart by leaving. So that was why I decided to leave when I did. I needed to discover for myself what I wanted in life. I thought it would be simple. I would take a trip, and if it didn't satisfy me in the way being with you did, then I would know that the moon was where I was supposed to be."

He paused for a few moments before continuing. "I was miserable the entire trip. I couldn't stop thinking about you. I ended up on a busy planet right past the outer rim of the solar system, and I tried to lose myself in the activity there, but I couldn't. All I wanted to do was come back to you, grovel at your feet for being an idiot, and ask you to marry me. I knew then that was the life I wanted. That Solarian who was the commander of the Lunarian army had offered me a staff position on the tactical team, and I was going to take it. I knew that it might take me a while to win you back, but I was willing to do whatever I had to do to do it. The day I was scheduled to leave was the day that the news reached me that the moon kingdom had been attacked and had fallen and that mass chaos had flown through the solar system like wildfire as the other planets began dying off, one by one. I smuggled myself onto a ship that was coming back this way, and only made it as far as Saturn before the crew got frightened and turned back. I stayed there because I had found a teleporter that only needed a few minor repairs. So I fixed it and used it to get the rest of the way to the moon. Of course there was nothing left by the time I got there. And that was where Selene found me and told me what happened."

Nebula swallowed the tears that had begun burning her eyes, feeling stupid that his tale had affected her the way it had. His remorse now in no way made up for the fact that he had left her. But knowing that their separation had been as hard on him as it had been on her let her know that he had at least loved her as much as she had him back then. But that was then, and this was now.

She cleared her throat gruffly. "Well that was a very entertaining story, and I am happy to know that all of the emotion that I poured into our relationship wasn't a total waste. But what I am more interested in hearing about is this latest revelation of yours that you are going to leave again."

"I'm interested in that myself," Artemis piped up. "You mentioned something about a deal you made with Selene."

Orion nodded. "Yes. When I agreed to become the guardian of the Trinity swords, I promised that I would stay there until the time came that the three chosen ones arrived to take possession of them. After that, I would be released from my duty and able to rejoin the world once more."

Luna shot a quick glance at her sister before pinning Orion with her cinnamon eyes. "Why do I sense a big _but _about to come up?"

Orion smiled sadly. "The gods are always a tricky bunch, even one as gracious and as lovely as Selene. She assured me that by the time that my mission was over that all of you would have been awakened from the stasis that Queen Serenity had put you in and that I would be able to join you if that was what I wished. But the problem is the timing. You see, the place that I have been all of these centuries is timeless. So it doesn't exist in any specific time. The deal I made with her was that whenever the Trinity bearers arrived and released me from my duty, that would mean that I belong to whatever time they belong to."

Artemis hissed in a breath. "So you're saying that your proper time is the 30th century?"

Orion nodded. "Yes. When Katie and the others return to their own time, I will go with them. And that will be where I remain. The only reason why I've been allowed here is because this time is where they happened to be when they found me. But when they go, I go."

Irritation crackled all around Nebula. "So this has all been part of some giant joke! You drop in for a quick visit after we all thought that you were dead, and then take off again so that you can pop up in another thousand years? Unbelievable!"

"Well it's not exactly the way I wanted things to go," he grumbled. "But look at it this way. I'm not leaving in the same sense that I'm just taking off to go gallivanting around. I'll be around, it's just going to take a few years."

"A few years!" she screeched. "Try over ten centuries! Granted, the Earth will be frozen over for most of that time, but there still a lot of years between when Crystal Tokyo will be created and the time that the kids belong to."

Humor glinted in Orion's eyes. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you sound like you're going to miss me."

Nebula jumped to her feet, her tail shooting straight up and bushing out. "I will _not _miss you! In fact, I'm happy that you won't be sticking around! I also like knowing exactly when I can expect you to make another unwanted appearance in my life so that I can take steps to make sure that I avoid you. In fact, this works out perfectly. In a couple of days you will be gone. And if I'm lucky I'll never have to worry about running into you ever again."

With those parting words she turned and strode regally from the roof.

Orion watched her with his head tilted in confusion for a moment before muttering, "Did either one of you get the feeling that she was just a little bit over-zealous in her convictions?"

Artemis just shrugged, but Luna nodded rapidly. "Yes, she was. It looks like you're going to have your work cut out for you if you try to win her back in the future." Then her whiskers twitched nervously. "You _are _going to try to get back together with her in the future, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Orion snorted. "I haven't been hanging around and taking her abuse for nothing. I thought that if maybe I could thaw her out a bit here that it might make it a little easier when I get to the future."

Artemis let out a low whistle. "I'd sure hate to be in your position, bro."

* * *

Kunzite reached over and pulled a thumb away from white, gnashing teeth. "Mina, love, you are going to wind up gnawing that nail past the quick if you keep that up."

She looked up and gave him a tremulous smile. "Sorry. I'm just so nervous." Then she looked at the chewed nail in question and groaned. Her manicurist was going to kill her!

Kunzite gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Are you ready to do this?"

She glanced over at the parking lot and took a mental roll call. Yep, it looked like everyone was there. Then she looked toward the large, black double doors emblazoned with the fiery _Blaze _logo and sighed. "Let's do it."

They walked into the club, which was a lot less crowded than normal since it was a Wednesday night. The bouncer by the door grinned and waved them by as he recognized them. One of the perks of being part owner of the building and a close friend of the club's boss meant never having to pay a cover charge to get in.

"Hey, guys!" the big, burly man said in greeting. "The boss lady and the rest of your crew are upstairs in the loft."

"Appreciate it," Kunzite replied back as he took in the somewhat sparse scattering of people on the dance floor. "Slow night, huh?"

The bouncer shrugged. "It always is in the middle of the week. But we more than make up for it on the weekends. Summer's right around the corner though, so these slow nights will probably start disappearing soon. Now you two better hurry on up. Miss Hino was all ramped up over something when she came in and told me to steer everybody her way as they came in."

"Hmph!" Mina sniffed as she took Kunzite's hand as they began walking across the club toward the stairs that led up to what they called the loft. "Raye can try to be sneaky all she wants to, but she can't hide it from me. I know exactly what this is about."

"Yeah! Jed finally got up off of his happy butt and proposed to her!" a voice trilled in her ear.

Mina and Kunzite both jumped in surprise and turned to see that their smiling future daughter had snuck up behind them.

"Ha!" the younger blonde crowed. "I wish the two of you could have seen the looks on your faces! That was priceless!"

"Very funny!" Mina grumbled. "And yes, I was well aware that things between Raye and Jed were finally reaching that point. I'm also expecting the news that Nephrite finally popped the question as well."

"He did!" Emma gushed excitedly. "Just wait until you see him and Lita together. The waves coming off of them are just like watching a lightning storm. The best part is that Skye and Jay don't have a clue about what's going on. I've got my camera phone set and ready to capture that iconic moment. But enough about those little couples. How has your day been?"

Mina groaned and rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I swear that you are too much like me for your own good. Our day has been perfectly fine, thank you very much. But I'm sure you already know that."

Emma flashed her a V-sign. "Of course I do. I just thought that I would be polite and ask though."

"There you are!" an aggravated voice exclaimed as Katie came from the direction of the restrooms. "Thanks a lot for waiting on me, Em!"

"Sorry!" Emma chirped as she flapped her hand. "Now let's get back upstairs. I'm starving!" And she flitted off toward the stairs.

Katie followed her, grouching, "What is her deal today? She's acting more like a basketcase than usual."

Mina and Kunzite looked at each other as wide grins began unfurling on their faces. Then Kunzite took her hand and tucked it inside the crook of his arm. "Come on, Aphrodite. Let's get this show on the road."

They had barely reached the top of the staircase when there was an ear-splitting screech, and then Serena was barreling into Mina to hug her enthusiastically.

"Where have you been?" the reincarnated princess began fussing once she had gotten all the hugging out of the way. "If I ever pulled a disappearing stunt like that you would never let me hear the end of it."

"I know! I know!" Mina giggled. "I'm sorry about worrying you like that. I guess I should have at least left you a message or something."

Serena crossed her arms, trying to look severe. "Yes, you should have. Now what has been going on?"

"I'll tell you about it in a little while," Mina told her quickly. "Now what is this meeting all about. Have we gotten word from Trista already? I thought we still had a few days before anything was going down."

"Oh, it's nothing that serious," Serena replied with a conspiratorial wink. "Raye just decided that she wanted to have a little get together, so she called around and invited everyone up."

"Oh! I see," Mina drawled innocently. Evidently Serena was of the same opinion that she was, that this was some sort of an informal engagement party.

"It's about time you showed up, Blondie!" Raye growled as she elbowed her way in between the two blondes. She shoved a glass of wine into Mina's hand. "Now why don't you come and join the rest of us and quit being such a loner."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Mina murmured as she grabbed Kunzite's hand and pulled him behind her to where the rest of their friends were congregated. The back area of the loft was set up a lot like a lounge, with long padded benches along the walls that were grouped into a horseshoe shape so that conversation could flow easily within a large group. This section was usually rented out for company parties and such, but tonight they had it all to themselves.

Mina and Kunzite took a seat next to Serena and Darien on the middle bench. Andrew and Jess were on the future king and queen's other side, near the far right bench that held the teen brigade. And on the left bench were the remaining three inner scouts and generals.

"Okay!" Raye began after everyone was situated. "Does everyone have a drink? Good!" Her eyes narrowed on her future son. "Jay! I said that you may have one glass of wine. If you drink it all up in just a few minutes you will not be getting any more."

Jayden grinned at her impishly. "Sorry, mom. But that's some good stuff."

Mina saw an opening to tease her fiery friend and took it. "You're letting him drink?"

Raye waved a hand. "Just one glass. I figured that he and Hannah were old enough to indulge in one glass of wine with us adults. After all, they fight monsters like adults."

Amy nodded with a sly smile. "Even my mother allowed me to have a glass of wine when I was fourteen, if it were a special occasion."

"But I'm fifteen now," Jayden protested. "Doesn't that mean that I can have a bit more? I don't see you riding herd on the others." He jerked his finger toward the older teens. "Emma is already on her second glass."

"What?" Kunzite growled.

Emma tossed her blonde head. "Oh, please! I'm seventeen years old! Who cares if I have a couple of glasses of wine?"

"And my eighteenth birthday is right around the corner," Rini supplied.

"But the rest of them aren't seventeen yet," Jayden complained.

"Close enough," they all intoned together. And it was true. DJ had a birthday coming up in just a couple of weeks, and Skye's was just a few weeks after that. Katie and Alex's wasn't until November, but what was six months?

"Geez, Jay!" Alex snickered. "You make it sound like we're sitting around, getting trashed. It's just a little wine, dude."

"Nobody is going to overindulge," Raye announced. "It is a work or school night for just about everyone here. Now everybody quit yapping for a moment. I have a couple of topics that I want to discuss really quick, and then we'll move on the wonderful spread that the crew over at Lita's restaurant whipped up for us."

"Well get a move on then, Pyro. I'm starving!" Serena said jokingly.

Raye rolled her eyes. "So what else is new, Meatball Head? You're always starving. But you're just going to have to suck it up for a few more minutes. Lita, would you like to take over?"

Lita faked a yawn and waved her left hand around. "Nah! You're doing a pretty good job of running the show by yourself." There was a flash of green from her hand in the low lighting.

Skye paused with her wine glass halfway to her lips. Her head jerked around to pin both of her future parents with a chilling, slate blue gaze. "Whoa! Hold up there just a second! Let me see your hand again. Is that a ring on your finger?"

Lita put on an innocent expression as she held the hand back out. "What, this? Yes, it so happens that it is a ring. Isn't that the type of jewelry that people usually wear on their fingers?"

Raye sniffed daintily. "I don't see what the big deal is. I have one too." She fluttered her fingers in front of her, making the ruby on her ring finger shimmer softly.

"Oh! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you both!" Serena exclaimed softly with little stars in her eyes.

Jess held up her wine glass in salute. "Yeah, congrats! It's about time."

"I'll say it's about time," Mina said slyly. "I was beginning to question the legitimacy of your children."

"Mina!" Amy scolded lightly. Then she smiled at her two newly engaged friends. "Please accept my congratulations as well.

Darien, Andrew, Kunzite, and Zoicite called out the typical male hurrahs to Nephrite and Jadeite.

Raye visibly deflated as she and Lita exchanged surprised looks. Then she rounded on Serena. "So that's it? Not that I'm complaining, far from it actually, but I figured that you would have shattered every light bulb in the place with your squealing, Serena."

A mysterious smile appeared on Serena's face. "Honestly Raye, I would have thought that you would give me some credit for maturing some by now. I can show my enthusiasm for my friends' happiness without going completely insane. Besides, it's not like we haven't known that engagements between you guys were coming for quite some time now. The only thing I am shocked about is the fact that it took so long for the guys to finally pop the question. They've been sitting on those rings for a while now."

"H-how do you know that?" Jadeite sputtered.

"Yeah! How?" Nephrite echoed.

Serena burst into giggles. "Boys, boys, boys! You didn't honestly think that you could go buy those rings from one of my best friend's mother and that I wouldn't find out about them, did you? You bought those rings only two days apart from each other, and I knew about them within five minutes of you walking out of Osa-P Jewelry."

"What? Mrs. Osaka sold us out?" the two flabbergasted men cried together.

"Nope!" Serena replied with a laugh. "Mrs. O protects her clients' confidentiality. But what neither one of you noticed was that Molly was there at the same time you were. Melvin was out of town that week, so she was staying with her mom. When she saw you guys walk in, she ducked out of sight. She thought I might be interested in your purchases, so she called me afterward."

Lita broke out into sidesplitting laughter. "That little sneak! I never knew she had it in her!"

"I always knew that there was something that I liked about her," Raye chuckled.

"I know, right?" Serena gasped through her giggles. "There were many times that I almost considered making her an honorary sailor scout just because she has an uncanny way of finding out information that people want to stay hidden." Then her expression suddenly darkened. "Of course that also meant that there were some things that I was afraid that she would find out that I didn't want her to."

Jadeite refused to be comforted by her words. "So what is she doing still being such a gossip at her age? She is a married woman and soon to be a mother. Shouldn't she have other things on her mind?"

"So how is Molly doing?" Amy asked quickly, jumping into the conversation. "I know that she's mom's patient, but she won't tell me much because of the whole doctor-patient confidentiality thing."

Serena stuck her tongue out at Jadeite before addressing Amy. "She seems to be doing okay now. They had that one scare back near the beginning of the pregnancy, but so far it looks like that crisis has passed. She's due near the date of my wedding, so she's hoping that she'll be able to come. No offense, Jess, but Molly would have been my matron of honor if it hadn't been for the problems that she's had."

Jess waved a hand. "No offense taken. I understand that she has been your friend since you were kids. I still think that you should have chosen one of the others…"

"Don't start!" Serena snapped, cutting off the argument that she had heard many times by now. "You are the one I chose, and I'm sticking with it."

Across the room, Skye had jumped to her feet and was glaring intently at an apprehensive looking Emma. "You vapid, airhead blonde! Is this what has had you bursting at the seams all day?"

"Partly!" Emma squeaked as she tried to take cover behind Alex. "There has been a lot going on today."

Rini suddenly slapped a hand to her forehead. "Omigosh! That's right! I remember the stories now!"

A sharp squeal left Katie's throat before she clamped both hands over her mouth.

DJ, Alex, Jayden, and Hannah all sat with looks of confusion on their faces for a moment before comprehension began creeping over their expressions. Then, one by one, they all turned to look at Mina and Kunzite.

Mina let out a nervous giggle. "What are all of you looking at?"

Emma's gray eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "You can try to pull the wool over everyone else's eyes, mommy dearest, but you can't fool us. We've all heard this story more than once in our lifetimes. So it's time for you to come clean. Why don't you tell everyone exactly what you and dad have been up to today."

Darien sat up straight, immediately snapping to attention. "Kunzite, is there something that you need to tell me?" He eyed his former, and future head general quizzically.

Kunzite reached for Mina's hand. "Sweetheart, do you want to tell them?"

She shook her head. And for the first time that anyone could remember, she remained completely silent.

Raye leaned across the corner where the two benches met and reached playfully for Mina's throat. "Okay! Who are you, and what have you done with the real Mina?"

Lita sat back in her seat with both her arms and legs crossed. "For real! Something serious must be up to make Mina close that huge trap of hers."

Amy's face was full of concern as she reached for her purse, muttering to herself about needing her computer so that she could scan Mina for any health problems.

Serena studied her almost twin closely, taking the signs of her extreme nervousness. Mina fidgeted in her seat as she chewed relentlessly on her bottom lip. Her bright blue eyes were rounder than normal, and they held a panicked look in them, making her look like she was ready to bolt and run at any moment. It was very un-Mina-like behavior indeed.

"Girls, chill out for a moment," Serena told the other scouts firmly. Then she turned her complete attention to her captain, friend, and former cousin. "Mina, please. If there is something wrong, then I wish you would tell me."

Mina blinked hard, as if coming out of a daze. "Oh! No! There's nothing wrong. I just…" She paused for a moment, and then leaned across Kunzite to fling her arms around her princess. She began to cry softly, and after letting out a couple of hiccups, she whispered something in Serena's ear.

Serena reared back, shock and surprise flitting across her face. "Excuse me! Did I hear that right?"

Mina swiped at her wet cheeks as she nodded apprehensively.

Then the shriek that Raye had been expecting earlier ripped out of Serena's vocal chords with such pitch and intensity that is was amazing that the wineglasses that everyone was holding didn't shatter.

"What?" Darien, Jess, Raye, Lita, Amy, Andrew, Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite demanded while the visiting teens from the future snickered and grinned.

Serena waved a hand at Kunzite. "Go ahead and share your news before the others start bursting blood vessels."

Kunzite grinned and stood up, pulling Mina up beside him. He kept her close to his side with an arm around her waist as he looked around at his friends with a slightly smug expression. "I just wanted to introduce everyone to my wife. Mina and I were married this morning."

Complete silence fell over the group. In fact, for a good twenty seconds the only sound was the pounding of the music from downstairs.

Finally, Emma squirmed and spoke quietly to Alex. "Hey, Cupcake. Why don't we go take a spin around the dance floor before we eat."

He nodded and took her hand to lead her to the stairs.

"Hey! Wait for us!" DJ and Katie called as they scrambled after them.

Skye nudged Jayden and Hannah. "Come on, Pipsqueaks! I don't think big dude by the door will say anything about you two enjoying a dance or two on a slow night like tonight. Especially if you stick with Rini and me. And if he does have a problem with it I'll break his nose."

Rini nodded, and together she and Skye herded off the youngest members of the group.

The silence stretched on for about another ten seconds before Jadeite ground out between clenched teeth, "Would you mind repeating yourself, Kunzite? Because I think I heard you wrong. I could have sworn that you just said that you've gotten married."

A goofy grin stretched Kunzite's lips. "You heard me right, Hothead. Mina and I said our _'I dos' _today. We are now legally bound to each other." He held up his left hand to show that he was now sporting a wide gold band around his ring finger.

Raye's violet eyes snapped as she stared hard at Mina. "You got married without us?"

"Of course she didn't!" Lita scoffed. "This is just her idea of a practical joke. Ha ha! Very funny!"

Mina's head shot up, her hair flying in a flurry around her. "It is _not _a joke! We really _are _married. I admit that it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, and my head is still spinning a little bit, but it's true."

"I believe you!" Serena chirped.

"I do too! You go, girl!" Jess called out.

Amy nodded and said quietly, "I think she's telling the truth."

Raye jumped up and grabbed Mina by the arm. "Okay! Girl conference time! You guys go…get a beer or something and talk about whatever it is that you guys like to talk about." Then she hauled Mina over toward the table that held the food.

Serena, Jess, Lita, and Amy just looked at each other and shrugged before following after them.

The guys all chuckled before drifting over to the small, secondary bar that was only opened on busy nights. Jadeite disappeared behind it for a moment, and then popped back up with a half dozen frosty, long-necked bottles.

"Ditch the women's drinks," he said, gesturing to the full glasses of wine that each of the men were still holding. Then he began popping the tops on the beers and passing them around. "Let's have a real drink while we toast the first one of our group that actually had the balls to take the ultimate plunge. We will all mourn his loss."

Kunzite growled as he accepted a bottle. "You don't have to make it sound like I died, Jed! So Mina and I exchanged vows, big deal! It's not like she hasn't already been living with me for two years. Nothing is going to change."

Nephrite patted his shoulder. "Oh, you poor, misguided man. All guys like to think that marrying their sweetheart will change nothing in their relationship, but unfortunately it does. Am I right, Zoi?"

Zoicite looked up, startled. "Well there's no scientific basis to prove that theory, and nobody has ever done a clinical study on the subject, but after speaking to a lot of the married male doctors at the hospital, I am inclined to admit that there might be something to the old _'ball and chain' _scenario."

Darien sighed into his beer. "Well, speaking as the only one of us that actually got married in the past, I have to say that marriage does change some things. But it's not necessarily bad. Okay, so Serenity did become slightly more possessive and even a little bit demanding. But our situation wasn't exactly normal."

Andrew shuddered. "You know, this is not exactly the things I want to hear when I'm only about two months away from my wedding. Now I'm going to have nightmares of Jess suddenly turning into a raving tyrant like my mom."

"Maybe not," Jadeite replied, trying to be optimistic. "We're not exactly marrying normal women."

Nephrite smirked. "No, we're marrying sailor scouts, which could be worse. Think about it, Jed. Raye already has you on such a short leash that you barely have enough slack to turn around."

The other men roared with laughter as the fiery general flushed.

Then Darien held up his bottle in salute. "In any case, here's to Kunzite and Mina. May they continue to find happiness together."

"To Kunzite and Mina," the others repeated as they all clinked their bottles together.

* * *

"Okay, start talking," Raye demanded as she finished topping off everyone's wine glasses.

Mina shrugged. "There's not much to tell really. Kunzite asked me last night what I thought about getting married today, and I said yeah, sure. I thought he was joking around. He's not normally the type to come up with something impulsive you know. Well then, early this morning, he wakes me up and tells me that it is time for me to get ready for our wedding. I still thought he was joking because these things take time to plan and get together, so I brushed him off. Then he literally pulled me from the bed and stuck me in the shower. He seemed so serious that I started thinking that maybe there was something going on after all. So I did my hair and make up, even though it was an ungodly early hour. Then, when I came back into the bedroom I got the shock of my life."

"Well?" Serena, Raye, and Lita insisted as the blonde bride stopped to take a sip of her wine.

Mina smiled. "He'd gotten me a dress. It was one that I saw in a magazine a while back and had a fit over, but the only reason why I didn't order it was because it was white. I liked the style and all, but the white made it look like the only thing it would be appropriate for was a wedding. And it was really too formal looking anyway, and I figured that I'd never have anything to wear it to. So I forgot about it. He didn't."

"Oh! That's so sweet!" Jess and Amy sighed together.

"Yeah! It's so sweet that I might go into a diabetic coma," Raye snorted. "But I'm still not buying this whole _he sprang it on you with no notice _deal. There are certain things that you have to take care of before you can get married, like a marriage license. And you can't just get that at the drop of a hat. Both of you have to be present to apply for one, and then there's a waiting period."

An evil grin appeared on Mina's face. "Not if you're Kunzite. He knows people that work in most of the city offices since he always has to deal with them over permits and such. He waltzed us right into the clerk's office, and we walked out with a license barely ten minutes later, with no waiting or anything. The next thing I knew he had me in front of a justice of the peace and I was saying I do. It was all terribly romantic in a way, you know, eloping and all. I felt like we were doing something wicked."

"You were doing something wicked!" Lita snapped. "You ran off and got married without even letting your best friends know. That was pretty sneaky!"

"I know," Mina sighed. "I asked Kunzite if he didn't want to at least have Darien and Serena there, but he said that he just wanted it to be us for a little while before we let everyone in on it. He even rented out this huge suite at some swank hotel downtown that had a Jacuzzi and everything."

Five sets of hands slapped over ears as the rest of the girls shrieked, "We don't want those details!"

"What I don't get is why the rush?" Amy asked in her quiet voice. "Why was there such a hurry for you to get married now?"

Mina shrugged. "I don't know what got into him. I guess he just had a moment of insanity." Then she giggled. "I'm not really that surprised though. You guys have no idea how many times he asked me to elope with him back during the Silver Millennium. I never did of course, even though I've sometimes wondered if I should have. After all, my past mother had already bonded us through a Venusian ceremony, and that was almost as binding as marriage. But I kept putting him off when he brought it up. I guess, and no offense, Serena, I just didn't want us to have to live a lie the way Serenity and Endymion did."

Serena nodded. "I understand. Having to live apart from your husband is not an easy thing to do. I should know. But none of us have to worry about that in this time. And now you've gone and gotten the jump on all of us. This time when he asked you to elope, you were able to say yes with no reservations."

"I must have been out of my mind!" Mina giggled as she looked down at the gold wedding band that had joined her engagement ring on her left hand. "But enough about me. This is not my wedding reception. Kunzite and I have decided to throw a bit of a party in a couple of weeks after everything has calmed down. But this is an engagement party for Raye and Lita. And the love goddess wants details about how these proposals came about."

"And a chance to ooh and ah over those rings," Serena seconded.

Raye blushed madly while Lita muttered. "Oh, you don't want all the mushy details."

"Oh yes we do!" Serena, Mina, Jess, and Amy all laughed. "Now spill!"

* * *

**A/N **So like I said before, there were a lot of things happening in this chapter. The biggest one being, of course, that Mina and Kunzite tied the knot! *throws confetti* Yay for them! But will they be the only ones to say "I do" before the end of this story? Oh, I think not. I'm definitely doing the Sere/Dare and Jess/Drew weddings before this is over. I'm still on the fence about Raye/Jed, Lita/Neph, and Amy/Zoi because I don't know for sure yet if they will be getting married before or after Crystal Tokyo arrives. But even if it is after, they will get their moment in the spotlight in the series of one shots I will be doing after this story's completion. Yes, I have decided to do the one shots because I'm just not ready to let my little babies die completely yet, but I just don't think I have it in me to do another complete drama on top of the other things I want to do. I'm hoping to be able to launch either _The Kingdom of the Silver Sun _or _Redeemable Sin _about the same time I start the _What If _revamp, so I have a lot planned. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. So, possibility of our crew maybe landing in Crystal Tokyo next chapter. Ooh! That should be fun! Catch you guys later! Please take a moment to review me and tell me what you thought. Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	39. Home Sweet Home

**A/N **I know, long time no update! Those of you that are reading _Rekindled _already know that I have been suffering from a horrible case of writer's block lately, and I have been doing everything that I can to try to get my muse flowing again. I think I'm over the worse of it though, so to make it up I have a nice long update for you. Now, just let me get my hugs out of the way and we can move on. BIG HUGS TO:

**Seredhiel05**

**little princess of mercury**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**saveme57**

**Ms. Fairweather**

**KageNoNeko**

**nickybluejess**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Chibi Kitt**

**sabina21**

**GoldenDragon326**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**perfect beauty**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

Thank you so much for all of the great reviews, you guys. Now I'll stop wasting your time and let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 36

Home Sweet Home

* * *

Time was a funny thing. Sometimes it seemed to fly by so quickly that if a person took a quick microsecond to blink they would miss a lot. And then sometimes it seemed to slow to a crawl, making each minute feel as long as an hour.

That was the way that Katie felt as she knelt down and opened the bottom drawer of the dresser in the bedroom that she had been sharing with her brother since the end of January. It felt like it had been so long since the first night that she had fallen asleep in this room, but in reality it had only been a little over three months, not a very long time at all.

"You know," she said, directing her words to the black haired young man who was currently lounging on her bed. "I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we'll be home at this time tomorrow. It feels like we've been here forever."

DJ looked up from the manga he had swiped from Alex's stash. "Yeah, it does seem like we've been here a lot longer than we have. Probably because we've had so much happen in such a short time."

"I suppose," she mumbled as she began removing the clothes from the drawer and packing them into the black duffel bag beside her. Then she giggled. "I guess we've been here long enough for me to build an entirely new wardrobe though. When we came here I had one backpack with a spare pair of jeans, a couple of shirts, a few undergarments, and a pair of sweats. Now I'm returning home with a duffel bag full."

DJ snorted. "That's because Jess is a demon shopoholic. You've probably spent more time trolling the mall with her in the past three months than you ever have with your mom back home."

"You're probably right," she laughed as she got up from the floor and walked to the closet. "I usually managed to weasel my way out of shopping trips with mom before, but she probably won't let me do that anymore now that I've spent so much time indulging her here in the past." She pulled two plastic hanging bags from the closet.

"Aren't you taking everything with you?" he asked, eying the number of hangers still on the rack.

She shrugged. "No reason to. They're just school uniforms, and I won't need them at home. I thought I'd ask Michelle if maybe she knew of a girl at school who could use them. They haven't been worn that much, so they're like new. I'd rather somebody get some use out of them instead of them collecting dust in my closet. Why? Are you taking yours?"

He shook his head. "No. But I'm leaving them behind for a more selfish reason. As much as I can't wait to get home, a part of me is hoping that by some chance we'll be able to come back and finish the last few weeks of school here. I figured why lug them home just to have to bring them back. This way they will be here waiting, just on the off chance that we come back."

Katie draped the garment bags that contained her black dress with the rhinestone jacket from Valentine's Day and her precious mint green prom dress carefully over her packed bag before turning to look seriously at her boyfriend. "Do you really think that there is a chance for us to be able to come back?"

He lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't see any reason why not. If we are successful in getting rid of Discord I don't think our parents would deny us this one small request. Besides, it's not like we're asking to come back here forever. And once school is over we would be returning home for good."

"That's true," she agreed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She twisted her fingers together nervously in her lap before she asked in a whisper, "So do you think we can do this?"

He sat up straight and reached for her face. He placed gentle fingers under her chin and lifted it so that her mossy hazel eyes would meet his. He smiled as he used his thumb to tug her bottom lip free from the tiny white teeth holding it prisoner. "Of course I think we can. We've worked hard to get to where we are. Sure, it hasn't been easy, but I think we've grown even stronger because of the problems we've had to face. You, Alex, and I make a good team, and we've got my sister and the others backing us up. Discord is finished. We just have to keep our hope for that alive."

Katie sighed heavily, but she also rolled her eyes playfully. "It's amazing how much you look like your dad and yet sound so much like your mom sometimes. That sounded eerily like a Neo Queen Serenity pep talk."

He grinned his lopsided grin at her. "What can I say? I got my dad's dark good looks and his suave, debonair personality and a healthy dose of my mom's cheerful optimism. Not a bad combination in my opinion."

A strangled shriek of laughter caught in Katie's throat. "Oh yes, you just think that you are smoother than silk, don't you?"

"I got you, didn't I?" he teased back. "And at one time I thought that would be an impossible feat to accomplish."

A flash of pain raced across her eyes at his words and she jerked her chin away from his hand. She pulled one leg up and wrapped her arms around her bent knee as she stared at the floor. After a few moments she whispered, "I'm almost too scared to go home. I was such a bitch to everyone before I left. Do you know that I even pushed my mom and dad away when they tried to hug me goodbye? I didn't do it to be mean. It just happened, like I didn't have any control over my reactions. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't want me back after that. I took all of their love and affection for me and threw it in their faces."

DJ felt his heart break for her as he saw a shiny tear fall from her eye to leave a glistening trail down her cheek. In a move almost too quick for human eyes, he plucked her up and sat her in his lap so that he could wrap his arms tightly around her.

"Baby, don't cry," he breathed against her hair as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "You weren't yourself when we left home, and your parents know that. But no matter what, I know that they love you. And I bet they'll be so ecstatic when they see how far you've come in overcoming what Discord did to you that it will probably take a crowbar to pry them from you."

Her tears were hot against the skin of his neck, but a small laugh puffed past her lips as her arms came up to encircle his neck. "You're right. I'm being silly, aren't I?"

"No more than usual," he quipped back without missing a beat.

"Knock, knock!" Jess said as she appeared in the open bedroom doorway. After a few seconds her smile faded as she took in the scene on the bed. Then her expression turned worried. "Is something wrong?"

Katie lifted her head and shook it as she swiped at her wet eyes. "No. I was just having a stupid emotional blonde moment."

Jess's lips quirked up in a knowing smile. "I feel you. I'm quite prone to those myself. I was just coming to let you guys know that dinner will be ready soon. Have you gotten everything packed?"

Katie nodded. "Yeah, I think so, except for the things I'll need for tonight and tomorrow morning. But that can go in my backpack. Other than that I'm ready to go."

"Okie dokie then!" Jess chirped. "I'll see you guys in few. Drew pulled out all the stops tonight, so we have a meal that will be out of this world coming our way."

"Hey, Jess!" Katie called after her mother's past self before she could leave. "Can I ask you something?"

Jess turned back toward her. "Ooo, sounds serious. But sure, lay it on me."

Katie fidgeted nervously for a moment before asking quietly, "Did you ever say or do anything to your parents that you felt completely miserable about later and wish that you could take back?"

A flurry of emotions played across Jess's face, making Katie instantly regret her question. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you…"

"No. It's okay," Jess interrupted her. "It just took me by surprise. That's all. But to answer your question, yes, there are a lot of things I regret saying and doing in my past, especially where my parents are concerned."

Katie's eyes widened at the impassioned declaration. "Really?"

Jess's head jerked in a nod. "Oh yeah! Don't get me wrong, I had a great childhood, but it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows. You know what my personality is like, and neither one of my parents were pushovers either. So with the three of us living under one roof it was inevitable that sparks would fly sometimes. Now that I think back on it, I could be a nasty little snot of a kid when I wanted to be. And don't even get me started on my teen years. There are definitely some things there that I wish there was a redo button for. Of course, on top of that is the fact that I wasn't exactly your average normal girl. But there were several blow-ups with my parents where I let my mouth overload my brain and I said some things that I never should have."

"But they always forgave you for it, didn't they?" Katie asked hesitantly.

Jess sighed and moved to sit on the foot of the bed. "Yeah, they did. I used to wonder why they did though. I could be a major bitch at times. Like this one time, it was the summer after I had graduated high school. We had come here for a visit just before I was scheduled to start classes at UCLA. When we got back home I said something to my parents about wanting to trade in the car they had gotten me for my birthday for something a little sportier. There was nothing wrong with the car that I had, but I was on an ego trip. I thought that since I was about to become a big college student that I needed something better than my little black Honda hatchback."

DJ snickered. "I bet that went over really well with them."

"You have no idea," Jess replied with an eye roll. "They put their foot down and told me make do with what I had and that I should count myself lucky that I even had a car because a lot of college students, especially sixteen year old college students, didn't even own cars. Well, I lost my temper and yelled at them. At one point I even accused them of not loving me at all. After that I stomped up to the attic that I had converted into a studio and locked myself in. I barely spoke to them for three days. I finally got over it and came out of hiding. I knew that they were right anyway. That was one thing that I could say about them, just because we had money didn't mean that they gave me everything that I wanted. I hate to think of what a selfish person I might have grown into if they had. I was luckier than most though. I went to a good school. I had my martial arts and gymnastics classes. And, even though they were both scholars, my parents supported me in my art. The biggest thing was that they loved me unconditionally and always forgave me for my temper tantrums. When I started talking to them again they just moved on like nothing had ever happened."

She looked away then, staring out the window with dark blue eyes that shimmered with unshed tears. "I've always been grateful that I snapped out of my funk when I did and that they didn't hold it against me. They died just a few days later, and I'm so glad that our last few days together were happy instead of strained. I would probably be miserable if I had been on bad terms with them when they died."

"So you're saying that parents always forgive their kids, even when they have acted badly enough that they don't deserve forgiveness?" Katie's lips trembled as she asked.

Jess looked at her again with one blonde brow arched. "I would say that everyone deserves forgiveness, but that's not entirely true. I believe that everyone who is truly sorry for the things that they have done deserve to be forgiven. Of course that doesn't include youma, guardians, sentinels, or evil entities who are bent on destroying the world."

The three of them shared a laugh over that.

Then Jess stood up again. "I guess my point is, and this is just a theory since I can't speak for all parents and I am not technically a parent yet, that for the most part parents will always forgive their children for their mistakes. There are some exceptions of course, such as the fact that some people just don't have the parenting instinct and might be better off never having kids. To be honest, I had never really thought much about becoming a mother until I met you. Until that point the concept of parental love was all Greek to me. But now I understand it better and it's even helped me see my parents in a different light. When you love your child you are willing to do anything to keep them happy, healthy, and safe, even if it means giving up your own life. I see things much clearer now. Do you know why my family moved to California instead of staying here?"

Katie shrugged. "Grandpa got that big promotion and you had to move?"

Jess shook her head. "That's what I used to think. And I was always a little resentful about that, thinking that we were uprooted and moved just because of his job. But now I can look at it from a different perspective and I know that they did it to keep me safe. We used to live not far from here, just a few miles away, and I had started Kindergarten right here in Azabu. But by the time I got into school I already had a reputation for being…_different_. Parents didn't want their children around me because I was that odd girl in the neighborhood that talked to plants, who would sit outside at night for hours on end staring up at the moon, and who always seemed to have strange things happen around her. Legally they couldn't deny my right to attend school, but that didn't mean that anyone had to be nice to me. From day one everyone shunned me. Kids teased me and repeated the things that they'd heard their parents say about me. Even the teacher singled me out, giving me a desk in a corner, away from the others. I was miserable and I hated it, but I tried to keep a stiff upper lip. Dawn offered to home school me, but my parents thought that being with other kids my age would be good for me…until the day a second grade bully came after me on the playground and I decided that I'd had enough."

"What did you do?" Katie whispered, eyes wide.

"I don't really remember," Jess mused, tapping her chin with a finger. "I just remember that asshole pushing me, so I turned around and pushed him back, hard. He fell on the ground and then my vision turned blue. I guess my eyes must have started glowing or something, because he called me a freak and then ran off. Of course he ran straight to a teacher and told her that I had attacked him, and since he had skinned his elbow when he fell and I didn't have a scratch on me, they believed him and called my parents in to tell them that I had been fighting."

DJ snorted. "Yeah right! Like anyone sane should believe that a five-year-old girl would just randomly attack an older, larger boy. That's crazy!"

"Well these people were just looking for an excuse to get rid of me," Jess drawled. "The story spread like wildfire and parents began complaining. Some of them even went so far as to call my parents and tell them that they should lock me away in a mental asylum before I went schizophrenic on them and killed them in their sleep. About that time my dad got the job offer in California and decided that moving us away was the best thing to do. And it really was. We got a fresh start where nobody knew the stories and rumors about me. I started at a new school, and with Dawn's help I began being able to keep my…differences…hidden a bit better. I slipped up from time to time, and there were some people who still thought I was a whack job, but all in all I had a much better life, even if I didn't appreciate it at the time."

She paused for a moment to reach out and tug gently on her future daughter's silky, light blonde ponytail, ignoring Katie's squealed "Hey!" Then she huffed a quiet laugh. "So if you're worried about something that you said or did before you left home, don't be. Unless I've turned into a completely cast iron bitch between now and in the future, I can't imagine myself holding it against you. And if my future self has a problem with things, I'll be there to knock her down a peg or two."

Katie giggled. "Now that would be an interesting thing to see. I'd almost be willing to pay money to see that."

"Very funny!" Jess scoffed good-naturedly. "And now that I've gotten my whole Dr. Laura spiel out of the way, I'm heading back toward the kitchen. I'll catch you guys in a few." Then she breezed out the door.

But she had barely taken two steps into the hall before she found herself caught up in a pair of warm, strong arms. She barely got her bearings together before a husky voice whispered, "Have I told you today how much I love you?" Then a swift, but still highly intoxicating kiss was pressed to her lips.

She blinked hard a couple of times and then looked up into those twinkling hazel eyes that she adored so much. Muffling a giggle, she whispered back, "What was that for?"

Andrew tucked a curl that had come loose from her braid behind her ear. "For just being you. That was a very sweet thing you did, reassuring Katie like that. I know that there are some parts of your childhood that you aren't comfortable talking about. But if she had any fears about going home, I'm sure you just alleviated them."

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Damn those nosy Furuhata genetics! You just couldn't help eavesdropping, could you?"

He smiled smugly. "I didn't have to." Then he tapped his temple. "I got the gist of most of it without setting a foot out of the kitchen. I don't know if you've noticed, but the connection between us has been growing stronger and stronger ever since you started expanding your powers. I've been getting random thoughts and feelings from you all week, and everyday it gets a little clearer."

'_Great!' _Jess thought to herself. _'I'm going to have to watch what I think from now on. The next thing you know we'll be carrying on full-blown silent conversations just like almost everyone else we know does. Creepy!'_

'_Who says that we can't already?' _Andrew's voice echoed in her head.

She glared at him in silence for several seconds. Then he began chuckling. "Wow! I didn't even know you knew half of those words. I always knew that you were a bit of a potty mouth, but some of those things you just thought would make the most profane sailor's ears bleed."

"You'll be lucky if I don't make _you _bleed!" she growled. "Just because the connection is there doesn't mean that you have to stay tapped into it all of the time. Even Serena and Darien don't do that, and they're the most sickeningly sweet couple we know. There is a little thing called invasion of privacy you know."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Okay! Okay! You're right. I was just experimenting with it. But it does tickle me pink to know that the bond has gotten strong enough for us to use at anytime, instead of just in tense situations."

"Ooo! I'll tickle you all right! But you'll be black and blue instead of pink when I get done with you!" she squealed, lunging for him.

Andrew managed to dodge her and ran down the hallway toward the kitchen, laughing as she gave chase.

Back inside the bedroom, Katie was muffling a laugh behind her hand, having heard the whole scene between her parents' past selves. "They're never going to grow up, are they?" she gasped to DJ once their footsteps had retreated.

He shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. But I can say the same thing about my parents. Serena and Darien act so much like mom and dad sometimes that I forget for a minute that I'm not home. Can you just imagine how crazy it's going to be once we have everybody from both times together?"

She nodded. "It's going to be a madhouse. I'm looking forward to going back home now though. It'll be nice to see everyone and be back on our own turf again."

* * *

"I still can't believe this," Serena said as she closed the book that she had been diligently trying to study for the past half hour. "We're going to the future in the morning…_the future_!"

"I don't see what you're getting so hyped up about, Meatball Head. It's not like you've never been there before," Rini grumbled as she came into the living room from the kitchen.

Serena stuck her tongue out at her. "But this is different. This time we won't be going to an empty city. It will be alive and full of people. And this time my future self won't be dead to the world inside a giant crystal. I'll be able to meet her face to face!"

Rini grimaced. "Oh joy! Two featherbrained Meatball Heads together in the same place. I can't wait!"

Serena scowled. "How can you say that? I thought you loved your mom."

Maroon eyes rolled at her. "I do. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't grate on my nerves sometimes. She is my mother, and I love her dearly, but she can still be a giant space cadet sometimes, just like you. Sometimes it makes me wonder how in the world she has managed to be queen of the Earth for as long as she has."

"Probably because she has a good king beside her," Darien chuckled from his favorite armchair as he looked up from some patient notes that he had been going over. "Think about it. Your mother is the one that married into the Earth's royal family. If it weren't for that she would only be queen of the moon."

"Ha ha!" Serena spat acidly. "Keep it up, Darien Shields, and I might just decide that you can have your precious planet all to yourself. I don't have an overwhelming urge to be queen, after all. But maybe I can resurrect Beryl for you one more time. I'm sure she would love to take my place."

"Hey! Those are fighting words," he growled back, but his dark blue eyes twinkled with humor. "Besides, I can't picture you sitting quietly over to the side and watching that witch put the moves on me. You'd kill her again in five minutes, tops."

She smiled impishly. "Not if you made me mad enough to want to see you suffer. And can't imagine a more painful torture for a man than to see him trapped in a relationship with that, and I use this term loosely, woman. Just ask Talon about it. I swear the man visibly shudders every time the subject comes up."

Darien shrugged. "I'm not too concerned about it. You're full of nothing but empty threats anyway. I'm too adorable for you to stay mad at for very long, and I know it."

"Oh yes, you are just too adorable for words," Serena cooed as she batted her eyelashes at him playfully and crawled over to him from where she had been sitting on the floor at the coffee table. Getting up on her knees, she leaned forward and kissed him.

Rini choked out a gagging sound. "Oh, for the love of… Could you at least wait until I'm not around before you start that crap? I really wish that somebody would invent eye bleach, because I could definitely use it to erase all of the disturbing images that you two have subjected me to my whole life."

"No one said that you have to watch," Serena replied in an innocent voice with a bright smile.

"Kinda hard to miss it when you practically shove it in my face," Rini grumbled. Then she growled as Serena slipped up onto Darien's lap, pushing his notes to the floor in the process, "That's it! I'm outta here! I'm going to Elysian. At least things are normal there."

She scrunched her eyes closed and disappeared a few seconds later with a tiny pop.

"We can clear a room, can't we?" Serena sighed as she laid her head on Darien's shoulder.

He chuckled in response. "That we can."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why she gets so bent out of shape just because we show a little affection toward each other. Somebody needs to video tape the way she acts when she's around Helios and show it to her. That would shut her up really quick."

An angry sound rumbled in Darien's throat.

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "Oh, don't start! I would have thought that you would have gotten over this overprotectiveness by now. I swear that you are just as bad as my dad sometimes. Rini's not a little girl anymore, and she hasn't been one for quite some time now."

"I know that," he muttered reluctantly. "And I know that it's only natural for her to grow up and to fall in love. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if Helios is truly the right one for her. Don't get me wrong; I don't doubt his feelings for her. A person would have to be amazingly dense to not see that he cares for her and that she is crazy about him. But I worry sometimes. She's been dead gone on the guy since she was just a little girl and has never even tried dating anyone else. Now she's talking about getting engaged next month. How does she know that she's making the best choice for her? There could be someone that's an even better match for her out there somewhere."

Serena looped her arms around his neck. "Oh sweetie, you are so cute when you get worried. But I wouldn't be too concerned about the Rini-Helios situation. So she hasn't dated anybody else, big deal. Do you know how many guys I dated before you? None."

He arched a brow at her. "That's not true. Didn't you go out with Melvin one time?"

"I did not!" she screeched. "He just sort of tagged along while I was spying on you and Raye." She blushed and slapped her hands to her cheeks when she realized what she had said out loud.

Darien laughed. "So you were jealous even back then, huh?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No I wasn't! I was just looking out for Raye's best interests. Remember, back then I thought you were the world's biggest jerk and I had absolutely no romantic thoughts about you at all."

"Oh, that's right," he drawled. "You were all hung up over Andrew at the time and making a fool out of yourself by chasing him."

Her face flamed brighter. "How dare you bring that up! That was just a silly schoolgirl crush. I never went out with him. You, on the other hand, actually dated Raye."

Now his face turned a dull red. "I wouldn't exactly call it dating. We just hooked up a few times. Besides, I was just humoring the crush I knew she had on me. She hung on me a bit, but I never so much as held her hand. Hell, I'd never even kissed a girl until you came along."

Serena sighed. "Ah yes, our first kiss. That was both the best and the worst night of my life, up until that point anyway." Then she giggled. "I wish you could have seen your face when I kissed you that night at Starlight Tower. It was absolutely priceless!"

"Well you did take me by surprise," he grumbled.

"Sorry about that," she quipped, not sounding the least bit contrite. "I guess I just got caught up in the moment. It's easy to get carried away when a dashing super hero in a tuxedo saves your life. I acted on impulse."

"I'm not complaining," he told her. "If you hadn't made the first move, I would have."

She gave him a feather light kiss. "My point is that I was young when I found you, and I've never been in a relationship with anyone else, in either life. I may have had a few crushes back in the day, but they were nothing serious. You are the only one that I've ever felt a connection with. It's the same with Rini and Helios. Just ask Mina about it. She saw the bond between those two from day one. So don't believe for a second that Rini is not giving herself a chance. Helios is the one that will make her the happiest."

He quirked a grin at her. "It's amazing how wise you have gotten over the years. You've come a long way, Meatball Head."

She began twisting in his lap, trying to get up. "Ooo, you can still be such a jerk sometimes!"

He tightened his arms around her to hold her still. "But you love me for it." Then he captured her lips fully with his.

After a few moments her protests died and she returned the kiss eagerly.

They were so wrapped up in each other that neither one of them heard the front door open. It wasn't until a voice said. "Oh, ew! Get a room you two!" that they broke apart to find DJ and Katie standing in the doorway. Their future son looked slightly nauseous while his girlfriend stared down at the floor, her face a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"Oh, please! Like you two don't play kissy-face!" Serena retorted.

"I guess it's just our day to horrify our future children," Darien choked on a laugh.

DJ rolled his eyes. "Whatever! I think it's amazing that I'm not scarred for life after being raised by your future selves."

"Speak for yourself," Katie mumbled. "At least you didn't see what I did when I walked into the kitchen a few minutes ago. I swear Jess and Drew looked like they were stuck together with super glue. And they had the nerve to laugh at me when I caught them."

"Anyway," DJ continued. "We came to tell you that there's a ton of food next door if anyone is interested. Drew's been cooking all afternoon."

Serena's stomach grumbled loudly at the mention of food. "Not a word out of you!" she snapped when Darien's mouth opened.

"I was just going to say that getting some food sounds good," he said as he stood and set her on her feet. "Don't take everything so personally."

Together, with DJ and Katie, they walked next door to Andrew and Jess's apartment.

"Mmm, something smells heavenly," Serena moaned as delicious scents rushed out to wash over her as soon as the door was opened. Following her nose, she rushed into the kitchen, where her mouth fell open at the sight of all of the dishes sitting on the stove and the countertops.

Jess's laugh pealed like bells from where she was sitting on a stool on the other side of the breakfast bar. "Omigosh! It's a miracle! I think she's speechless!"

"Very funny, motor mouth!" Serena growled as she glared at her past daughter's reincarnation.

Jess stuck her tongue out at her. "Geez! Somebody can't take a joke. Don't come up in here with any attitude, or I won't let you have a single bite." She took a bite from the plate in front of her and her eyes fluttered shut in bliss. After swallowing she said reverently, "Mmm, Drew, I can't believe you finally managed to copy this enchilada recipe. It tastes just like the ones I always ordered from Mama Rosa's when I lived in California."

Andrew laughed as he put his elbows on the counter and leaned toward her. "I'm glad it meets with your approval, my lady. It's only taken me almost two years to get it right."

"Well you sure nailed it this time. Now I can stop bugging Dawn all the time to pop over and get me a to-go order. She always complains that it's a blatant misuse of power." She put another bite on her fork and held it out for him to taste.

"Ugh! Stop it with the goo goo eyes already! I'm seriously starting to lose my appetite here!" Katie complained as she elbowed her way past Andrew to get a plate out of the cabinet. "If you two get any more disgustingly sappy I just might hurl!"

DJ grimaced as he joined her. "Nice imagery, Kat."

Both of their heads whipped around as a familiar aura flared at the fringes of their consciousness. A few seconds later there was a flash of red-orange light from the living room behind Jess as Alex appeared with Emma.

"Knock knock!" the brunette boy said cheerfully as the reddish light faded from his eyes, returning them to their usual sapphire blue.

Jess jumped in her seat, almost falling from her stool. "Holy shit, Alex! Don't you know how to use the door? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

He had the grace to look sheepish. "Sorry."

"So why the dramatic entrance?" DJ asked as he backed away from where Serena and Katie had both reached for a dish of honey glazed chicken at the same time and were now glaring at each other over it. He knew better than to get in the middle of that confrontation.

"Smart move," Darien muttered to him out of the corner of his mouth.

Alex shrugged as he came to lean against the breakfast bar next to Jess. "We needed to make a quick getaway, so I decided to teleport. The newlyweds were driving us insane."

"It's too much even for me to endure," Emma said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. Then she shuddered. "How long does it take for the newness of marriage to wear off? Because Mina and Kunzite are seriously creeping me out right now. Okay, so my mom has always been the touchy-feely type, but my dad usually walks around like he has an iron rod up his butt. Now he's been going around for the past two days with this goofy grin on his face and participating in some PDA's that I won't even bother repeating just to save the rest of you the trauma."

Katie snorted as she snatched the dish of honey chicken away from Serena, ignoring the other blonde's protests. "Well it's not much better around here. I think there's something in the air that's causing all of the adults to act overly hormonal."

Jess waved her fork in the air. "You kids better be thanking your lucky stars that we _hormonal adults _are the way we are, or you may not ever be born. Did you ever stop to think about that?"

"Oh! I am so out of here on that note. I'm going to eat on the roof," Katie squealed as she dashed out of the kitchen with her heaping plate.

"We'll join you," Alex called after her as he took Emma's hand and started to follow.

"Did you guys want anything to eat?" Andrew asked them before they left.

"Nah! Maybe later," Alex tossed back. "Lita fed us pretty good before she, Neph, Raye, and Jed left out to catch a movie with Hannah and Jay. Skye was with us, but then Rini popped in and took her to Elysian. I guess Kyrian was lurking around looking for her."

Then the door banged shut behind him.

"Aren't you going to join them?" Serena teased DJ.

He arched a brow at her, Darien style. "I will as soon as you decide to stop hogging all the food and decide to share. I know that your stomach is a bottomless pit, but get real! I can't believe you stay as skinny as you are when you eat like a linebacker."

Darien tried to cover a laugh with a cough.

Serena sniffed imperiously. "And here I thought that you were the kinder and more considerate of my children, but you are just as cruel and heartless as that pink haired spore of a sister of yours."

He just grinned cheekily. "But you love me anyway." Then he slid around her to put a few things on his plate before running from the apartment.

The adults stayed silent for a few moments after his departure before bursting into laughter.

Serena took her highly piled plate around to the other side of the breakfast bar and sat beside Jess. After wiping a few tears from her eyes she said, "I sure going to miss them when they're gone."

Jess nodded. "Me too. But it's not like we'll never see them again. Someday time will catch up to where they are supposed to be in our lives. And we'll be able to watch them grow from the beginning, from tiny babies into the young adults they are today. Can you imagine it?"

"We've already seen them grow a lot," Darien said as he brought his food over to stand beside Andrew. "They've come a long way in the short time that they've been here. They were good fighters when they arrived, but they've grown so much stronger and disciplined since then. I'm proud of all of them."

"Me too," Andrew agreed. "Even the little guys, Jayden and Hannah, have made a lot of progress. I think they'll give old Discord a run for his money."

Jess's hand clenched into a fist on the countertop. "I hope they do. I want that bastard to burn."

Serena placed her hand over Jess's and squeezed gently. "They'll get him," she said confidently. "Now, are you all packed and ready to leave in the morning?"

Jess gave her a grateful smile. "I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be. But I have to admit that I am nervous as hell. It's not everyday that you get to meet your future self."

"It's not that big of a deal. I met my future self once," Darien replied in a bored tone.

Serena giggled. "Yeah, but you better be more careful this time. The king will be in his real body this go around instead of being a hologram. And if you decide to throw another punch at him he may decide to hit back."

Darien's lips pursed into a grim line. "I'll take my chances."

* * *

_**The 30th Century**_

"My lord," the youma said as she knelt in front of the shapeless, mist-like entity. "The conversions that you requested are almost complete. Soon your new recruits will be ready to launch the attack on Crystal Tokyo."

Discord swirled with excitement. "Very good. Let me know as soon as they are ready. Then we will move forward with our plans. Those meddlesome brats may come rushing back to help protect their home, but they won't stand a chance if I manage to get my hands on the Celestial Crystal before then. The Earth will be reduced to rubble, and them along with it, even with the powers of the gods. They are only mere mortals after all."

The youma bowed until her forehead met the ground. "As you wish, my lord." Then she disappeared.

Discord chuckled at the thought of facing his enemies. "Bring it on, you little brats. You think you have the power to defeat me, but I know where to hit you where it hurts. While you are focused on trying to beat me, I will go after all of those that you love. What good will your lives be once I have obliterated your families?"

His evil laughter echoed of the stone walls of the cave.

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

DJ paused as he approached the bedroom door. He really didn't want to disturb Katie, but he knew that she would want to see the events that were coming up in Helios's viewing mirror. After a moment's hesitation he opened the door and stepped inside.

The bedroom was darkened, thanks to the curtains drawn over the tall windows, but his eyes adjusted quickly enough for him to see the woman huddled up beneath the covers. Katie's morning sickness had finally retreated, and her normal voracious appetite had returned, but she tired easily at this point in her pregnancy, making her sleep more than she normally did.

As he tiptoed across the floor she spoke to him. "You don't have to be so sneaky. I'm awake."

His breath let out in a whoosh of relief. "I just wanted to make sure before I disturbed you. I know that you and our little one need your rest."

A giggle came from the depths of the bed. "Okay, maybe we like our sleep, but we're not completely lazy."

He sat on the edge of the bed and bent down to press a kiss against the lips on the face peeking out at him from within the cocoon of covers. "So how are my ladies doing today?"

"We're fine," she said primly. "Feeling a little hungry, but we're fine. So why are you sneaking around?"

He shrugged. "Alex, Emma, and I were just watching the past events in Helios's mirror, and our past selves are about to return to Crystal Tokyo. I thought you might like to see that."

Immediately she threw off her covers. "You bet I would! I would definitely like to see something besides the scene that I remember from when we returned home after visiting the past." She shuddered as she remembered arriving at the Crystal Palace with her brother's lifeless body in tow. The sight of her grieving parents haunted her until this day.

"Rini made apple cinnamon muffins this morning. We made sure to save you some. Their Lita's recipe," he told her.

"Sounds good," she mumbled around a yawn as she stretched. "I can't believe how much this kid makes me want to sleep. I used to hate sleeping. Now I feel like I can't get enough."

DJ laughed lightly as he bent down to talk to the slightly rounded bulge of her stomach. "Good morning, little angel." Then he grinned up at Katie. "So what name are we calling her today?"

She scrunched her nose up at him. "I'm still calling her Allie. It's my favorite so far."

He chuckled. "Rini is still pretty steamed that none of the names we've come up with take after hers."

"She'll get over it," she replied flippantly as she sat up. "If she wants a baby named after her so badly, tell her that she and Helios need to get busy and have one of their own."

"I'm not telling my sister that!" he protested as he reached for Katie's elbow as she stood.

She pulled away with an impatient huff. "I'm just getting out of bed. I don't need a caretaker for that."

He took her words in stride. "I was just making sure that you were steady on your feet. I know you get dizzy sometimes." Then he spoke to her stomach again. "Momma's cranky this morning."

Her lips twitched for a moment before she finally gave up and began laughing. "It's so cute, the way you always talk to her like that."

"Well she's a person too. I'm not going to ignore her." Then he placed both of his hands over the spot where their baby rested. "She's our very own little princess, Alexis Jessica Shields. Unless we change our mind about the name again."

Katie arched an amused brow at him. "You're being a little forward about her last name, aren't you? Maybe I want to give her my name."

He looped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him so he could nuzzle her neck. "But Shields would be your last name if we were at home instead of being stuck here. I would have hauled you in front of a preacher long ago."

She pouted playfully. "Just because I got knocked up?"

He shook his head. "No, because I love you more than life and I want to keep you with me forever. I went through fifteen years of hell without you, and I don't ever want to go back there again."

She waved a hand in front of her face as she sniffled. "Stop! You're going to make me cry. Stupid pregnancy hormones!"

"I don't mind as long as you only cry tears of happiness," he whispered huskily just before he took her lips in a sweet gentle kiss that made her tears spill over.

"Ack!" the disgusted sound came from the bedroom doorway. "You people should really close your door all the way if you're going to be doing stuff like _that_. Ew! I'll probably have nightmares for a year now."

"Alex…" Katie growled as she pulled slowly away from the warm temptation of DJ's lips to glare at her brother, who was standing with his shoulder propped against the doorframe and a mischievous smile on his face. "You are such a dirty, disgusting, voyeuristic pervert!"

He waved her off nonchalantly. "Nah, that's more Jay and Jed's forte. Anyway, I just came to tell you that if you didn't hurry up and get your butts in gear that you were going to miss the show. The group from Tokyo is about to make the jump to Crystal Tokyo. That should be an interesting scene."

"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Katie told him. "Just give me a few minutes to get dressed and stuff."

Alex smirked. "Well you better not take too long to waddle your way there, or Rini just might eat all of the muffins. She's been eying them."

Katie shrieked and grabbed a pillow from the bed. She threw it at her brother, yelling, "I don't waddle! I barely even look pregnant, you insensitive jackass!"

"And that's my cue to leave," Alex said with a shaky laugh as he ducked out of sight of the enraged blonde.

DJ snagged her by the arm when she looked like she was about to give chase. "Okay! Time to bring things down a few notches. Take a few deep breaths before you explode."

She leaned her forehead against his chest and breathed as she was instructed. After a minute she sighed, "Do I really look fat already?"

"No!" he denied passionately. "Lex was just being a moron like he always is. You never have, and you never will be fat."

"Don't speak too soon," she mumbled. "I could end up the size of a whale before this is all said and done." Then her expression brightened. "Wait a second! No I won't, because the fight with Discord will be going down soon and time will reset. I won't even remember Alex picking on me."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Not in this time perhaps. But I'm sure he'll get to you when we get to wherever we end up. Don't forget, we're still supposed to have Allie. So you're still going to get pregnant."

She smiled up at him. "That's true. So, will you still love me when I'm as big as the side of a barn?"

He kissed the tip of her nose. "You will never be big to me. When I look at you I see a miracle. Even after everything that we've been through, here we are. And now we have a brand new life that we created together. I'll enjoy every moment of watching our daughter grow inside you and count my blessings that I am a lucky enough man to have you in my life."

Tears glimmered in her eyes again as she melted against him. "Oh, DJ, I love you so much!"

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo – 30th Century**_

"Wakey-wakey, Sleeping Beauty," King Endymion said lightly as he shook his wife's shoulder. "It's time to get up."

"Just five more minutes, Darien," Neo Queen Serenity mumbled as she rolled over in the large bed and pulled a pillow over her head.

Endymion stood beside the bed for a moment, looking down at the snoozing blonde with a look that was part adoration and part exasperation. Then he reached for the pillow and yanked it away.

The result was instantaneous. Serenity shot up in a flurry of golden hair, the crescent moon on her forehead glowing in the early morning sunlight and her sky blue eyes flashing as she pinned her husband with a murderous glare.

"Darien Shields…you give me that pillow back right this minute," she ground out from between clenched teeth.

He shook his head. "No can do, love. Have you forgotten what today is?"

She looked at him in confusion. Obviously she wasn't awake enough yet for her brain to be functioning properly. "Um…it's Saturday, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, it's Saturday."

Her expression turned angry once again. "And that means that I have absolutely nothing scheduled for this morning and I can sleep in if I want to. So how dare you come in here waking me up so early! You're a jerk, Darien!"

He bore her tirade stoically. He'd had years of practice after all. And once her ranting had died off into indignant panting, he said simply, "Rini and DJ."

'_Wait for it,' _he told himself as he counted backwards in his head, _'3-2-1'_.

Right on cue, there was a glass-shattering squeal. "Oh my god! My babies are coming home today! How could I have forgotten?"

Endymion snickered. "Well, you have been in a food coma for the past ten hours after that pig out session you had last night. I think you just might have set a new record for yourself."

"Don't you have something else better to do than annoy me?" she snapped as she crawled to the other side of the bed, away from him."

"Nope," he answered cheerfully. "My job for the moment is making sure that you get up in time for breakfast. Lita is finishing up as I speak, so you better get moving."

"Yeah, yeah. I don't see what the big rush is. When we came here from the past we didn't arrive until around lunchtime. And that's a few hours away. So…Eek!" her complaints turned into a short scream as she toppled over the edge of the tall bed and fell toward the floor.

Endymion became nothing more than a blur as he raced around the bed and caught her in his arms two feet before she was about to become extremely well acquainted with the rug that covered the hard crystal floor beside their bed.

"Clumsy as always, huh, Meatball Head?" he chortled.

Serenity sucked in a shaky breath and tried to calm her racing heart after that little scare. Endymion's warm arms felt so good around her, but she made her expression irritated as she looked up at his beloved face. "Watch it, buddy! You're pushing all of my wrong buttons this morning."

He stood up straight, holding her bridal style in his arms. "I'm sorry, darling. I'll try to push the right buttons from now on." He kissed on the cheek and then set her on her feet.

"That's better," she replied happily. But her smile turned back into a scowl when he gave her a nudge toward the bathroom and a swat on the butt along with the order to get herself together.

"This manhandling borders on domestic abuse," she grumbled as she walked toward the bathroom, rubbing her offended bottom through the fabric of the over-sized t-shirt that she'd slept in.

"Aw…do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" he teased.

"Dream on!" she snapped back crabbily. Wow! She needed her caffeine fix in the worst sort of way. Why couldn't he at least have brought her a cocoa or a mocha that she could sip on while she was getting ready?

'_Because I know you,' _his voice echoed in her head. _'If I had brought you a drink you would dawdle forever getting ready. This way you have the motivation to get ready faster. The sooner you get dressed, the sooner you can get downstairs and get your caffeine.'_

"_Get out of my head!' _she snarled mentally as she slammed the door on their mental bond. Then out loud she said, "You're a real pain in my ass sometimes."

"But you love me anyway," he quipped back.

She escaped into the bathroom, closing the door firmly behind her. She took care of the necessities first before going to stand at the long vanity counter with the double sinks. She quickly washed her hands and face before tackling her obscenely long hair with a brush. Thankfully she had shampooed it the night before, so she didn't have to worry about that. Since she didn't have any official duties to attend to this morning, she gathered all of the golden strands together in a single ponytail held by a scrunchie. She looped it up and pulled the ends of her hair back through the band so that it wouldn't be so close to dragging the ground. Then she brushed her teeth before applying a little lip-gloss and mascara.

"That's as good as it's going to get," she told her reflection. Then she returned to the bedroom.

She ignored Endymion, who sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs and flipping idly through a book, as she made her way into the humongous walk-in closet that was easily ten times the size of her old bedroom at her parents' house. She bypassed the racks that held Endymion's tailor-made tuxedoes and suits, and the racks where all of her floor length, formal dresses hung. She passed by the rows of shelves that held shoes in every style and color imaginable, stopping only long enough to grab her favorite pair of sneakers, as she continued toward the back corner.

It was here that she and her husband kept what they called their _normal clothes_, clothes that would never be acceptable while conducting affairs of state, but the ones that they wore when they had down time. Most of the world might look upon them as being the esteemed king and queen of Crystal Tokyo, but at the end of the day they were still just plain old Darien and Serena Shields, the doctor and the schoolteacher. Okay, so she had never actually held an official teaching position because the Freeze had come before she had finished college, but she had finished her courses, even after becoming queen, and she held a degree in Early Childhood Education. So technically speaking, she was a teacher.

She rummaged through drawers; pulling out undergarments and socks, along with a bright pink, soft cotton t-shirt. Then she grabbed a pair of worn faded jeans from a hanger and began changing.

She shimmied quickly into the underclothes and jeans, but as she pulled the t-shirt over her head a deep voice complained, "Darn! And I was enjoying the view too."

"Aw, too bad, so sad," she teased as she tucked the shirt into her jeans and then sat down on a padded bench to put on her socks and shoes.

"You're not still angry with me, are you?" Endymion asked as he walked toward her.

She shrugged. "No. But you already knew that. I never can stay mad at you. But I would have thought that you would have enough sense of self preservation after all of these years to know that it is dangerous to pick on me before I've had my daily caffeine injection."

"I can't help it if I find you adorable when you get flustered," he returned smugly. "So, am I forgiven?"

She finished tying her shoe and stood. "You will be as soon as you lead me to the closest pot of cocoa or coffee. I'd even be willing to drink it black like you do at this point."

"Ooo, that sounds serious," Endymion chuckled as he held a hand out to her. "Well, come along, my lady, and we'll get you some wake up juice."

They left their bedroom and entered their private living room. As they crossed the room, Serenity's eyes went to the closed door on the left that led to Rini's room, and then to the one on the right that went to DJ's.

"It won't be long now, and they'll be back in those rooms," she sighed.

Endymion squeezed her hand. "Yes, they will."

They stepped out into the hall, only to run into Andrew and Jess, who appeared to be making their way downstairs as well.

"Good morning," Endymion greeted them cordially.

Andrew replied back in kind, but Jess only glowered and grumbled, "Coffee…must have coffee."

"Amen!" Serena seconded.

The dark blonde woman fell into step beside her as they headed for the stairs. "I don't know why I'm dragging so much this morning. I slept like the dead for once."

"Hmph!" Andrew huffed. "It didn't seem that way from my point of view. You were all over the bed, tossing, turning, and muttering in your sleep. I probably have black and blue marks on my legs from you kicking."

She winced in sympathy. "Sorry. I didn't do it on purpose."

He smiled and tugged lightly in her braid. "I know you didn't. But I might have to start sleeping with my armor on just to protect myself while we're sleeping."

"Or just start sleeping in another bed," Endymion joked.

Jess tried to stick her tongue out at them, but ended up yawning instead. "This sucks! My kids are coming home today and I feel too much like a zombie to let the excitement hit me. If I didn't detest needles so much I'd beg somebody to hook me up and mainline some caffeine into my system."

"We'll perk up once we get that caffeine and some food into our systems," Serenity told her. "And when the kids show up a few hours from now we'll be all bright eyed and bushy tailed."

* * *

Trista blinked her eyes open, feeling completely disoriented for a moment as she tried to identify her surroundings. Then something rumbled under her ear and her head shot up.

As she looked down at the man she was practically lying on top of, memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She was in Evan's home. He had invited her over for dinner last night and had surprised her with the fact that he was a fairly accomplished cook. Afterwards they had settled down on cushions in front of the fireplace, nights in the mountains were quite chilly, even in May, and they had shared a bottle of wine as they talked for hours.

They had talked about anything and everything, spilling out all the secrets of their lives as they learned more and more about each other. She had told him everything, about her grandfather and her life during the Silver Millennium. She'd told him about how she had lost her grandmother, her parents, and her beloved twin brother during the fallout that had occurred after the fall of the Moon Kingdom. She had even been honest with him about Tristan when he had asked her if she had ever been in love before, and he'd seemed sincere when he'd told her that he was sorry that she'd had to experience such loss and pain.

But his story hadn't been exactly happy either. Anya and he had barely been in their teens when they had lost their mother and most of their family to a typhoid fever epidemic. Their father had survived, but he had been severely weakened by the illness and was killed by a bear only two years later while on a hunting trip. His powers had waned so much by that point that he'd been unable to protect himself. Talon had been his best friend his entire life, and they had banded together to watch out for Anya, at least until Talon had gotten sucked into Beryl's scheming ways. A rift had opened between them then.

He too had loved and lost. He had fallen in love with a young woman from his clan, who had been a friend and supporter of Beryl's. He had begged her to not join Beryl in her fight to take over the Earth and destroy the moon, but she had refused to listen to his reasoning, claiming that she was doing what was right for their people. Sadly, she had been killed during the raid on the earth palace that had claimed the lives of King Edward and Queen Althea. But rather than fall into despair, he had redoubled his efforts to keep his sister safe.

Then Talon had returned without Beryl after the destruction of the moon, injured and beaten down. He'd thought that perhaps their lives would finally settle down to normal, but then Talon had found and released Discord. A lot of their people had left then, striking off to form a separate clan. He'd wanted to take Anya and go with them, but she had fallen deeply in love with Talon by that point and had refused to leave him.

So they'd stayed. Neither one of them had taken part in Talon and Discord's plans though, preferring to stay out of the way with the other members of their clan who had stayed. He'd had his hands full though, Beryl's brother, Bastian, had been a sick, sadistic freak who had enjoyed beating and forcing himself on women, and he had killed quite a few as well. He'd usually preferred to find an unsuspecting female human to vent his perversions on, but he had also preyed on the sorcereresses of their clan as well.

Evan and Bastian had fought against each other many times during the ten centuries they had been holed up with Talon and Discord. Evan had always charged to the rescue of any of the women who had been unfortunate enough to catch that evil bastard's eye, and Anya had been no exception. Bastian had gone for her many times, despite Talon's orders that she not be touched. It had probably been Bastian's way of striking back at Talon because he was jealous of him. Luckily, Evan had always been there to protect his sister.

But then a miracle had happened. Bastian had been destroyed and Discord had been sealed away. Talon had returned to being the man who had been his friend so long ago and they had healed the old wounds between them. Anya had then married Talon and had given him three nephews and a little niece, who was the apple of his eye. He took his role as uncle very seriously and doted shamelessly on all of them.

At some point during the night they must have both fallen asleep, Trista realized. They were stretched out on the cushions before the now cold fireplace with her curled up close to his side and his arms around her.

She stifled a giggle as a low snore rumbled in his chest. Well, that explained the noise that she'd heard earlier. Several strands of his long, white-blond hair had come loose from the leather thong that he had it tied back with and lay across his face. She reached up to lightly brush the hair away from his handsome face, and promptly began laughing when he let out a sound that was an amusing mixture of a snort, snore, growl, and groan, all at the same time.

She slapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hold back her outburst, but she couldn't help it. That sound had been so cute and funny!

His arms tightened around her shaking body a moment before those hypnotic golden eyes of his opened to look at her curiously. "Is there something amusing about the way I sleep?" he asked in a voice that was husky with sleep.

She shook her head. "No. I was just having a moment. Don't mind me."

One pale eyebrow rose questioningly. "Is this the way you usually wake up in the morning?"

"Only when I wake up next to you, it seems," she choked out, burying her face in his chest.

He raised a hand to his mouth to cover a yawn, and then glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Whoa! I haven't slept this late in a long time. I'm usually up with the dawn. I guess that's what happens when you sit up most of the night with a beautiful woman."

Trista felt herself blush as she untangled herself from him and sat up. She wasn't used to sharing such intimate moments with someone. "I should probably get going. I have a busy day ahead of me."

Evan sat up too. "You don't have to rush off right this minute, do you? At least stay long enough for me to make you breakfast. I promise you, I make a mean omelet."

Being in tune with time, she didn't a watch to tell her that the day was quickly approaching mid-morning. Sure wasn't sure exactly when the crew from Tokyo was going to be ready to go to Crystal Tokyo, but if they stuck to what she had seen for the most part when she had checked on the timeline, they would arrive in the future just before lunch.

"I guess I have a few minutes to spare," she replied, not really in any hurry to leave Evan's company. Besides, they needed to cover a few things before she left. "I'm just going to borrow your bathroom for a minute and freshen up."

"Sure thing," he said, climbing to his feet and holding out a hand to help her up.

The giddy feeling that she always experienced when she stood next to his impressive 6'8" height swept through her. She always felt dainty and petite when she was with him.

"I…I'll be right back," she stammered as she turned and almost ran down the hall.

Once inside the bathroom, she leaned against the door for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. Good grief! The way that man made her feel! After a moment she felt more like herself and she waved her hand to use her powers to summon her cosmetic bag to her. The fuchsia-pink zipper bag landed in her palm.

After she'd made use of the facilities, she began moving at sailor scout speed. And in only four minutes she had her teeth and hair brushed, hands and face washed, and a light application of cosmetics applied. She sent her bag back to her apartment where she had summoned it from and then took a deep breath before exiting the bathroom.

She wandered into Evan's spacious kitchen, but found it empty. Silly her, she had rushed for nothing. Of course Evan would want to freshen up himself before tackling breakfast. He was probably in his master bathroom, moving at a more leisurely pace.

She wasn't a spectacular cook, but she figured she could at least give him a hand. She went to the refrigerator and pulled out some of the ingredients she thought he might need, cheese, ham, and such. She set them on the work island in the center of the room and returned to the fridge for the eggs. She pulled out the carton and turned around, only to find Evan standing right behind her.

She squeaked in surprised and the cartoon slipped from her fingers. Without missing a beat, Evan snapped his fingers and the egg carton stopped in mid-fall.

"Well that was a close one," he chuckled. "It could have turned very messy really quickly."

Trista grabbed at her chest as she wheezed. "You scared me!"

"I'm sorry. Anya has been telling me for centuries that I have a bad habit of sneaking up on people. I thought it was just her being a nag, but I guess she's right for once." He plucked the carton out of mid-air and turned to place it on the island.

Trista's nerves finally started settling. "It's okay. You just startled me." She moved to sit on a stool at the island.

He returned to the fridge, asking over his shoulder, "Onion and bell pepper okay with you?"

"Sounds good," she told him.

He brought the last of his ingredients to the island and set to work chopping. After a minute he said, "So, why do I get the feeling that you have something that you want to say to me?"

She grimaced at his question. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugged. "Not painfully so. It's just a gut feeling I'm getting."

She sighed and rested her elbows on the counter. "Look, Evan, I really like you a lot, and I enjoy spending time with you. I want that to continue, I do. I find it amazing that our paths have never crossed before now, considering that we know so many of the same people. The only thing that I can say is that for some reason fate chose this as the time for us to meet. I am forbidden from seeing my own future, so I never saw you coming."

The knife in his hand paused as he looked up at her. "I guess that makes sense. But I get the feeling that there's more to your reasoning."

She broke the eye contact and looked away. "I'm assuming that you are still planning on being in Crystal Tokyo for the fight."

He turned his attention back to the food. "Yes. Talon, Kyrian, and I will all be there to help out if we're needed. Anya is coming along as well because the queen asked if she and Julian could help Jack and Sasha keep an eye on the younger children so that they stay out of trouble. So what's the deal? You're not about to tell me that you want me to sit the fight out, are you?"

"Don't be silly," she scoffed. "I know better than to do that. But I do have a favor to ask of you."

"And what would that be?" he asked as he took a skillet from a cabinet and sat it on the stove.

She sucked in a deep breath. Now for the hard part. "I need you to stay away from me as much as possible during the fight."

He turned around to look at her, his expression completely unreadable. "Before I jump to conclusions, I'm going to assume that you have a valid reason for suddenly wanting to keep me at a distance," he replied in a cool biting tone.

Feeling awkward, she twisted her hands in her lap. Nervousness was an emotion that she had rarely experienced in centuries. "It's not what you think. I don't _want _to keep you at a distance. I _need _to. Whatever this," she gestured between them, "is that is happening between us is supposed to happen here and now. Obviously neither Neo Queen Serenity nor any of the others had any idea that we might one day have a relationship or they would have let something slip by now. None of that lot, the women or the men, could have gone this many years without at least one of them saying something. So that lets me know that when Serena and the others come to this time from the past that they don't have a clue about us. I don't want anything to jeopardize what we have together, so I think it's best to keep them in the dark about it."

His posture relaxed at her explanation. "Well couldn't you just use your powers to remove any memories that you don't want them to have from their minds?"

"I could." She shrugged. "But that is a power that I don't like using. It seems intrusive to me to invade peoples' memories and alter them that way, so I try to not ever use it. I'll probably have to use it on the younger Mina though since she could sense a spark of emotion between fleas. But I would prefer it if she were the only one I have to do that to."

"I understand," he conceded. "And if keeping my distance from you for a few days will make you happy, that is what I will do. But don't expect me to stay away if you get in trouble and need help. I'll be keeping my eye on you, Setsuna."

Trista started. "Why did you call me that name? Nobody outside of Mount Olympus uses that name anymore."

A boyish grin curved up his lips. "Setsuna is a strong name for an amazing woman. Trista is the persona that you present to your queen and your fellow scouts. I prefer to use the name that I believe suits you best. But if it bothers you I won't call you that."

She thought about it for a moment. Sure, her grandfather and the other inhabitants of Mount Olympus always referred to her by her birth name, but no man had murmured it in such an intimate way since the last time Tristan had spoken it the last time that he had woken just hours before his death. It sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

"I…I don't mind," she finally stammered. "But let's keep it between us for now, okay. Just until Serena and the others leave."

"If that's what you really want," he told her. Then he picked up a spatula and twirled it expertly between his fingers. "Now watch a master craftsman at work."

She couldn't help but giggle. "I thought making weapons was your area of expertise."

He winked outrageously. "That is just one of my many talents. I can forge a sword that is the optimum weight, perfectly balanced, and able to split a human hair right down the middle, but I can also make an omelet that will practically melt on your tongue. Just wait and see."

Twenty minutes later she had to agree with him. She sighed happily as she swallowed the last bite of the breakfast that he had gallantly served her. "That was wonderful. Don't tell Lita or Andrew this, but I think that was possibly the best breakfast that I've ever had."

"They'll never hear it from me," he promised her. "Would you like some coffee or a refill on your juice?"

She shook her head. "I better not. As much as I would like to stick around, I better get going. Today is going to be a busy day." She froze as a telling tingle rushed through her. "And it appears that my day is going to get started sooner than I thought."

She clenched her teeth in agitation as she sensed several presences enter the time plane. The visitors from the past were early, much earlier than she had expected. Given what she had seen as possible outcomes in the river of time, and considering Serena and a few of the others' habit of sleeping in when possible, she hadn't expected them to make the trip to the future quite so soon. They must be more anxious than she had first thought.

Reluctantly standing, she called upon her transformation and changed into Sailor Pluto in a quick flash of magenta light and smoke. "It looks like the fun is about to begin. I have to go."

Evan nodded swiftly. "I understand. I'll see you later." He gave her a brief, but very sweet kiss.

Pluto let her lips cling to his for several long seconds before she reluctantly pulled away. She gave him a small smile before she called upon her powers to leave the human plane and return to her post at the time gate. She briefly considered popping over to Crystal Tokyo and warning the inhabitants there that they were about to be ambushed, but she quickly changed her mind. It served them right to be taken by surprise if their past selves decided that they were too impatient to wait until breakfast time was over.

In fact, she hoped that the unexpected early arrival of the visitors from the past took the entire palace off guard. It was what they deserved for interrupting her time with the most amazing man she had come across in more centuries than she cared to count.

* * *

_**The Time Plane**_

"I still can't believe that everyone got up and got together as quickly as we did this morning. I thought for sure that it would take a few hours for everyone to get up and moving. I even surprised myself," Serena said to Darien as they followed Rini and the other teens through the swirling mists of the time plane.

Darien chuckled under his breath. "I'm surprised at you too. Usually nothing short of a candy store going out of business sale would get you out of bed this early on a Saturday."

"You don't have to be so smug," she growled back at him. "Besides, who could sleep with all of the noise in the apartment? I'm almost positive that Rini was banging around the bathroom the way she was on purpose."

"You're probably right," he conceded. "The guys were telling me that their crew were unusually rambunctious this morning too, but I'm not really all that surprised. The kids have been away from their home for a while now, and they're probably in a hurry to get back."

"I know I would be," she sighed as she glanced around at her friends. She bit back a giggle as she caught sight of a pair of very annoyed and irritated dark blue eyes. "Poor Jess! I still can't believe that Katie actually had the nerve to go into her bedroom and pour water on her to wake her up. The girl must have a death wish."

"Hmph!" he huffed. "I'm just glad that Jess has learned the amount of control that she has. I still felt a spike of something in the planet when she got mad, but it was nothing compared to what she has done before when she has temper tantrums."

Suddenly, Jess's dark blonde hair pushed between them as she snarled, "I don't have temper tantrums, thank you very much! That little glitch this morning was pure, righteous anger, and I don't think you would have acted any differently if you had been in my position. Now, if you two old ladies are done gossiping about me…"

"Sorry, sorry," Serena apologized hastily before quickly changing the subject. "So where do you think Trista is hiding this morning? We are getting close to the time gate."

Nearby, Raye shrugged. "I don't know. I don't sense her aura anywhere, so she may not even be here."

Rini spun around to face them. "Well, wherever she is, she better get back here soon. My time key only lets us make it through the time plane without getting lost. She's got the door to our time locked up with enchantments, so I can't get us there without her."

Alex cracked his knuckles. "I bet Kat, DJ, and I could blast our way through the door if we had to. What do you say, guys?"

The duo responded in perfect harmony, "And be grounded by our moms until we're 100? No thanks!"

"At least some of you have some common sense," Pluto's voice said as she appeared in her usual puff of smoke. She glanced around briefly before her eyes settled on Serena. "You're earlier than I expected."

Serena saw an unfamiliar emotion swirling in the time guardian's garnet eyes and immediately felt like a chastised child. "I'm sorry, Trista. Should we turn around and come back later?"

Sailor Pluto sighed. "No, there's no need in that. You're already here, and your earlier arrival will not impact the outcome of the battle in any way, so you may as well continue. Follow me."

Everyone fell into step behind her as she walked away into the mist. The time gate had just come into sight when she veered off to the left. Soon they were walking through a maze of doors.

"Nothing around here has changed much since the last time we came this way, has it?" Jadeite said in a loud whisper. The other generals nodded in agreement.

Amy had her Mercury computer out and her eyes darted across the screen as she read her scans. "Hmm…this is a different direction than we went when we traveled to Crystal Tokyo before, isn't it?"

Pluto turned her head to look at the blue haired scout of ice. "Yes it is. When you went to the future during the Dark Moon invasion you arrived through a portal on the outskirts of the city. This time I am taking you directly to the palace. I was unable to do that the last time because of the shield of protection that the guardian scouts had around the palace."

"So we don't have to take that long walk through the city this time? Sweet!" Lita drawled.

A smirk curled up Pluto's lips. "Ah, no. This time the city is bustling with activity. And while the residents of Crystal Tokyo have long since become used to unusual things happening, it would probably still shock them to see all of you strolling down the street."

Hotaru, who had been walking beside Rini, turned her large amethyst eyes on the woman who was one of her adoptive parents. "Is everything okay, Trista-mama? You seem troubled."

Pluto reached out to smooth back her _daughter's _dark hair. "I am fine, little one. I was just slightly perturbed at having to end my breakfast so abruptly."

"Are you sure?" Michelle asked; her quiet alto voice laced with concern.

Amara snickered. "Yeah, you seem a bit on edge. It's very suspicious."

"I assure you, I am most definitely _not _on edge," Pluto sniffed haughtily.

Mina's eyes suddenly snapped to her, a very curious light beginning to burn in their bright blue depths. "Hmm…interesting. Has our elusive Sailor Pluto finally gone and found herself a love interest? My Spidey-senses are tingling."

"Something else is going to be tingling if you don't drop it, Venus!" Pluto snapped. "I have much more pressing things to worry about other than whether I have a man in my life."

"But…" Mina began to protest, only to be cut off by her new husband's hand covering her mouth.

"Let it go, sweetheart," Kunzite told her softly.

"Mom, dad, and the others do know that we are coming today, don't they?" Rini asked to fill the sudden void.

Pluto nodded. "Yes. But I don't think they were looking for you to arrive for a few more hours. You took me by such surprise that I didn't even have a chance to warn them that you were heading their way. So this could turn into quite a circus."

"Awesome!" all the teens said together.

"Man, my mom is going to flip!" Jayden crowed.

Hannah bobbed her head rapidly. "Mine too."

"Ugh! Don't get me started!" Katie moaned as she rubbed her neck. Orion, who had been sitting quietly on her shoulder, nudged her cheek with his head.

Alex copied her motion. "I can already feel mom's strangling hug. One day she is seriously going to kill us."

Emma patted his head and cooed. "Poor baby! I'll try to rescue you if she gets too enthusiastic."

Skye rolled her eyes. "Thank god my parents aren't psychotic."

Lita shared a grin with Nephrite before taunting her future daughter; "You're just ready to get back to a time where you have easy access to your _boyfriend_."

Skye growled low in her throat. "I take back what I just said. My parents are just as crazy as the rest of them."

"Here we are," Pluto announced as she came to a stop before a large white door that had a shimmering magical cloud covering it. She waved her staff and it disappeared. "Just through this door lies the 31st century and the Crystal Palace. Is everyone ready?"

Heads nodded all around.

Another wave of her staff opened the door and there was a rush as the teens tried to hurry through.

Rini beat everyone, and she pulled up short just a few steps into the hallway of the lowest level of the palace.

"Diana!" she squealed excitedly.

"Rini!" a high-pitched voice answered just as exuberantly as a small, light gray blur flew through the air at her.

Rini dropped the bag she had been holding to catch the ball of fur. A tear trailed down her cheek as she hugged the petite cat tightly. "Oh, Diana! I've missed you so much!"

Diana purred loudly as she nudged the princess's chin with her head. "Not nearly as much as I've missed you. I can't believe that you're finally here. I wasn't expecting you until later."

"We got in a hurry and decided that we were ready to come home," Rini laughed.

DJ poked her in the back. "Speaking of which, do you mind moving? We have a bit of a traffic jam here." Indeed, everyone was beginning to pile up in the doorway from the time plane.

"Oops!" she said, and quickly scooted further down the hall.

The teens quickly bustled in behind her while the adults spilled in at a slightly slower pace.

"Oh!" Serena squeaked when she caught sight of the gray cat in Rini's arms. "Diana! You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you! You are definitely not a kitten anymore."

Diana inclined her head. "It is wonderful to see you again, your majesty. And I am happy to see all of you again as well. Welcome to Crystal Tokyo."

Then her cinnamon colored eyes fell on the large, dark gray feline sitting on Katie's shoulder. "Hello, Uncle Orion. I glad that I finally get to meet you in person. My daddy has told me a lot about you."

Orion's storm cloud colored eyes glimmered wetly as he got his first look at his niece that the Artemis in the past had warned him about. "Diana…you certainly live up to your name well. You look a lot like your grandmother, except for the eyes. You have your mother's eyes."

"Okay! The kitty family reunion is great and all, but can we please go somewhere with a little bit more room? It's getting crowded in here!" Raye snapped peevishly.

Jadeite, who hated any kind of tight, enclosed spaces, nodded feverishly beside her.

Rini shouldered her bag while still holding Diana and began walking down the hall. "Sure. Where is everyone hanging out this morning, Diana?"

"Most everyone was in the kitchen the last time I saw them," Diana informed her. "They were just finishing up breakfast. There are not as many people about as normal because your parents have given all but the most trusted servants time off with pay until after everything has settled down. They knew that things could get confusing around here with visitors from the past coming."

"I'm getting so nervous," Serena whispered to Darien, grabbing his hand as they followed Rini and the other teens up a flight of stairs.

He squeezed her fingers gently. "Don't get yourself worked up. It's not like we're meeting total strangers."

She chewed her bottom lip for a second. "I know. But I forgot how overwhelming this place is. I feel underdressed now." She smoothed a palm down the thigh of the faded jeans she was wearing along with a pink, purple, and white peasant top.

Behind her, Jess snorted. "Puh-leeze! You act like we're here to make some kind of impression on people. We're only meeting our future selves. You might be a high and mighty queen here, but that doesn't change who you are. And I'm definitely not going out of my way to impress my future self. If she's really me, then she already knows how I am." She tugged the brim of her navy ball cap down further on her forehead and hitched her backpack up higher on her shoulder before shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans that were splattered with paint smudges. The button down shirt that she had _borrowed _from Andrew was in a similar state, and despite multiple washings, had refused to turn completely white again.

"So we're in a palace, big deal!" she continued grumbling. "It doesn't make me feel special or anything. I just…" her voice trailed off as they entered the grand foyer of the palace. "Okay. Maybe I'm impressed just a little bit. This is way different from the palaces of the past."

The morning sunlight lit up the foyer. And since a great deal of the palace was constructed out of crystal, the light seemed to make everything sparkle.

A gleeful look appeared on Mina's face. "This is much better than last time we were here. Everything was so dark then."

Raye rolled her eyes. "Well, there was a siege going on, you know."

"I have to agree with Mina on this one. It is nice that everything's not all gloomy and dreary this time," Lita drawled. "Now where is this kitchen at? That is one place that I have to check out."

"You would," Nephrite snickered, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his fiancée.

"This way," Rini motioned toward a large corridor off the foyer. "Everybody can just drop their bags by the stairs. Nobody will touch them." She sat Diana down and offloaded her duffle bag and backpack. Everyone else followed suit.

Just then, a female voice came from the corridor Rini had indicated. "One more wise crack out of you this morning, Darien Shields, and I swear I will move to a room on the opposite side of the palace for the next century! I can't believe that you would laugh at me over this!"

A deeper voice answered her. "Aw, come on, Sere! I didn't mean for you to take it that way. It was just so funny that I couldn't help myself."

Serena and Darien gasped as almost perfect carbon copies of themselves entered the foyer. The blonde Neo Queen Serenity was stomping in anger while King Endymion was two steps behind her, making placating gestures with his hands. At the sounds of the gasps, both of their heads whipped around.

Four sets of blue eyes, two crystalline and two sapphire, widened in shock.

Serenity's hand came up to clutch her throat, just above the dark brown stain that splattered the front of the pink t-shirt she was wearing. She stared at her past self for a long wordless moment before she caught sight of Rini and DJ just behind Serena.

"My babies!" she screeched, and then yelled down the hall, "Everybody! They're here!" Then she was nothing but a blur as she flew across the foyer.

Serena jumped to the side, pressing herself tightly up against Darien as she scrambled to get out of the way of the frantic blonde, who had thrown an arm around each of her children and had burst into sobs.

Serena's only prior experience with her future self had been when the queen had been under the influence of a sleep spell and frozen inside a giant chunk of crystal, so she hadn't been prepared for this reaction. _'Oh my god! I become a mental case!' _she thought wildly to herself.

Pounding footsteps came their way, sounding like a herd of stampeding elephants. One person burst into view ahead of the others, and the flash of dark honey colored hair was the only thing that gave away her identity before she practically dove for Katie and Alex.

"Eek!" the twins squeaked in unison as they looked around for an escape. But it was too late. Both of their airways were almost completely cut off as an arm wrapped around their necks like bands of steel.

Four more bodies joined the fray, making the visitors from Tokyo take several steps back to keep from getting trampled as the future inner scouts converged on their children.

Chuckles came from the men, who were crossing the foyer at a calmer, but still brisk pace.

Endymion stopped next to Serena and Darien and gave them a grin. "Glad to see that you made it here with no trouble. I guess this is much different than the last time you visited."

Darien shrugged. "You could say that."

"This is so weird," Serena whispered as her eyes darted back and forth between the two identical men. "Last time wasn't as weird because the king was a hologram. But this is real!"

Endymion gave her a charming smile as he took her hand in his and lifted it to press a light kiss to the back of it, eliciting a growl from Darien. "It's a pleasure to be able to greet you properly this time, dear Serena."

"You better not be over there trying any slick moves on my past self!" Serenity snapped from where she was still hugging her children. "I'm still mad at you, so you better watch your step."

"Well, darling," Endymion drawled. "If you would quit trying to decapitate our children you could come over and meet your past self and keep an eye on me."

Rini and DJ both shot their father a grateful look as Serenity finally released them. Then Rini was squealing, "Daddy!" as she flung herself at Endymion.

He caught up in a tight bear hug. "How's my little girl been doing?"

Rini pulled back with a mock scowl. "I'm not a baby, daddy! But I'm fine."

DJ came over to them and shared a "man hug" with his father, saying, "It's good to be home."

Two voices rang out in a shout. "Mom! Let GO!"

Jess, who was standing with her back firmly pressed up against Andrew's chest, was staring in shock at the woman that was currently in the process of trying to strangle Katie and Alex to death. The woman was almost a perfect mirror image of herself, right down to the braided hair and paint-splattered clothes. But when a tall, sandy blonde man stepped up beside her doppelganger, her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Talk about seeing double," she muttered over her shoulder to Andrew. "He looks just like you."

He chuckled and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Then we better make sure that we stick close together so that we don't accidentally end up with the wrong person, because she's the spitting image of you too."

Thanks to the intervention of the future Andrew, his wife had released the twins, who were rubbing their necks and glaring slightly at their mother.

"Damn, mom! Are you trying to kill us?" Katie gasped while she sucked in deep breaths.

"For real!" Alex seconded. "Do you see any of the others trying to do their kids in? What did you do, take out large life insurance policies on us while we were gone?"

"Ha ha! Very funny!" their mother snapped. "Is it so wrong for me to have missed my children while they have been gone for so long?"

Their father laid his hands on her shoulders. "No, it's not. But you were being just the tiniest bit overenthusiastic with your welcome homes."

She tossed her braid over her shoulder. "Did you actually expect anything less from me? I'd think that you would have learned better after all of these years." Then she turned to face her past self and spoke in English. "Well, well, who do we have here? It's the So Cal Smartass."

Jess immediately got defensive. "Right backatcha!"

"Ooo…" the older version of herself crooned. "I had almost forgotten exactly how touchy I was in my younger days. Get your hackles down, kid. I was just teasing you."

"Don't call me kid!" Jess exploded. "I'm not sure exactly how much older than me you are, but you don't really look any older. So cut out the superior, sanctimonious bullshit before I shut your mouth for you!"

The future Jess crossed her arms with a smug grin. "Do you honestly think you could take me, little girl?"

"Damn straight!" Jess fired back. "I could whoop your ass on my worst day! If you want to test that theory then bring it on! I've been itching for a good rough and tumble for a while now. So if you're feeling froggy, then leap."

Surprisingly, her future self stepped right up to her so that they were almost nose to nose. "I remember clinging to that last piece of anger buried deep inside me, the same way that you do. Hell, I still feel it sometimes. It can be a powerful motivator if you learn how to channel it properly. And according to what I've heard from Kyrian, you're on your way to learning that lesson. But I have a feeling that you'll be getting a crash course in it soon."

Then she took a step back and held out her hand. "It feels weird to be giving a pep talk to myself, but I'm glad that you're here."

Jess eyed her warily for a moment. "You were just screwing with me, weren't you?"

She was met with a cocky grin. "Of course I was. I give everybody else a hard time all the time. It's not often that I get to mess with myself."

But Jess wasn't completely satisfied yet. "And you've been messing with my dreams for the last several weeks, haven't you? If you are supposed to be me, then you know that I value every bit of sleep that I can get."

The future Jess waved a hand. "Oh please! Like losing an hour here or there was going to kill you. And I had a little help with trying to send you enough subtle messages that you would get your shit together."

Jess thought for a moment, and then ground out, "Dawn! I could throttle her right now!"

"Don't go hating on her!" her future counterpart snapped back. "I asked her to help me, and I'm pretty sure you will do the same thing once you find yourself in my shoes. Something had to be done because if you had come back here at the same level that you were at the night you had that little run in with Discord on that bridge in Tokyo, you probably would end up being Puppy Chow. So whether you choose to believe it or not, I did you a favor."

Jess struggled to fight down her rising temper. After a moment she mumbled, "Thanks, I guess."

A short distance away, Serena had been watching the scene along with most of the others in the foyer. "Wow! It's times like these that make me grateful that I'm not her mother this time around. What a temper!"

A soft laugh came from beside her. "I say the same thing to myself all the time. Jess is a great friend, but I hate to think what our relationship would be like if we were mother and daughter."

Serena turned her head to see that Serenity had come to stand beside her. She had thought it was strange to see Darien and Endymion together, but looking at another living and breathing person and feeling like you had looked into a mirror went way beyond the realm of strangeness and over the edge into possible insanity. She fought back the urge to hum the theme song to _The Twilight Zone_.

Serenity gave her a soft smile. "I know. This is way beyond weird, isn't it? I thought that it wouldn't feel so strange since I've been through this before from your perspective. But it's still knocked me for a loop."

"Yeah, me too," Serena mumbled. "I guess all of my mental preparation for this moment was for nothing."

Darien snorted a laugh. "I wouldn't say that. I hate to see what your reaction would've been if you hadn't known about this little trip beforehand. But I guess once a Meatball Head, always a Meatball Head, right, Serena?"

Serena raised her chin haughtily. "I'm not even going to grace that comment with an answer. It's not worth my time. But if you want to be a jerk, Darien Shields, you can go be one with someone else."

Serenity threw back her head and laughed. "That's telling him, Serena! Even his future self seems determined to put me in a bad mood today."

"What were you two bickering about when we got here?" Rini asked curiously as she looked back and forth between her parents.

Endymion grinned widely. "As you can see from her t-shirt, your mother had a bit of a cocoa mishap."

DJ's grin mirrored his father's. "I was wondering what that was. I thought mom was just trying to set a new fashion trend."

Serenity's blue eyes narrowed. "You better watch yourself, Darien James! You might be grown, but you'll never be too big for me to take over my knee." Then she looped an arm through Serena's. "Come on, Serena. These ungrateful leeches don't deserve our company."

The two blondes began circling around the foyer, checking in with their friends to make sure that they had gotten over the shock of being confronted with themselves.

The generals from the past were off to one side conversing with their future selves. The two groups had met and spent quite a bit of time together several years before when the past generals had first been returned to their bodies, so they were already talking and joking like old friends. The men from the future were congratulating the younger guys on their engagements, or in Kunzite's case, his recent marriage.

The inner scouts had also seemed to have quickly bonded with their future selves.

Mina was admiring the dress that her older self was wearing, which, she was informed, had been designed by her and was the top-selling design in her new summer collection. Emma was ooh-ing and ah-ing over it as well and begging her mother to get her one. The young girl squealed when she was told that one was already hanging in her closet, waiting for her.

Amy and her future self almost had their heads pressed together over their Mercury computers while the future Amy rattled off a long list of upgrades that she had recently applied to hers. Hannah had pulled hers out as well and was typing rapidly as she sought to upgrade her own mini-computer.

The two Rayes were deep in a conversation about the Hikawa Shrine and the changes that had taken place there over the years. The Raye from the past had tears of happiness in her eyes as she heard the news that her crazy, lovable grandfather was still alive and in charge of the shrine that he loved so much. Jayden stood not far away from them, rolling his eyes.

And of course, the Litas were talking about food. Future Lita was promising her past self that later she would personally give her a grand tour of the palace kitchen. Lita from the past was nodding vigorously and then eagerly asked if she could help prepare lunch or dinner. Skye jumped into the conversation quickly and pledged her help as well.

Jess seemed to have gotten over being angry with her future self, and the two women had wandered over to where a large painting, showing a panoramic view of Crystal Tokyo, hung on the wall. The painting style gave away the artist even before Serena saw the familiar signature in the bottom right corner, only this painting was signed Jessica Furuhata instead of Jessica Alexander. The two Andrew's stood nearby with the twins, talking, and Katie looked like she was almost glued to her father's side. Yep, definitely a daddy's girl.

The only ones who weren't mingling with the group were the outers. They stood over to the side, watching quietly. Serena and Serenity went to join them.

"Trista," Serenity greeted the time guardian, who had transformed back into her civilian form. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done. You got the kids out of here and watched over them all of this time. And now you've brought them back home to us. Thank you so much."

Trista inclined her head. "It has been my pleasure. I won't deny that this whole mission has given me my share of headaches, but it has been well worth it. All of the young ones, not just DJ, Katie, and Alex, have learned so much from this experience. I don't believe that we have ever been in a better position to take down Discord than we are right now."

Serenity nodded. "They have grown so much. I barely recognized Rini at first. She looks so adult, and DJ too. I swear that he has grown two inches while he has been gone. He practically stands eye to eye with his father now. And the rest of them…they all look like a mature and able group of warriors. I'm so proud of them all."

"So what are you guys doing over here, hiding?" Serena asked the other outers.

Amara shrugged. "Just trying to stay out of the way, Kitten. Since our future selves obviously aren't here, we thought it was best to just fade into the background."

Serenity giggled. "Oh, your future selves will be back shortly. We weren't expecting you to arrive until later, so they went out to have breakfast with the in-laws."

"In-laws?" Michelle questioned softly.

The queen grinned widely. "Oh yes! You see, in this time my brother and Hotaru are happily married. Right now your future selves are out with the cozy couple and my parents."

Hotaru slapped her hands to her burning cheeks as she squealed, "I _marry _Sammy!"

Curious eyes all around snapped to them at her outburst.

Amara let out a long chuckle. "I always knew I liked that boy. Now I just hope that he's man enough to make Michelle and me grandmothers. I've missed having a little one running around since you grew up so quickly, Taru."

Now Hotaru's hands were covering her eyes. "Stop it, Amara! You're embarrassing me!"

A mischievous look appeared on Serenity's face. "Oh, I think you'll be pleased with the way things have turned out. But I'll wait and let you see for yourselves."

Just then, a girlish scream came from above them, "Give it back, Nick!" followed by the pounding of footsteps.

A chestnut haired boy came sprinting down the wide grand staircase, followed closely behind by a girl with long, glossy black hair. They both screeched to a halt in the middle of the stairs when they saw all the people assembled in the foyer below them and stood silent and still in shock.

"Hey, Nick! You didn't let her catch you already, did you?" another voice said as a platinum haired boy also came down the stairs. Several feet behind him was a very small boy with wheat blonde hair. They too froze when they saw the large group.

After a few seconds of silence, the girl was the first to respond. "Jay!" she cried happily as she ran the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Ryssa!" Jayden responded just as cheerfully as he caught the smaller girl in a hug when she launched herself at him. "Oh man! I've missed you, little sister."

"Little sister!" Raye squeaked in surprise as she shared a wide-eyed look with Jadeite.

Emma and Skye broke away from the group to dash up the stairs to the two older boys, where they promptly began smothering them with hugs.

"Your big sister is finally back, Kyle!" Emma chirped as she squeezed the fair-haired boy tightly.

"Nicky! Nicky! Nicky!" Skye squealed as she hugged her brother.

"Ew! Big sister germs!" both boys shouted in complaint. Then, together, they roared, "Get off of us!"

The smallest of the group carefully made his way down, one step at a time, until he reached his blue haired sister, who was waiting for him at the bottom. Hannah was well aware of the fierce independent streak her brother had, so she force herself to wait patiently until he reached her. But when he made it to the bottom step and held his arms up to her, she swooped him up and gave him a smacking kiss on his chubby cheek.

"Hannah! You finally came home!" he cheered as he flung his short little arms around her neck. "You've been gone forever! Momma and daddy kept saying that you would come back, and now you did!"

Tears shimmered in Hannah's eyes as she held him close. "Oh, Corey! You've gotten so big!"

Mina's legs gave out, and she slumped to her knees on the floor, whispering, "I don't believe this. There are _more _kids?" She stared at Kyle, who had managed to wrestle his way out of Emma's grasp, in utter disbelief.

"Tell me about it," Raye muttered as she studied the girl that looked just like a miniature her, right down to the fiery aura that surrounded her. "Not only do I have a Jadeite clone, but I have one of me as well. I wish the fire had clued me in to that little fact before I came here."

"Ah, it's not so bad," Lita drawled, having recovered some from her shock. She grinned as she watched Nick try to outmaneuver Skye. She could tell from his face that he was young, but he was tall for his age. At the rate he was obviously growing, he would probably be every bit as tall as Nephrite when he was grown.

"Well this was…unexpected," Amy said in a hesitant tone as she took in the sight of the little boy, who was barely school aged, as he shrieked in glee while Hannah spun them around.

Then his blue eyes met hers and a crease appeared on his forehead as he frowned and said, "You're not my momma. You look like her, but you're not her."

"Corey! Don't be rude. Remember, I explained to you that we had some very special guests coming to visit?" his mother chastised him.

His bottom lip trembled and his eyes turned watery at the sternness of her tone. "Sorry, momma."

Unable to take the tension anymore, Mina jumped to her feet. Then she whirled around to glare at Emma, who let out a strangled squeak and ran to hide behind Alex at the sight of the sparks shooting from the normally happy, china blue eyes.

Mina was shaking so hard that even her hair was quivering as she growled at her future daughter, "I can't believe you. You've been with me all this time and you…how could you…why didn't you ever tell me that you had a brother?"

Emma peeked over Alex's shoulder. "Umm…you never asked me?"

"That's no excuse! All those hours we spent shopping together and you never once…I could strangle you!" Mina lunged for the younger girl.

Emma's bloodcurdling scream ricocheted around the foyer as she dashed out from behind her boyfriend and ran for Kunzite, ducking behind him before the rabid blonde could catch her.

Kunzite chuckled as he looked over his shoulder at her. "I think you picked the wrong guy, Em. If you're wanting your dad to protect you, then you want him." He pointed to his future self, who was standing several feet away, looking around with an expression on his face that clearly showed that he was struggling to keep from cracking up.

Long golden hair whipped into Emma's face as she shook her head. "Oh no! I knew exactly who I was taking refuge behind. This is _your _Mina that is trying to kill me after all. So do me a favor and calm her down, would you?"

Lita had grabbed Mina by the right arm and was holding her back. "Geez! Chill, Mina!"

"For real!" Raye growled from her left side, where she was helping to restrain her. "You act like you're the only one that has had a shock to their system. None of the rest of us knew anything about having more children either. But you can't blame Emma for not blabbing. I'm sure they were under orders from Pluto to not say anything."

"She's right," Serena agreed as she hurried to stand in front of Mina and cupped her fellow blonde's face between her palms. "Rini's been hanging out with us for years, but I never had a clue that DJ even existed until he was right in front of me. There are rules that have to be followed where time travel is concerned. You know that."

Mina sucked in a shaky breath. "This is all so overwhelming. All of my senses have shot into overdrive. I need some air."

"I have an idea," Serenity said, stepping forward. "I think we all could use a little time to get used to things. So why don't all of you kids take your things to your rooms and find something to keep yourselves entertained for a while. And after I run up real quick and change my shirt, all of us scouts will go take a stroll through the gardens while we talk."

The future Raye snorted. "Please, Serena! You haven't been a sailor scout for almost two decades now."

"You know what I mean!" the queen growled back as she headed for the stairs. She stopped and pointed a finger at Endymion when he made to follow her. "Oh no, buddy! I'm still steamed at you at the moment! You just go off with all the men and do your guy thing or something until I've had a chance to calm down."

Endymion crossed his arms with a huff. "Fine! Be that way!" Then he grumbled under his breath, "I don't see why she's getting so bent out of shape. She would have laughed at me if I had been the one to have a klutz attack and spilt cocoa on myself."

Serenity jerked her chin. "Yeah, but unfortunately you've never had a clumsy moment in your life. Now leave me alone."

"Home sweet home, huh," DJ grumbled as he dug his bag out of the pile and shouldered it in preparation to go up to his room.

Rini nodded. "You got that right. I'd almost forgotten how much mom and dad could bicker over the stupidest things."

"Um, what about us?" Alex asked as the rest of the teens, accompanied by their siblings, gathered their belongings and began drifting up the stairs.

Katie looked uncertain as well. "Yeah. Should we take our stuff to the house?"

Their mother came up behind them and laid a hand on each of their shoulders. "We thought it was best to keep everyone together in case anything unexpected happened, so your father and I have been staying here. The rooms that you have used before when you have stayed the night here are ready and waiting for you."

Jess's head jerked around. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that we don't live here like everyone else?"

"Of course I am!" her future self fired back. "My family and I have our own home, thank you very much. Why on Earth would I want to live in a palace? Do I look like some kind of a princess to you?"

It was a poor joke, but everyone laughed.

* * *

**A/N **Success! Everyone has finally landed in the future. And I'm sure you all know what that means. The final showdown with Discord is right around the corner. I know that there wasn't any action in this chapter, and the beginning of the next will probably continue in the same way, but I used this chapter to really set up the foundation for what is to come. I wanted to show how much the Trinity holders, and the others, had grown since the beginning of this story. They started off as a group of confused teenagers, and now they seem so adult. I also wanted to show some interaction between the past and future selves. It would be no fun if the Tokyo crew just popped in, fought in the battle, and then left. I really want there to be some kind of relationship between them. I also enjoy paying a brief visit to our little refugees hiding in Elysian in the far future. Their story will play a small part in the upcoming battle as well. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought. Later gators! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	40. Times Intertwine Part 1

**A/N **Okay guys, this is part one of what is currently about an 80 page update. It's gotten so long and out of control that I knew that there was no way that I could post it all together without it turning into a huge mess. So I've split it in half and went on ahead and edited this part. The two parts together will lead us right up to where the final battle will begin. But I've made such a big deal about bringing everyone from the past into the future that I felt like I needed to expand on their time there. So this is mostly just a collection of little things that happen in Crystal Tokyo between the present and future selves the day and the evening before they meet Discord in battle. The teen brigade will be mentioned a lot too, but that will mostly be in part 2. This is my normal mixture of "aw" moments mixed with a touch of drama and a smattering of comedy. I will post part 2 as quickly as possible. I'm hoping sometime tomorrow. I'm still editing and rearranging things with it, and it keeps growing! I think it's turning into a monster. Anyhow, let me get those hugs out. BIG HUGS TO:

**little princess of mercury**

**sabina21**

**Seredhiel05**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**nickybluejess**

**Perfect Beauty**

**KageNoNeko**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**GoldenDragon326**

**saveme57**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**KoiGirlPGSM**

**Litalove**

**Komekoro**

**Robyn**

I love you guys to the moon and back! Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews.

**Important note – **I don't want people to get confused, so I figured I better explain this first. All the visitors from the past will be referred to by their usual names. The king and queen will be called Serenity and Endymion, although they may call each other Serena and Darien when talking. All of the future scouts will go by their planet names, even though they are not transformed. The future generals, as I did when I wrote them in _Bad Boys_, will go by the shortened forms of their names, Kunz, Jed, Neph, and Zoi. Future Andrew will be Drew, and Future Jess will be Shadow. I hope this doesn't mess anybody up, but it made writing this much easier without constantly having to specify whether I meant a future or a past person. Okay? Okay! Moving on!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 37

Times Intertwine - Part 1

* * *

"Whew! What a crazy last couple of hours!" Serena sighed as she fell across the bed, sinking deeply into the plush red and gold comforter. "Oh wow! This bed is like lying on a cloud. Come over here and feel this, Darien."

Darien turned from the tall window of the guest room that he and Serena had been given, where he had been looking out over the city of Crystal Tokyo, and smiled at his fiancée. "A cloud, huh?"

Her blonde head nodded. "Uh huh. This bed just might have to come home with us."

He laughed at her as he flopped down on his stomach next to her. His heavier weight pressed deeply on the mattress, causing Serena to roll toward him so that she was on her side facing him.

He reached out and brushed her bangs back from her forehead. "So how was your walk in the gardens? Did you and Serenity jabber each other's ears off?"

She scrunched her nose up at him and pushed his hand away playfully. "No. We were hardly able to talk to one another at all with all the others babbling away the way they were. I think the two Minas were the worst though. They kept squealing every five seconds. My ears are still ringing."

"I can believe that," he replied with a chuckle. "So you got to meet the future outer scouts too?"

A big smile appeared on her face. "I sure did. Amara and Michelle haven't changed a bit. But wait until you get to meet Hotaru! She's become so refined and elegant. I can see why my brother eventually marries her. Idiot brat actually used his brain for once. And get this! They have a little boy who is three. I haven't seen him yet, but Serenity did tell me that he is the spitting image of his daddy. But enough about me. What did you guys do?"

He shrugged. "Not much really. We stopped in the kitchen for coffee. And then the future guys took us around and showed us some of how the security is set up here. It's quite impressive technology."

Serena lifted her head and propped it up on a hand. "Well, what did you expect when there are geniuses like Amy and Zoicite running around? I wouldn't expect Crystal Tokyo to have anything other than the best."

He arched a brow at her. "Believe it or not, Jed has a lot to do with it as well. The little bastard really does have a knack with electronics after all. And both of our future selves have been involved with it too. It's a curious mixture of both science and magic."

"Speaking of future selves," she drawled. "How are things going between you and Endymion? You haven't been tempted to punch him yet, have you?"

"Only at the beginning when he was flirting with you," he growled. Then he sighed. "No. I haven't felt like kicking his ass. I told you that I'd moved past that crap he pulled on us before. But like you and Serenity, I really haven't had a chance to talk to him much. It's kind of hard to do with a bunch of other people around yapping."

A cross frown turned down Serena's lips. "Yeah, I know. I was really hoping to have a few minutes to talk to Serenity. I know that there are a lot of things that she can't tell me without Trista going into cardiac arrest, but I'm curious about the person I become."

Darien shifted to his side so that he was facing her. "Well, that's only natural, especially since you didn't get to speak to Serenity at all the last time we were here. Even though Endymion and I clashed with each other about the nightmares he sent us, I still was able to have a couple of conversations with him when we were here before. Maybe you'll get the chance to chat with her before our time here is up." He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

Just then there was a soft knock at the door that had them both scrambling off the bed to answer it. They figured that it was probably one or more of their friends since they had all been given rooms in the guest wing of the palace. But when they opened the door they found a young woman in a maid's uniform standing there.

The brown haired woman stared at them in shock for a moment before she seemed to remember her manners and bobbed a curtsey. "I apologize for the interruption, your highnesses, but their majesties were wondering whether you were available to join them for tea before lunch is served."

"Umm…" Serena hummed, taken off guard by being addressed as highness. She shot a startled look at Darien, who just shrugged. Then she replied hesitantly, "Sure. I guess so." Then she glanced down at her simple peasant blouse and jeans. "Should I change first?"

The maid gave her a friendly smile. "There is no need. This is a private, informal tea. Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion will be the only ones in attendance."

"Okay," Serena answered with a grin as she looped her arm through Darien's. "I guess we're off to have tea with the king and queen, darling."

Darien couldn't help but chuckle at her response.

The maid giggled as well. "Follow me, please."

She led them from their room and through the halls, twisting and turning a few times until Serena was sure that she would never be able to find her way back to her room again. Finally, they stopped by a door that slid open to reveal an elevator.

"Just get in and press C," their escort informed them. "That will take you up to the conservatory level. After that take the left path to the rose garden. The king and queen will meet the two of you there."

"_The king and queen will meet the two of you there," _Serena couldn't help but snicker sarcastically once the elevator doors had closed behind them and they were on their way up. "Talk about invoking flashbacks! I feel like I'm in the Silver Millennium all over again with this whole palace, servants, and people being so proper thing. Oh well, at least I had some time to be normal this time around."

Darien barked a laugh. "Are you sure you were ever considered normal?"

Her blue eyes widened into a glare. "You're being a jerk again! And for your information, the first fourteen years of my life were about as normal as normal could get. The only things I had to worry about were school, keeping my room clean…"

"Laughing like a hyena over mangas and animes and trying to set a world record for how much food you could shove in your mouth," Darien interrupted her smoothly.

"Hmph!" she huffed, but kept her mouth closed as she turned her head away in a deliberate attempt to ignore him. But the silence only lasted for a few seconds before her foot started tapping impatiently and she grouched, "Just how long is this elevator ride going to take anyway?"

"I don't know. We're pretty high up now," he told her. "You should really check out this view."

She hadn't really paid attention before, but the back wall of the elevator was made of glass and offered them a stunning view of the surrounding city.

"Oh wow!" she breathed as she rushed to the glass. Since the sailor scouts' preferred method of traveling was by rooftop, she'd had the opportunity to see Tokyo from several different angles over the years. But never had she been given such a bird's eye view before. Not even from the top of the Starlight Tower.

Darien came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then he murmured in her ear, "Not bad, huh?"

She shook her head. "Not bad at all. I can't believe that we are responsible for this. I've always loved Tokyo because it is home, and I'm glad that our future selves have kept it as close to the original as possible, but it looks even better now. It's so clean and fresh."

The elevator car lurched a little as it coasted to a stop and there was a light _ping _sound as the doors slid open. Darien reached for Serena's hand and entwined his fingers with hers as they stepped out.

"Are we inside or outside?" Serena whispered as she looked around in awe. Flowers and shrubs bloomed everywhere around them, and there was even grass on the ground and some trees scattered about. But the sun shining through the crystal ceiling far above them let them know that they were still inside the palace.

"The maid said to take the left path," Darien said as he tugged gently on her hand and began leading her down the cobblestone path.

After walking for a minute, all of the colorful flowers and shrubs disappeared and were replaced by riotous red roses that seemed to bloom everywhere. The awe-struck couple looked at each other and smiled as they wound their way through the clusters of their favorite flowers.

Suddenly, the path widened and led into a large open area that was surrounded by the roses on three sides. A transparent wall of crystal that looked out over the city made up the fourth side. A table holding a few pots and pitchers, along with some cups and glasses, was set up in the center of the clearing. But what caught Serena and Darien's attention was the couple standing near the crystal wall. They fell still and silent, feeling like they were intruding.

Endymion stood behind Serenity with his arms around her waist, much like the way Darien had held Serena in the elevator just a few minutes before. The two monarchs had changed out of the casual clothes that they had been wearing earlier and into much more formal attire. They looked like a total power couple, Endymion in his dark suit, tie, and white shirt and Serenity in her long white dress, but at the same time they appeared to be completely normal.

Endymion pressed his lips briefly to his wife's neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. "What are you thinking, my love?"

Serenity sighed heavily. "That is a question that you really don't want to know the answer to. I have so many things running through my head right now that it would probably take me another whole millennium to list them all."

To her chagrin, her husband began chuckling, making her demand, "What is so funny? Are you laughing at me?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm not laughing at you. I just had this amusing vision in my mind of your meatballs popping off your head from the force of having so many thoughts running through your brain."

Serenity gasped, hands flying up to cover the twin buns on top of her head. Then she glared at him. "You are not seriously going to resurrect that old argument at a time like this, are you?"

He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "I was just trying to get your mind off of so many heavy issues for a moment. And it looks like I was successful too."

Serenity's mouth popped open and closed a few times, soundlessly. Finally she muttered, "You're still the world's biggest jerk, Darien Shields!" and stuck her nose up in the air, making the king laugh heartily.

"She's right, you know," Serena whispered to Darien. "It doesn't matter if it's the real you or the future you. You've both been huge jerks today."

"But you love me for it anyway," he teased back in a low voice.

"Ha!" Serena barked out loudly…very loudly. She slapped both of her hands over her mouth as the king and queen both turned to look in their direction.

"Way to go, Meatball Head," Darien muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"Shut up!" she hissed at him, and then she tried to stomp on his foot, which he easily avoided.

"You missed," he informed her smugly.

She jerked her chin stubbornly. "I'm not speaking to you!"

He chucked her under that same chin. "Aw, come on, Sere. You don't want to be that way. Besides, we're drawing an audience."

She closed her eyes for a second and blew out a heavy breath, but what she really felt like doing was screaming. How could she have forgotten that her and Darien's future selves were standing just a handful of yards away? They must think that she was a complete flake! She cracked open her eyes to find the two monarchs watching her with expressions of extreme amusement.

She smiled sheepishly at them and mumbled, "Sorry." But she couldn't stop the impulse that made her point a finger at Darien and snap, "It's all his fault!"

Serenity burst into giggles. "Of course it is! It's always his fault."

"Is not!" the two men exclaimed together.

Serenity scrunched her nose up at both of them as she strolled regally over and looped her arm companionably through her younger counterpart's. "Come and sit down, Serena. I know it's not long until lunch, but Lita did put us together a few treats to nibble on while we talk. I wanted to take this opportunity to speak to you without having a million other people around."

Serena glanced down at her clothes again, and then at the spectacular dress that the queen was wearing, and grumbled, "I knew I should have changed. I feel so underdressed."

"Hmm," Serenity murmured politely, and then her eyes widened as she caught on to what her past self had said. "Oh! You mean this." She picked at the white skirt with her fingertips. "Well, normally I wouldn't have dressed like this just to have a chat, but I have a bit of business to take care of after lunch. And as Luna always likes to remind me, nobody will respect a queen wearing jeans and a t-shirt."

Serena laughed as she sat in one of the chairs at the table. "That sounds like something she would say. So do you think that she, Artemis, and Orion have tracked down Nebula yet?"

"Who knows," Serenity replied with a shrug. "My guess is probably not. That crafty feline has a way of disappearing whenever she gets mad or upset, and she has been on pins and needles for days knowing that her former flame was going to be here soon. She's probably hiding in Elysian somewhere to avoid seeing him. But she can't hide forever. Now, would you like some cocoa?"

"Yes please," Serena responded politely, and then took the cup when Serenity held it out to her.

Serenity took a seat next to her, and then gestured to the two men who had been watching them silently with grins on their faces. "Well, come on over you two. We don't bite."

"That's debatable," Endymion said slyly as he slid into the chair next to his wife.

"You got that right," Darien snorted as he took a seat next to Serena.

Both blonde women went red in the face and wailed, "Darien!" at the same time. Then they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

The two dark haired men shared grins and shook their heads as they helped themselves to coffee.

Serena reached for one of what she recognized as being Lita's strawberry tarts and took a big bite out of it as she looked around the conservatory. After she swallowed, she said, "Wow! This place is amazing! I almost feel like I'm really outside. And the roses are absolutely gorgeous."

Serenity took a sip of her cocoa and then nodded her head toward her husband. "It's all his doing. I definitely don't have a green thumb."

Endymion snickered into his coffee cup. "Are you kidding? You could kill a fake plant."

"Amen," Darien seconded.

Serena rounded on her fiancé. "That's not true! I took care of your precious roses the entire time you were gone to America, didn't I? And they all survived."

"I believe that was thanks to Lita," Endymion chortled.

Now Serena's indignant blue eyes flashed to him. "Did I ask for your opinion?"

The king put on a fake pout. "Sweetheart, are you going to let your past self verbally abuse me like that?"

"You brought it on yourself, darling," the queen replied without a bit of remorse. "But as I was saying, my dear obnoxious husband made this place so that we could enjoy the flowers all year round."

Something white caught Serena's eye, and she looked to see that there was a white rose bush nestled in the midst of the red ones. A grin split her face. "I take it that is compliments of DJ."

A tender look crossed Serenity's face as she gazed at the snowy white flowers. "Yes. It was a birthday gift to me when he was seven. He had just learned how to control his power over plants, and he was so excited. I'll never forget, he came rushing in here telling me to watch what he could do, and then he pressed his hands to the ground and conjured that bush out of nowhere. He certainly inherited his daddy's knack for that."

Endymion leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head. "Just like Rini inherited her gift of being loud from a certain someone."

Darien leaned over to whisper in Serena's ear, "They pick on each other more than we do."

She nodded in agreement and whispered back, "I guess that just goes to show that we get worse with age."

Serenity only rolled her eyes at her husband. "Anyway, that bush is part of a matching set. DJ made me another one in the outside rose garden as well. I was going to show it to you earlier, but with all of the girls around it made it hard to do. I thought about us having tea out there since it's such a nice day, but I didn't want us to be overheard. Security around here is good, but we have had a member of the paparazzi manage to sneak by a few times. The media will find out soon enough that there are visitors from the past here, but I don't want them making wild speculations and causing a panic among the people. So far we've been able to keep things fairly calm, and I would like to keep it that way."

Darien nodded as he leaned back in a position that was nearly identical to the king's. "That's understandable. Have the people been made aware of the possible danger?"

Endymion sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We've let them know that a threat was made against the city for sometime this weekend, but we didn't go into details. Needless to say, a lot of the citizens suddenly decided to take off on vacation, but that's a good thing. The less people around, the better. When the time comes we are hoping to move as much of the population we can inside the palace grounds where we can provide some kind of protection."

Serena chewed on her bottom lip. "Is that really a safe thing to do? Mother and I tried something similar to that when Beryl attacked the moon, remember. And that didn't exactly work out so well for us."

Serenity arched a brow at her. "Would you rather have the people running the streets in a panic during a battle where the guardians, sentinels, and whatever else Discord decides to throw at us can just pick them off one by one?"

"Point taken," Serena grumbled.

The queen waved her hand. "That's enough talking about the upcoming battle for now. We'll get everyone together tonight and go over things then. I'm more interested in what has been going on in your time. I have my memories of the past, but it would be nice to hear your version of things. What did you think when you found out you had a son as well as a daughter."

"It was…umm…" Serena searched for the right word, "very enlightening."

Darien laughed. "Enlightening? You passed out right in the middle of the arcade."

"She did too," Endymion chuckled, pointing at his wife.

Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. "I was in shock! You can't say that you weren't surprised as well." She reached for a cookie and began chomping away on it.

Serena followed her example, asking between bites, "There's one thing I don't get though. How in the world did you manage to have two kids so close together in age? I mean, eleven months apart! That just seems kinda crazy to me."

Endymion snorted. "It's called a combination of stress, lack of sleep, and one too many glasses of wine."

Serenity's face burnt bright red in embarrassment. "Rini was a great baby, but she did have a little problem with colic from time to time. Between staying up nights with her and trying to balance being a new mother with work, things just kind of happened. I didn't mind though because I already knew that it was the way it was supposed to be."

Then she picked up a book from the table that neither Serena nor Darien had noticed until then. "There are a lot of things that I can't tell you, but Trista did help me go through my pictures and picked out some that she deemed safe to show you. I know it's only natural to be curious about the time between who you are now and who I am." She handed it to her younger self.

Serena opened the book and studied pictures on the first page, Darien looking over her shoulder. There was one that had been taken in front of the Tsukino's house. Ken and Ilene stood with their son and daughter between them. The younger two had each other held in a headlock.

Serenity tapped the photo with a fingernail. "That one was taken about a month after the planet was reawakened. I was so glad that the house survived with only minor damage. That was the day that mom and dad were moving back in."

Serena peered intently at the future version of her family. Her mom, dad, and Sammy all appeared to be pretty much the same as they did in her time. But the young Neo Queen Serenity was a bit of a shock. She was dressed down in a pair of cut off jeans and a pink tank top, but the single ponytail hanging down her back was almost long enough to brush the ground. The woman in the picture couldn't be more than maybe a year or so older than she was, and she never let her hair grow out past her hips anymore. So where did all the hair come from?

She had to ask. "How did your hair get so long so quickly?"

Serenity giggled. "I'm afraid that it's one of the banes of inheriting the title of moon queen. Do you remember what happened when you first found out that you were the moon princess and got the Silver Crystal?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah. My hair grew about three feet in one night. I thought I was going crazy. Thank god Mina showed up with a pair of scissors and took care of it for me. Luna said something about it happening because my past self had reawakened, and when the Silver Crystal recognized me as being Serenity it made my hair grow to match the length that I wore it in the past."

"That's one way of putting it," Serenity said in mild amusement. "To make a long story short, because I can't tell you the particulars about what leads up to the Earth freezing over or about the reawakening, in order to restore the Earth to life I had to officially accept the title of queen of the moon. As a result I ended up with the hair and this thing." She pointed to the golden crescent moon on her forehead.

"You mean it never goes away?" Serena asked, perplexed. "That's way weird! Mine only appears whenever I'm transformed or when I turn into the moon princess to use the Silver Crystal. It always disappears afterward."

Serenity nodded. "Yes. I know. But the moment I accepted the throne of the moon I transformed to this state and have stayed that way ever since. I tried cutting my hair a few times back in the beginning, but it always grows back within a day. I've just learned to deal with it."

"Oh boy! The joys I have to look forward to," Serena drawled sarcastically. Then her eyes flared wide in surprise. "Wait a minute! If you stay like this all the time, does that mean that you're still me? I mean, are you still me as I am right now? You didn't do something weird like revert back to being Lunarian again, did you?"

That pulled a laugh from the queen. "No. I'm still 100% earthling. But I just happen to have some, um…" she seemed to be searching for the right word.

"Enhancements?" Endymion spoke up with a snicker.

"Nice!" she shot back peevishly. "I was thinking more along the lines of additional attributes. The way you put it makes it sound like I've had plastic surgery or something. I find it amazing sometimes that you were ever a doctor, because there are times when you lack tact when trying to explain things to people."

Endymion hooked a foot around the leg of her chair and jerked it toward him, catching her off guard and causing her to almost pitch right into his lap. Then he reached over and tugged on one of her long hair streamers. "Hey! You used to say that you thought I was a great doctor. And as for plastic surgery, I can personally vouch that you are all natural."

Serena's eyes widened as she saw the future king's eyes flick down where they roamed hungrily over his wife's cleavage that was visible above the bodice of her white dress. Her cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire, and she slapped her hands to them as she shrieked mentally, _'Oh my god! He did not just check out my future self like that with me sitting right here!'_

'_Um, actually, he did,' _Darien's voice echoed in her head. _'I guess Rini and DJ's complaints that we act like horny teenagers has some truth to it after all. At least we know that we will still be sexually attracted to each other a thousand years from now.'_

Serena shot him a disbelieving look, and then slumped down in her chair like she was about to disappear under the table. _'Not funny, you hentai!' _she snarled at her fiancé through their bond.

Serenity didn't appear to be amused either, but her cheeks were flushed a deep pink as she put her hands on Endymion's chest and pushed herself away from him, hissing, "Behave yourself! We have company!"

Then she scooted her chair back to its original spot. "So where were we? Oh yes, we were talking about my transformation into this form. Don't worry about it for right now. It's kind of a complicated story and I'm sure I would botch it up if I tried to tell it. I'll have Amy explain it to you later. She knows all the little details."

Endymion smirked at his flustered wife for a moment before looking over at his past self and saying, "So, Darien, how has the hospital been treating you?"

The two men fell immediately into a conversation full of medical mumbo jumbo, leaving the women to have their own talk.

But something about what Serenity had said bothered Serena, and she leaned forward to whisper to the queen, "It's already started for me, hasn't it, my transformation? That's why I got my wings at sixteen, before I became queen, isn't it?"

Serenity looked at her steadily for a moment before she nodded and whispered back. "Yes. But the same thing happened to me as well. The transformation from regular Serena Tsukino into Neo Queen Serenity didn't happen overnight. It was a process that took years to complete. But please, let's wait until you can talk with Amy. She really can explain things better."

Serena returned her look for several long seconds before she finally acquiesced. "Okay. I'll wait." Then she turned her attention back to the photo album before her.

"Oh!" Serenity squealed as the page was turned. She pointed to another picture. "This was taken when I was pregnant with Rini. I looked like I'd stuck a basketball under my shirt. And this one is of DJ when he was about six months old. And this was Christmas morning when the kids were seven and eight…"

Serena sat back, listening to her future self gush about her little family as they looked over the photographs together, and she felt warm and fuzzy. This was what she had been craving from the moment she had first arrived here, a chance to connect with the queen she would one day become and get to know her a little better.

Across the table, the two dark haired men watched them indulgently as they conversed about random topics in the medical field. Darien was extremely curious about what advancements had been made in the healthcare industry in this century, but he knew better than to ask. He wouldn't get an answer anyway and he already knew too much about his own future.

But there was one person's future that he wasn't sure of, and it had him curious.

He leaned toward his older self and murmured where they couldn't be heard by the women. "I was just wondering about where the kids go from here once this battle is over. Rini seems pretty certain about the path that she wants to take. But DJ…he's afraid that his goals may interfere with what you and Serenity want for him."

Endymion nodded seriously. "That boy always was ambitious. But he has nothing to worry about. I've already taken care of the details for him. I'm just waiting for the right time to tell him."

Darien had to ask, "Harvard?"

Endymion just grinned. "I don't think he'll be disappointed."

* * *

"Step away from that stove, Barbie, or you're toast!" Jupiter snarled at the blonde woman, who had just casually strolled over to examine the steaming pots on top of the stainless steel, restaurant quality cooking range.

Mina jumped back like the scout of Jupiter had just hit her with a thunderbolt, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Seriously? A thousand years in the future and you still threaten me any time I go near a stove? I'm not that disaster prone."

Her new husband snorted derisively, but tried to cover it with a cough as his bride's eyes turned to pin him with a murderous glare. "Sorry, love," he managed to choke out. "But you have been known to have your share of accidents in the kitchen. Perhaps you should leave the cooking up to Lita and Nephrite, and, um…Lita and Nephrite."

The two matching brunette couples that were grouped around the center work island, busy peeling, chopping, and mixing, laughed at his hesitant assessment of the situation.

Venus sniffed disdainfully and looked up from the magazine she had been flipping through. "Honestly, Lita! You act like I have burned down an entire city or something. Serena's the one you have to worry about setting fires, not me."

Lita beat her older self to the punch by chuckling, "Says the person who burned a pan up in Home Ec class while trying to boil water because she was too busy primping with her compact mirror."

Mina jumped in hotly. "What? I had to powder my nose. Standing over that hot stove made me sweaty. And the goddess of love was not about to walk around with a shiny face!"

Her older counterpart tossed her golden hair over her shoulder and nodded firmly. "Exactly! I had a reputation to uphold."

Next to her, her husband sighed dramatically, "My wife, the narcissist."

"I am not!" the two blondes shrieked together.

"Shut the hell up, you ditz!" Mars and Raye snapped at the same time as they entered the kitchen, followed closely behind by the grinning duo of Jed and Jadeite.

"Well, well, look who finally decided to crawl out of the oven," Neph snickered snidely. "I thought we were going to have to call the fire department to come in after you since you were in the fire chamber for so long."

The diabolical grin on Jed's face grew wider. "You just want to know what we were up to in there. Ow!"

Mars pulled back the hand that she had just used to smack her husband in the back of the head, hissing, "You pervert!"

Raye eyed Jadeite scornfully. "You better just keep your damn mouth shut if you know what's good for you!"

He snapped his mouth closed and held up his hands in a placating gesture, but he was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"So, Raye, did the fire chamber live up to your expectations?" Lita asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Raye nodded. "It's pretty awesome. Grandpa blessed it and brought a torch from the Great Fire to light the fire here. So it's every bit as dependable as the fire at the shrine. The room even looks the same as the one at the temple. You can't even tell that you are inside the palace once you go in."

"You can thank Amy for that," Mars replied. "She's the one who actually came up with the design for it."

"Did someone say my name?" Mercury laughed lightly as she, Amy, Zoi, and Zoicite came through the door.

Raye snickered a bit. "We were just extolling your genius, as usual. I was surprised to find a replica of my fire chamber inside this massive hunk of crystal."

Mercury flushed a little from the praise. "Oh! But it wasn't all me. I just came up with the idea. Nephrite was the one to draw up the blueprints. He's the architect around here."

Neph shrugged, but didn't look up from his slicing and dicing as he muttered, "It wasn't that hard to do once I figured out how to work around the structure of the palace."

Zoicite nodded. "I can see where that could be a bit intimidating. But I have to say that I like the fact that the floors and walls in the infirmary are composed of crystal. It has to make keeping the area sanitary very easy to do."

"It does," Zoi agreed. "But in all honesty, the infirmary doesn't get used a whole lot. But it does come in handy if there is an accident of if someone gets sick."

Kunzite asked curiously, "Do you get to practice medicine at all anymore?"

Mercury giggled. "Yes we do. Just because we are the protectors of the city and the royal family doesn't mean that we have given up our lives. Serena and Darien insisted that we keep our jobs after they took the throne since we enjoyed them so much. Zoi and I share an office at the hospital with my mom where we see patients a few days a week. We take turns swapping out since we also teach the kids."

Venus tossed her magazine to the side. "Thank goodness I still have the boutique and salon. I don't actually work unless we're short-handed, but I still go in to work on my designs in my workroom. It's nice to live in the palace, but I like to get away and feel normal for a while too."

"The real estate business in this city is booming. So we've kept the company going," Kunz announced as he took a sip of coffee. "Most of the major international companies have opened locations here, and we've been lucky enough to land quite a few of those contracts."

Jed snorted. "Are you kidding? Sometimes I feel like we own half the damn city."

Mina tapped her chin in thought before addressing her future self. "So does that mean that the Crown Multiplex is still around?"

Venus waved a hand. "Oh yeah! It's still there. Some of the shops have changed, but it's still a busy spot."

Lita's knife paused its chopping. "So my restaurant is still open?"

Jupiter grinned proudly. "It sure is. I'm even thinking about possibly opening another location to handle the overflow because we have to turn away so many reservations. I've just been waiting on Skye to finish with school because she wants to help do it."

Neph looked up with a frown. "Where did she take off to, anyway? I thought she was going to help us with lunch."

"Probably with Rini and the others," Jupiter answered breezily. "Knowing that lot they're all holed up somewhere, plotting and planning their little hearts out."

"Um," Jadeite began hesitantly. "I'm not trying to be a mood crasher or anything, but isn't that what we should be doing too?"

His future self patted him firmly on the back. "We will, but later. We can't do our best thinking on an empty stomach anyway. Besides, you heard what Pluto said earlier, nothing is going to happen until tomorrow. We've got all day and night to figure things out."

Nephrite snorted. "That's assuming that nothing goes wrong. But with the way our luck usually goes, something always does. It would be just like us to be caught with our pants down if that bastard decides to hit us in the middle of the night. Trista even admitted that she hadn't been able to pinpoint an exact start time for the fight to begin."

"Please do us all a favor and keep your pants on. I would like to keep my eyesight, thank you very much," Kunz drawled sarcastically. Then he motioned for everyone to be quiet as he stood up and swiftly crossed the room on silent feet. When he reached a closed door, which led to a back hallway, he wrenched it open immediately.

The door flew open with a heavy bang due to the weight that had been pressing against it from the other side, and four bodies fell into the room. The next several seconds were filled with shrieks, squeals, and oomphs before the two larger bodies managed to scramble off of the smaller two that had become trapped beneath them on the floor.

The tall, platinum haired man crossed his arms across his chest as he coolly surveyed his prey. "Did you little eavesdroppers overhear anything interesting?"

Kyle looked up at his father's intimidating features and gulped. He was sooo getting grounded for this. He just knew it. After a moment he turned and punched Nick solidly in the arm. "You idiot! I told you that we'd get busted if we stopped outside the door instead of just coming in."

Nick yelped, and then punched him back. "Don't take it out on me, you big dummy! I didn't hold a gun to your head. You could have pushed that door open any time you wanted to."

Ryssa, still sprawled out on the floor, displayed an impressive set of vocal chords as she shrieked, "Whoever's on my hair better get off of it right now before I start barbequing! I feel like I'm being scalped!"

Little Corey sat up with a pout on his cherubic face. "I thought you guys said that we were going to get food. My tummy's still grumbly."

Jed sighed heavily as he went over and picked his daughter up off the floor. As he set her on her feet he said firmly, "Didn't we already have this discussion about you spying on people?"

Ryssa tossed her head defiantly, violet eyes flashing. "We weren't spying. We were just coming to see if lunch was ready yet. But when we heard you guys talking we thought that we better make sure that you weren't talking about something important before we came in and interrupted."

"You guys are hungry again already?" Jupiter asked in surprise. "I fed all of you a huge breakfast just a few hours ago."

"It's more like we're bored to tears," Nick muttered darkly as he walked over to the kitchen table and threw himself down in a chair.

Kyle followed suit. "Yeah! I thought things would get interesting now that the others came back home. But when I asked Jay if he wanted to come play one of the new games I got he said maybe later and took off. Now he and Emma and everybody else are holed up in Rini's room and they said that little kids aren't allowed."

Ryssa flounced over, black ponytail swishing angrily, to sit next to Nick. "I wanted to show the other girls how I could turn into a sailor scout just like them now, but they brushed me off and said that they would see it later because they had something _important _to talk about."

Corey, still sitting on the floor, began to sniffle. "Hannah said that she couldn't play cars with me right now."

Zoi walked over and scooped his son up in his arms. "Hey, buddy, don't get so upset." Then he turned to look at the other three. "We warned you that when the older kids got back that they were going to be busy for a while. They've been training a long time for this mission and they want to make certain that they have everything ready. But I'm sure that they'll make some time to visit with you guys later."

"Sure they will," Jupiter replied as she walked over to the table with a plate in her hands. "I know that they missed you guys as much as you missed them. Now, lunch is still about an hour away, so why don't you have a small snack to hold you over until then. I won't have anyone going hungry in my kitchen." She set the plate down on the table.

"Chocolate chips cookies!" the four kids squealed in delight. Corey wriggled his way out of his father's arms and ran to join his friends as they began devouring their sweet treat.

"You know, you probably shouldn't have given them cookies so close to lunch," Mercury murmured to Jupiter in slight disapproval.

Jupiter rolled her eyes at her friend. "Oh hush, Amy, and go pour the poor kids some milk. They are feeling left out and alone. They need something to brighten their day."

Raye shook her head in amazement. "This is still so way creepy. I never used to picture myself as a mother."

Mars laughed evilly next to her. "I know what you mean. But if you noticed, I let Jed take care of this. I can handle Jayden just fine, but there is something about Ryssa that just makes me want to pinch her head off sometimes."

"It's probably because you two are so much alike," Jadeite observed as he watched the little girl who would one day become his daughter as she leaned across Nick to smack Kyle in the arm as she scowled at him. "Yep! She definitely has a temper."

"You got that right," Jed chuckled as he rejoined them, throwing his arm around Mars's shoulders. "She's a regular spitfire, just like her momma."

Raye snorted. "And Jay is a little pervert, just like his dad."

Corey's head snapped up in interest. "Momma, what's a pervert?"

Mercury sighed and put her fingers to her temples. "Something that you don't need to know about for a long time."

"I know what it means," Kyle said smugly. "A pervert is someone who…"

"Kyle!" Venus shrieked as she flew across the room and clapped a hand over her son's mouth. "You better stop while you're ahead, mister, unless you want to be grounded from your video games for a month!"

Kunz arched a brow at his wife. "Just what have you been telling him, love?"

She stomped her foot angrily. "I haven't told him anything!" Then she jerked back quickly. "Ah! Did you seriously just try to bite me, Kyle?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I couldn't eat my cookie with your hand over my mouth, mom."

"I don't think our lives will ever be boring, do you?" Kunzite asked his new wife in a humorous tone.

Mina smiled impishly back at him. "Nope! Just remind me to not go off of my birth control for a while longer. I don't think I'm quite ready for motherhood just yet."

He nodded seriously before leaning down to whisper wickedly in her ear, "In the meantime, we can have fun practicing the process of baby-making."

Mina was caught so off guard by his comment that she let out a startled, "Eep!" as a dark red blush rushed to her face.

As all eyes swung to her, Kyle staged whispered to Nick, "And my parents wonder how I know what a pervert is. Their past selves act just like they do."

"Tell me about it!" Nick groaned.

"And just what is that supposed to mean, Nick?" Jupiter demanded.

His chestnut head swung back and forth quickly. "Nothing, mom! I didn't mean anything. By the way, great cookies."

"Smooth talking little…" Jupiter grumbled under her breath, causing Neph to choke on a laugh.

Lita looked at Nephrite and grinned. "Should we start stockpiling the Xanax now, dear?"

He nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah! It probably would hurt to take out stock in a liquor company as well. I've got a feeling that we're gonna need it."

Neph huffed a laugh at them. "I would also suggest earplugs. Things can get pretty loud around here sometimes."

Mercury sighed and glanced at her companions. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a calming cup of tea."

"That would be wonderful," Amy agreed gratefully.

Zoicite nodded. "The noise level in here is quite nerve-wracking."

Zoi chuckled darkly. "This is nothing. Just wait until everybody gets together. That's when the real fun starts."

* * *

"Are you sure that nobody can recognize me?" Jess muttered out of the side of her mouth. "I don't want to freak people out if they see two of us walking down the street."

"I'm positive," her older self murmured back. "Just remember to keep your hair under the hat and those sunglasses on. Nobody will notice a thing unless they want to be complete creeps and ogle us."

"I'll kick their ass if they do!" two identical voices growled at the same time from behind them.

The esteemed artist and mother of two turned to look at her husband over her shoulder. "Aw, baby! You're so cute when you go all into protective mode like that." Then she burst into giggles.

"What is so funny?" Drew asked in an offended tone.

"You are!" she snorted between laughs. "I just can't get over seeing the two of you walking side by side together. It makes my eyes want to cross."

"They'd probably stick that way," Andrew grumbled as he tugged the brim of his borrowed ball cap down lower over his face.

"Ooo, hiss…" Shadow hissed like a cat and curled her fingers like claws toward him. "Somebody is Mr. Grumpy-pants today. What's wrong? You act like somebody kept you from getting your full eight hours last night." Then her look turned sly and she waggled her eyebrows toward her younger counterpart. "Or did she?"

"Watch it, sister! You're barking up the wrong tree!" Jess snapped in angry English. "And quit trying to flirt with my man! I don't care if you are me. I'm the only one allowed to do that. How would you like it if I started coming on to your hubby?"

Shadow waved a hand. "Go ahead and try. I already know whose little finger he's wrapped around."

"Gotta love a possessive woman, huh?" Drew quipped with a grin as he elbowed Andrew in the ribs. Both men chuckled humorously."

Jess rolled her eyes behind the sunglasses that she was wearing. "Weirdoes! Anyway, how far do we have to go?"

"Not far. Just down to the end of the block. I told you our house was practically next door to the palace," her future self replied. "That's why I said that you didn't need heavy disguises to take a five minute walk."

"And you're sure that Serena and Pluto won't have our heads for this?" Jess murmured. "I just don't want some seemingly innocent event messing up time."

"It'll be fine," the older woman reassured her. "My future self took me to visit the house when I was in your shoes, so this is perfectly okay. Granted, it was later in the day when I went. But since you showed up earlier I figured we'd go ahead and do this. You are curious about where you live in this time, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted sheepishly. "Of course I'm just thrilled knowing that I don't live in the palace with all of the others. I know it's a huge place and all, but I kinda like my space and privacy."

"Preaching to the choir here," her future self giggled. "Although I know that Serena would be ecstatic if I ever decided I wanted to move into that crystal monstrosity. You know how she likes to keep everyone close to her. But she's got Darien, her kids, and the whole circus of the inner scouts and their families with her, so she's fine. Besides, the rest of us are there so much that sometimes it feels like we practically live there."

Drew tugged on his wife's braid. "Is that your way of saying that you don't regret giving up your claim to royalty to live like a commoner?"

"What claim to royalty?" Jess demanded. "I don't have any claim to royalty in this life. I'm the daughter of a computer software designer and a high school history teacher, not a king and queen."

"Ah…" the woman next to her mused as she tapped a finger against her chin. "That is true enough. But in your past life you were the daughter of the prince and princess whose reincarnations have now become king and queen. All of this became public knowledge after Crystal Tokyo was formed. Serena and Darien both officially claimed their ancient birthrights in order to take the throne. I could have as well, making me next in line to become queen instead of Rini, but I chose not to."

Jess shuddered. "I would hope so. Ugh! Just the thought of being a royal is enough to make me want to hurl. So what exactly is your status, or can you tell me that? Are you considered just a friend of the family?"

Shadow giggled. "I guess you could say that I'm a freelance sailor scout. I'm not an official member of the inner or the outer scouts, so I don't fall under Venus or Uranus's jurisdiction. Mostly I've been helping Nebula over the years with the kids' training and stuff. But officially I'm a lady of the court like the other scouts."

Jess glanced over her shoulder at Drew. "So does that make you Lord Andrew?"

He grinned widely. "Officially speaking it does. But for the most part I'm the king's right hand man. Darien has always handled pressure well, but even he gets overwhelmed by the stress at times. There are days I think that he wouldn't be able to find his ass if I weren't there to plant my foot in it."

Andrew snickered. "I can believe that. He denies it to this day, but that boy would have never made it through high school calculus if it hadn't been for me."

"He still denies it. But yet he's always more than grateful to let me take care of anything involving numbers," Drew said smugly.

Just then, his wife squealed. "Oh! Here we are! Home sweet home!"

Jess looked up at the house before them and felt her heart give a joyful leap. It was everything she could have imagined, only more…much, much more. The house was large, three stories tall, and even had a waist high, black wrought iron fence surrounding the yard. Two tall trees stood guard in front of the pale yellow house; their branches offering shade to several neatly tended flowerbeds in the yard. The entire scene pulsed with an aura of love and contentment, letting her know that this wasn't just a house, it was a home.

"Oh wow!" she gushed as she pushed open the gate and fairly skipped up the path to the wide front porch. "This place is amazing! There's even a porch swing! I always said that if I had a house that I wanted it to have a porch swing like the one I had growing up. And look at all the beautiful flowers! Not a lily in sight!" She breathed in deeply, inhaling the perfume in the air.

"And this is just the front," her future counterpart laughed as she joined her. "Just wait until you see the inside and the back yard." She unlocked the front door and opened it.

Jess glanced over her shoulder and saw that Andrew was still standing at the gate next to Drew, gaping at the house. She called to him, "Come on, baby! What are you waiting for?"

"I'll be there in a minute," he replied in what he hoped was a casual sounding voice. He waited until she had disappeared inside before rounding on his future self. "How…"

Drew held up his hands. "I know. It was a shock to me too when I was in your place."

"I just went and looked at this house two days ago," Andrew mumbled in disbelief. "It recently went on the market and I decided to check it out. It needs some work, but Jess always said that she would love to fix up an old house the way she wanted it. I was thinking of buying it for her as a wedding gift."

Drew laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "And now you know that you do. Just don't drag your feet too long about it. The house in your time might be a bit worn down, but it's in a great location. Somebody will snatch it up quickly if you don't. Now, let's go see what kind of trouble our lovely ladies are getting into."

The two men walked up the path together, but they broke into sprints when screams and yells erupted from inside the house. They flew through the front door…and right into the middle of chaos.

To the left of the foyer was a large comfortable living room, furnished with casual furniture that was made for lounging in front of the big flat screen TV in the entertainment center. And that was where the noise was coming from.

Both women were standing in the doorway, seemingly frozen in surprise as they watched something happening inside the room. Their eyes were wide and their mouths hung open as they stared.

"What's going on?" Drew demanded sternly.

His wife shot a look at him and looked like she was about to answer when a crash had her head whipping back around. "Hey!" she snapped angrily. "You furballs almost broke my lamp! If you break anything of mine I will make sure you pay dearly for it! I'll take it out of your hide!"

The two men shuffled around behind the women in their lives until they could also get a clear view inside the room. Then their jaws dropped as well.

There had definitely been a scuffle in that room. In addition to the lamp now lying on the floor, cushions from the couch had been knocked down also and a few picture frames had fallen over. Knick-knacks were scattered across tabletops and the curtains hung drunkenly from one of the windows like someone had attempted to pull them down.

But the craziest thing of all was the Mexican standoff that was taking place in the middle of the room between the four growling, bushy tailed felines. They stood in a large circle as they eyed one another warily.

Well, at least Luna and Artemis appeared wary. Orion, on the hand, seemed to be highly agitated. And Nebula? Well there was only one word to describe her. She was pissed!

"Bula," Luna spoke calmly. "Why don't we sit down and talk about this rationally?"

Amber sparks blazed in the rust colored cat's eyes. "There is nothing to talk about, _dear sister_! You knew my feelings on this subject and you blatantly disregarded them. I can't believe that you actually brought _him _here to this house!"

"He just wanted to see you," Artemis mumbled.

"You stay out of this!" Nebula snapped at him.

Orion hissed darkly. "Don't take your temper out on my brother. He was just trying to help me by assisting me in tracking you down. But I'm the one that you are angry at. So if you're going to blow your stack at somebody, make it me."

"Gladly!" she growled as she hunkered down into a crouched position and got ready to pounce.

"All right! That's enough!" the lady of the house announced sternly as she flung a hand out in front of her. A semi-transparent blue wall, crackling with silver and gold, sprang up between the two spitting cats. "Nebula, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to Elysian."

Nebula's hackles slowly lowered as she straightened out of her crouch and plopped down on her butt to look up at her mistress. "I was going to, but a certain meddling dream priestess, who shall remain unnamed, has blocked my ability to enter Elysian at will. She seems to think that I would be better off here where I can be harassed by idiots!"

"Who are you calling an idiot, you overbearing harpy?" Orion snarled.

"Excuse me? Are you addressing me?" Nebula simpered in her most regal tone. "I was companion and advisor to Serenity, Queen of the Moon and High Queen of the Silver Alliance. I don't have to lower myself by speaking to you."

Orion visibly bristled. "Listen to me, your high and mighty-ness! My family is just as respectable as yours! My mother served the queen of Venus! And brother served the crown princess of that beautiful planet! And he serves her reincarnation to this day. So don't go around giving yourself airs, my dear."

Artemis slapped a paw to his eyes, grumbling, "Oh, for Aphrodite's sake!"

Luna appeared similarly flabbergasted. "Are you two for real? Are you seriously going to pull millennia old social standings into this?"

"Well why shouldn't I?" Nebula screeched. "We're not reincarnations here! We are the same souls in the same bodies that we were in during the Silver Millennium. He is still the same no good wandering vagabond he was back then. So why shouldn't I guard myself against him?"

"For the love of god," the future Jess muttered as she let the shield she had erected disappear. "You two are absolutely impossible! If you are so determined to fight this out, then fine! But please find some other place to do it than in my house."

"Hmph!" Nebula sniffed disdainfully, but she seemed to have brought her temper under control. "I have better things to be doing with my time anyway. I'm assuming by _his _presence here and the fact that there are two of you standing there that the group from the past has arrived."

"Gee, nice to see you too, Bula," Jess grumbled as the orange feline waved a careless paw in her direction. "I'm so glad the passing years have helped sweeten that sour attitude of yours."

"You haven't changed at all, so why should I?" Nebula fired right back. "Anyway, I'm heading to the palace now." Then she darted between their feet and out of the still open front door.

"She's not giving me the slip that easily!" Orion yowled as he took off after her.

"I give up!" Artemis groaned. "Let those two idiots work things out on their own. I've had enough!"

"I agree," Luna told him in a comforting tone. "Let's go home. Maybe Lita will be nice enough to make us some warm milk to calm our nerves."

The four humans remained silent until Drew had closed the door after the two cats had left, and then the laughter started.

Jess leaned against Andrew's shoulder, wiping tears from her eyes as she gasped, "Omigosh! That was hysterical! It was better than any soap opera I've ever seen."

Her future self was in a similar state as she leaned against Drew. "I know. I guess that was today's episode of _As the Kitty Turns_. I just hope they didn't break anything. I really will have to hurt them if they did."

The foursome wandered into the living room, Jess and Andrew hanging back a bit as the other two began straightening up and putting things back in their places.

But Jess did wander over to one of the end tables where she picked up a picture frame that had fallen over. She sucked in a startled breath when she saw the photo inside. "Oh!"

Drew glanced over, saw what she was looking at, and grinned. "Yeah, that was taken at the kids' twelfth birthday party. It's one of my favorites. It's also one of the few pictures that Serena took that day where she didn't stick her finger in the frame and ruin it."

"Let me see," Andrew said, looking over Jess's shoulder curiously.

In the center stood his parents, Andrew Sr. and Kathleen. He and Jess stood to their right with the gangly preteen Alex and Katie in front of them. And to their left were Lizzy and Chad, with two little boys who appeared to be about five and seven in front of them.

"You mean Chad actually has the guts to marry my sister? Is he crazy?" Andrew exclaimed.

Drew laughed. "I know. I thought he must be a glutton for punishment when he asked her. But believe it or not, they get along with each other really well and seem to be happy. Chad's actually had a huge calming effect on Liz. She still has her moments, but she's not the raging psychopath that she used to be. She's a great mother and loves those boys of hers to death. She's also done a great job of running the arcade."

Andrew actually choked at that statement. "She's running the arcade?"

Drew shrugged. "It was a kind of wedding gift, but I still retain partial ownership. Working for Darien is a full time occupation, so I didn't have the time to deal with the day-to-day running of it. I still have my share of the multiplex as well since the generals and I split up the duties of running it. So I haven't given up my business ventures completely."

"Speaking of business ventures," his wife broke in smoothly as she walked over and threaded her arm through that of her younger self. "Let me give you a quick tour of the rest of the house, and then I'll show you my studio."

She pulled her doppelganger back into the foyer. "So over here is what is technically supposed to be the parlor, but we call it the _piano room _because Katie's piano is in there." Her eyes turned misty for a moment as she looked into the room that was dominated by a gleaming black piano. "It hasn't made music in so long, not since that night. But now she's playing again, so hopefully it will soon."

Jess squeezed her arm in reassurance. "It will. Katie has really thrown herself into her musical studies. She plays everyday at school and she's constantly scribbling away in that notebook of hers. There's no telling what kind of ideas she's come up with."

Her future self glanced over her shoulder to make sure the men were out of hearing range before whispering conspiratorially, "That's because she's in love. DJ has always been the one who could stir her emotions and creativity up the most."

Jess nodded. "I know. And they make such a cute couple. It's hard to believe that they used to not get along."

The older woman stifled a laugh with her hand. "Oh, the stories I could tell you! Those two used to be worse than cats and dogs. Serena and Darien say that the rivalry between those kids was ten times worse than theirs ever was."

"And what are you two over here whispering about?" Drew suddenly drawled from behind them.

Jess jumped like she had been poked with a pin. "Uh, nothing! We were just talking about what a talented little musician Katie is. So what's down this way?"

Shadow steered her away from the hall that led to the back of the house, jabbering away. "We'll come back to that. All that's back there is a bathroom, the formal dining room, and the kitchen. It's mostly Drew's world there. Let's go upstairs. The bedrooms are on the second floor and the studio takes up the entire third floor."

"The whole floor?" Jess squealed as they climbed the stairs.

Drew sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before turning to his past self. "So, can I buy you a beer before lunch?"

Andrew looked at him in relief. "That would be great."

"I figured we could let the women do their squealing in private," Drew told him as he led him toward the back of the house. "Besides, I know that at least you will be able to appreciate my kitchen. Katie's the only one besides me that actually spends any time cooking in there. Well, except when mom and dad are around. Jess and Alex aren't exactly cooking savvy."

"So I've noticed," Andrew chuckled. "Not to sound nosy or anything, but where is the rest of the family? I figured that they would be staying up at the palace with everyone else."

Drew snorted. "I tried to get them to, I even tried to get them all to leave town, but they're all too stubborn. Mom and dad didn't want to leave the house. But they are coming up to the palace in the morning with Lizzy, Chad, the dynamic duo, and Raye's grandfather. I threatened to kidnap them if they didn't so that they wouldn't get hurt during the fight."

His words brought Andrew up short, and he stopped in the middle of the hall. "How bad was it?" he asked quietly. "When you were in my shoes, how bad was this battle? I assume Discord was defeated and that everyone survived, or none of you would be here now. But it must have been a heavy blow to the city if you're worried about the rest of the family being outside the palace during the fight."

"Damn!" Drew muttered under his breath before pushing open a swinging door and motioning for his younger self to follow.

Andrew followed, but he barely spared the opulent kitchen a second glance. He was fully focused on the man that he would one day become. He waited patiently until Drew had pulled a couple of cold longnecks from the refrigerator and they had both taken a seat on stools at the center island.

"Listen," Drew began hesitantly. "We're really not supposed to say anything about what happened when we were the visitors here. The only reason why I am is because I asked that same question in my past and my future self was honest with me. But what you have to understand is that time doesn't always play out the same way. It may all turn out with similar overall results, but sometimes the things leading up to a big event happen differently. I've already seen bits and pieces of this happening. There are a few things that have happened in your life in the past few years that never happened when I was living in your time. I've gotten flashes of these events as time restructures itself."

"Such as?" Andrew asked curiously as his nosy Furuhata gene kicked in.

Drew shrugged. "Some of them are very minor, like you ordering a chocolate ice cream when I distinctly remember ordering vanilla at the time. Others are infinitely more important, like you and Jess getting into that tussle with Discord on the bridge over Tokyo Bay that night and her almost dying. That never happened to us. Yes, he launched a major strike against us that night, but he never put in an appearance, and he sure as hell never resurrected Metallia or Beryl."

"I see," Andrew mused slowly, mulling over what he had just been told.

Drew tipped back his bottle, and then chuckled. "I've got to give you credit though. You've come close to losing Jess more times than I ever did, but you haven't let it beat you down. If anything, I'd say that you are much stronger than I was at your age." Then he sighed. "I guess that's the one thing that I can thank Rini for when she made that mistake a couple of years ago."

Andrew perked up. "What mistake?"

Drew carefully examined the bottle between his fingers. "It's not something that I really like to talk about, but what the hell. You're me, and you lived through the other half of that hell on Earth, so I might as well say it."

"Say what?" Andrew demanded, half coming out of his seat.

"Chill out a little. It's nothing for you to get your boxers twisted in a knot over," Drew told him, motioning for him to sit back down. "It's just a bit of a touchy subject for me, so bear with me here for a moment."

He waited until Andrew had taken his seat again before he finally sighed and said, "It all goes back to the day when Jess realized who she was, or had been. Anyway, everything that day went the same for you as it had for me…for a while. We went to the botanic gardens with the others. Talon showed up and pulled his shit. Then Jess freaked out, ran off, and I went back to the arcade with everybody to wait for her. This is where things get screwy. In my time, Rini didn't go looking for Jess. Everybody finally left and I went out on my own to try and find her. I couldn't though, and I came crawling home empty handed sometime in the early morning hours."

Andrew was completely enthralled now; beer paused halfway to his mouth. "So what happened? Did she come back on her own later?"

"You could say that," Drew replied. Then he gave him a sheepish grin. "Like I said before, you're stronger than I was. I got home and found her curled up on my couch, asleep. I was so relieved that she was okay that I swept her up before she was even awake enough to realize that I was there. One thing led to another and…well…let's just say that I didn't go to bed alone that night."

"Oh," Andrew muttered, blushing faintly as he looked down at the countertop. Then his eyes snapped back up. "Wait a minute! Then that means…"

"Exactly!" Drew told him. "That means that Jess and I never had that fight about how serious our relationship should be. We didn't break up for a day and she wasn't in the park that night when Bastian went sniffing around for her. She didn't die and get brought back by Serena and Darien, and she didn't spend eight days in a coma. But even so, the effects of those events were felt here. She disappeared from my arms while I held her. A couple of days later Alex and Katie both vanished in front of me as well. Thank goodness things worked out in the end and they came back to me. But those were the worst couple of weeks of my life."

"So what does that have to do with the upcoming fight?" Andrew asked in a tight voice.

Drew leaned forward to give him an intent look. "Everything. As I was saying before, time doesn't always repeat exactly the same. When I was sitting in your place, my future self told me that when he had lived the battle as a younger man it was devastating. Nobody in our immediate circle died, but a nice sized portion of the city was destroyed and there were civilian casualties. Discord was defeated, but it almost killed everybody by the time it was over."

Andrew picked at the label on his bottle. "And did that change during your battle?"

Drew nodded. "To an extent. There was still some damage to the city, but the death toll was fewer. Both the Jess from the present and the past, along with Serenity, Serena, and the inner scouts from both times nearly depleted themselves with trying to shield as much as they could and there were serious injuries among the others. Discord was still beaten, but it took the kids several days to recover the energy it cost them. I asked Pluto once why things were different, scared that the timeline had been compromised. But she told me that these types of fluctuations are normal, and as long as the overall outcome remains the same that the main timeline remains intact. It's all Greek to me though. I never have been able to figure out her riddle way of speaking."

"I hear ya," Andrew agreed. "So do you think that this is some kind of an evolutionary thing, and that maybe things can get even better this time around?"

"Who knows," Drew shrugged. "I like to think so though. The past that you've experienced and the one that I lived have been different, good in some ways and bad in others. You've definitely seen more battle than I had when I came here, which has sharpened your abilities. All of you from the past seem to be on top of your game, so I hope it will help. I was a little bit concerned when I found out that my Jess was sending dreams to your Jess, but it seems to have helped her. Your Jess may still be stubborn and hot headed, and that will never change by the way, but she has a level of controlled power about her that my Jess didn't reach until we woke up in this century."

Andrew toasted him with his beer bottle. "Well, here's hoping that counts for something."

"I'm with you on that one," Drew returned the gesture. "Now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, what do you think of this kitchen?"

* * *

"Momma, pretty bird!" the sandy haired, blue eyed, three year old boy cried as he pointed toward the fountain a short distance away.

Saturn looked up and followed the direction of her son's pointing finger until she spotted the vibrant red bird that was perched on the rim of the fountain. "I see it, sweetie. It's a very pretty bird. Now if you stay still and quiet so you don't scare it, it may stay around for a few minutes so you can watch it."

Kenny nodded seriously before he sat down cross-legged on the grass so that he could watch the bird intently.

Michelle laughed quietly under her breath. "He's such a sweet, well behaved little boy, Hotaru. You must be very proud."

Amara nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he reminds me a lot of you when you were little. You were always the serious type too."

"Ha!" Saturn barked out unexpectedly. "Don't let that angelic attitude of his fool you. He's on his best behavior right now because I told him that he would have to go to bed without dessert for three days if he wasn't a little gentleman. And believe me, he's half Tsukino, so threatening to take sweets away from him is almost like a death sentence to him."

Uranus snickered snidely. "She's right. Kenny may look innocent, but he has a devilish side to him as well. You can't turn your back on him for a moment without him getting into something."

"He's just a curious little boy," Neptune tried to take up for him.

Uranus arched a brow at her. "That's not what you were saying that day that he got into your paints and mixed them all up. You called him demon spawn."

Neptune flushed lightly. "I admit that I was upset for a while. But when he looked up at me with those teary blue eyes and told me that he had been trying to paint me a pretty picture I just melted."

Saturn snorted. "And you two wonder why I always complain that he's spoiled. Between you guys, Mama Ilene, and Poppa Ken he's absolutely rotten. And Serena is just as bad. I caught her sneaking him a second piece of cake last night at dinner."

The five women burst into laughter, unaware of the pair of amethyst eyes that were watching them through the leaves of a nearby bush.

Hotaru watched the group in fascination, keeping the closest eye on her future self and the little boy who was her son. They both mystified her immensely.

She was just an eighteen-year-old college freshman who enjoyed spending evenings with her boyfriend when she wasn't busy with her schoolwork or her duties as Sailor Saturn. To be honest, she had never given much thought to the future and who she would become, so finding out that she was destined to become a wife and a mother had completely thrown her for a loop.

She'd always considered herself to be the shy, quiet type. And who could blame her after the unusual lives that she had lived? In all reality she shouldn't even be there. But thanks to the efforts of her princess, she was. And it appeared that she had a full life ahead of her.

Her future self was a complete mystery to her though. She was definitely older, but thanks to the power of the Silver Crystal she didn't appear to be older than maybe twenty-four. She was a tiny bit taller, but she seemed to carry herself with a grace and confidence that Hotaru had never felt for herself.

And every time she looked at little Kenny she felt a surge of something warm deep inside of her. He was just too adorable! He looked exactly like the pictures of Sammy when he was little that sat above the mantle in the Tsukino home, except for a little something in the shape of his eyes and mouth. She swore she could see a bit of herself there.

A hand suddenly touched her shoulder and a rich tenor voice asked, "Hotaru, are you okay?"

She spun around, eyes wide as one hand flew to her chest in surprise. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment before she was finally able to squeak, "Sammy!"

The sandy haired man in front of her gave her a gentle smile before saying softly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"No. No. It's fine," she reassured him as her heart started calming. "I was just surprised. I shouldn't be hiding out back here anyway."

"So why are you hiding?" he asked curiously. "I figured that you would be with Amara, Michelle, and the others."

She shrugged. "I guess I just wanted a moment to watch without anyone knowing. This is all very strange to me."

He nodded. "I'm sure it is." Then he began to grin.

"What?" she demanded, starting to feel a little unnerved.

He shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just thinking how strange this is to me as well. In my mind Hotaru and I haven't changed a bit. But when I see you…well, I guess everybody has to grow up some."

She glanced back through the branches at her future self again and sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Your wife seems so much more outgoing and confident than I am."

"Nah, you were always confident," he disagreed. "It'll just take you a little while to come out of your shell. Working for my sister did wonders for making my Hotaru open up to others outside of our extended family. And once Kenny was born she became just as giddy as Serena and Mina."

"I can believe that," Hotaru mumbled as she watched the little boy, who was now chasing around bubbles that Uranus was blowing. She felt that warm feeling again. "Does he have any powers?"

Sammy shrugged. "He's not shooting energy blasts from his hands or anything, at least not yet, but he is a crystal carrier. Your crystal granted him one when he was born. He is highly perceptive though, even empathic to a point. He senses everything that is going on around him and can read moods and auras."

"Just like me," she whispered.

"Have you met him yet?" he asked her gently.

She shook her head. "Just for a moment when you guys came in from breakfast with your parents. I was so flipped out that I've been hiding out in Rini's room ever since. But curiosity finally got the better of me."

"Well, come on then," Sammy laughed, grabbing her hand. "I'll help you break the ice."

"Sammy! No!" she gasped, pulling against him. But his hold didn't loosen as he tugged her around the bush and a few steps down the path into the clearing where the others were sitting.

"Look who I found on my way here," he announced as they stepped into view.

"Taru, sweetheart! There you are," Michelle said happily. "We were wondering where you had gotten off to."

Hotaru shot a venomous look at Sammy before she scurried over to sit next to her aqua haired adopted mother and muttered, "I was with Rini and the others."

Amara chuckled. "So have they gotten things figured out yet?"

Hotaru nodded. "For the most part, I guess. At least they have a general outline of what they are going to do. But it could all change once the fight starts."

"That's true," Saturn replied. "But it's always good to have some kind of plan of action in place." Then she greeted her husband with a smile and a kiss.

Hotaru watched them for a moment, feeling a pang of homesickness as she thought about her Sammy, wishing for the hundredth time that he had been able to come with her. It would have made things so much easier for her if he had. She looked down toward the ground and closed her eyes, fighting of a rush of tears.

Then a small hand touched hers and she looked up just a little bit and into a pair of solemn, cobalt blue eyes.

"You miss somebody a lot, don't you?" Kenny asked her in a voice that was both childish and wise at the same time.

She nodded. "Yes I do. I miss him very much," she told him softly.

Before she knew what had happened, the little boy had crawled up on her lap and had flung his tiny arms around her. "You don't have to be sad. You have a lot of people that love you. And you'll see the person that you miss soon."

The warm feeling that she had felt before exploded in her stomach, and then slowly spread its gentle warmth through her entire body until she felt cocooned by it. She hugged the little boy back and whispered, "Thank you, Kenny."

Kenny let go of her and sat back a bit, studying her face as if to determine whether she felt better or not. Then he beamed her a wide smile and asked her, "Would you like to play hide and seek with me? I asked my momma and the others, but they're too busy talking about grown up stuff. Please!"

"Oh, um, sure. If it's okay with your parents." Hotaru looked up to find her and Sammy's future selves watching them with looks of amusement.

Saturn waved a hand at them. "Be my guest. I could use a few minutes of peace myself. Just be careful and don't let the little guy superimpose you. He's good at that."

Kenny's brow wrinkled up. "What is super…superim…what is that?"

Sammy laughed as he stood up and walked over to swing his son up into his arms. "What your mother means is that you are a very smart little boy that likes to get into trouble. So try to be good for your pretty playmate, okay."

Kenny nodded vigorously. Then he asked in what he thought was a whisper, but easily carried to the assembled woman, "She is pretty, isn't she, daddy? She looks just like momma, doesn't she?"

Hotaru blushed madly at her future son's observation, but she couldn't stop the small smile that turned up her lips. It looked like she and Sammy would have their hands full in the future.

Sammy bit back a smile and answered his son seriously. "Yes, she is a very pretty lady, just like your momma. So that is why it is important to be on your best behavior while playing with her. You don't want to worry her and make her sad again, do you?"

"No sir," Kenny exclaimed fervently. "I want to make her laugh." Then he wriggled out of his father's arms and ran back to Hotaru, grabbing her hand. "Come on! I know the best place to play our game. It has great hiding spots."

Hotaru laughed as she let the little boy pull her away. "Okay. Lead the way."

Amara chuckled at the sight. "Who'd have thought, our little Taru?"

Michelle nudged her lightly in the shoulder. "Hush! It's nice to see her playful side come out. We don't get to see it very often."

* * *

Night finally fell across Crystal Tokyo. And after a loud and boisterous dinner that had managed to drag out for a few hours and the younger children had been tucked into bed, King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity met with their guardians, their visitors from the past, and the oldest members of the junior guard that would be so instrumental in the upcoming battle.

"So," Endymion said as he powered down the holographic image that had shown a map of Crystal Tokyo and the surrounding areas. "I guess we are as prepared as we can be under the circumstances. According to Trista we know that Discord will make his strike at some point tomorrow during the day. We will begin bringing in the civilians first thing in morning and hope that we can get the majority of them inside a safe radius before that bastard makes his first move. Serenity and Serena will be our first line of defense, keeping the protective wards around the city active as long as they can while the scouts and generals focus on moving the people in as close as they can. After that we can only hope that between both sets of inner scouts and both Jesses that we can hold off his forces."

DJ stood up and faced his father proudly. "I think by luring Discord out of the city we can at least succeed in splitting his forces. He wants to destroy Crystal Tokyo, and he wants the Celestial Crystal from Jess, but if we can divert his attention and get him to cut his army in half we stand a greater chance at beating him."

Next to him, Alex snorted. "Yeah, we just have to hope that his desire to come after us is greater than his desire to try to kill my mom."

"I'd like to see him try it!" both Jesses snarled at the same time. Then they grinned at each other.

"He'll come for us," Katie said quietly, her eyes flashing silver for a moment. "His ultimate grudge is against the gods for trying to contain him. So he knows that the biggest blow he could hit them with is to take us out. He still wants mom's crystal, but I think he'll go for us first. The one thing we have in our favor is that he doesn't know that we are even here. As far as he knows we are still in the past without the swords."

"But the moment he confronts you he'll know that's not true," Serenity worried. "And who knows how he will react once he realizes that you three pose a very real threat to him."

DJ shrugged. "There's only one way to find out. Like it or not, we have to face him if we want to get rid of him once and for all. So I guess we'll find out when the time comes."

"And it's not like you guys are going in alone," Rini spoke up. "The rest of us will be right there with you every step of the way. We're going to do our best to watch your backs and clear you a path to him as fast as we can. The quicker you guys can take him out, the quicker all of this will be over."

Talon, who had arrived earlier in the evening with his family, stood up. "A quick job sounds good, but don't bank on it. That old bastard may suffer from narcissism, but he's not stupid. He'll come prepared for anything, so be ready. We have no idea what all he'll throw at us. We know that he has been experimenting with his gene splicing techniques and creating an arsenal of super powered monsters. But who knows what else he has hidden up his sleeve."

Anya nodded. "He's a sneaky one, that's for sure. He'll try to come at you from all angles; so don't let your guard down for a moment, any of you. DJ, Katie, and Alex might be his main targets, but if he can't get to them he'll attack the rest of you to try and split up the team. Mental attacks are his specialty. So if he manages to slip past anyone's defenses try to remember that anything you see isn't real. He'll hit you where he knows it will hurt the most, but stay focused on the here and now. They are only illusions meant to confuse you."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Katie muttered. "Been there. Done that. Don't care to have a repeat, thank you very much."

Jack and Sasha had been invited to sit in on the meeting as well, and the raven-haired young man winced at his ex-girlfriend's words. "I'm sorry again, Katie."

"Me too," Sasha echoed.

Katie waved them off. "Don't, you guys. You've already apologized for everything. It's in the past. You two were victims just as much as I was. If I had been a lost, abandoned kid I probably would have fallen for his lies too."

She heard DJ snort in her head, followed by, _'Yeah right! Even as a kid you were too smart to fall for the bullshit Discord fed them.'_

'_Yeah! Sometimes you're just too kind and forgiving, sis,' _Alex seconded.

She turned and glared at both of them. _'You two be nice!'_

"Anyway," Endymion said authoritatively. "The point is that we have made all of the preparations that we can. We could stay up all night discussing plans and strategies, but it probably wouldn't make a difference except to make us all dull and sleep deprived come morning. So I suggest that everyone take the rest of the evening to relax and get a good night's sleep. We'll handle whatever happens tomorrow as best as we can."

As people got up and began filing out of the conference room that they had assembled in, DJ reached for Katie's hand. They had been running all day since they had arrived home, and he was hoping that they would be able to slip away and find someplace where they could have a few quiet moments together. They had barely had a chance to speak to each other at all, and he found himself missing her, despite the fact that she been by his side almost constantly the entire day.

But his father's voice brought him up short. "Rini, DJ, your mother and I would like to have a word with you for a moment."

Rini stopped where she was and looked at her parents questioningly. "Mom, dad, what's up?"

Endymion looked to where DJ was still holding firmly to Katie's hand. "I was thinking that perhaps we could speak alone."

DJ jerked, but returned Endymion's cool look with one of his own. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Katie. I'll just tell her anything that you say. We don't have any secrets from each other."

"DJ…" Katie began. But she quieted when he squeezed her hand lightly.

Endymion seemed amused by his reaction. "Very well." Then he waved forward the few people who were still standing by the door, talking. "The rest of you may as well join us. Some of you already know what I am about to say, and it will be common knowledge soon enough."

Serena and Darien, along with both Jesses, Drew, Andrew, Alex, Emma, Mina, Venus, Kunz, and Kunzite, wandered over with curious looks on their faces.

Endymion nodded to Serenity, who smiled and began the conversation. "Rini, you know that your father and I agreed to your engagement to Helios some time back, on the condition that you wait until you are eighteen before you make it official. And we still support your choice in this matter."

She shot a glare at Endymion, who muttered something unintelligible under his breath, at the same time that Serena gave Darien the same look as he growled.

"However," she continued after a moment. "I know that you don't want a long engagement, but weddings, especially one for the crown princess, take time to arrange. So your father and I are asking that you complete at least your first year of college while the plans are being made."

Rini looked belligerent for a moment, but then she seemed to get control of herself. "Then does that mean that we can get married next summer as soon as classes let out?"

Serenity beamed a smile. "The very next day if that's what you want. Since we've already discussed your future educational plans, we went ahead and sent your application in to Crystal Tokyo University. You are already enrolled for the fall semester; you just need to choose your classes. Is this okay with you?"

Rini looked into her mother's caring blue eyes and suddenly felt very mature. Sure, the subject of her eventual marriage had come up in the past, but it had always been treated as something that was far away. Now her mother was speaking of it seriously and talking to her like she was an adult instead of the child that she used to be.

She nodded her head. "Yes. That sounds great to me." Then she gave into her emotional impulse and ran over to hug both of her parents. "Thank you so much! You guys are the best."

Endymion cleared his throat gruffly, and then turned to face his son. He pulled an envelope out of an inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to him. "Here. This is for you."

DJ took it with a puzzled look before opening it and pulling out the sheet of paper inside. His eyes widened when he saw the letterhead at the top of the page, and they grew steadily wider as he read the words that followed.

"This…this is…" he stammered.

Endymion chuckled. "Congratulations! You have been accepted into Harvard's pre-med program. Your acceptance into their medical program is guaranteed as well as long as your grades are good. But I doubt that you'll have any trouble there."

DJ's hands shook as he held the acceptance letter in his hands. He couldn't believe it. He was holding one of his biggest dreams in his hands. But as his eyes met a pair of hazel ones filled with happy tears, his sense of elation dimmed a little. As much as he had dreamed of going to Harvard, he couldn't picture not being where he could see Katie everyday. He didn't think he would be able to stand it.

Katie almost felt like jumping up and down at this announcement. As long as things went well the following day, her prince was going to get his chance to become a doctor, just like he wanted to.

'_I'm glad that at least one of us will be able to realize our dreams,' _she thought wistfully.

When both DJ and Alex's heads snapped around to look at her, she cursed herself inwardly. She'd been so wrapped up in her joy for DJ that she hadn't paid attention to the mental bond she shared with her boyfriend and brother. And now they both knew exactly what she had been thinking.

"Just what was that supposed to mean?" DJ asked her immediately. "Your dreams are every bit as real as mine are."

Thinking back on his earlier words to his father about how there were no secrets between them, she decided to come clean with him. She shook her head slowly. "No, DJ. Julliard is no longer a possibility for me. I missed the audition date while we were in the past, and the school has very strict rules about that. But it's okay. I can take a few classes somewhere else and maybe land a gig playing somewhere. It's no big deal."

"It is so a big deal!" he ground out. "Your music is important to you. How can you expect me to be happy about getting to pursue a future in medicine knowing that you won't get to go after your music the way you want to?"

Her eyes flared angrily. "I'm not going to put my musical career on hold because of this stupid setback. I'm still going to write music and play the piano, I'm just going to go about it a little differently than I planned."

Emma leaned over and whispered in Alex's ear. "This is getting good. I haven't seen them bicker like this in a long time. I would have brought snacks if I'd known there was going to be a show."

Alex nodded, but he did it absently because he could hear the thoughts running through both of their heads.

'_I'm not going to let her give up.'_

'_Why can't he see that I'll be happy as long as I can still be with him?'_

'_There has to be something we can do.'_

'_I'll find a way to keep my music in my life.'_

'_Maybe if we explain our situation to the school they will still accept her.'_

'_I can deal with this.'_

"Both of you stop! You're driving me bonkers!" he finally burst out.

His mother stepped over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Then she addressed her daughter. "Katie, honey, we were waiting for the right time to tell you, and I guess now is as good a time as any. Sweetie, you've been accepted to Julliard. Michelle knows quite a few of the people on staff there. After she explained how you weren't available to attend the auditions in person, they agreed to judge you by video audition. So she sent them a copy of your performance at Serena and Darien's anniversary party back in September, and they accepted you almost immediately."

"What?" Katie gasped in disbelief. "So you're saying that I'm in?"

Drew beamed a proud smile at her. "Of course you're in! How could they not accept a talent like yours? They should count themselves lucky to have you. And that's not the only good news in our family. Alex has been accepted to MIT, UCLA, and Crystal Tokyo University. So he can take his pick."

"Are you kidding?" Alex exclaimed. "All three accepted me."

"They sure did!" Jess crowed. "So now you just have to choose which one you want to go to. I would love it if you decided to stay home, of course, but I have a soft spot in my heart for UCLA since that was originally my first choice for college. And if you decide to go there you can stay at the house there if you want to. But Serena and I were thinking that if you chose MIT that we would get you and DJ an apartment to share since the schools are so close together."

"Whoa!" Alex murmured, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"That's great, Cupcake!" Emma gushed, although her voice was slightly shaky. "You can make all of those video games that you've thought of a reality."

"Which brings us to you, young lady," Venus giggled. "I know that you really don't have any ambition to follow your father into the business world, and you would rather wear the latest fashions instead of designing them. But you do have a flare when it comes to singing and acting, so I gathered a few of your demo tapes up and a few videos from when you kids put on some plays in the past and had Michelle send them in when she sent Katie's. You've been accepted to Julliard as well if you want to go."

"Oh, but…" Emma stared mournfully at Alex.

"Just think about it," Kunz told her. "You don't have to make a decision right this minute. And flights between New York and Massachusetts are short. You could do weekend visits every couple of weeks if Alex decides on MIT."

"And you and Katie could share an apartment together just like the guys if you do," Venus told her.

After a long moment, Emma whispered, "I'll think about it." But deep inside she knew that she had no intention of going anywhere without Alex.

Katie, beginning to feel overwhelmed by all of the news they had just been given, forced a bright smile onto her face. "Hey! We've still got plenty of time to plan out our college careers and stuff. Right now we just need to concentrate on what we have to do tomorrow. So let's not stress over it at the moment."

She was unraveling fast, and she knew it. Knowing that she had to get out of there before she had a complete breakdown in front of everyone, she began backing toward the door. "Well, Jack asked me to look over a song that he was having a hard time with, so I think I'll just go see if I can hunt him down. I'll see everybody later." She was through the door and gone before anyone could blink.

Drew shook his head. "Did I miss something somewhere? I thought she'd be happy about the news."

His wife shook her head. "She was happy, honey. It's just a lot for her to take in at once. She just needs a little time to process everything."

"She didn't look happy to me," Andrew retorted. "That was the fakest smile I've ever seen."

Serenity watched solemnly as her two children left the room, followed closely by Alex and Emma. Then she glanced around, sharing looks with the five other women in the room. The men seemed oblivious to the real reason behind the young peoples' conflicts, but the women knew what was going on.

"Well," Endymion said jovially. "What do the rest of you say to having a drink on the garden terrace while we enjoy our last few quiet hours before the chaos hits?"

Serenity smiled and nodded. "That sounds wonderful. You men go ahead. We'll follow you in a minute."

The moment the men were out of the room, Serena growled, "It doesn't seem fair! I know the kids have their plans and dreams, but it seems almost cruel to separate the happy couples like this. I know that Darien and I had to spend some time apart, but our situation was different. I was still in high school when he went off to Harvard. But sometimes I think that if I hadn't been I would have gone with him."

Jess snorted. "With your spotty English skills? That would have been interesting. Still, you're right. Katie and Alex would be miserable being so far away from DJ and Emma."

Mina snickered evilly. "You ladies are all aware that our precocious teens are, well to put it delicately, doing _the deed_, aren't you?"

Venus rolled her eyes. "Of course we are. We'd have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to know that. I know that kids like to think that they are being sneaky, but we mothers have a way of knowing. Kind of like how Little Miss Emma thinks that I don't know about that engagement ring that she wears on a chain around her neck. I've been accused of being ditzy many times in my life, but I'm not stupid."

The future Jess giggled. "I know. I found the ring hidden in Alex's sock drawer back months ago when I was putting up some laundry. It's a good thing that they aren't eighteen yet, because I have a feeling that they would have run off and said their 'I dos' already if they were."

Venus giggled too. "Kunzite would have a stroke!"

"Wait a second!" Jess burst in. "Alex has proposed to Emma? Are you kidding me? I knew that he was sneaking out a lot at night to go see her, but I didn't know that he had gone that far."

"That just makes it that much sadder to think of them being separated," Serena sighed.

Serenity smiled mischievously. "I would worry about it too much. This is all part of a scheme that Darien, Drew, and Kunzite have concocted in their attempt to be overprotective fathers trying to protect their daughters' virtue. Darien's hoping that Rini will be too busy with school to spend a lot of time with Helios, and Drew and Kunzite just like the idea of having a few hundred miles between the boys' and girls' beds. But if things go the way they did before, it will blow up in their faces,"

Serena grinned as she observed her older self's gleeful expression. "Ooo, I get the feeling that there is more of this teenage love drama to come."

"You'll just have to wait and see," Serenity replied mysteriously.

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?" Alex drawled as the images in the viewing portal faded away.

DJ nodded. "That's one way of putting it I suppose."

"Interesting is not quite the word I would use," Emma sniffed daintily. "Interfering seems to describe it better. Leave it to my dad to try to come up with some way to try to meddle in my love life."

"Tell me about it," Katie mumbled around a yawn. "I love my dad, but he was always so overprotective. Kind of like someone else I know." She arched a brow at her dark haired prince.

He gave her a bland look. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Rini giggled sleepily. "I think she means that meltdown you had in the kitchen earlier, bro. Even you have to admit that you were acting a little psycho over a bit of spilled water."

"She could have slipped in the puddle and fallen!" he fired back heatedly. "Do you know how many pregnancies end in a miscarriage because of household accidents? A fall like that could be life threatening to both Katie and Allie."

Alex snickered. "You know, sis, sometimes I think you getting knocked up might not be such a good thing after all. You have absolutely no freedom anymore."

Emma burst into hysterical giggles. "At least he hasn't tied her to the bed…yet. Or perhaps that's what got her into this situation to begin with."

"Very funny," Katie grumbled. "Anyway, I wonder how our past selves are going to handle the school situation."

Rini shrugged. "My mom seemed to think that there was a solution to it that would keep you guys together. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"They've got to get through the fight first," DJ muttered. "They won't have to worry about where or if they are going to college if they're dead."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Rini scolded him. "Have a little faith in our past selves, little brother. You heard what Drew told his past self earlier. In his past Discord was defeated. It sounded like a lot of us might not be in the best shape by the end of the fight, but nobody died. That's got to give you some hope."

Then she stood up and stretched. "Anyway, that's my pep talk for this evening. Now if the rest of you will excuse me, I'm going to go track down my husband and get some sleep. We have a battle to watch tomorrow."

She hugged her brother, and then bent down to hug Katie, who was lounging on the sofa. Before pulling away, she spoke in the direction of Katie's stomach, "Nighty-night, Little Serena."

"Allie!" Katie growled in exasperation. "Her name will be Alexis Jessica Shields."

Rini snorted disdainfully. "I still like the names I came up with. Serena Jessica has a nicer ring to it. Or even better, Serenity Melody. This little girl will be a princess after all."

Alex barked a laugh. "You'd give a kid a complex with too fancy of a name. I do think Lexie is a better nickname than Allie though."

Rini glared at him. "You just want her name to sound more like yours. She's already being named after you."

"Enough!" DJ roared, tired of the bickering. "You two are worse than little kids. Katie and I will be the ones to decide what the baby's name is and what we want to call her."

Rini laughed and spoke to Katie's stomach again. "Your daddy sure can be a grumpy bear sometimes, little one." Then she headed out of the room. As she flounced by her brother, she drawled, "Good night, Darien."

DJ cringed as she said his full first name. It wasn't that he didn't like his name, he did. It was his father's name and he was proud to be named after him. But he had always preferred being called DJ because it gave him a sense of individuality, just like his sister preferred being called Rini instead of Serenity. It was their way of separating themselves from their parents.

"Brat!" he muttered at Rini's retreating back as she left the room. But he said it in an affectionate way.

Then Alex snapped his fingers. "I've got it! I came up with the perfect nickname for my little niece. Since DJ likes to go by his initials, the baby can too. We can call her AJ."

Katie wrinkled her nose. "Ew, no! I don't like that at all. It sounds kind of boyish to me."

DJ smirked at her. "Well if she's anything like you she'll be one the biggest tomboys around."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Katie retorted. "I like the fact that I can hold my own with any guy out there, and part of me hopes that she will be the same. But I'm not calling her AJ."

"It was just a thought," Alex said, holding his hands up in surrender.

Emma tugged on his arm, mumbling sleepily, "Baby, I'm tired. I'm going up to bed."

"Now without me you're not," he joked as he turned and scooped her up into his arms in a bridal hold. As he strolled from the room, he called over his shoulder, "See you lovebirds later!"

Katie shook her head. "What a family we have, huh?"

DJ chuckled softly. "Yeah, but we wouldn't trade them for anything, even if they do annoy the hell out of us sometimes. Now, let's see about getting you ladies to bed as well. Tomorrow is the big day that will decide exactly what kind of home we'll be going back to."

"Sounds good to me. I'm bushed," Katie told him as she swung her legs that had been lying across the sofa over the side. She started to stand up, but then quickly sat back down. One hand flew to her stomach as she squeaked, "Oh!"

He was on his knees beside her in an instant, eyes full of concern. "What is it?"

She gave him a wondering look. "How far along should I be before I feel the baby move? Because I swear I just felt something tickle me inside."

DJ thought back, trying to remember some of the things he'd read in his father's medical textbooks years ago. "Um, usually around sixteen weeks or so. Some women can feel the baby as early as twelve weeks."

"I'm not quite there yet," Katie murmured. "But I'm certain that I felt something."

DJ whooshed out a breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding, relief sweeping through him now that he knew nothing bad was happening. "Well, there are several things to take into account. One is that we are in Elysian, and time moves differently here. That could have something to do with it."

"But you don't think so?" she asked, hearing the doubt in his voice.

He shook his head. "No. I think it's something else."

"Like what?" she prompted him.

He took her hands in his. "Well, we're not dealing with a normal baby, are we? Think about it. We are both crystal carriers. So the chances are high that our daughter will be one too. I remember hearing my mom talking once about when she was pregnant with Rini and I, and she said that she felt both of us move weeks before the books said she would. Your mom and the other scouts all said the same thing. So I think it is a common occurrence in pregnancy for a crystal carrier."

Katie gave a little jump and pulled one of her hands free from his to cover her stomach. "There it is again. Now I know my mind isn't playing tricks on me. Oh, I wish you could feel this. It feels like I've swallowed a feather and now it's fluttering around inside."

"Maybe I can sense something if I use my power," DJ told her. Since his power came from Earth, he had a link with all living things. He'd never honed his psychometric abilities as much as his father had, but he could sense auras and such if he concentrated hard enough. But he hadn't tapped into those powers in fifteen years.

But Katie looked excited as she stretched back out on the sofa and pulled her shirt up to expose her belly. "Well, go for it!"

He placed both hands gently on her stomach. "This may not work, you know. I haven't used my powers for a long time. And I haven't tried channeling them once since I got my full power back."

She reached up and patted his cheek. "It's okay. I trust you. Now see if you can tell us anything about our little girl."

"All right," he agreed, and he closed his eyes as he reached down inside himself to find the golden glow of his power. Once he found it, he let it flow out toward Katie, pushing past her silver aura in search of the second life that was nestled deep inside her.

He concentrated hard on locating a small spark of aura that would lead him toward his daughter. He was concentrating so hard in fact, that he was taken completely by surprise when bright light exploded across his vision in a rush. It was so bright that he couldn't even tell if there was a color associated with it.

A strong aura wrapped around him closely. But even though it was strong, it felt warm and comforting at the same time. Then he heard an echo inside his head that sounded like a little girl's laughter.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he reeled his aura back into his body and pulled his hands back.

When he opened his eyes, he stared at Katie's stomach as he panted, "Oh, yeah! We definitely have one special little girl there. I couldn't tell if her power will be from the Earth or the Moon, but she will definitely be able to pack a punch someday."

Then Katie gasped, "DJ! Your eyes! They're gold!"

His golden eyes flew up to hers. But instead of her mossy hazel gaze, he found himself staring into twin pools of bright silver. "Yours are silver!"

"But how?" she squeaked.

They heard pounding footsteps and they both looked up in surprise as Alex came rushing in.

"Look what I found when I looked into the bathroom mirror!" he exclaimed as he pointed at his blazing red-orange eyes. "What the hell is going on?"

DJ shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe it's just something that trickled down the timeline. Since our past selves were successful in unlocking the Trinity, perhaps the effects have worked their way down to us."

"But the gods are supposed to take the power back from us once Discord is destroyed. Right?" Katie asked shakily.

DJ nodded. "That's what I thought."

And then, just like that, Katie's eyes flashed back to their usual hazel. A quick look at Alex showed that his had returned to sapphire blue. He glanced at Katie, who nodded slightly to let him know that his eyes had turned back to their normal sky blue.

The three of them stared at each other in silence. But on the inside they were all asking the same thing.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

**A/N **Okay, so that's part 1. I'm not going to bore you here with a long note full of my blabbering. Instead I'm off to try to get part 2 ready to publish. Keep your fingers crossed, I hope to get it up tomorrow. Some writers threaten to not update until they get a certain number of reviews, but I don't need to do that because you guys are always great at telling me what you think. And since this story now has over 900 reviews, it would be extremely petty of me to nitpick about that. But please don't let that stop you from dropping me a line. Reviews are gold to me. Be happy! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	41. Times Intertwine Part 2

**A/N **I didn't think I would ever be able to get this up! Those of you that keep up with my Facebook page know that I have been going through some computer issues, but hopefully I've got that all lined out now. I want to keep this short and sweet, so I won't go into all the drama and bore you to death. Anyway, I have a nice long posting for you here, full of happy couples. There is some bickering between some of them, but I assure you that everyone ends up happy in the end. The fight with Discord is only hours away, and I refuse to let any of the couples go into the battle with bad feelings between them. So let me get those hugs out so you can get started. BIG HUGS TO:

**little princess of mercury**

**sabina21**

**SailorPrincess1237**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**saveme57**

**beethoven123**

**Litalove**

**DizzyDiana**

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**Serandi82**

**Starrlight1812**

**CaughtInAFantasy**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**GoldenDragon326**

**KageNoNeko**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**nickybluejess**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**Komekoro**

**Seredhiel05**

Oodles and oodles of thank yous to you all! I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with it.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 38

Times Intertwine – Part 2

* * *

"So what do you think of all of this?" Jayden asked Hannah as they walked hand in hand down one of the wide corridors together.

Her dark blue hair brushed her shoulders as she shook her head. "I don't know. I guess I'm more nervous than I am anything. You know how I am. I like to have everything planned out. But we can't plan for anything in a case like this. There are too many variables to consider and too many different ways that things can go."

He chuckled. "This is war, Hannah. You could have a hundred different strategies planned, only to have them fall through when the time comes. Sometimes you just have to jump into the thick of it and start blasting. You know, just go with your gut."

"I'm not exactly a 'go with your gut' kind of person. That's more of your forte," she grumbled. "You like to shoot first and ask questions later."

"Yep! That's me!" he quipped. Then he nudged her shoulder playfully. "Come on, cheer up! We'll go in, blast some bad guys, let DJ, Katie, and Alex whip the big main baddie, and it will all be over. It'll be fine."

She suddenly stopped walking and ripped her hand from his. "And what if it's not fine?" she almost shrieked. "Everybody that we know and love is going to be in this fight, my parents, your parents, all of our friends and family. People could get hurt, even die."

Her green eyes filled up with tears as she turned away to look out one of the tall windows that overlooked the city. After a moment she whispered shakily, "You could die, Jay, or my mom or dad. And it scares me to think about it. I won't lie and say that I'm not afraid of the fight itself, because I am. But the thought of losing someone that I love scares me more than the thought of facing Discord and his army."

He joined her at the window and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Aw, Snowflake, you're worrying too much."

Her head snapped around and her wet eyes burned into his. "Don't pick on me right now. I'm being serious. I want you to make me a promise, okay."

His laughter died as he saw how serious she was. "Okay."

She turned to face him fully and grabbed the front of his shirt in both hands. "Don't you die on me! Whatever happens, just promise me that you won't get yourself killed. Promise me!"

A wave of love flowed through him at her words. There had been times over the last few weeks when he had wondered how to exactly classify his and Hannah's relationship. They called each other boyfriend and girlfriend, and they were together almost constantly, but there were times when their relationship seemed to be more of just a deep friendship than anything else. Sure, they kissed and hugged, but the kisses between them were nothing more than innocent pecks. Sometimes they evolved into prolonged meetings of the lips, but they were still chaste.

He had wondered though, what it would be like to kiss her like he'd seen his father kiss his mother, or like he'd seen DJ and Alex kiss their girlfriends, but he'd never worked up the nerve to try. Deep inside he was afraid that he might do it wrong or that Hannah would get offended if he tried.

But as he looked down into those glassy, bright green eyes and saw how much she cared for him, he had a surge of confidence. He moved his hands to her waist and tugged her closer to him as he dipped his head down to fasten his mouth over hers. After a few seconds he parted his lips and boldly let his tongue swipe at her lips.

Hannah's mouth opened as she let out a startled squeak, and he deepened the kiss, letting his tongue travel farther in until it touched hers. Then she took him by surprise as she began moving her tongue around his, tentatively kissing him back.

They explored shyly for a few moments as they learned this new way of kissing together, but they soon got the hang of it. Hannah's hands moved up from his shirt so that she could wrap her arms around his neck, and he slid one of his hands up her back to the back of her neck.

They continued their tongue duel until the need to breathe finally forced them to part. But even after the kiss was broken they only moved their lips a few inches apart from each other.

Jayden lifted his other hand and gently wiped away the tear tracks from her cheeks. Then he told her softly, "I promise you, Snowflake, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that we both make it through tomorrow in one piece."

She hugged him closer and buried her face in his neck. Her cool breath swept across his skin as she sighed. "I guess that's the best that any of us can hope for. I just don't want you doing anything stupid. You can be quite impulsive sometimes."

He chuckled. "That's why I'll have you there to help keep me in line. Now, how about we drop all of this depressing crap for the night and go watch a movie."

She raised her head and smiled at him. "On one condition."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Kiss me again," she whispered as she drew his head back down to hers.

* * *

"So, how does it feel to be home again?" Kyrian asked as he lay back on the blanket with his hands behind his head.

Skye sat next to him with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. She shrugged. "I don't know. It's been kinda weird today. I guess things will settle down once we get this other bullshit out of the way."

"True," he agreed. "So what are your plans after that?"

She lay back next to him and sighed. "I'm not completely sure. It sounds like everyone else except Rini is going to be taking off for America soon, but that's not really my thing. I'm more of a stick close to home kind of girl. I don't really have any big college aspirations either, but I am thinking about applying to the culinary school here and working with my mom at the restaurant. I've always enjoyed working there."

"Sticking with the family business, huh?" he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny! I guess it's just something in my genes. Mom's a chef, and both of her parents were too. It's in my blood. What about you? Do you have some grand plan for your life?"

"Who me?" Nah!" he scoffed. "I mean, I know that someday I want what everyone else wants, a home and family of my own. But I have absolutely no idea about what to do with the rest of my life. I only enrolled in college to have an excuse to get out on my own. If my mother had her way I would be living at home for all eternity. Like you, I have no interest in globe-trotting around the world, but I knew I wanted something more than living out my days in our tiny little village. I'll probably just major in something useless like philosophy just so I can get a degree under my belt."

She stared up at the star filled sky. "I guess none of us can really know for sure what direction our life will go. If my dad were here right now, he could look up at the sky and tell us exactly what the stars are saying at this moment. But the stars change just like everything else does. Their message can change from night to night. Nothing is ever certain. We just have to go with the flow."

Kyrian rolled to his side and propped his head on a hand to look down at her. "That's all we can do. We have to roll with the punches and deal with whatever hand life gives us. I just want you to promise me that you'll be careful tomorrow. It would kill me if something were to happen to you."

Skye reached up and patted his cheek. "Aw, is the big, bad, magic man getting worried?"

His jet black eyes glittered dangerously. "I'm trying to be serious here! I love you. You know I do. And whenever I do think about my future, I can't picture any other woman in it but you. So promise me that you'll take care of yourself."

Her fingers on his cheek changed from patting to stroking. "I promise you that I'll be as careful as I can, but I have a job to do too. I'm a member of a team, and the others are depending on me to do my part. But I do promise that I'll try to get back in one piece if I can. But this could be a really bad fight, and I don't know how things are going to play out."

He turned his head and kissed her palm. "I know. You are my mighty warrior woman. That's one of the things I love about you."

"I love you too," she whispered as she felt tears beginning to sting her eyes.

He bent over her and gave her what started out as a gentle kiss, but it quickly escalated into something more. Before long he was laying fully on top of her as he thoroughly ravished her mouth.

Skye was lost in a haze of sensations, until she felt his hand moving under her shirt. Then she ripped her mouth from his and gasped, "We have to stop. We're in the middle of the garden. Anybody could come along and see us."

He grinned down at her wickedly. "I can take care of that. Just give me a second."

Suddenly, everything swirled and went dark around them. When she could see again, Skye realized that the ground beneath her had turned very soft.

"What just happened?" she squeaked.

He arched a brow at her. "You didn't forget that your little Trinity friends weren't the only ones that could teleport alone, did you? We're in my apartment."

"Your apartment!" she exclaimed, looking around in the dim light. Sure enough, she was in the middle of a rumpled, king-sized bed that took up most of the space in the bedroom. The only other furniture was a small dresser and a bedside table that had been squeezed in. A few movie and rock band posters had been tacked up on the walls.

She began giggling. "You weren't kidding when you said your place was tiny, were you?"

He shrugged. "It's just me, so I don't need much space. It's less that I have to keep clean."

"But you're a big guy," she pointed out. "I bet you can't even turn around in here without bumping into something."

"The living room is a little bit bigger. And that's where I spend most of my time when I'm here. I'm usually only in here to sleep," he told her.

"Well, I'm sure it's nice and all, but I can't be here," she protested. "What if someone goes looking for me and can't find me?"

"Were you told not to leave the palace grounds?" he countered.

"No," she answered hesitantly. "We were only told to not go out alone and to not leave the boundaries of the city."

He grinned wolfishly. "Then there's no problem. You're not alone, and we're only a few blocks away from the palace. So you're not breaking any rules."

"Technically speaking," she agreed. "But I'm still trying to figure out why you brought me here."

He leaned down to breathe in her ear. "I want to have one night with you before we go into battle tomorrow. I know that we haven't really talked about where our relationship is heading, but I hope that we will be together forever."

She shuddered as he kissed her neck and gasped, "Kyrian!"

He propped himself up on his elbows to look down at her again. "If you're not comfortable with this, then tell me now. I don't want to do anything that you don't want to. All you have to do is give me the word, and I'll have you back home in two seconds."

As she looked up at him, she felt those stupid tears prickling her eyes again. She always known that he was kind and considerate, even if he had teased her a lot during the past several years. He may long for an independent life, but he was devoted to his family, especially his mother and his little brothers and sister.

Most guys his age would be pulling out every dirty trick in the book to try and get a girl into bed with them. But he was leaving the decision up to her, letting her decide if she was ready to take the next step in their relationship.

They had spent a lot of time together in Elysian recently, and they'd had quite a few intimate moments together. But despite what Emma would describe as 'heavy make out sessions with some foreplay involved', they had never actually made love.

But she knew that he was the one, the only one for her. And being with him just felt right. Then she looked over at the illuminated numbers on his beside clock and sighed. "You have really rotten timing. You know that?"

His confused expression was absolutely priceless. "What do you mean?"

She flung an arm over her eyes. "I mean that it's already 11:30. I have to be home by midnight when I go out, or the parents blow a gasket. So I have to check in with them in the next thirty minutes or they will have total meltdowns."

"Hmm…" he mused. "That could be a problem, because what I have planned will definitely take longer than thirty minutes."

Skye felt her cheeks heat up in a blush, but she moved her arm to glare up at him. "You sound incredibly sure of yourself. Just how much experience do you have with these types of situations?"

He gave her a bone-melting smile. "Absolutely none. That's why I said I'd need some time. I'll probably screw things up."

"Yeah right!" she snorted. "I've seen you at the clubs before with a girl on each arm. Are you seriously telling me that you never did anything with them?"

He shook his head. "Nope! I never touched them. I told you before, I was waiting for you."

She groaned. "Well this sucks! Here I am in bed with a sexy, good-looking man, and I'm going to have to leave so I can make curfew in time. Somebody somewhere must hate me."

"I might have an idea," he told her. "But it depends on how devious you want to be."

She arched a brow. "I'm listening."

"Do your parents check on you during the night," he asked.

Her head shook back and forth on the pillow. "No. In fact, I started sleeping with my bedroom door locked a little over a year ago because Nick started coming in there at night and playing pranks on me."

He grinned like a boy on Christmas morning. "Excellent!"

She eyed him warily. "Okay, you're starting to worry me just a little. What are you concocting inside that head of yours? Whatever it is, you can probably forget it. The palace is like a fortress, so there's no way that I can sneak out. And I'm not sneaking you into my room either. My brother's room is right next to mine, and my parents are just across the hall. That scenario has all the makings of a full blown disaster."

"Are you finished?" he asked calmly when she finally ran out of breath. When she nodded he continued, "Now, let me tell you what I was thinking. You go home, say your goodnights, and go to your room like you always do. Once you're sure you're in the clear, I'll teleport in and bring us back here. That is, if this is what you want."

She shot him a look like she thought he was crazy. "Are you kidding? What are we waiting for? Let's get this show on the road." Then she grinned. "You really are evil sometimes."

The wicked grin he gave her made goose bumps break out across her skin and her toes curl up inside her shoes. "Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet. I don't know exactly how things will go, but I believe this is going to be a night that neither one of us will ever forget."

* * *

Neo Queen Serenity rolled onto her back and stared up at the crystal ceiling above her. Falling asleep was usually not an issue for her, but sometimes she suffered from insomnia when she was dealing with a lot of stress. And boy was she stressed right now.

She had no idea what the next day would bring. True, she had already lived through these events once in her life, but she also knew from experience that time could change in the blink of an eye. The first time, Discord had been defeated and the Earth had finally been freed from the threat that he posed. But there were no guarantees that things would turn out the same way this time around. All it would take is one tiny slip, and time could change drastically. People who had lived before could die. And by involving their past selves they ran the risk of altering history as well as the future.

But it was a risk that everyone was willing to take. Discord had to be defeated in order to protect their world. They all knew the risks involved, and they were willing to face them. They were the protectors of Earth, and they would defend it until their last breaths if they had to.

The mattress next to her moved as Endymion rolled over toward her. One of his arms snaked out and wrapped around her waist instinctively as his head settled on the pillow right above her shoulder. And then he let out a soft snore.

Serenity covered her mouth as a giggle bubbled up in her throat. It didn't matter how many years over the millennia that she was with this man, she still found him to be absolutely adorable when he slept. Reaching up, she flicked his stubborn hair away from his eyes in a familiar gesture that dated back to the Silver Millennium.

"Well, at least one of us is getting some sleep?" she whispered.

She wasn't really all that surprised that her king was snoozing soundly while she was wide awake. She knew that he was just as worried about the upcoming events as she was, but he dealt with stress in a different way than she did, and it rarely ever affected his sleep. Years of being a full time student while moonlighting as a superhero and then being a doctor who was always on call had taught him to take what sleep he could when he could get it.

But the sandman was definitely eluding her at the moment, and she knew that laying there would do nothing except drive her bonkers. So she carefully slipped from under Endymion's arm and out from between the sheets. She shivered when the cooler air brushed her bare skin.

"I knew I should have taken the time to put some clothes on before," she grumbled under her breath, but she knew that she didn't really mean it. She loved the fact that she and Endymion were still as hopelessly attracted to each other as they ever were after all the years that they had been together. To this day, he could still set her heart to pounding with nothing more than a look. She treasured every second that they spent together, and she hadn't wanted to ruin their earlier moment by scrambling around for clothes. She had been content to lie in his arms, listening as the beat of his heart had gradually slowed down and he had drifted off to sleep.

She ducked into her monstrous closet, where she rummaged around in some drawers until she uncovered her favorite pair of sleep boxers and one of her husbands t-shirts that she was always stealing from him. With her clothes in hand, she slipped into the bathroom.

A few minutes later she exited, fully clothed and sporting a freshly washed face. She'd twisted and looped her hair up to get it out of her way and then wrapped a scrunchie around it. Then, on silent feet, she left the bedroom.

She paused for a moment outside Rini, and then DJ's bedrooms doors. Despite the fact that she was going to let them walk right into danger's path the next day, she was ecstatic to finally have them back home. She'd missed them so much. No matter how old they got, they would always be her babies.

For a moment, she longed to enter those rooms and check on them like she had done when they were little. She'd lost count of the nights that she had rearranged tiny limbs and settled sleeping little heads back onto their pillows before tucking the covers around them. Sometimes she would linger by their bedsides for several minutes, just watching them sleep and marveling over the miracles they were. But they were grown now, and they didn't need mommy to tuck them in anymore.

Then a sly grin touched her lips. Besides, and she would never utter these words in front of her husband, she doubted very seriously that she would find either of her children in their rooms tonight.

Laughing quietly at that thought, she left her suite in search of a cup of chamomile tea. Maybe that would calm her nerves enough to help her sleep.

* * *

"Okay, what gives?" Jess asked. "You've been staring out into space for at least ten minutes. And quite honestly, it's starting to give me the creeps."

Serena blinked hard and turned to look at her. "What? Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how different this city is compared to how it was the last time I was here." She glanced back out the transparent wall again. "It's so bright and alive this time. I just hope that we can keep it safe."

Jess sighed. "You and me both. It would really suck if all of our hard work and preparation was for nothing." Then she flipped though a few pages in the sketchbook she had on her knees until she found the drawing of Crystal Tokyo that she had done a couple of weeks before. "I guess my dreams were pretty accurate after all. This picture looks a lot like the real thing."

They were in the conservatory, sitting on the floor in front of the crystal wall that gave them a panoramic view of Crystal Tokyo and all of its twinkling lights. Just like the Tokyo of the past, it seemed that this city was always busy too.

Serena pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Physically, she was tired, but mentally, she was wound up so tightly that she felt like she was a spring about to snap. She had been unable to sleep, so she'd left Darien snoring in their bed a short while ago and slipped from the room. Surprisingly, she'd found Jess leaving her room as well, and together they had decided to see if they could find their way to the conservatory.

She wasn't sure if her memory was better than she gave it credit for, or if perhaps some other instinct had kicked in, but Serena had easily navigated the labyrinth of hallways and found the elevator with no problem. And while Jess had oohed and ahhed over the beauty of the rose garden, she had wandered over to stare out at the city.

She had so many thoughts running through her head that she wasn't sure where to begin to try and sort them out. She was worried about what the next day would bring, and about her friends and family. But on top of all of that, she couldn't get the conversation that she'd had with Mercury earlier out of her head.

_*****Flashback*****_

Mercury twisted a piece of her short blue hair around her finger as she studied the two identical blonde women before her. Her face was thoughtful, like she was thinking about the best way to phrase the answer to the question that she was just asked.

"Well, Serena," she finally began. "Let me see if I can lay this out in as simple a way as possible. Genetically, you are your parents' child, a Terran through and through. But since you were a Lunarian in your past life, and you were reincarnated by magical means, some of your Lunarian traits followed you into this life. It was also necessary for you to be marked as having a Lunarian heritage because, as you know, only members of the moon's royal family can successfully wield the Silver Crystal to the best of it's abilities."

"What do you mean that Lunarian traits followed me?" Serena asked hesitantly.

Mercury giggled. "Did it never seem strange to you that you were clumsier than the average person or that you could eat enough food for five grown men but remain as tiny as a toothpick?"

Serena shrugged. "I just figured I was an extremely clumsy person with a high metabolism."

Serenity snickered. "Think back, Serena, way back to the Silver Millennium. Now Lunarians were known for having healthy appetites. But do you remember what you were like during the times that you visited Earth? Remember how you would be hungry all of the time and so clumsy that you felt like you had to hold onto something or someone at all times to keep from falling?"

"I guess so," Serena murmured as her forehead creased in thought.

"It was because of the gravitational differences," Mercury told her. "The gravity here on Earth is twice as heavy as what we had on the moon during that time. Your body wasn't used to it, which caused your klutz attacks. And since your muscles had to work twice as hard in order to move, you burned up energy at a much faster rate, causing your increased appetite."

Serena shook her head. "But you just told me that I am completely Terran. So why would the gravity on Earth have affected me so much in this life?"

Mercury shrugged. "I have theories on that, but I'm not sure exactly which one is correct. The most plausible one that I have come up with is that it is because of the amount of energy that you exude. Keep in mind that even though you didn't receive the power of the Silver Crystal until the Rainbow Crystals were reunited, the dormant crystal was sealed inside of your body until then. And though the crystal was powerless until that point, it wasn't dead. I'm almost certain that it was probably using your energy to stay alive until it was complete once again. That would account for your voracious appetite."

"But it doesn't explain my clumsiness," Serena argued.

"In a way it does," Mercury contradicted. "I didn't know what to make of it at the time, but when I first awoke as Sailor Mercury I'd noticed that your energy levels seemed to always be fluctuating. Your system was constantly in a state of unbalance. I used to think that it was just because of the amount of energy you had to use as Sailor Moon, but now I believe that there is more to it. It would also explain how you could be running around like a rabid Chihuahua one minute and crash like the dead the next. Once the crystal was completed, your energy leveled out. But the Silver Crystal still relies on you to keep it going, so that's why your appetite and love of sleep are still around. But your clumsiness began disappearing after you got the crystal."

"I still have my moments," Serena grumbled.

"True," Mercury giggled. "Even my illustrious queen is known to klutz out on occasion. Some people are just naturally clumsy."

Serenity blew a raspberry at her and laughed.

"Anyway," Mercury continued after she rolled her eyes. "On to your original question about your transformation into the moon queen. Yes, you are already evolving; you probably have been your entire life. But I believe things got kick started from the moment you transformed into Sailor Moon for the first time. The Silver Crystal had created the first brooch that you received when Queen Serenity granted you your scout powers during your reincarnation, and it contained a small amount of the crystal's power. Later you learned to use the crystal itself in order to transform. But of all of the scouts, you received more power upgrades than anyone. As your power and knowledge of the crystal grew, you evolved into an even stronger sailor scout. These were all stepping stones that will lead you into becoming the Neo Queen."

"So you're saying that my whole life has been one long evolution?" Serena asked slowly.

"That one way to look at it," Mercury replied.

Serena chewed that over for a minute. "So does that mean that Eternal Sailor Moon is my last step before I become queen? I've had the same transformation for almost five years and it hasn't changed."

Mercury looked to her queen and raised an eyebrow.

Serenity sighed. "No, Serena. There is one more transformation for you before you become me. And it's not as far away as you think. In fact, you used that transformation once before, during the battle with Chaos."

Serena's thoughts flashed back to that horrible day, when she'd believed that she had lost everyone that she loved. She remembered calling forth the Silver Crystal and taking her princess form. Then Galaxia had been before her, slashing at her with a sword. And then she had been falling through the sky with her long, silken skirt flying around her and a sword falling with her. The possessed scout had been screaming at her to take up the sword and fight her back, but she had hesitated. Everything had seemed hopeless anyway. So what good would it have done for her to fight back?

Then, she had thought of Darien, her family, and her friends, and she could have sworn that she heard them all speaking to her, telling her to never give up, that there was always hope. She was the one that had to protect the planet.

Reenergized, she'd grabbed the sword and let all of her emotions pour through her, her heartache, her sorrow, her sadness, and her anger. The power of the Silver Crystal had raced through her body with an intensity that she had never felt before. It was wild and untamed. And when the wings had suddenly burst from her shoulder blades she had panicked, knowing that she had let the power of the crystal overtake her the way that Luna had always warned her not to.

There had been two battles taking place that day. She had faced Galaxia, and she had freed her from Chaos's grip, but she had also been fighting inside herself. The transformation had felt wrong to her. It was too powerful and she couldn't control it. And if she couldn't control it she knew that the Silver Crystal would suck her dry and kill her.

She'd finally forced the energy back and locked it away, but not before it had pushed her past the brink of exhaustion. The moments that followed Galaxia's departure were hardly more than a huge blur to her. She remembered feeling joy as her dearest friends were returned to her, and she remembered bursting into tears of disbelief and happiness when Darien had suddenly appeared. She'd thrown herself at him as she cried, but at some point she had collapsed in his arms from the drain on both her emotions and her energy.

She'd woken up in Darien's bed several hours later, thankfully wingless. A few of the scouts had commented on her _angelic _appearance, but the subject had been dropped when they realized that she didn't want to talk about it.

Life had moved on, but it had taken a toll on her. She'd tried to act upbeat in front of everyone, although she was sure that she hadn't completely fooled them, but it had taken her the better part of two weeks before she'd felt like her energy had returned to normal. That had been the worst energy drain that she had ever gone through, and it was a miracle that it hadn't killed her.

She looked at her future self in disbelief. "You mean I have to go through _that _again?"

The queen smiled at her gently. "I know it's a lot to take in, but it is necessary. Things are different now though. You were barely more than an emotionally distraught child the last time you unleashed that power. Now you are grown. You also have your complete memories of the past and you've perfected your control of the Silver Crystal. You can use that power now and be able to control it. I'm not saying that it will be easy. Heaven knows that even I have days when I would love to throw the Silver Crystal into the closest lake I can find. But this is your power, Serena. It is yours to use. Mother has even told you to embrace it."

Serena shook her head. "It's dangerous."

"Only if you allow it to be," Serenity responded. "You are the master of the crystal, not the other way around. As long as you remember that, the crystal cannot overpower you. It will do what you ask it to."

Serena still shook her head in denial.

Then Mercury sat back with her arms crossed. "The bottom line, Serena, is that if you ever hope to one day become queen so that you can save the Earth, you have got to come to terms with your power. Because without the true Princess Serenity, there will be no Neo Queen Serenity, and the planet will be doomed forever."

_*****End Flashback*****_

"You look whipped," Jess told her. "Maybe you should go on back to bed."

Serena arched a brow at her. "Look who's talking, raccoon eyes! If those circles of yours get any darker people are going to start accusing Andrew of domestic abuse. You look like somebody popped you good in both eyes."

"Ha! Ha!" Jess intoned dryly. "I'll probably crash soon. It's just that when I get worked up like this I have to wait until I wind down."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Serena sighed. "I guess anything's better than laying in bed, listening to your man snore, huh?"

"Drew doesn't snore…at least not loudly," Jess protested. Then she giggled. "It's kinda cute in a way. He looks like such a little boy when he's sleeping. I have to stop myself from grabbing him up and squeezing him to death. But he never lets anything interfere with his sleep. He just lays down and he's out almost as soon as his head touches the pillow."

Serena smiled slyly. "That doesn't say much about your bedroom life, does it?"

"Serena!" Jess gasped. Then she laughed. "Well, I don't kiss and tell. But you know how Raye and Lita are always complaining that men get their fun and then roll over and go to sleep? I think there is a certain amount of truth to that."

Serena joined her laughter. "Well, Mina said it best. If a guy falls asleep after sex then that means that you did your part right. And if he did his part right everybody's happy. So who cares who is sleeping?"

"Sage words of wisdom from the love goddess," Jess replied in a mock solemn tone. Then she threw in a jab of her own. "So if you're here, and Darien's in bed asleep, does that mean that you two have already started christening the palace?"

Serena's eyes flared wide. "And you say I'm bad! I don't kiss and tell either!"

"Joking! I'm joking!" Jess choked out around a laugh. "I just had to get you back for that crack about my bedroom life. Believe me, I don't want to know what other couples do behind closed doors. I just wish someone would explain that to Mina."

"Isn't that the truth!" Serena snorted.

Just then, someone cleared their throat and said, "Ooh boy! Party crashing time!"

Serena and Jess both whipped their heads around to find Shadow and Serenity standing not too far away with conspiratorial grins on their faces.

"Do you ladies have room for two more?" Serenity asked, holding up a large thermos. "We brought refreshments."

Jess chuckled. "I guess great minds do think alike."

Serena beamed a smile at them. "The more the merrier."

* * *

Andrew rolled over, still half asleep, and reached across the bed for Jess, only to find the other side rumpled but empty. He opened his eyes and looked around the darkened, unfamiliar bedroom. "Jess?"

The bathroom door was open and the lights off, so he knew that she wasn't in there. That could only mean one thing; she was wandering around this massive palace somewhere.

"Damn insomnia!" he growled as he threw back the covers and reached for his discarded jeans on the floor and pulled them on. A quick search told him that his shirt had disappeared, but that was nothing unusual when Jess was around. He couldn't understand why she loved shopping for clothes so much when she spent so much time wearing the button down shirts and boxer shorts that she stole from him.

He clicked on the lamp and went over to his duffle bag and rummaged around until he found a plain white t-shirt and pulled it over his head. Then, barefooted, he padded out of the room to find his wayward fiancée.

'_Thank god for soul bonds,' _he thought as he stepped into the hall. A person could spend days searching the palace and still not find the person they were looking for. But luckily, he shared a connection with his future wife that would lead him straight to her.

The door to the room across the hall opened, and Darien stepped out, looking like he had just rolled out of bed and threw on the closest clothes as well, the same faded jeans and black button down that he had been wearing earlier. Only now the jeans were unbuttoned and only three buttons held the shirt closed. The future king was barefooted as well.

"Fancy running into you out here," Andrew drawled.

"Oh hey," Darien mumbled around a yawn. "I woke up and Serena was gone. I figured I better hunt her down and drag her back to bed. She needs some sleep before we face whatever's waiting for us tomorrow. Same with you?"

Andrew nodded. "Yep. Normally I turn a blind eye when Jess's insomnia kicks in, but if she doesn't get at least a few hours of sleep tonight she's going to regret it come morning. Which way are you headed?"

Darien pointed to the right. "I sense her this way. You?"

"Same direction," Andrew told him. "Who knows, maybe they're together."

The two men walked in silence through the twisted maze of hallways until they reached an elevator.

Darien grinned at his friend. "Looks like they are together. This goes up to the conservatory. That's the only place they can be."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a sleep-roughened voice came from behind them.

The two men turned around as Endymion joined them, Drew just a few steps behind them. The two of them were in much the same state as their younger counterparts; barefooted and wearing wrinkled jeans and t-shirts.

Drew smothered a yawn behind his hand, and then grinned. "So they slipped out on you guys too, huh?"

"Appears that way," Darien replied. "But if Serena doesn't get some sleep she'll be a zombie come tomorrow. And that would not be good for our side."

Endymion chuckled. "Don't I know it. She's a very frightening lady when she's sleep deprived. Even the kids learned at a very early age how to read the signs, and they stay out of her way. They call her Mom-zilla during those times." Then he winced. "Don't tell her about that. She'd probably skin Rini and DJ alive and give them to Raye to broil."

The other three men laughed at his assessment of his wife. Then the elevator doors opened and the four of them stepped inside. They rode in companionable silence, all of them still slightly asleep, until the elevator stopped at the top and they got out.

Andrew, the only one of the group who hadn't seen the conservatory yet, took a moment to look around in surprise. "Impressive."

The sounds of feminine laughter carried to them, and they followed both it and the magnetic pull of the bonds they shared with their soul mates. Turning down the left path, they headed toward the rose garden. The giggles grew louder as they approached the clearing.

Just before the path opened into the clearing the four men pulled up short to watch the scene happening before them.

Serenity kept a blanket stashed there just for occasions like this, and all four women were currently laid out on it where it had been spread across a grassy spot on the ground. They were each red in the face from their laughter and they were all holding either their stomachs or sides.

"So," Serenity hiccupped around a giggle. "Mom, Hotaru, and I come into the house after shopping to find my brother, Mr. I Can Take Care Of A Baby For One Afternoon With No Problem, about a half step away from being declared insane and having to be locked away in the psycho ward. Somehow, he had managed to spill the powdered baby formula, and he was covered in it from head to toe. The worst part was that Kenny was screaming his head off because he had a wet diaper, and Sammy was running around trying to find some scissors."

"Why did he need scissors to change a diaper?" Serena managed to gasp.

"Because when he changed the diaper earlier, he used too much baby powder and it got on the sticky tabs and they wouldn't hold. So he'd used duct tape to hold the diaper together and then he couldn't get it undone!" Serenity howled.

Jess shrieked with laughter, rolling onto her side as she wrapped both arms around her middle. "Oh stop! If I laugh any more I swear I'll explode!"

Serena was crying she was laughing so hard. "Oh, you're kidding me, right? Sammy didn't really do that, did he?"

Serenity held a hand up in a V sign. "Sailor scouts' honor, he did! Needless to say, Hotaru didn't leave him alone with the baby for a while after that."

"That story never gets old," Shadow said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "At least I never had to worry about leaving Drew with the twins. He was a natural with them from the day they were born. He had a bit of a hard time handling both of them at once, but then again, so did I sometimes."

"Ix-nay! Ix-nay!" Serenity hissed at her friend. "Do you want to bring Trista crashing down on us for saying more than we should?"

The dark blonde woman snorted. "I'm not scared of Pluto. Tell her to bring it on." Then she yawned widely. "Wow! I think that tea did the trick. I could fall asleep right here. Did anyone think to bring some pillows?"

"Who needs pillows?" Jess mumbled, using her arm as a pillow as she tucked it under her head. "Somebody wake me up when Discord decides to show his ugly mug, okay."

Serena had her eyes closed, but she smiled as she murmured softly to the others, "I don't know if the rest of you are aware of this, but we're not alone anymore."

"Mm-hmm," her companions hummed back.

Serena was a bit surprised that all three of them had responded. That meant that all four of their soul mates were close by. But when the others remained quiet instead of busting their eavesdroppers, she followed their lead…at least until she sensed the tall male presence standing over her.

She cracked her eyes open and looked up into Darien's tired, but amused sapphire eyes. "Hi honey," she purred sleepily.

He crossed his arms as he looked down at her. "Hi yourself! Do you have any idea what time it is? You should have been asleep a while ago. We have a busy day tomorrow."

"I know," she yawned. "But I was still keyed up. I was just trying to unwind a little. I think I'm ready for bed now though."

He held a hand down to her and pulled her to her feet, placing an arm around her waist as she wobbled on her feet. Around them, similar conversations were taking place.

"Serena, you know that you need your sleep," Endymion was fussing. "You're going to have to use the Silver Crystal tomorrow. So your energy is going to have to be at it's best."

Serenity bowed her head at the chastising, but a tiny smile still played around her lips. "I know. But I couldn't sleep, so I thought that maybe some chamomile tea would help relax me. Besides, who could go to sleep with all the snoring you were doing?"

"You're one to talk, Little Miss Buzzsaw," Endymion teased back. "There have been many times that I thought the walls were going to come down and the ceiling fall in on us during some of your snooze-fests."

Shadow snorted, "Oh, please! I'm getting a stomachache just listening to you two being so sweet together. Serena, just drag the man off to bed already if you're going to continue to flirt with him and save me from having to hurl."

Endymion waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "It wouldn't be the first time she's dragged me to bed tonight."

"Darien!" Serenity screeched as began slapping at his shoulder.

Everybody else, except Serena, laughed at the king's joke. Instead she buried her burning red face in her hands and moaned, "Oh my god! He's turned into a depraved pervert!"

The arms around her waist tightened, and then Darien's voice was whispering in her ear, "Oh, come on! You know that you like my naughty side."

Jess was wobbling on her feet as she leaned against Andrew's shoulder. "Well, this has been real and all, but it's definitely crash time for me. I'm about to fall asleep standing up."

"Me too," Serenity sighed. "I guess our tea party is over, girls. Now we have to get ourselves rested up and ready to face tomorrow. And may the gods be on our side."

* * *

_The city was burning in the distance. He could see the flames shooting high up into the afternoon sky and the thick plumes of smoke that hung like dark clouds, making it seem darker than it actually was._

_His heart was in his throat, strangling him as it pounded wildly with fear. Most of his family and friends, people that he loved and cared deeply for, were in the city right now, and they needed help. People could be dying at this very moment, and he was just standing there._

_Sensing that he wasn't alone, he turned around on the grassy knoll to face the others. Sailor Caloris was sitting on the ground, sobbing into her pulled up knees as Flame knelt next to her, hugging her tightly. Sailors Crescent Moon, Ishtar, and Callisto were huddled together in a group with their arms around each other, crying as they watched the destruction of their home._

_But his eyes locked on the two who were standing closest to him, who were staring in disbelief with their wildly glowing gold and silver eyes._

"_What do we do?" he yelled at them._

_Katie shook her head. "I don't know."_

"_I don't think there is anything we can do now," DJ ground out._

"_That's bullshit!" he exploded. "There has to be something we can do, dammit!"_

_The sky above them grew darker and there was a roar like a freight train. Then a loud voice boomed, "There is nothing that you can do, you incompetent little brats! The Earth shall be mine! Now die!"_

_Dark energy shot toward the three of them, buckling the ground beneath their feet. He heard the rest of their friends screaming, and he was grateful that they were far enough away to not get caught up in this attack. Then the ground opened up, and he, Katie, and DJ fell into darkness._

Alex thrashed awake, a scream building in the back of his throat. He was jerking around so much that he managed to flip himself completely out of bed where he landed in a heap of twisted limbs and sheets on the hard crystal floor.

"Damn!" he hissed as he hit his head just hard enough to be annoying. He rubbed the bump, muttering, "Just great! I get a few months free from the nightmares, and then the first night home they come back."

And when he felt the flare of two other terrified auras, he reached out to them mentally. _'Are you guys okay?'_

'_What the hell was that?' _Katie's voice trembled through his mind.

'_Both of you had the same dream?' _DJ asked, trying to sound like his usually calm self. But there was a shakiness to his tone that belied his nerves.

'_Dream, my ass! That was an effin nightmare!' _Alex snapped, feeling like he was going to throw up.

Silver light flashed in the room as his sister appeared. Tears were pouring from her silver eyes as she looked frantically around the room. When she spotted her brother still sitting on the floor, her eyes faded back to their normal hazel and a sob tore from her throat as she threw herself at him. Her arms closed around him like channel locks as she hugged him tightly.

He hugged her back just as tightly, taking comfort from her presence and her familiar strawberry scent. It reminded him of the nights when they would have nightmares while they were growing up. Most of the time they had suffered in silence, but there had been nights when Katie would come to his room after a particularly bad nightmare and crawl into bed with him, seeking comfort from her twin. He had always played the strong one, consoling her and rubbing her back until she would finally stop crying and go back to sleep, but he had always been soothed by her as well.

Neither one of them flinched when the golden light that signaled DJ's arrival flared a few seconds later. Katie took a moment to give her brother one extra squeeze before she jumped up and launched herself at her boyfriend, burying her face in his neck.

It was a testament to how shaken up Alex was that he didn't voice a complaint about the fact that his sister was barely wearing any clothes, just a t-shirt and a pair of panties, and that she was plastered up against a guy who was only wearing a pair of cut off sweatpants. Normally, he would have never let that slide. But at the moment he didn't give a damn.

He got up off the floor and tossed the covers back onto the bed before stumbling into the adjoining bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. It helped clear his mind a bit and chased away the last of the nausea. He dried his face with a towel and then looked up in the mirror, his eyes immediately locking with the hazel ones behind him.

"Lex, are you okay?" Katie asked as she stepped toward him.

He turned around to face her and savored the feel of her cool hand as she reached up to push his shaggy brown bangs back from his face. "Yeah, I'll be alright. That nightmare just knocked me for a loop. It kinda came out of left field ya know, and I wasn't expecting it. How about you? Are you okay?"

At first she nodded slowly. Then she shook her head and sucked in a shuddering breath as she bit down hard on her bottom lip. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut as fresh tears sprang to life. After a moment, she blew out the breath she was holding and opened her shiny eyes as she gave him a wobbly smile. "I'll be okay. I just need a minute. Like you said, that nightmare was very unexpected."

She took his hand in hers and tugged him back into the bedroom where DJ had taken a seat on the couch in the little sitting area. She sat down next to him and pulled Alex down to sit on her other side. Then she reached for one of DJ's hands and sat there between them, holding on to both of them.

After a few minutes of silence, DJ spoke up. "It was a variation of the nightmare that we used to have. We were in the same time and the same place as before, but it was different."

Alex sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "Yeah, this time Emma, Rini, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah were with us."

Katie shuddered. "And this time all three of us fell into the hole." Both guys squeezed her hands reassuringly.

"But why has it changed?" Alex wondered out loud.

"Maybe it's because we have changed," DJ murmured. When the other two looked at him questioningly, he elaborated. "Think about it. Were we this close before we went to the past? No, we weren't. We were trained to fight together, but we couldn't anticipate each other's moves the way we can now. And it's no longer just the three of us against Discord. We have an entire support team standing behind us. I think that's why the nightmare changed."

"But it still shows Crystal Tokyo being destroyed," Katie whispered. "That part hasn't changed."

"But that doesn't mean that it will come true," Alex told her. Now that the worst of the shock of the nightmare had worn off he was slipping back into his usual optimistic persona. "Things can change. Besides, have you taken a good look at how much firepower is going to be protecting this city? I feel sorry for anything that thinks about attacking it."

The corner of DJ's mouth twitched in a slight smirk. "You've got a point. There are going to be around forty people staying behind to protect this place. That's a lot better odds than what we're facing."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks! That makes me feel so much better when you put it like that."

He chuckled softly. "Well, at least we've got a small advantage over the others."

"You two are impossible," Katie groaned, but a laugh slipped out behind her words.

Alex stretched his arms over his head. "Nightmare or no nightmare, I need some more beauty sleep if I'm going to be my usual suave, handsome self when we greet Discord tomorrow."

"Suave?" Katie giggled.

"Handsome?" DJ mocked. "Listen pal, the only reason why the ladies ever paid any attention to you is because you were with me. You just can't argue with my rugged, good looking charm."

"And Mr. Ego has finally arrived," Katie grumbled. Then she arched a brow at her boyfriend. "Let's get one thing straight, sweetie. You better inform your fan club that you are officially off limits from now on. I'm I catch even one of those flaky, power hungry, wannabe princesses sniffing after you they'll wish that they'd never given you a second look. Discord will look like Santa Claus compared to what I'll do to them."

"Ooh, she told you!" Alex cackled gleefully.

But his laughter was cut short when his sister turned her head and pinned him with the same reproachful look. "The same goes for you too, brother dear. I'm sure Emma will agree with me when I say that we don't want any of those vipers putting moves on our men."

Then she giggled and leaned over to give both boys a kiss on the cheek. "Oh well! That's enough out of me I guess. Now I'm off to bed again. Catch ya later!" Her eyes flashed to silver, and then she disappeared.

DJ chuckled and shook his head. "Damn! She is hot when she gets jealous!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Alex cried, throwing his hands up. "Not in front of me! The last thing I want to hear is how hot you think my sister is. That's so disturbing that I can't even put it into words!"

A sly smirk appeared on the prince's face. "I can't help but speak the truth. Face it, buddy. I think your sister is the sexiest thing I've ever seen." Then he laughed and vanished before his friend could lunge at him.

"Moron!" Alex grumbled as he found himself alone again, but he couldn't help but grin. At least his best friend had great taste. But the important thing was that he made Katie happy.

But he did start to question whether DJ was as smart as he gave him credit for when he sensed that Katie was alone in her room across the hall while DJ was in his room at the opposite end of the wing. Most guys would take advantage of being able to teleport in and out of a girl's room without taking the chance of getting caught sneaking through the hallways.

"Amateurs," he snorted as he did a little teleporting of his own. He flashed out of his room in a burst of red-orange light and reappeared in another bedroom just a second later.

He barely glanced around the room that was decorated brightly in shades of pale orange and yellow. His attention was fully focused on the sleeping angel in the bed that was situated between two windows.

Emma lay on her back with one arm flung away from her body and the other one across her stomach. Her long golden hair splayed around her like a silken fan and her dark lashes cast shadows onto her cheeks.

The curtains in the room were partially open, so Alex had plenty of light to see by as he crept closer to the bed. He stood beside it for a moment, just drinking in the sight of the beautiful woman that he hoped to marry one day. She looked like she'd barely moved a muscle since he'd teleported her sleeping body to her room earlier after she had fallen asleep in his bed.

He'd been tempted at first to keep her with him all night. She usually slept with her door locked, so it wasn't like anyone would know if she was in her room or not. But since this was her first night home after being gone for so long, he thought that there might be a possibility of her parents coming to check on her, so he'd returned her to her bed when she had fallen asleep after they had made love earlier. He didn't think that Venus would have a problem with her daughter sharing the bed with the man that she loved, but Kunzite was another matter.

He knew that he shouldn't be here now. He should be in his own bed, trying to squeeze in a few more hours of sleep before morning came. But the truth was that he was afraid to get back into his lonely bed after having that nightmare. He was scared that if he laid down and closed his eyes that the horrifying visions would return. Being around Emma made him feel better, even if she was asleep. Just being near her soothed him.

He sank to his knees next to the bed and took her outstretched hand in his. He kissed the back of it lightly before turning it over and pressing her palm to his cheek. A feeling of calmness stole over him at the touch of her skin against his, and he sighed and closed his eyes.

Minutes passed as he sat there holding her hand to his face. He was beginning to feel drowsy when suddenly her fingers twitched in his and there was a shuffling sound as she shifted under the covers. He opened his eyes and looked toward her sleeping face.

Her head moved slowly from side to side on her pillow and her expression twisted up like she was having an unpleasant dream. A frown turned down lips as she murmured softly, "Alex…" And then her eyes blinked open.

She turned her head to fix those hazy pools of soft gray on him as a sleepy smile graced her lips. "Hey…" she barely breathed.

"Hey…" he whispered back with a gentle smile of his own.

She blinked her eyes a few times like she was trying to wake herself up a little more, and then that unhappy expression appeared on her face again. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing's wrong?"

One blonde eyebrow arched at him. "You can't fool me, Alex. You sitting on the floor beside my bed in the middle of the night, holding my hand like a lifeline is a dead giveaway that something is up. And even if you weren't, I can feel that you are upset. That's what woke me up."

He set her hand back down on her blanket. "It was just a dream. That's all."

"A nightmare?" she asked in concern.

He gave a jerky nod.

She sighed. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't!" he snapped in a louder tone.

She threw her hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay! We won't talk about it."

Realizing that he was being an ass, he groaned and let his head drop to her mattress. "I'm sorry. I'm just on edge. I shouldn't take it out on you. Forgive me?"

She reached over and ran her fingers through his tousled brown hair. "You know I do. We're all stressed right now. You wouldn't be human if you weren't."

He raised his head to look at her. "You're too good to me sometimes. Did you know that?"

"Sometimes I think it's you who's too good to me," she replied with an impish grin. Then she raised the corner of her covers as she scooted over and patted the spot next to her.

"Your dad would kill me if he caught me here," he protested. "Remember that time he almost busted me when I was hiding in your closet?"

She grabbed his hand and tugged lightly. "The door is locked. If anybody comes knocking I'll wake you up and you can just teleport out of here. I promise."

When he still hesitated, she pushed her lower lip out in a pout. "Please. I don't like to think of you being alone."

He didn't particularly care for that thought either, so he got up from the floor and slid in between the covers beside her. A feeling of contentment washed over him as she snuggled up to his side, pillowing her head on his shoulder as she draped an arm across his waist.

"Night, baby. Sweet dreams," she murmured, already halfway back into dreamland.

He kissed the top of her head and wrapped both of his arms around her. "You too, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you too," she breathed as sleep overcame her.

In less than two minutes, Alex fell into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

* * *

Helios sighed as he ran a hand over his face. There were some nights when being the high priest of dreams could be a huge pain in the butt, and this night was definitely one of the worst. He had spent hours now looking over all of the inhabitants of the Crystal Palace, trying to assist any of them that seemed to need help getting a good night's rest.

Some of them were doing fine on their own, but others were definitely suffering from the effects of anticipating the upcoming battle. The problem was that most of them were so stubborn that they resisted even his most powerful magic, making him have to work twice as hard in order to coax them into a slumber.

Jess, both the one from Tokyo of the past and her future counterpart, hadn't been a surprise for him to find awake. After all, he had been dealing with her insomnia for years now and he knew how to handle her. The best thing to do was to keep his magical persuasion pressing heavy on the back of her mind until she finally ran out of steam.

He'd handled Serena and Neo Queen Serenity in much the same way, but he had been a bit shocked at how long it had taken them to finally give up the fight. Sleeplessness was something that he was not used to having to deal with on a regular basis when it came to his future mother-in-law, and in the few times that he had been compelled to aid her in the past she had given in much more easily. That concerned him greatly because it meant that both the past and future forms of the queen must be extremely worried about the next day's events.

He had mentally darted around the palace all night, giving nudges here and there when needed and easing restlessness. But it seemed like that for every one person he got to go into a true sleep, at least three others would wake. Even now, as he felt Serena, Serenity, Jess, and Shadow slip into an even deeper state of sleep, other auras were stirring around the palace.

"I give up," he groaned into his hands. "I can't keep up with all of them. I just need to count myself lucky that most of them managed to get a few hours and leave it at that. The sun will be rising in a few hours anyway, so I'm just fighting a losing battle."

Surprisingly, the ones that he had expected the most trouble out of one this eve before the fight were the ones that had given him the least. Katie and DJ had gone to their beds and had fallen asleep with only minimal tossing and turning. Alex had stayed up a bit later than they had, but he had eventually gone to sleep as well. Their sleep had been only slightly restless, but he had taken care of that with no problem. At least until a short while ago.

Helios had been the high priest of Elysian for many centuries now, and he had always taken pride in being able to protect peoples' dreams and keep them safe. There was a realm that most humans never knew existed, a dark place where demons who liked to feed on human dreams dwelled.

His job, along with those of the dream priestesses of Elysian, was to police the dream world of the humans and protect their dreams from the succubus demons. Whenever one of the demons managed to crossover from their realm into the dream realm, Helios or one of the priestesses would go after it and drive it out. Because the longer that a demon was left to feed from dreams, the stronger it would become. And if a demon came across a particularly beautiful dream, it would suck it dry until the dreamer either went insane or worse, died.

But Helios had never let the power of his position go to his head. He knew that there were others who could make his dream power look like a cheap magician's trick, the Oneiroi.

The dream gods weren't as restricted as the other gods by Zeus's edict that forbade human contact since they only visited humans in their dreams and not in the physical world. But being the high and mighty gods that they were, they rarely ever bothered even coming into the dream world anymore unless they were extremely bored. In their eyes, humans were hardly more than toys to them.

In fact, until about seven years ago, Helios hadn't sensed any of the Oneiroi in dreams in well over a millennium. Then suddenly, one night, a rush of power had invaded the dream world, attacking the three young Trinity holders with horrific nightmares.

Now Helios knew that in addition to the good dreams, everyone had to have nightmares from time to time. Just like dark countered light and evil countered good, nightmares were essential to help keep the balance. But it had chafed him when the three children had continued to suffer on an almost nightly basis for weeks, then months, and then years afterward.

Normally, he would have stepped in and attempted to lessen the blow of such prolonged nightmares, like he had done for Jess while she was growing up when the memories of her past life had been struggling to get free. But he had sensed that the power being used to send the Trinity holders these dreams belonged to a god, so he had not interfered. He knew his place on the ladder of power, and a god outranked him by a lot.

Obviously, Selene, Gaia, and Apollo had recruited another god's help to send DJ, Katie, and Alex dreams of a possible outcome for the future in order to attempt to help motivate them into making sure it didn't happen. He seriously doubted that Morpheus, the leader of the Oneiroi and the actual god of dreams, would bother himself with sending troublesome dreams to three human teenagers, nor would Phantasos, who usually stuck to playing on peoples' fantasies when messing with their dreams.

Phobetor, on the other hand, was the god of nightmares, and a prime suspect for being the one that was sending the three nightmares of death and destruction. Like the other gods, he held a superior disdain for humans. But he also had a mischievous side that reveled in terrifying people in their dreams. And this would be right up his alley.

Regardless of whoever it was behind the dreams, Helios knew a god power when he felt it, so he hadn't interfered with the nightmares even though he had wanted to. He knew that to interfere with a god's plan would bring their wrath crashing down on him, so he just had to trust that the deities knew what they were doing by sending out these dreams.

The soft patter of almost noiseless footsteps had him looking up from where he was kneeling before the altar of the Elysian temple while he had been doing a patrol through the dream world in search of demonic parasites. He smiled softly, "I wasn't sure if I would see you here tonight or not."

Aurora returned his smile as she knelt beside him. "There was really no need for me to stay in the outside world. All is quiet for now, and as Jess loves to remind me, she is no longer a child. So I thought that it was a good time for me to return home for a spell."

Helios reached for her hand and squeezed it companionably. "You are always welcome here. You know that. If anything, you have more right to be here than I do. Not that I would ever bring up a lady's age, but you have been here far longer than I."

She slapped playfully at him. "Only by a few centuries, you youngling! I was still considered to be quite young when you were born." Then her expression turned serious. "I felt the power before. Are the kids okay?"

He nodded. "They had a pretty intense nightmare, but they all awoke and recovered after a few minutes. Alex has already fallen back asleep. DJ and Katie are still up and about, but they managed to get a few hours rest, so I'm going to let them deal with this on their own. It's obvious that the gods don't want me interfering."

"I know," Aurora sighed. "I just have a hard time understanding why they are choosing to torment those poor children now on the eve before they are going to face Discord. They have left them alone for the past few months. So why start again now?"

"Who knows why the gods think the way that they do?" he replied heavily. "The best conclusion that I can come up with is that they want to make sure that the Trinity holders are completely on guard and prepared for what might happen."

"Well they should leave them alone!" Aurora snapped. "Those poor darlings already have enough on their minds without the gods treating their heads like a playground. They have left them alone for months now. They shouldn't be messing with them again when they are so close to trying to end this."

"I understand where you are coming from," Helios agreed. "But I can also understand what the gods are trying to accomplish. The entire future is resting on the shoulders of those three teens, and they want to make sure that they are as prepared as they can possibly be. The nightmares might be harsh, but if it helps…" He put a weary hand over his eyes.

"You should get some rest," she told him sympathetically. "You worry about whether or not everyone else is getting sleep, yet you neglect your own. Go and try to get a few hours of rest. I'll keep an eye on the dream realm for now."

He removed his hand from his eyes to give her a wry look. "But you're not on duty."

She let out a snort. "I haven't officially been on duty for years now since I've been busy trying to keep my promise to Serenity and Althea to watch over their family. But if I can handle a bunch of stubborn kids, I bet I can kick a demon's butt if it comes slinking around in someone's dreams."

He chuckled. "I have no doubt that you could. You were always very talented when it came to sending demons packing."

"Then there is no reason why you can't go sleep while I take care of things here," she replied firmly. "Now get moving mister. This is going to be an emotionally trying day for all of us, and you're going to need to keep your wits about you."

"All right! All right! I'm going!" he grumbled good-naturedly. "Has anyone told you that you've gotten pushy in your old age?"

"Ha! Ha!" she said dryly, refusing to get riled by his ribbing. "As a matter of fact, I've heard similar mutters many times over the years. But if none of those have ever bothered me, then your taunts won't either. Go to bed, Helios."

He shook his head in amusement. "I'm going. But if anything stronger than a level 3 succubus demon comes along…"

"I'll be sure to summon you," she reassured him with a grin. "Being around Jess all of these years may have made me crazy, but even I am not crazy enough to take on a high level demon alone. Now quit yakking and get to bed!"

"Yes ma'am!" he chuckled as he gave her a mock salute. Then he teleported out of the temple and back to the Golden Palace.

He reappeared in the sitting room of his suite on the upper floor of the palace. Heaving a deep sigh, he pushed open one of the double doors to his bedroom and stepped inside.

His eyes flicked immediately to his bed, and he felt a little relief when he saw a slight lump under the covers and the long strands of soft pink hair trailing over the side of the mattress. Patrolling dreams took all of his concentration, so he hadn't been able to check in with Rini for a few hours.

He hadn't even been sure whether or not she would still be there or if she had returned home. They hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms earlier.

_*****Flashback*****_

"Rini," he said gently as he took her chin in his hand. "You keep taking what I say the wrong way. I just wish you would look at this from my point of view."

She jerked her chin out of his hand and then stomped a few steps away from him. "We've been over this already. I am not to hide here in Elysian during the fight and leave my brother and the others to deal with this on their own. They might need my help, and I'm going to be there for them."

He ran agitated fingers through his silvery-white hair. It was a gesture that he had picked up from his king and future father-in-law. He sat down on the edge of the fountain in the rose garden and propped his elbows on his knees.

Finally, he whispered, "I'm just trying to keep you safe."

Rini whirled around to look at him; her maroon eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "I know you are. And I love you for it. But I have to do this. My family, my home, my entire future depends on the outcome of this fight. I know that you think of me as being the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo, but I am a sailor scout as well. It's my job to protect the planet from its enemies."

He felt his temper begin to stir as he lunged to his feet to face her. "I see you as much more than just the crown princess, and I know that you are a warrior, but I also see you as the woman who will one day become my wife. What kind of man am I to just stand calmly aside and let the woman that he loves walk into a potentially life-threatening situation?"

Her eyes snapped as her anger began to simmer as well. "Well you've never seemed to have a problem with it before! In fact, I seem to remember a certain someone giving me a kiss and then sending me to face Nehellenia. You didn't seem too concerned then."

"Of course I was concerned!" he fired back. "But we were in a desperate situation. I just had to trust in the fact that Serena had the Silver Crystal and that Darien had just been reunited with the Golden Crystal. I had to believe that they would protect you because I knew that I couldn't."

She let out a derisive sounding laugh. "And what about the first time we faced Discord? You let me leave Elysian that day knowing what we were going up against, and you didn't make any attempts then to make me stay behind."

An irritated growl rumbled in his throat. "Once again, I knew that you would be well protected. Darien was with you and I believed in my heart that he would be able to free Serena from Discord. Jess had reclaimed her full power and Andrew was becoming powerful as well. You also had all of the scouts and generals with you; I knew that you would be safe. But this fight is different. You will be leaving the safety of the city and your parents to face Discord. It makes me uncomfortable."

"I'm not some pampered little girl that requires constant protection!" she suddenly screamed at him as she stomped her foot.

He arched a brow at her tantrum, feeling more anger bubble up inside of him. "Are you sure about that? You're acting pretty juvenile right now."

She stalked right up to him and poked him hard in the chest with a finger, her eyes glowing hotly as she sneered, "If I am such a helpless little girl that needs someone watching over her all of time and you are so concerned for my safety, then where were you all the times when I did need someone? Where were you when the Black Moon clan attacked my home and my parents were injured? I was scared and alone and forced to travel to the past by myself. Where were you when Wiseman captured me and twisted my mind around until I was only too happy to attack my own family? Where were you when Mistress 9 took my pure heart crystal and I almost died? Oh, that's right! I know where you were. You were here hiding in your own little world. You didn't reveal yourself to me until you needed my help with those Dead Moon Circus freaks! And even then you were secretive for months before you told me who you really were."

His temper burst and he grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a firm shake as he yelled, "It wasn't like that at all! I always looked out for you…always! From the moment you were born I kept watch over you from afar. Believe me, I would have loved to have been by your side from the first day, but I knew that things had to happen in a certain way or time would be irrevocably changed. It killed me to have to stay away from you, but it was the way things had to be. But I promise you this, if there had ever been a time during the trials that you faced when I had been certain that things were going wrong and that you would die, I would have come to your aid and the timeline be damned! You are the single, most precious thing in my life, and I don't want to lose you!"

Rini stared up at him, looking like she was only seconds away from bursting into tears. But she clenched her jaw and ground out, "Let me go, Helios, before I have to make you!"

He realized then that he was still gripping her shoulders hard, possibly hard enough to leave bruises. He let her go quickly and took a step back, his emotions whirling uncontrollably inside him.

Knowing that they needed a little time apart so that they could both calm down before either of them said or did something that they would regret, he mumbled, "I need to get to work," and he teleported away.

_*****End Flashback*****_

It had been a cowardly move on his part to run away like that, but he knew that it was for the best. He and Rini didn't fight often, but when they did it tended to turn into an explosive situation. She was high-spirited, and it was one of the things that he loved most about her, but it also meant that she was hardheaded and stubborn. Not surprising considering who her parents were. Serenity and Endymion were both bull-headed at times, which had caused some heated arguments between them over the years.

Helios had always prided himself on being calm, cool, and collected. Not saying that he never got frustrated or irritated about things, because he did. But his years as a young boy, growing up in Elysian and training at his father's, the former head priest's, side had taught him how to direct his emotions to make them work for him in a positive way. He had been hot-tempered as a child, but over the centuries he had learned how to not let his feelings get the better of him. Whenever he was faced with something bothersome he took a deep breath and dealt with it calmly.

Rini, though, had always seemed to be the exception to that rule. Whenever she was around his emotions ran wild and free. It was as if something inside of him came unlocked when she was with him, and it reminded him that he was still alive. When he was with her he felt that he could truly be himself. Yes, they argued sometimes. But didn't every couple at some point?

He walked over to the side of the bed to take a peek at his sleeping princess. She was on her side with her back toward him, so he had to lean over her to see her face. Her eyes were closed and her cheeks were flushed with sleep. Her lips were slightly parted as soft, even breaths puffed past them. A quick mental check assured him that she was resting comfortably.

He couldn't help but grin though, when he saw that she had pulled his pillow to her and was hugging it snugly in her arms. That, and the fact that she was sleeping here in his bed instead of at home in her own, let him know that the time apart had been good for both of them and that she had calmed down as well.

Feeling relieved, he went into his bathroom and turned on the shower for the water to heat. He stripped off his robes while it did, and then stepped inside the glass stall and closed the door behind him. As the hot spray began raining down on him, a deep weariness spread throughout his body.

He leaned back against one of the cool glass walls and let his chin drop to his chest as his eyes fell closed. The stress from the past few months must finally be catching up to him. He didn't look much older than his early twenties, and most days he felt as young as he looked, but right now he felt the weight of every single one of his centuries pressing down on him.

"Face it, old man. You're not as young as you used to be," he muttered under his breath as he tried to muster the strength to push away from the wall and finish his shower. All he wanted to do was crawl into his bed and take Rini in his arms. That sounded like the closest thing to heaven to him at the moment, to lie back and have her softness pressed against his side. He particularly adored the way her fingers would move over his chest, even when she was asleep. He could picture it so clearly that he could actually feel them now.

It wasn't until he heard the huff of a low laugh that he realized that what he was feeling was real. His amber eyes popped open as his head jerked up to find a pair of deep maroon ones only inches from his. "Rini!"

His princess let out another small laugh. "Hi, honey. Tough night at the office?"

One of his hands came up to cover hers where it was tracing random patterns across the smooth skin of his chest. "I've had better. So what are you doing in here? I figured that you'd stay asleep for a while."

She tilted her head slightly at his words and actions. "I guess I must have sensed you come in. I woke up and heard the water running, so I thought I'd come and talk to you."

He slid from between her and the wall to step fully under the spraying water. A minute before he had been fantasizing about holding Rini's sleeping body close to him, but now that she was awake and looking at him with those inquisitive eyes of hers it brought back every detail of their earlier fight. And he felt like a bastard.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked carefully as he reached for the shampoo.

"Umm…" she hummed, taken aback just a bit by the casualness of his voice. "I just wanted to make sure that you weren't still angry about before."

He focused on working the shampoo through his silvery hair. "I'm not angry."

"Are you sure?" A small undercurrent of hope threaded through her voice.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back to rinse the suds away. "I'm sure."

Silence stretched between them for a minute while he finished rinsing his hair. Then, being careful to keep his eyes averted from her, he reached for the soap and a washcloth.

"I don't believe you," she finally said, her voice low and buzzing with emotion.

He blew out a heavy breath as he began to scrub down his body. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's the truth."

"Then why won't you even look at me?" she flung back angrily.

He raised his eyes to meet hers, but it only lasted for a few seconds before his gaze skittered guiltily away. "See, I look at you."

A low growl was all the warning he got before he found himself pushed back into the glass wall of the shower and pinned between it and the highly emotional woman in front of him.

"You know damn well what I mean!" she hissed as she placed a hand on the wall at either side of his head, trapping him in case he decided to bolt. The heat from her eyes seemed to sear straight though him.

"Look," she told him in a surprisingly steady voice. "I know I said a lot of horrible things to you earlier, and you have every right to be mad at me, but I want to clear the air between us. I can't stand the thought of you being angry at me."

He forced his eyes to remain locked with hers as he replied sincerely, "I'm not angry with you, Rini. Truly, I'm not. The only person I'm furious with right now is myself."

Her expression turned confused. "Why?"

His hands came up to rest lightly on her shoulders, sliding smoothly over her now wet skin. He looked miserable enough to cry as he whispered, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

She pulled back just a couple of inches to get a better look at his face. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

He shook his head. "Don't try to downplay it in an attempt to make me feel better, my princess. I know what I did was atrocious. It's one thing to say words in anger, but to put my hands on you like that…"

"Whoa! Whoa!" Rini interrupted him. "What do you mean by that?"

His hands were now caressing the delicate skin of her upper arms and shoulders. "I grabbed you and shook you in a fit of anger. You would be well within your rights to tell your father what I did. And I would deserve whatever punishment that he decided to give me."

Rini gave her head a hard shake. "Hold up just a second. Are you seriously worried about what happened between us earlier?"

He nodded slowly. "I lost my temper and I shouldn't have. I was scared that I had hurt you. I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to see me again."

To his surprise, she began laughing. "I can't believe that you are all worked up over that. I'm not saying that I was happy at the time with you grabbing me like that, but I understand that you were upset. Besides, like I told you before, I'm not that fragile. I'm perfectly fine. See?" She held up her arm to show him the smooth, unblemished, and lightly tanned skin of her upper arm.

"There's not a bruise on me," she told him triumphantly. "So you need to quit kicking yourself over this. We both got mad and we both lost our tempers, but nobody was hurt. And you didn't hold me as hard as you thought you did anyway. So let's drop it, okay."

He heaved a sigh of relief that she wasn't threatening to leave him. "Okay."

Then her expression turned positively evil. "You just better count yourself lucky that I held onto my temper as much as I did, or you would have been out for the count buddy!"

"I believe you," he replied with a grin. "So are we okay?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yeah, we're okay…as long as we stay away from the subject of you wanting me to stay here during the fight. That is definitely taboo."

He nodded in resignation. "I don't like it, but I won't mention it again."

She beamed a smile at him. "Good! Now, let's get your shower finished so we can go to bed. Turn around so I can wash your back for you."

Dutifully, Helios turned and presented his back for its scrubbing. But as Rini's slender hands moved the soapy washcloth over the expanse of pale skin, he felt himself becoming less and less tired.

When she was finished he turned so that the spray of water could wash the suds from him and reached for the cloth. "Now it's your turn. Since you washed my back, it's only fair that I return the favor."

She danced out of his reach with a laugh. "Oh no you don't! I already took a bath earlier in that swimming pool of a bathtub of yours. That's why I've been trying for the last several minutes to keep from getting my hair wet." She pointed to the messy knot of pink hair that was twisted up on top of her head. A few strands had escaped the pins to curl damply around her, but it was dry for the most part.

He shot her a mischievous grin. "So why did you climb in here with me if you didn't want to take a chance of getting your precious hair wet?"

She arched a brow at him. "You don't have to sound so smug. But if you really want to know, I figured cornering you in the shower was my best chance of getting to talk to you without you poofing off to get away from me. I'm sure you don't like the idea of teleporting around in the buff."

"It wouldn't be one of my favorite things to do," he agreed. "It was very strategic of you to trap me like this. I'm impressed."

"My parents didn't raise a dummy," she quipped back.

"Hmm…" he mused. "So it seems. But there is one fatal flaw in your plan, princess."

"And what would that be?" she asked, completely unconcerned.

His amber eyes were practically glowing as he answered. "You revealed your weakness to me, and now I know exactly how to exploit it to gain the upper hand."

"What…" Rini began, but she broke off with a squeak when Helios's hand wrapped around her wrist and tugged her to him, and right under the spraying water where she was instantly soaked.

"Hey!" she sputtered as she tried to blink the water out of her eyes. "What's the big idea? Do you know how long it takes me to get this mop of mine to dry?"

"I'll dry it for you," Helios told her as he pulled her body tightly against his. Then he growled in a husky voice, "Now I have you exactly where I want you."

He turned them around so that she was now the one pinned between him and the wall. Then his lips found hers, cutting off her protests.

Needless to say that they didn't leave the shower until the hot water ran out and the chill forced them to seek the warmth of the bed.

* * *

"What a night," DJ grumbled as he walked into his bedroom from his adjoining bathroom, wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and rubbing his wet hair with a towel. His nerves had been so rattled after the earlier nightmare that he had decided to indulge in a long, hot shower once he had returned to his room. And it had worked wonders.

He tossed the towel over a chair as he passed by it and fell across his bed, reaching for his TV remote so that he could do a little channel surfing. He knew that trying to get some more sleep would be the logical thing to do, but he just wasn't feeling it. Besides, he didn't want to chance having another nightmare. One was definitely enough for one night.

After a few minutes, he clicked the TV off and tossed the remote aside in a huff. He had gone through all the channels, and there were a lot, but there wasn't a single thing on worth watching unless you were into crappily-made movies, boring sitcom re-runs, or infomercials. But that seemed to be all that was available during the extreme early morning hours.

He briefly considered getting up to put in a movie, but he quickly shelved that idea as well. He knew what he wanted, and that was to be with his girlfriend, who was currently in a room at the end of the wing. Katie was still awake. He could sense her. And he could pop in there in just a couple of seconds. But he wasn't sure if that was such a good idea.

Katie had been uncharacteristically quiet and slightly detached ever since earlier in the evening when their parents had given them the news about their college opportunities. He knew that she was upset at prospect of them being separated, and he had tried to talk to her about it, but she had cut him off with a sad little smile and had asked him to not speak about it until after the fight was over. Not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was, he had respected her wishes.

But now he felt like she was withdrawing from him, and it was driving him crazy. After they had retired to their respective rooms, alone, he had teleported into hers, thinking that they could finally have some time to be alone together. But after a few minutes of strained conversation and a couple of brief kisses, she had announced that she was tired and wanted to go to bed. She had also made it perfectly clear that she meant to go to bed alone, so he'd left her.

After returning to his own room, he'd laid in bed for a while as he'd tried to un-jumble the confusing thoughts in his head. He knew that wanting to be alone was one of Katie's coping mechanisms when she had something heavy on her mind, and he could respect that, but he couldn't help but feel that a wedge was being driven between them. And it scared him.

He'd felt a bit better when he had gone to her after their shared nightmare and she had flung herself willingly into his arms. Despite his own rattled nerves, it had been nice to hold and comfort her, at least for a few minutes. He had been tempted to go after her when she'd left Alex's room, but she had still been giving off a distant vibe, so he'd left her alone.

Now he couldn't help but wonder if he was doing the right thing by leaving her alone with her thoughts. Sometime in the coming hours they would be going into the toughest fight of their lives, and they couldn't afford to have any tension between them.

"Just get up off of your ass and go to her, Shields!" he snarled to himself. "Smooth things over with her. Don't talk about anything depressing. Just tell her how much you love her and make her smile again. You can't let her pull away like this. Be a man!"

Deciding that was his best course of action, he jumped up from the bed. He was going to go to Katie and do everything within his power to make her feel better. And he wouldn't let her push him away this time. He was going to stick with her whether she wanted him to or not.

He strode to his closet and was reaching for a shirt when he suddenly sensed Katie's silver aura flare brightly and then change location. But she didn't go far, and he grinned when he tracked where she had teleported to. It was a much better place for them to have this little confrontation anyway. There wouldn't be anyone around to disturb if any yelling was involved.

He pulled on a black button down shirt and quickly buttoned it most of the way up. He debated for all of one second about socks and shoes before deciding against it. He wasn't going for a hike or anything. Then he summoned Gaia's power and teleported after his girlfriend.

When the golden light around him had faded he looked around to see that he had appeared exactly where he'd thought he would. A small lamp burning on a table dimly lit the foyer of the Furuhata's home, but he didn't need its light. He had spent almost as much time in this house as he had in the palace while he was growing up, and he could find his way through it with his eyes closed.

Soft piano music was coming from the room to his right, so he drifted quietly toward to doorway. The curtains in the room had been pushed open wide, allowing the waning moonlight to brighten the room just a bit and making it very easy for him to see the girl sitting at the piano.

Katie's face was calm and her expression was slightly dazed, just like it always was whenever she escaped into her musical world. But her hazel eyes were clear and beautiful as she lifted them to meet his and a tiny smile quirked her lips. And although she was looking at him, her fingers continued to move over the keys like they had a mind of their own, and she never missed a single note.

Since she didn't seem resentful of his intrusion into her space, he wandered further into the room. He came to a stop when he was near her and leaned slightly against the side of the piano as he watched her play. Neither of them spoke for fear of shattering the moment.

A few minutes later the song came to an end and her fingers fell still. "I haven't played my piano in so long," she finally said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper. "Not since the day of your parents' anniversary party when I practiced for my performance. After what happened to me, I used to come down here at night and sit here for hours, but I could never make myself touch the keys. It's nice to not have that angst hanging over my head anymore."

His mouth turned up in his familiar, lopsided grin. "You should be proud of yourself and all the progress that you've made. I know I am. And it is nice to hear this piano making music again. You know, when I was younger and over here spending the night with Alex, I used to sit up at the top of the stairs and listen to you practice. I always liked it."

She let out a light snort. "Yeah, right! This coming from the guy whose MP3 player is full of nothing but rock music and dance club hits."

He chuckled deeply. "I'm no music expert, but I can appreciate the classics."

She rolled her eyes at him. "So what brings you here in the middle of the night?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he countered back.

She arched a brow at him. "Uh, this is my house. I live here. Anyway, I just popped in to pick up something and got sidetracked by the piano. What's your excuse?"

He shrugged. "No excuse. I was just following you. I thought we needed to talk, and this seemed like a good time."

She seemed to cringe on the piano bench. "I don't want to talk about anything having to do with college right now."

"And neither do I," he quickly reassured her. "I just wanted to make sure that you were okay…and that _we _are okay. You've seemed so…distant since earlier, and I don't like it. I understand that you have a lot on your mind, but I kept having this horrible feeling, like we were starting to drift apart or something. It scared me."

"Oh no!" she gasped. "DJ, no! I never meant to make you feel like that. I know I've been a little out of it tonight, but I was just trying to get everything lined out in my own head." She flung her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. "I love you."

He buried his fingers in her pale, silky hair. "I love you too. So we're good, right?"

She twisted her head to look up at him; her cheek pressed against his abs. "Yeah, we're good. I know we've got some shit ahead of us to work out, but nothing in this world would ever make me stop loving you.

"You are so beautiful in the moonlight," he murmured as he trailed his fingertips down her cheek. "Sometimes it makes my heart hurt just to look at you."

She pushed slightly away with a light laugh. "That sounded suspiciously like a pick up line. Are you trying to come on to me?"

He shot her a cheeky grin. "I have to admit that seduction might play a small part in my motives."

"You are positively awful!" she giggled as she got up from the bench to walk to the door. When she reached the doorway she turned to give him a coy look over her shoulder. "Just let me run up and grab what I came for, and then we'll see what happens next. There are still a few hours until dawn."

DJ was beaming like a Cheshire cat as he trailed her up the stairs to the second floor. They passed by the door to Alex's room near the head of the stairs on the left, and then the door to Jess and Andrew's room on the right, before approaching another door on the left. DJ paused at the threshold while Katie darted inside.

He watched as she eagerly went to the closet and rummaged through it before pulling out a pair of jeans. As she turned and approached her dresser she smiled sweetly at him. "You can come in if you want to."

He still hesitated. "Um, no offense, but you promised me years ago that if I ever set foot inside your room that you would deliver me a long, slow, and painful death."

She burst into peals of laughter. "That was a long time ago, and we were mortal enemies then. None of that matters now. Come on in."

He stepped over the invisible line and into what, up until now anyway, had been forbidden territory and looked around. Over the years he had caught glimpses into her bedroom, so he was familiar with the soft, soothing color scheme, but this was the first time that he'd had a chance to really take it all in. The only other time that he had been here had been the night that she had been kidnapped, and it was mostly a blur in his head. Besides, her choice of décor had been the last thing on his mind that night.

"This room suits you," he told her as looked around. She had clicked on a small lamp draped with a light blue scarf when she had entered, and it cast a cool glow around the room, making the silver glitter in the off-white paint of the walls shimmer softly. "Yep, this room is definitely you. I feel like I've landed on the moon."

Katie looked up from where she was digging in her bottom drawer to smile at him. "Well that was the whole point in decorating it like this. My mom's memories of living on the moon can be a little fuzzy sometimes, but your mom helped us out a lot when we were picking out things. I wasn't too sure about all of the pastels at first, but I've learned to love them. They're soothing."

"It does put off a calming vibe," he agreed.

She stood up and set the items she was holding on top of the dresser. "This room has always been my sanctuary, a place where I can come to think. I used to run home every time we would have a fight and come straight here. I was afraid that the tranquility would be broken after I was attacked, but this place is like magic. Dawn had already cleaned things up by the time I got home, and I never had a problem coming back in here."

Then she walked over to her bed and sat down on the patchwork quilt made up of many different colored pastel blocks. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, but you have no idea how many nights I laid in this bed, upset over some of the things that you used to say to me. Some nights I would be so mad at you that I wanted to rip you to shreds. And some nights I wouldn't be able to do anything but cry."

"Ouch!" he muttered as he took a seat next to her. "Well that sure was laying all of the cards out on the table. But I wasn't the only one to blame for our fights. You used to say some pretty mean things yourself."

She flapped a hand at him. "Oh, I know I did. I wasn't trying to make myself sound like a perfect angel or anything."

He grabbed her waving hand and held it tightly in his. "You're an angel to me." Then he leaned over to kiss her lightly.

"Shouldn't we be getting back to the palace?" she mumbled against his lips a few seconds later.

He shrugged. "I'm in no hurry. Like you pointed out before, we have a few hours until sunrise. Anyway, we have one thing here that we wouldn't have at the palace."

"What's that?" she asked, sounding a little dazed.

"Privacy," he told her, pressing another kiss to her lips. Then he moved to her neck as he continued in a low, smoky tone, "Complete and utter privacy. How often do we get that?"

Katie began to grin as she felt her naughty side beginning to stir, and she was suddenly very conscious of the fact that she was still wearing nothing but the over-sized t-shirt that she had been sleeping in with only a pair of bikini panties beneath it. She hadn't thought to put on any clothes before she'd teleported to her family home, because she hadn't expected to run into anyone. Now she extremely glad for the oversight.

She turned her head slightly to meet DJ's lips with hers as his traveled back up her neck and along her jaw. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her as she lay back across her childhood bed.

* * *

The last two remaining youma sank to their knees before the swirling dark cloud who was Discord and bowed their heads.

"My lord," the one on the right said in a hesitantly shaking voice. "We have done as you have requested and used every bit of the energy that we collected and the growth serums that we took from the labs to enhance your army. They now only wait for your commands."

A low, eerie laugh rumbled from the bodiless Discord. "You have done well, much better than I would have expected from mere youma."

"We exist only to serve you, my lord," the youma on the left declared subserviently.

"And you will be rewarded for your loyalty," Discord replied in a voice that was as smooth as silk. "But for now I have another task for you."

Both youma looked up, startled. "My lord?"

"Today will be a day that will live on in infamy for the rest of eternity," he told them. "For centuries my children and I have attempted on many occasions to destroy this abominable hunk of dirt and rock, and every time we have been thwarted by either those damn gods or that meddlesome hodge-podge royal family. But today that will all end. We will crush them. We will annihilate them. And when they all lay dead I will reduce this planet to nothing more than rubble."

"But what of the Galactic Trinity, my lord?" the first youma asked anxiously. "Do you not fear that they will use it in an attempt to destroy you?"

"Forgive her, great one! She speaks out of turn," the second youma jumped in, anticipating the evil entity's wrath.

"I refuse to quiver in fear of three mere children!" Discord roared, making the cavern around them shake with the force of his anger. Startled snarls and howls echoed up from deeper in the cavern where his new, suped-up army was housed at the disturbance.

After a moment he regained control of himself. "My pets, I will not cower because of a threat from the gods. When last I checked the Trinity bearers were still bumbling around in the past with no idea of how to achieve their true mission. They may not even be in this time. But if they do appear I will handle them. I beat the Galactic Trinity once before, and I can do it again. Humans are so feeble and fragile, and they are easy to manipulate. Surely you have seen that during your escapades out into the world to collect energy."

"Of course," the first youma replied while the second one nodded vigorously. "What more do you require of us?"

The dark cloud swirled faster for a moment before settling down once more. "I have other agendas besides just defeating my enemies. I expect to run into resistance when we attack Crystal Tokyo, but their defenses will not be able to hold forever. Eventually we will find a way in. And when we do, I want you two to go in and look for some things for me. You can assume a completely human appearance, and in the confusion that will be going on I doubt anyone will be able to tell that your auras read differently than those of the other citizens of the city."

The youmas exchanged a questioning look between each other before the one on the left, a blonde with pale blue skin and needle sharp fingernails asked, "What things will be looking for, my lord?"

"They're not things as much as they are people," Discord explained carefully. "There are three people that I wish for you to find. I want the traitors, Jack and Sasha, located. They betrayed me in the most heinous way imaginable and they must pay for turning their backs on me after all of the years I spent taking care of them. If you come across them, you have my permission to kill them in the most painful way that you can manage."

"Is that all?" the other youma, this one with the same bluish skin but with brown hair and glowing yellow eyes inquired.

Two bright red eyes glared out of the cloud at them. "No. That is not all. The most important part of your mission is to locate that stubborn little half-blood brat, Princess Melody. You two do know who I am talking about, don't you?"

The blonde nodded. "You mean Jessica Furuhata, the artist who is also Sailor Shadow and the mother of the sun and moon Trinity bearers."

"Yes," Discord hissed. "That troublesome girl has given me the slip for the last time, and she has something that I want, so you will find her for me. Do not approach her or do anything to draw attention to yourselves. Just when you find her, transmit your location to me and I will handle her myself. She and I have some unfinished business between us. Now, go inform my army to prepare themselves. We move on Crystal Tokyo today."

"Yes, my lord," both youma murmured as they rose to their feet and quickly fled his presence.

"It won't be long now," the entity said to himself as he retreated back into a corner of the cavern and sank down low to the floor in a restful mode. He was trying to conserve as much energy as he could for the upcoming battle. He had no idea if he would be confronted with the Trinity bearers or not, but even if he didn't, he would need all of his strength to face down the others, especially Melody. He was tired of playing this cat and mouse game with her. It was time to end it once and for all.

"I'm coming for you, princess," he crooned softly. "I'm coming for all of you. I will get the Celestial Crystal from you this time, and after more than twenty centuries, I will succeed in blowing this planet to bits. I will not let anyone or anything stop me."

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

"Okay, I'm confused," Katie complained as she looked back and forth between her brother and her, um, boyfriend…fiancé…father of her child…she wasn't sure exactly what to call him anymore. She finally settled on the title of lover and left it at that.

"You're confused? How the hell do you think we feel?" Alex growled at her.

After the shocking incident the night before where all three of their eyes had changed colors, they had finally given up the speculations and gone to bed. But after tossing and turning and only getting a few hours of restless sleep, they had given up and gotten up once more and convened in the training room of the Elysian palace.

A snarl rumbled in DJ's throat. "You don't have to bite her head of, Lex! She was just voicing her thoughts."

The brunette man's expression turned a bit sheepish. "Sorry, Kat."

She waved him off. "It's cool." Then she walked in a circle around them, looking them up and down. "This is so weird though. I haven't seen the two of you like this in a long time. I wasn't sure it was even possible anymore."

On a whim, the two men had decided to try and transform into their alter egos, something that hadn't been done in fifteen years. Alex, of course, had been dead all of that time. And DJ and Katie had both tried several times after that disastrous night, but they had been unable to, presumably because of the fact that their energies had been so mixed up.

But now, in the early morning hours, after all of these years, it had finally worked. As soon as they had summoned their transformation powers they had changed from their sweatpants and t-shirts to their all-black ensembles.

"Wow!" Katie murmured as she drank in the sight of her prince. "I'd almost forgotten how good you make that tux look."

In full Phantom mode, he swept his dark cape around him and waggled his eyebrows behind his black mask. "Do you like what you see?"

"Oh yeah," she sighed as she ran her hand up his arm. "I like it a lot."

"Ahem! No ooey-gooey-ness in front of me, please," Alex, now as Phoenix, complained sharply. "It's enough to turn my stomach."

Katie laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. "Like I'm not subjected to watching you and Emma being all lovey-dovey together."

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Emma trilled as she swept through the door, holding a tray…a tray that wobbled precariously as her eyes landed on Alex.

"Oh! It worked!" she squeaked as she quickly set the tray on a nearby table.

Phoenix was at her side in a heartbeat, his long black duster flaring around him as he swooped her up into his arms. "Of course it worked! Did you ever doubt me?"

She giggled as she pulled the dark sunglasses down his nose to see his eyes. "I never doubted you for a moment. Hmm…your eyes are still blue."

"So are DJ's," Katie mused. "That's what has me so confused. Earlier our eyes changed to look just like our past selves' do when they use the god powers. But we never got those powers and we don't have the bracelets. And the gods are supposed to take their powers back after Discord is defeated. So why would our eyes change?"

Phantom raked a hand through his black hair. "I don't have a clue. I've tried coming up with a probable explanation, but I've got nothing."

"I want to try transforming," Katie announced suddenly.

Phantom's gloved hand covered hers as she reached for the diamond pendant around her neck. It was one of the few things that she'd held onto all of these years. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Kat. You're pregnant."

She jerked away from him. "Exactly! I'm pregnant, not an invalid, and I wish you would stop treating me like I have some deadly disease. All of the other scouts said that they transformed when they were pregnant, and nothing happened to them."

"She has a point," Emma piped up. "My mom even fought in a skirmish when she was pregnant with me…about gave my dad a heart attack in the process. But she said that when she was Sailor Venus it was like there was an extra layer of protection around me, so she knew I wouldn't get hurt."

"I'm doing this. And don't you dare try to stop me," Katie said firmly as she grasped her necklace firmly in her hand. "Eclipse Power!"

Elation filled her as the power she hadn't felt in so long swept through her veins. As soon as the silver sparks around her faded she looked down at herself to see the familiar black-skirted fuku and silver bow on her chest. Her hand flew up to touch the tiara on her forehead as she twisted around in her black, high heeled, knee high boots to see the other silver bow at the back of her waist.

"Yes!" she cried, jumping up and down. "Yes! Yes! YES! It worked! I'm a sailor scout again!"

"And you're making me nervous with all of that jumping around," Phantom scolded her lightly.

"Don't be such a worry-wart," she replied flippantly. But she did stop jumping. Then her eyes widened and her hands flew to her stomach. "Oh! You liked that, didn't you, baby? Momma did too."

She beamed a brilliant smile at the others. "Allie's happy. I can feel it. She's happy because I'm happy."

Phantom was beside her in an instant. "You can sense that from her?"

"I…I guess I can," Eclipse stammered. "It makes sense, I suppose. She is physically connected to me." Then she threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, you were right, DJ! She is a very special little girl."

"All babies are special," Emma giggled. "Each one is a miracle. I just adore children. If I could, I would have a dozen of my own."

"You seriously overestimate me, woman!" Phoenix groaned.

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Okay, I'll try to stay conservative and plan for six. But things can happen."

"I still can't believe this," Eclipse gushed, still riding the high of her returned transformation powers. "Now I wish there was a guardian or sentinel here for me to whale on. I have all of this pent up energy inside me. I know! Let's go out for a run."

Phantom's arms tightened around her. "Whoa! Hold on for just a minute. I know that you're excited about being able to transform again, but let's not push things, okay. I know that you're not an invalid, and you're made out of pretty strong stuff, but the fact is that you are pregnant with my child and I worry about you."

She pushed angrily against his chest. "I know my body, and I know what my limits are. Why can't you give me some credit?"

Suddenly, her eyes flared bright silver, and in a flash of light she disappeared from arms.

"What the hell!" Phoenix yelled. "Where did she go?"

Before anyone had a chance to regain enough of their senses to move, the door that led outside opened and in stepped a shocked looking, hazel-eyed Sailor Eclipse.

"I teleported," she whispered softly, as if to herself. "I was thinking about how much I wanted to be outside, and then suddenly I was there. How did I do that?"

"Are you okay?" Phantom demanded, almost angrily, as he stomped over to her.

She nodded immediately. "Yeah, I'm fine. But I'm more confused than ever. I shouldn't be able to teleport by myself. Do you think the gods made a mistake and accidentally left some of their powers inside our past selves, and now we're feeling the effect of that."

He shook his head. "I don't know. I guess it's possible. But maybe it's…"

"What?" she questioned when he fell quiet.

He swallowed hard. "Maybe that wasn't you. Maybe it was the baby."

She thought about that for a moment. "No. It didn't feel like it came from her. Besides, that wouldn't explain why your and Alex's eyes changed color last night."

"She's right," Phoenix agreed eagerly. "Let's test it and see if I can teleport too." He took off his sunglasses and walked to the end of the long room. "Emma, you go stand at the other end."

Emma shrugged, looking mildly excited as she did as he asked.

He looked at her for a long moment with an expression of intense concentration on his face. Just when it seemed like nothing was going to happen, his eyes began burning a smoldering red-orange. Then there was a flash of reddish light, and he was suddenly standing next to Emma.

"Holy crap!" Emma exclaimed in surprise as his arms quickly snaked around her waist.

"Wicked!" he crowed in triumph.

The experiment was repeated again, this time with Phantom and Eclipse standing at the opposite ends of the room.

"I think I need to sit down," Eclipse murmured after he had successfully teleported to her side, and she let her transformation fade. Both guys followed her lead.

Emma took her hand and led her to the table where she had left the tray. "Come over here. I brought some coffee, decaf of course for you, and some of the leftover muffins that Rini made yesterday. That should help calm your nerves."

"At this point I think my nerves are beyond calming," Katie grumbled as she sat down on one of the chairs around the small table and accepted the cup Emma gave her. She took a sip of the hot brew, scrunching her nose up at the taste. She didn't care what anyone said, decaf coffee tasted different than regular. But she didn't hesitate tearing into the muffins. She knew that sooner or later she was going to have to cut back on her sugar intake, but for now she needed the comfort.

There were only two chairs, so DJ and Alex sat on the floor next to the women so they could talk.

DJ took a sip of his coffee and sighed. "This could use a shot of something stronger. I wonder if Helios has any liquor stashed around here somewhere."

Katie glared at him as she swallowed a bite of muffin. "No drinking! You spent over a decade in an alcohol-induced haze. I won't have you falling back into old habits."

"I just meant that a tiny nip of something to take the edge off would be nice. That's all," he placated her. "Believe me, I have no intentions of getting drunk. I have no reason to anymore now that some aspects of my life are back on track."

"The point is," Alex broke in, "that we have some really wacky shit going on right now. All of a sudden we can go anywhere we want with just a thought. Something pretty major must happen in the past."

"Maybe it has something to do with the timeline trying to settle down," Emma mused. "Do you think Helios would have any ideas?"

Katie snorted. "He wouldn't say anything even if he did. That man can keep a secret like it's nobody's business, even from Rini. I wish I could get in touch with Trista though. I bet I could get her to tell me what's going on."

DJ nudged her knee with his shoulder. "Yeah. Too bad she's busy in the past. But I think her being there is more important than her being here right now. We're just going to have to wait and see how things play out."

They all fell silent for a moment until Alex grumbled, "Well doesn't this suck!"

* * *

_**The Time Plane**_

As always, the mist surrounding the time gate was thick and unmoving. But it swirled just a tiny bit as a fissure went through the air and Sailor Pluto appeared. She sighed softly as she went over to look into the time stream to reassure herself that things were moving along as smoothly as possible for now.

She looked to the future and saw with great relief that the main timeline was growing more and more clear as the showdown with Discord drew near. In fact, she had just returned from a quick visit to the future where things had settled down for the most part, at least for now.

In fact, things were going so great that she had almost been tempted to pop into the Elysian of the future and return her refugees to their proper time, but only almost. There was still enough margin of error for things to go wrong, so she decided that it would be best to leave them there for just a while longer until the outcome of the battle had been decided. She was sure that by now they were probably experiencing some of the effects trickling down the timeline, but they would just have to deal with it for now. If things went as well as she was hoping they would, everything would be set right soon.

She had done everything that she possibly could to help ensure that Discord would finally be defeated once and for all. She'd even traveled to the future to take out a bit of extra insurance in case it was needed, and right now all of the signs were pointing to yes, it would be needed. All she could do now was wait and see what happened.

There were still a couple of hours until sunrise, and she was feeling slightly disjointed and at loose ends. Her visit into the future had helped bolster her faith that the coming day would work out in their favor and there were no problems in the past that needed her attention at the moment, so for one of the few times in her long existence, she had nothing to do.

She could always go to Mount Olympus and visit with her grandfather, but after a second thought she axed that idea. With the battle with Discord now only hours away, she was sure that Selene, Gaia, and Apollo were probably near the end of their rope. If they found out that she was there she knew that they would probably bombarded her with questions and suggestions for the upcoming fight. And to be honest, she would like to escape that subject for just a little while.

But there was somewhere else that she would rather be anyway, and without a moment's hesitation she pulled her aura in and concentrated in order to flash herself out of the time plane.

She shivered as she rematerialized in the brisk night air and powered down to her civilian form. She was still amazed at how cool the nights could be up in the mountains, even in May. But she pushed the chill from her mind and focused on the house a short distance away.

The house was built in a log cabin style with a wide front porch and steps leading up to it. It was an unheard of hour to be dropping in for a visit, but she felt encouraged when she saw lights shining through some of the windows.

Quick as a wink, she was across the grass, up the steps, and knocking lightly on the door. She held her breath as she heard heavy footsteps approaching.

Then the door was flung open as a deep voice growled, "Damn it, Anya! For the last time…" Evan's words died off when he saw who was standing on his porch.

"Sorry," he muttered after a moment. "I thought you were my sister, coming to bug me again. She's been more irritating than usual tonight."

"Is this a bad time?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "I know it's practically the middle of the night, but when I saw your lights were on…"

"No, no, it's fine. Come in," he told her as he stepped aside to allow her into his home. He closed the door behind her and then turned toward the kitchen. "I was beginning to wonder if you even remembered where I lived," he shot over his shoulder.

After a flabbergasted moment, she trailed after him. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "Nothing. I didn't mean anything by it."

Now she wasn't known as a person that had a temper, but she felt it beginning to simmer now. She put her hands on her hips and gave him a glare. "Well obviously you meant something. You wouldn't have said it otherwise. And I want to know what."

He twisted the top viciously off the bottle and chugged down half of it before he returned her glare with one of his own. "You really want to know? Fine! When you asked me to go along with your plan to not let anyone know how close we've become until after the visitors from the past go home, I agreed with it. I didn't like it, but I respected your wishes. I stood at the back of that conference room at the palace tonight and listened to everyone make plans, and I barely even looked at you so that nobody would guess our secret. It killed me inside, but I did it for you. I thought for sure that you would call me or drop by once you had the chance, but I heard nothing. I've been going crazy for hours now."

Some of her anger sputtered and died at his words, but not quite all of it. She managed to choke out, "Oh my god! Are you pouting because you haven't heard from me?"

"Hell no!" he yelled, throwing his now empty bottle toward the garbage can and missing. Then his expression turned rueful. "Okay, maybe I'm pouting just a little bit. I was feeling lonely after the night we shared together last night and I wanted you here with me."

He looked like such a sad, large, overgrown boy that it killed the rest of her bad temper. She even grinned as she sauntered toward him. "I'm sorry. I guess I should have taken a moment to call you earlier, but I didn't think that my business would take as long as it did. I've been out of this time, and I only just got back a few minutes ago. I came straight here."

"Is everything okay?" he asked with genuine concern.

"As okay as it can be at the moment. Only time will tell," she told him as she went up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck.

He chuckled at her words. "So am I forgiven for being an ass?"

She tilted her head back to look at him. "Hmm, perhaps. Maybe there is a way for you to make it up to me."

His look turned curious. "What did you have in mind?"

She pressed a kiss to his lips before whispering in his ear, "I haven't really seen much of your bedroom yet."

Whoosh! Desire flared in his golden eyes, turning them into molten pools. But his voice was still hesitant as he asked, "Are you sure about this? I know we haven't known each other for very long, and I don't want you to regret it later."

"I haven't made love to anyone in centuries," she purred in what she hoped was a seductive tone. "I haven't even been interested in anyone in that way, until I met you. I've never been more sure about anything in my life."

He swept her up into his arms, bridal style, and kissed her senseless for several long seconds before pulling back slightly to tell her, "Then hold on tightly, my Setsuna. Later today we may have to go into battle, but the next few hours will belong to us alone."

Then he carried her to the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind them.

* * *

**A/N **Dum, dum dum! And the stage is set for the final battle to begin. All of our little heroes better enjoy the last few hours of peace, because it's all about to head south pretty quickly after this. I know some of you are probably scratching your heads in wonder about what's going on with DJ, Katie, and Alex in the future. All I can say is bear with me. It will make sense in the end. At least I hope it will. Believe it or not, there is a method to my madness…most of the time anyway. Please be the dears that I know you are and drop me a review to let me know what you think. It doesn't have to be long, just a word or two to express your thoughts. I'll catch you guys next time. Be safe everyone! Later! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	42. The Battle of Crystal Tokyo Part 1

**A/N **Okay guys, I only have three words for you. _I'M SO SOORRRYYY!_ That's the best Serena wail I can manage. I know you guys have been waiting forever for this, and you've really been great and patient about it. My life has just been one large roller coaster ride the past year or so. So please continue to bear with me. I promise that all of my stories will be completed and that I have more planned for the future. And, if the greater being upstairs is willing, I hope to never have to go so long without updating again. I have actually been going through withdrawals from the lack of writing time and from being able to read everyone's wonderful reviews. That was why I launched one of my other stories, _The Moon and the Earth_, way ahead of schedule on Darien's birthday. I was shooting for updating _Rekindled _for that day, but it's just not ready. But it's coming soon. Okay! I know I haven't groveled near enough, but I'm sure you're ready to move on. This is a really long chapter, even for me, so I hope it helps make up for the wait a tiny bit. Now let me get those hugs out. _BIG HUGS TO:_

**Wonderwomanbatmanfan**

**Litalove**

**little princess of mercury**

**Seredhiel05**

**sabina21**

**Atem's Sister Atea**

**Robyn**

**MeganLeBlanc**

**saveme57**

**KageNoNeko**

**TheMoonPrincess110**

**GoldenDragon326**

**beautifulbrainiac101222**

**CaughtInAFantasy**

**nickybluejess**

**CharmedSerenity3**

**Megan**

**PointOfNoReturnxx**

**Perfect Beauty**

**SailorMercuryROCKS**

**LBricker88**

There are not enough thank yous in the world to express how much I appreciate all of your reviews, but I will still say it anyway. _THANK YOU! _Now, on with the show. The battle with Discord begins!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 39

The Battle of Crystal Tokyo Part 1

* * *

"_Holy crap! I can't get over how weird this is. She looks exactly the same as I remember her from when I saw her years ago."_

"_I know. I was caught in a youma attack when I was a kid, and she, Venus, Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter showed up to fight it. Her outfit was a bit different then, but she still looks pretty much the same."_

Sailor Moon gritted her teeth as she heard the clicks of several cameras snapping pictures over the murmuring voices and saw the flare of flashes in spite of the bright day.

Close by her side, Neo Queen Serenity whispered, "Just smile, Serena. Don't let them know that they are getting to you."

Her younger counterpart drew in a deep breath and plastered a bright smile on her face. But out of the corner of her mouth she muttered, "They are like vultures. How the hell do you put up with this?"

Serenity chuckled softly. "By never leaving home without my Luna Pen. But even that is not always fool proof. The paparazzi have a nasty little knack of being able to sense whenever I step foot outside and they hunt me down, especially if Darien's with me. He's tried all sorts of ball caps and sunglasses to hide his identity, but he's just so easily noticed. And the moment anyone sees him with a woman they know that it has to be me in disguise."

"Not always," Endymion drawled sardonically as he appeared at his wife's side. "There was that whole fiasco back about ten years ago with that nosy reporter that snapped that picture of us coming out of that restaurant. The next morning the headline was blaring that I was having an affair on you."

Serenity rolled her eyes. "Nobody paid attention to that. The paper that girl worked for was nothing more than a rag mag. And people seldom believe what they read in the tabloids."

Sailor Moon squeaked out a giggle, but it was shaky and nervous sounding. As a rule, she and her friends had avoided the press like the plague over the years since they had started fighting. So suddenly being thrust into the spotlight was an entirely new experience for her.

Just then, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a warm, concerned voice brushed her ear. "Are you okay?"

She jumped a little, and then turned her head to look over her shoulder into a pair of dark blue eyes that were watching her from behind a white mask. She sighed heavily as she heard the murmurs around them increase in excitement and the cameras began clicking again with renewed vigor. "I guess I'm just feeling a little frazzled. I'm not used to all of this attention."

Serenity reached over and squeezed her hand. "They'll run out of steam soon and go find new victims. They're just pumped up right now over seeing the four of us together. I bet we make the front page of every paper in town tomorrow morning."

"If there is a tomorrow morning," Eternal Sailor Uranus growled as she, her past self, and two aqua haired scouts appeared on the scene.

"Amara, behave!" Eternal Sailor Neptune chastised gently. "You make it sound like we've already lost."

"Anything could happen," Uranus replied before her future self could respond. "After all, we are trusting everything to a group of high-schoolers."

Neptune snorted daintily. "A group of mature and highly intelligent high schoolers, Amara. So I believe that we should give them the benefit of the doubt."

Eternal Uranus rolled her eyes. "I'm not doubting the pipsqueaks. I'm just hoping that they've learned enough this go around to take care of business as fast as possible. The sooner they get this over with, the sooner we can get back to our lives. The first race of the international circuit is coming up, and I will be pissed if I have to miss it."

Eternal Neptune giggled softly. "Do you really need another trophy, dearest?"

"You can never have too many trophies!" Uranus exclaimed, beating her older self to the punch. "In fact, as nice as this visit has been, I need to get home and get back to work myself."

Eternal Uranus shot her a smirk. "Then how about we get this show on the road. You want to help me exterminate some of these pests so that Kitten #1 and Kitten #2 can get to work and stop posing for the cameras?"

Sailor Moon's face turned a vivid red as she wailed softly, "Take that back, Amara! I was not posing for anything! You know me better than that!"

Uranus patted her head like a puppy's. "Don't take it so seriously, Kitten. You know we're just kidding with you. I can't help it if I think you're too adorable for words when you get all hot and bothered."

Then she flashed a playful wink at her princess before joining her future self and both Neptunes to chase off the hounding members of the press. A few of the reporters and photographers tried to argue that they were within their rights to stay where they were and cover what they considered to be a major news story. But even the most argumentative of the group quailed quickly under the hard as nails glares given to them by the dynamite duo of tall, blonde scouts with their flashing navy eyes. There was no doubt that they meant business.

Serenity giggled softly. "Leave it to Amara to run right over people. And nobody stands a chance with two of her running around."

A low chuckle rumbled from Endymion. "At least they got the job done. All of those whispers and cameras were starting to get on my nerves. I knew this was going to be a circus, but it's even worse than I thought it would be."

A small burst of static came from the communicator on the queen's wrist, followed by Eternal Venus's voice. "Hey, Moon, this is Venus. Can you hear me?"

Serenity raised the communicator to her mouth. "Loud and clear V-babe. What's up?"

"Ames and Zoi have finished doing whatever it was they were doing to the security system, and they were wondering if you and Serena could slip away for a moment to come and talk to them," Eternal Venus replied.

Serenity looked to Sailor Moon, who nodded rapidly, eager to escape the spotlight for a moment. So she answered, "Tell them that we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Will do," Eternal Venus chirped in her usual perky way.

"Sometimes I wish I could bottle her energy," Serenity muttered, half in exasperation.

Sailor Moon grinned ruefully. "You and me both. Mina has always had enough enthusiasm to fuel at least ten people. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew that Artemis had naturally white hair and that Kunzite was born with his platinum locks, I would be tempted to say that dealing with her was the cause of their hair color."

Serenity nodded enthusiastically. "Don't I know it! Of course, I'm surprised that all of us around here aren't gray, white, or silver haired after putting up with what we have over the years. But you'll see what I mean when the time comes. I would never trade either one of my kids for all the cake and ice cream in the world. But I have had my hair raising moments."

"Oh joy! I can't wait!" Sailor Moon snickered sarcastically as she followed her future self, Endymion, and Tuxedo Mask back into the palace to see what their resident geniuses had in store for them.

* * *

"This place is a mad house," Katie grumbled as she looked over the railing from the third floor landing of the Crystal Palace into the main foyer below.

"Tell me about it!" Rini agreed at her side. "I've never seen this big of a crowd even during the holiday balls. This place is almost bursting at the seams."

Little Corey squeezed between them, pressing his face close to the slats in the railing. His blue eyes were round and wide as he stared down in wonder. "Wow! There really are a lot of people here."

A second tiny body shimmied into the small gap as well to peer down at the crowd below. "I've never seen so many people at one time," Talon and Anya's five year old daughter, Abby, barely breathed.

The teens at the rail, Rini, DJ, Katie, Alex, Emma, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah all backed away so that the younger group could get a good look at all of the activity going on.

"That is a lot of people," Nick commented dryly.

Kyle snorted. "That just means more pandemonium when people start freaking out."

"Do you always have to be so pessimistic?" Ryssa snapped peevishly. "I still wish you guys would let me come with you. I'm a sailor scout too now."

"Absolutely not!" Jayden exclaimed with an emotion akin to horror. "I don't care if you are a sailor scout. You are too young to get wrapped up in this crap."

Ryssa, the newly dubbed Sailor Deimos, stuck her tongue out at him. She had debated long and hard over what name to take for herself. But she had always been close to the guardian crows at her great grandfather's shrine, and had always felt a closer bond to Deimos than she had Phobos. Thus the decision to take that name for her alter ego. The thought of using the ancient name for terror and dread made her feel decadently wicked.

"You may as well give it up, Rys," Nick grumbled. "Nobody is going to let us do anything except sit here and be bored. Why else do you think the parents have us under guard?"

Skye reached over and tugged on a piece of his shaggy chestnut hair. "Watch it, little bro! We're not here to guard you. The adults just asked us to keep you guys entertained and out of the way while they concentrate on taking care of business."

Kyle rolled his blue eyes. "That's practically the same thing. No matter how you put it, it translates into you guys being our wardens."

Emma giggled. "You make the palace sound like a prison. What kind of prison has video games and a home theater? Not to mention that the group of us are much nicer and better looking than most prison guards. You should count yourself lucky."

Rini blew out a long-suffering sigh. "Ditz!"

"Complete ditz," Skye agreed.

Katie held her hands up in front of her. "I'm not getting the middle of this one."

Hannah nodded her head. "Me neither."

"What is a ditz?" Abby piped up.

The teens were saved from trying to explain things to the little girl by the arrival of her mother. Anya appeared at the top of the stairs; looking much like a child herself since her petite form was almost completely swallowed up by her three gigantic sons behind her. Kyrian, of course, was the tallest. But seventeen year old Julian, who greatly resembled Anya with his dark chocolate hair and coffee colored eyes, was only a couple of inches shorter. Even Taylor, who had evidently inherited some recessive genes from his maternal grandfather and had the same white blond hair and golden eyes that his Uncle Evan had, stood right at six feet tall, and he was only thirteen. Add in their father, Talon, and they made a family of very big men.

Abby, on the other hand, showed signs of taking after her mother. She was extremely small, even for a five year old. But other than that she took completely after her father. She had Talon's warm, medium brown hair and his jet black eyes, which always glittered with whatever emotions she was feeling.

Those eyes were flashing with excitement now as her tiny feet hurled her at her mother. "Mommy! Mommy! Have you ever seen so many people in your life? I didn't know that there were this many people in the entire world."

Anya laughed as she picked her daughter up and set her on her hip. "It is a lot of people, isn't it? That's why I told you to stay up here. So you wouldn't get lost in the crowd."

"Or stepped on," Kyrian teased as he tugged gently on his sister's ponytail. "A little thing like you is liable to get squashed like a cockroach down there."

An indignant look scrunched up her pixie face. "I'm not a bug, Kyrian!"

He merely chuckled at her as he looked around. His gaze met and held Skye's for a long moment, and she tried to fight down the flush that crept into her cheeks as the hot flash of emotion in his eyes brought the memories of all they had shared together the night before rushing to the front of her mind.

"Hmm…" Emma buzzed quietly beside her. "You may think that I am a ditz, but this ditz can plainly see that something has changed in your and Kyrian's relationship. You've been a naughty girl, haven't you?"

"Shut up!" Skye hissed back softly. "My personal life is my business!" But she couldn't stop her heart from beating a little faster and her breath from catching a bit at the thought of the hours that she had spent in her dark haired sorcerer's bed. It had definitely been a life changing experience.

Emma merely shrugged a shoulder. "Hey, I'm not condemning it. In fact, I'm pleased as punch for you. Besides, do you honestly think I was alone in bed last night?"

Skye growled and stomped away, muttering to Alex as she walked by him, "You better get your little girlfriend under control, sun boy, before I strangle her to death."

He held his hands up in a gesture of helplessness. "Hey! I can't control what she says or does. She is her own person."

"Down, children!" Anya demanded in a tone of voice that immediately had her four children snapping to attention. After all, she hadn't run her predominantly male household all of these years by being soft spoken. They knew she meant business.

"That's better," she declared when silence fell and all eyes were on her. "Now, Serenity and the others have requested that those of you ages fourteen and up to come downstairs to cover some last minute things. I will take over keeping an eye on the younger ones. I was also told that Jack and Sasha are around as well."

DJ hitched a thumb over his shoulder to the door behind him. "Yeah. They're in the entertainment room. They're pretty bummed out though. They feel like all of this is their fault."

Alex snorted. "Well it is."

"Alex!" Katie exclaimed.

He shrugged. "I'm just speaking the truth."

"That's not the truth," she retorted hotly. "Discord would have found a way to do this, with or without them. So you can't blame them for everything."

"It makes me feel better," he grumbled.

"Right on!" DJ seconded.

Katie whirled on him. "Don't you start! We are just as much to blame. We made it easy for them by actually dating them."

Rini pushed her way between them. "Um, guys…meeting…downstairs…bad guy that still needs beating…remember? Do you think you can save the soap opera for later?"

"She's quite right," Anya agreed. "Now all of you scoot. Not you, Taylor! You better get your butt back over here before I tan it!"

"Aw, mom!" the fair-haired boy complained as he slunk back from where he had been trying to slip off with his two brothers. "It isn't fair! I'm almost fourteen! Why should a few months be held against me?"

The older teens, at least those that could, transformed and started down the stairs, leaving behind the sounds of mother and son bickering. The second floor landing and halls were fairly crowded, since it had been set aside for families with small babies, pregnant women, people who were ill, and the elderly. Despite the number of people around, it was fairly calm and quiet.

Once on the ground floor, that all changed. People were packed in tight together and speaking in loud voices in order to heard over everyone else. Older children ran around wildly, buzzing with the excitement of being inside the palace.

The group of teens stuck together as they made their way through the crowd. It wasn't long though before people noticed them and began pointing and whispering behind hands.

"What are they all staring at?" Katie growled angrily. "They're acting like they've never seen us before."

DJ took her hand and squeezed it gently. "They're probably just wondering why you, Alex, and I aren't transformed like the others."

That was probably true enough. Rini and the others carried an air of authority around them since they were in their uniforms while they were dressed in their everyday clothes.

Alex leaned toward them with a smirk. "And the guys are probably going gaga over seeing you in that outfit, Kat. Have I told you that you look a lot like your future self today?"

She looked down at her clothes. She was indeed dressed in the same manner that her future self had been every time she'd seen her. In fact, that had been why she had gone to her family's house in the early morning hours, to get the faded old jeans, close fitting black tank top, and lace up boots she now wore.

Her cheeks flushed when she also remembered how she'd had to make a second trip back to get the items when she'd forgotten them after her rendezvous with DJ. They had remained in her bed until the sun had begun coming up before teleporting back to the palace. DJ had left her in her room to return to his own, and she had been heading for the shower when she remembered that she had left the clothes sitting on top of her dresser and had to go back for them.

She managed to shrug nonchalantly. "I figured my future self had the right idea. Looser clothes are comfortable, but they can get in the way while fighting. And I want to make sure I have my full range of motion during this fight."

DJ's fingers stroked the tiny strip of skin visible between where her sword belt was strapped around her hips and the bottom of the tank top. Then he bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "I don't care. Let all of the other men drool. I know what is mine."

A shiver of desire raced through her at his words. "I'm all yours," she barely breathed.

"Oh! Ew!" both Rini and Alex exclaimed as they jumped away from the obviously enraptured couple.

"Oh, leave them alone!" Emma scolded softly, aware of the crowd around them. "Far be it for any of us to condemn a couple that is obviously in love."

Katie blushed even more as Emma gave her an outrageous wink. The girl might be practically her sister-in-law at this point, but she was as lacking in subtlety as her mother. "Thanks for setting the record straight, Em," she growled.

Emma took the comment with a graceful smile. "I'm always ready to help."

By that time, they had worked their way past the crowd and to the large conference room where a handful of the adults were gathered. Most of the room's occupants were transformed, but the teens let their transformations fade as they walked in. The adults had been doing this a lot longer than they had, and could keep their transformations up without using hardly any energy at all. It was second nature to them now. The younger group preferred to save every drop of energy they could for the coming fight.

Sailor Moon was leaning over Eternal Sailor Mercury's shoulder, looking at something on the screen of the Mercury computer as she shook her head. "I think you guys are putting way too much faith in me. I just don't think I'll be able to pull it off."

Serenity was walking by and stopped to pat her past self on the shoulder. "It's you who isn't giving yourself enough credit. You _can _do this. I have it on good authority, by which I mean myself. You just need to find the strength inside you and use it."

"I'm with Serena on this," Sailor Shadow drawled as she cocked back in the chair she was sitting in and propped her navy blue boots on the conference table. "Not that I like to toot my own horn or anything, I'm pretty good, and I know I am, but some of what you are asking us to do sounds a lot like suicide…or Armageddon. I can't help but feel a bit uncomfortable. Can't I just go out and kick some ass?"

"If that's all you want to do, then why did you bother spending all of those hours training with Kyrian?" Eternal Sailor Shadow sneered as she knocked her younger counterpart's feet off the table. "I go through the trouble to get you as prepared as possible for this, and now you want to back out? I don't remember being so cowardly."

Shadow jumped to her feet. "Just who the hell are you calling a coward? I'm not afraid to go into this battle. I'm just a bit apprehensive about accidentally taking out everybody else in the process. What good is it to try and save the world if there will be no world left to save?"

Eternal Shadow grinned. "Now there is the Alexander fighting spirit! Don't worry so much. I'll keep an eye on you and you keep an eye on me. I think if we work together we should be able to keep each other in balance and under control."

"If not, it will be one hell of a fireworks show," Katie muttered as she crossed the room to her mother.

"At least you will have front row seats," Eternal Shadow joked as she squeezed her affectionately to her side. "What's the matter, baby girl? Don't you have any faith in your old mom?"

"You're hardly old, mom," Katie snickered, but that didn't stop her from leaning against her mother for a moment and briefly laying her head on her shoulder.

Alex chuckled. "Are you kidding, mom? You are a knockout! If you weren't my mom and I saw you out somewhere, I would definitely have to give you a second look or ten."

"What am I, leftover sushi?" Shadow grumbled. "For crying out loud, I look just like the woman, but no one is paying me compliments. It's the new fuku, isn't it? I wish I could hurry up and get it for myself." She flicked a piece of nonexistent lint off of her short, dark blue skirt with its silver and gold trim.

Eternal Shadow smirked. "Sorry. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while to get this transformation."

All of the younger scouts had been stunned earlier when their future selves transformed to reveal fukus that were different from theirs. The changes weren't huge, and they'd kept their personal colors, but the puffed sleeves and multi-layered skirts definitely resembled the style of Eternal Sailor Moon's.

Shadow had been the least surprised by the transformation since she had already seen her future self in her dreams. But it had still been a bit of a shock. Now she rolled her eyes in an exaggerated way. "I guess Serena is the only one of us that gets to be special."

Sailor Moon forced a smile and a giggle at her teasing, but she was nervous and jumpy on the inside. It was true though. She had powered up a few times and achieved her super sailor scout form before any of the other scouts had. Then she had gone even further and reached eternal status. According to what Serenity had murmured to her earlier, none of the other scouts, not even Jess, who was every bit as powerful as she was, would become eternal scouts until the Earth was awakened in the future and she had accepted the title of queen of the Moon.

And if she did what Serenity and Amy had both told her that she needed to do today, then she would be leaving her scouts even further behind. But the thought of embracing her fully powered princess form still frightened her. What if she couldn't control it?

She felt hands on her shoulders and turned to find Darien standing behind her. He had de-transformed after they had returned inside the palace earlier. He'd claimed that it was because he was tired of dealing with his cape, but she knew better. He was conserving every speck of energy that he could in case she needed his help later.

His deep blue eyes looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded jerkily. "Yeah. I'm just nervous."

He chuckled softly. "You don't have to tell me that. I can feel your emotions zipping through our bond, and you are about to jump out of your skin. I know you have a big task ahead of you, but I know you can do it. And I'll be right there with you to help if you need it. I won't let anything happen to you."

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek in thanks for his support, but her fears didn't lessen much. She hadn't told anyone, not even him, about what she had discussed with Serenity and the future Amy the day before. She admitted to herself now that it was because she had been in denial about the need for her to unleash that fearfully awesome power that she had drawn on when fighting Galaxia. But now that she had seen the full layout of Eternal Mercury and Zoi's security plan, she knew that there was no way around it.

Crystal Tokyo was surrounded by a series of conducting crystals with several more scattered around the city itself. Most of the time this system strictly acted as a monitoring system to let them know if any negative forces tried to enter the city. But during times of battle it could actually be used for protection. When the power of the Silver Crystal was channeled through the grid, it formed a protective barrier across the city that could prevent the negativity from entering. The downside was that Crystal Tokyo was an extremely big place, and it would take a lot of energy, her strongest energy, to be able to both cover the city and repel the enemy. If she didn't give it her all, Discord's monsters would be able to find gaps and slip right in.

So she and Serenity were going to take turns powering the barrier as long as they could. No one doubted that eventually they would either wear out, or the enemy would find a way to knock out one of the crystals so that they could force their way in.

Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and the inner scouts from the past were well aware of the fact that the inner scouts of the future were perfectly able to combine their energy to cast a protective barrier. They had witnessed it firsthand during their previous visit to the future during the Dark Moon siege, and the scouts had valiantly expended their energy for weeks on end until the Doom Phantom had been destroyed and peace had returned.

But there were several downsides to asking them to do it again. The most important was the fact that once they put up the barrier they required total focus and concentration to keep it up, which would remove four fighters from the battlefield that they might need. There was also the fact that their barrier would only cover the palace itself and the immediate grounds, which would leave the rest of the city in the path of destruction and the overflow of citizens that spilled out past the palace boundaries open for attack.

So that was where the two Sailor Shadow's came in. According to the future Jess, she could generate a shield that would cover a good sized portion of the city, but it was extremely draining to both expel the energy and hold back her potentially destructive powers at the same time, so she had to take periodic breaks to keep herself balanced.

The younger Jess, on the other hand, wasn't able to make a shield quite as large as her future counterpart's, and the bigger it was the more likely it was to have weak spots in it. But between the two of them they were hoping to keep the casualties and damage in the city down to a minimum.

With any luck, between the two Silver Crystals and the two Celestial Crystals, they would be able to hold off Discord's forces until the teens managed to defeat Discord once and for all. If not, it would then fall to the rest of their friends and family to protect the city as much as possible. With three lines of defense between them, everyone was trying to keep their hopes for victory high.

"So what do we do now?" Rini asked as she slid into the chair next to where her mother had taken a seat.

Serenity sighed deeply. "Now we wait." She looked out a nearby window at the sun that was steadily rising higher in the sky. "It won't be long now. That bastard will be making his move soon. He's been waiting a long time for this, and I know he's got to be feeling antsy by now."

Endymion came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. "We've all been waiting a long time for this day. But with a bit of faith and luck, hopefully everything will work out in our favor."

"If the Treacherous Trio doesn't screw things up you mean," Rini snorted. "We may need more luck than you think, dad."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis."

"No doubt," Katie grumbled as she slouched against the wall next to him.

Alex, on the other hand, grinned goofily. "Well! I feel thoroughly downtrodden and insignificant now. Thanks for lifting my spirits, Rini. You're a real pal!"

"Good grief! Does he come with an off switch?" Skye muttered.

A look of mock horror spread across Emma's face. "Of course he doesn't! Why on Earth would I want to turn him off?"

Julian, who up until now had remained quiet, chuckled evilly. "That's right, Aphrodite. You're supposed to turn him on, aren't you?"

He and Kyrian guffawed loudly together as they shared high fives and knuckle pounds. Jayden snickered at the comment as well, but a faint flush on his face betrayed the fact that he was slightly embarrassed. Hannah merely clapped her hands over her ears, her green eyes wide and her cheeks looking like red apples.

Serenity clapped her hands together. "All right, everyone! That's enough playing around. The main reason why I called you down here was to make sure that nobody had any last minute questions because once this fight starts most of you will be cut off and separated from the rest of us. If you have any concerns, now is the time to voice them."

The three Trinity holders and the other five members of their team glanced around, sharing looks with each other for a few moments before shaking their heads. They had spent months preparing for this day. If they didn't have everything lined out by now, then it was too late.

Endymion sighed heavily. "Okay then. I know you get tired of hearing this, but be careful out there."

DJ smirked at his father. "Maybe we're the ones that should be telling you guys to be careful. There's going to be an awful lot of power flying around here when things get started. Discord may be the least of our worries in the end."

"Smartass!" Endymion chuckled affectionately.

Eternal Sailor Venus came in with Kunz at her side. "The evacuation is almost complete. Well, at least as much as we can. If the city perimeter is breached the hospitals will be our main concern since we couldn't move the patients. That's why we agreed that teams should be stationed there. And believe it or not, there are a lot of people who simply refuse to leave their homes or are taking refuge in their churches."

"Idiots!" Kunz scoffed. "We explained to them that we couldn't guarantee them protection if they didn't come in closer to the palace. But they said that they'd rather take their chances on their own."

A sad little sigh puffed past Serenity's lips. "We've done what we can. We can't force people to come here. We're not a dictatorship after all."

Endymion's expression was grim. "Some of them may change their minds when the fighting starts, which could mean big trouble. It will be like an all you can eat buffet to Discord's goons if they get inside the city and there are people running the streets."

"It could turn into a bloodbath," Darien agreed, meeting his future self's eyes. "We could be facing a repeat of the battle of the moon all over again."

"Don't say that!" Sailor Moon snapped in a firm voice. "What happened there won't happen here. We can't let it. _I _won't let it happen. If this planet was fated to be destroyed by Discord, then it should have happened millennia ago when he first came here. Instead he has been sealed away twice. I have faith that the kids can get rid of him for good this time. But if by some chance something goes wrong, I will seal him away again. I don't care if it takes every drop of energy I have. And I won't let this city get bulldozered by his flunkies either! One way or another, he's going down!"

Complete silence filled the room for a few moments after her outburst. Then, Serenity began to laugh. "Spoken like a true queen, Serena. I couldn't have put it better myself. And I agree with you completely. He's not going to win this day. We'll see to that."

"Ahem!" Eternal Sailor Mars announced from the doorway where she'd been listening. "If the two Meatball Heads have finished with their little pep rally I have some messages to pass on. Everyone has reported in, and we've covered every inch of the city, so everybody is making their way back in this direction. My grandpa has just arrived with Chad, Lizzy, their two sons of Satan, and the senior Furuhatas. And Momma Bear Furuhata is raising ten kinds of hell, saying that her grandbabies are not going into a fight without coming to say hello to her first. Big Poppa Andy is holding her back, but I fear for his life."

Katie and Alex looked at each other and grinned. Kathleen Furuhata had been described by many people, her children especially, as being a scary woman, but they never saw her that way. To them she was simply the grandmother that had fussed over them and spoiled them rotten their entire lives. She was the same way with Lizzy's two sons, and she adored being a grandma. The fact that she had been affected by the power of the Silver Crystal during the awakening of the Earth and was perfectly preserved at age forty-eight, though she didn't look any older than thirty-five, was just fine with her. Her bright red hair would never turn gray and her body wouldn't age. So she was free to play and romp with her grandchildren as much as she wanted to. She had even made a disturbing comment at the twins' last birthday about how they were almost adults and would be starting their own lives soon, and how she hoped that one day she would be able to run around after her great-grandkids.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Katie asked her brother with a giggle.

He smiled slyly. "I am if you're thinking that we should teleport in and get the drop on grandma for once. It would be the best prank ever!"

"I wouldn't be too mean to her if I were you," Eternal Mars cautioned. "She baked a batch of those secret recipe cookies of hers and brought them with her."

"Ooh! Grandma's cookies!" the twins moaned together before they both flashed themselves out of the room.

"Aren't you going to chase after them, Meatball Head?" Eternal Mars snickered evilly. "I said the word cookies."

Serenity sniffed daintily. "Really, Pyro, that old joke is getting rather stale."

"I don't think I could eat right now even if I wanted to," Sailor Moon muttered as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Me neither," Shadow agreed. "My nerves are so frazzled that I'd probably blow chunks. This is worse than a gallery showing."

Eternal Shadow waved a hand. "That gets easier with time. Once you get a few more under your belt you'll be fine."

Drew snorted. "Says the woman that I had to physically carry out of the house last summer to get her to the gallery on time."

Her eyes narrowed on her husband. "That was a slightly different situation, _dear_. And it's not one that we can talk about right now."

"What can't you talk about?" Shadow asked, her curiosity piqued.

Andrew sat next to her and took her hand in his. "Let it go, sweetheart. There are some things about our future that should remain secret."

* * *

Sailor Pluto stepped back from the river of time with a sigh. The time was almost upon them. From what she had seen, Discord would begin transporting his forces into the vicinity of Crystal Tokyo within the hour. The main timeline was holding bright and steady…for now. But there were still several alternate futures that branched off from it that could still come true. She just had to hope and pray that none of them did.

She walked across the misty time plane toward the door that would take her back to the Crystal Palace. Normally she would just teleport directly there to deliver her news, but she welcomed the few quiet minutes the stroll would give her so that she could think.

Last night, or early this morning rather, was still fresh in her mind. She had been so nervous at first about getting into bed with Evan. After all, what little sexual experience she had had taken place many, many centuries ago, and she had been celibate ever since. She had been afraid that he would think that she was no better than a fumbling teenager.

But nothing could have been further from the truth. Something had come over her the moment that he had taken her into his arms, and she'd felt like she had finally come to life. It had been like their souls had connected, and when he'd whispered loving words into her ear and told her how perfect he thought she was, she'd believed him.

And while she had been lying beside him after they'd made love, she'd had a startling revelation. She had loved Tristan deeply and had adored spending time with him. They had been physically intimate several times back during the Silver Millennium and had even spoken about marriage, and she would have been happy with that. But the sad truth was that what she had shared with Tristan paled in comparison to what she had with Evan. All he had to do was look at her to make her heart pound.

She didn't regret a moment of her time with Tristan, and a part of her would always love him and mourn his death. But after all of these years of listening to Venus, Serenity, and the others talk about soul mates and how extraordinary they were, she could fully relate to them. She had loved Tristan, and he had loved her, but they hadn't been soul mates. Evan was her soul mate. She could sense it with every fiber of her being. Now they just had to try to get past this fight with Discord and see where this relationship would lead.

She reached the door she needed and used her powers to remove the enchantments that she had used to seal it. Then she stepped through, almost trampling the small gray cat in front of it.

"Oh, Diana! I'm so sorry!" she gasped as she quickly bent down to scoop her up into her arms.

The bells on Diana's collar jingled as she shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine, Lady Pluto. I'm pretty quick on my feet, so you missed me. But there is someone else here that would like to say hello to you."

Pluto looked up, her jaw dropping when she saw the large man that practically filled the narrow basement hallway. "Evan! What are you doing here?"

He chuckled. "Your little kitty friend there came to me and told me that this was the best place to come if I wanted to have a minute alone with you before everything goes crazy. She led me down here."

She was floored. She had been so careful about not letting anyone know that she and Evan were more than just mere acquaintances. Had she let something slip in front of the feline? "Diana, why did you do that?"

Diana nudged her chin with her head. "He had a lonely look on his face and you weren't there. I knew he was looking for you, so I decided to help him out. You two should have a couple of minutes alone before the battle begins."

"But how did you know…about us?" Pluto stammered.

Diana giggled. "Lady Pluto, you have left me to watch over the time gate for you on several occasions. I looked in the time stream of course. I've known about Evan for years now, and I knew that he was in your future."

Pluto slumped against the wall, bewildered. "But the time stream doesn't show my future, Diana."

The feline jumped out of her arms to the floor, and then replied smoothly, "The time stream doesn't show your future to you. But when I look into it I can see you. Now, I'm leaving so that you two can enjoy your moment." She dashed between Evan's feet and was gone up the stairs in a flash.

"That sneaky little cat!" Pluto chuckled as she leaned her head back against the wall. "I can't believe her sometimes."

Evan laughed softly as he moved to stand in front of her. "She's definitely a one of a kind. I'm grateful to her though. I was afraid that the fight would start without me getting a chance to speak to you."

She looked up, way up at him, through her lashes. "You just talked to me a few hours ago, remember."

His golden eyes smoldered down at her. "You mean while you were sitting on the countertop in my kitchen, drinking coffee and wearing nothing but my shirt? I'm afraid I didn't have talking on my mind then."

She bit her lip to hold back a giggle. "I don't think you have talking on your mind now either."

"You might be right," he murmured. "Ah, screw it!" His head swooped down quickly, capturing her lips in a kiss so hot that she was surprised she didn't spontaneously combust.

She flung her arms around his neck and moaned into his mouth as their tongues tangled together. The sensation of completeness that she had experienced with him earlier filled her once again.

After a minute, they broke apart, but he continued to hold her captive between his body and the wall. He gave her a lazy grin. "There! Now I feel much better."

She pretended to pout. "Oh! So you snuck down here with Diana just so you could have an excuse to grope me up against a wall. How sweet."

His expression turned wicked. "I'll take what I can get. I would much rather be groping you in my bed, along with some other things that I won't bother to tell you right now because we have work to do and you don't need naughty fantasies distracting you from your job."

Her garnet eyes flared wide in surprise. "Oh no! Now you have to tell me, or I'll be distracted by trying to figure out what you have rattling around in that head of yours."

"Well, I guess I could tell you one thing, just to ease your mind," he drawled. Then he placed his lips next to her ear to whisper, "Have you ever heard of chocolate Redi-Whip body shots?"

Her knees went weak, whether from his words or from the feeling of his breath brushing her skin she didn't know, but she gave a little laugh as she pushed him back a step so she could slip away. "You are positively evil! Did you know that?"

"And you love me for it," he quipped back without missing a beat.

"You know what, I think I do," she replied softly.

He froze, staring at her hopefully before asking hesitantly, "Do you?"

She thought for a moment. Several loving words had been exchanged between them earlier, but neither one of them had actually said _I love you_. I had almost been like an unspoken taboo. But now she knew exactly what her feelings for the big, blonde sorcerer were.

So she nodded and told him, "Yes. I love you."

"Thank the gods!" he groaned as he took two steps to reach her and picked her completely up off the floor so that her feet were dangling. Then he looked her directly in the eyes. "I love you too."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her gloved fingers toying with his white-blonde ponytail. "Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way. Now we have a fight to go win. So put me down so we can get on with it."

He shook his head. "Not yet. We just declared our love for each other. I think that deserves a kiss."

"Okay. Just one kiss though," she conceded as she leaned forward to place her mouth over his.

* * *

Everyone thought that they were ready for the upcoming attack, but several people congregated in the business wing of the Crystal Palace were caught off guard when DJ, Katie, and Alex's heads snapped up and their eyes suddenly flared gold, silver, and red-orange.

"He's here!" the three of them said together.

Rini, Skye, Emma, Jayden, and Hannah immediately transformed and flew to their sides.

"Can you pinpoint him?" Sailor Crescent Moon demanded as soon as she reached her brother.

DJ smirked. "Oh yeah! He's coming in loud and clear. Let's get it on!"

Before anyone else could respond, the eight of them joined hands and teleported out of the room.

"Well! So much for telling them good luck," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath.

Serenity gave a shaky laugh. "I think they are probably tired of our pep talks by now. We just have to hope that they know what they are doing?"

Just then, the security wards began sounding their warning.

Sailor Pluto stepped forward, her expression serious. "You majesty, I would suggest setting your security measures in place."

"Of course, Trista," Serenity replied. Then she turned to face the small army she had assembled. "I guess we should get to work everyone."

They all nodded in approval and then filed out of the room. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask walked proudly at the king and queen's side while they were flanked by double the amount of sailor scouts and generals. The people gathered in the foyer parted ways to let the large group through.

They all glanced up at the third floor landing as they passed by the stairway. All of their extended family had gathered to see them off, which boosted everyone's confidence. Ken and Ilene Tsukino stood near where Sammy was holding a smiling Kenny in his arms. Near them were Andy and Kathy Furuhata with Lizzy, Chad, their two boys, and Raye's grandpa.

Anya was guarding the top of the stairs with Jack and Sasha to make sure that none of the troublemakers, also known as Kyle, Nick, Ryssa, and Taylor, attempted to sneak down. The smallest two, Corey and Abby, were on their tiptoes as they waved wildly over the banister.

Dr. Mizuno was noticeably absent, but that was no big surprise. If there was a potential crisis on the way there was nothing that would drag her from the hospital. Not that her daughter and son-in-law hadn't tried to persuade her to come to the palace, they had. But Anne Mizuno was furiously passionate about her job. The entire hospital could come crashing down around her, and she would still be trying to see to her patients.

"That woman is so stubborn! Sometimes I wonder how she and dad ever managed to get together. It's no wonder he prefers to hide out in his cabin in the woods after being married to her!" Amy had raged the night before when her future self told her of the situation.

Mercury had simply looked amused at her outburst. "They have more in common than you think. But you'll find that out for yourself one day."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Amy had demanded incredulously.

But Mercury had only smiled and refused to say any more on the subject.

Venus' parents, it seemed, still lived overseas. So she wasn't concerned about their welfare. Although she mentioned that she had briefly thought of sending Kyle to them to make sure he stayed safe during the fight. But the headstrong boy had thrown back his head and howled at the idea, even threatening to run away if they tried to make him go. In the end, she and Kunz had decided to let him stay.

Mars had brought up her father once, saying that he was away on business in Europe, which had caused Raye's temper to flare.

"Who gives a damn about that jackass!" she spat.

Jayden and Ryssa had both seemed shocked by her outburst, but a quick look and headshake from their mother had kept them quiet.

Since the rest of their team consisted of members that were either orphans, resurrected from a different time, or loners, that was it for their hodge-podge family. The group of fighters shared some smiles and chuckles as they stepped out doors of the palace.

The regular palace guards had kept a large area of the courtyard cleared, and even now they were holding back the crowds. But cheers erupted from the throng the moment their king, queen, and the legendary heroes appeared.

Sailor Moon's already queasy stomach jumped at the sound and her fingers tightened impulsively around Tuxedo Mask's hand. He squeezed back and gave her grin in a show of silent support.

Serenity seemed unruffled by the attention as strode regally to where a large crystal, the nerve center for the security system, sat in the middle of the cleared area. Then she turned and gestured for Sailor Moon to join her.

Once her younger self had come to stand at her side, she said with a slight laugh, "Okay, scouts! You know the drill. We have to keep with tradition. I want all of you, present and past scouts, over here now." She looked over her shoulder at both Sailor Shadows. "That includes you two as well. Get your butts moving!"

Eternal Shadow sighed. "Looks like it's time for Serena's pep talk."

But she and her younger self went over and joined the circle that was forming around the queen and Sailor Moon. It took a moment, but after a bit of eye rolling and elbowing, the seventeen scouts finally stilled.

Talon tapped Endymion on the shoulder and asked, "What are they doing?"

The king grinned. "It's sort of a tradition. Before they go into what they know is going to be a nasty fight Serena always takes a moment to speak to them and reflect on things."

Beside him, Tuxedo Mask nodded. "They've done it from the beginning. Even back when it was just her, Amy, and Raye. I never thought I'd ever see so many sailor scouts together in one place though."

Kunzite snorted. "I'm just glad you don't make us guys have a love-in before fights."

Jadeite snickered. "This coming from the guy that recently married the scout of love? I would think that love-ins would be your specialty by now." Then he ducked to avoid the predictable hand that Nephrite swatted at the back of his head. But he wasn't prepared for when Zoicite took the honor for himself.

"Ouch!" he cried, rubbing his now aching head. "Are you guys teaming up on me now?"

"Just let it go, man," Jed told him. "Trust me. It's easier that way."

The other future generals chuckled darkly.

Andrew was shifting nervously from foot to foot, making his long black duster sway from side to side. The eyes behind his sunglasses were pinned worriedly on Sailor Shadow.

Drew, who had powered up to his full solarian form, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll be okay."

Andrew sighed. "I sure hope you're right. I know she's been training for this, and she's pushed herself to the edge to do it. But this is different than practicing in Elysian. She's never tried to use a high level of her power in a fight situation before."

Drew shook his head. "I know it's scary. I felt the same way when I was in your shoes. But my Jess knows her probably better than you do. She knows what her past self is capable of and will keep an eye on her."

That caused Andrew to snort. "That's an even scarier thought, letting two hot-heads look out for each other. One Jess alone manages to get herself into a lot of trouble. Now there are two of them. Great!"

"Well," Drew drawled. "I didn't mean that we wouldn't have to watch them like hawks as well. I trust my wife, but I'm not crazy. She's temperamental and impulsive, and I wouldn't put it past her to do something bordering on suicidal if she had the chance."

About that time, Serenity and Sailor Moon wrapped up with what they were saying to the scouts, and the circle began to break. All the women took turns hugging each other and telling one another to be careful. Then they joined the men and began breaking off into groups to go out to their assigned posts around the city's perimeter. In less than a minute, only Serenity, Endymion, Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and both sets of Sailor Shadows, Andrews, Venuses, and Kunzites remained.

"I guess I better get to it. If Trista's information is right, then Discord's army will be knocking on our gates in just a few minutes," Serenity sighed as she turned to face the crystal.

Endymion took her by the arm and turned her back to pull her into his arms. The rest of them turned away to give them a moment of privacy.

"Don't overextend yourself," he chided her gently as he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "If you start feeling too much of a drain, take a break. You have your past self and both Jesses here to back you up. Take advantage of it." Then he lowered his voice where only she could hear. "And don't forget what happened when we were here in our past. I know you were worn out afterward, but Serenity almost killed herself trying to protect the city. I don't want to chance losing you."

She placed her hand to the side of his face. "I'm not going anywhere, Darien. I know my limits. I just hope that my and Jess's past selves realize their potential in time. Now give me a kiss for luck and let me get to work."

Endymion studied her for a moment before he let his head dip down to catch her lips in a short, but ravishing kiss.

Sailor Moon felt her cheeks heat up when the soft murmur of voices behind her stopped and several people in the crowd who were close enough to see _oohed _and _ahhed_. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the king and queen were doing.

Tuxedo Mask reached over and took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. She glanced up at him to see that the eyes behind his mask had an evil glint to them.

"Don't even think about it, Darien," she hissed at him. She supposed that someday she would learn to deal with the scrutiny from so many people. But for now she was definitely not comfortable with all of the attention.

He shrugged, his lips turning up into that familiar lopsided grin that she adored. "Don't worry. PDA's around our friends are one thing, but I'm not into exhibitionism, especially with a good percentage of the city watching us. But I will do this."

He lifted her gloved hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the back of it. It was a small, but unbelievably loving gesture that warmed her insides like she had just had a big swallow of hot cocoa.

A group of teenage girls in the crowd being held back by the guards obviously found his actions sweet too. There were six of them, all them appearing to be in their middle teens, and they squealed and went starry-eyed when they saw it.

He chuckled as he lowered her hand. "I never have figured it out. Is it the tuxedo or the mask that makes girls squeal so much?"

She gave him an impish smile. "I've always thought it was the cape myself."

A black brow arched above his mask. "The cape?"

"Um hmm," she murmured. "It adds an air of mystery around you. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people think of vampires when they see a man in a cape, and vampires are all the rage in the romance world right now, at least in our time. I notice that your future self seems to still like wearing them himself."

She looked over her shoulder, thankful to see that their future selves were no longer embracing. Endymion and Serenity had both dressed in their full formal court clothes for today. Serenity had moaned grumpily about having to wear the floor length white gown and the crown that was nestled between her twin hair buns, but Luna and Nebula had teamed up against her, declaring that she was queen and had to look the part in front of the citizens of the city.

She'd finally given in, much to Artemis and Orion's relief. Happy female felines made their lives much easier to bear. The squabbles between Luna and Artemis had died down to a minimum over the years, and Artemis liked it that way. Nebula, on the other hand, had put aside her anger at Orion for the time being. She wasn't being friendly to him, and she mostly ignored him, but she managed to remain civil when they had to talk. She'd even been overheard saying that Orion had come up with some ingenious tactical ideas during the planning for today's battle. It was nowhere near happily ever after for the two cats, but it was a start.

Endymion had dressed with flare as well. In fact, if he still had the ability to transform into Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon would have sworn that was what he had done. He was minus the hat and mask, and his black tuxedo was clearly a bit fancier cut than his younger self's, and it was tailor-made to fit him perfectly. But the red lined black cape that hung from his shoulders could have been the same one that he had always worn when he'd transformed into his previous alter ego or his former prince form.

The sword at his side and the dagger at his waist were the real deal though. The dagger was the same one that Darien had recently recovered possession of. It was Venusian-made, over two millennia old, and had been a gift from Princess Serenity to Prince Endymion the first Christmas after their marriage in the Silver Millennium. The gleaming sword had also belonged to the prince. His father, King Edward, had presented it to Endymion when the man had felt that his son had progressed enough in his training to have a sword of his own.

Ironically, it was also the same sword that Princess Serenity had used to take her own life after witnessing the murder of her husband and daughter at the hands of Beryl. Sailor Moon shuddered a little at that memory and pulled her attention away from that sword as Endymion helped his wife up the two small steps onto the slightly raised platform where the giant crystal sat. Then he retreated back to where the rest of them were.

He gave Sailor Moon a rueful grin. "Do I have something on my face, Serena?"

She started at his words and realized that she had been staring rather blatantly at him. She shook her head and blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. "I was just wondering what the deal was with that purple tux you were wearing the last time we were here. I haven't seen you wear anything quite so colorful since we've been here."

"Purple?" Kunzite and Sailor Shadow exclaimed in amazement.

Andrew tilted his head thoughtfully. "Oh yeah. I remember you guys saying something about that back several years ago."

Tuxedo Mask groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. "I'm sure it was some kind of a mistake. Besides, he was just a hologram at the time and wasn't even real."

Sailor Shadow was practically choking on laughter as she sputtered, "Pur…Purple!"

Venus's head bobbed eagerly. "And not just any old shade of purple. It was a beautiful shade of lavender."

"Hmm…" Eternal Venus murmured. "I always thought of it as being more of a delicate lilac color."

"It was the same color I would choose if I were painting and early morning sky. It was quite pretty," Eternal Shadow snickered evilly.

"Pretty!" Shadow shrieked, tears of mirth in her eyes.

"It was a joke!" Endymion bellowed, finally losing his cool. "I'd thought that I had taken all the security measures I possibly could to keep Jed locked out of the hologram program. But that little bastard found a way to hack the system and changed the settings. I'm still not convinced that he didn't have some help from Zoi or Amy. Believe me, I was not happy when I came to after the Dark Moon attack and found myself in that purple get-up."

"I knew there had to be a simple explanation," Tuxedo Mask sighed. "And I'm not surprised to find out that Jadeite was behind it. I hope you got him back for that."

Kunz gave a sinister chuckle. "Let's just say that revenge was sweet. And I was happy to have a hand in it."

Endymion's head whipped around as silver light flared at the corner of his eye. A broad smile formed on his lips as he told the visitors, "Looks like the show is about to begin. Just keep watching, and be prepared to be wowed."

Serenity had summoned the Silver Crystal, and it hovered slightly above her cupped palms. The glow coming from it grew brighter and brighter as she poured her energy into it. Then a beam of light shot from it into the large crystal, and it began to glow as well.

Sailor Moon felt a rush flow through her as her own Silver Crystal flared briefly in response to Serenity's. And for a moment her fuku shimmered around her, almost turning into her princess dress, but she quickly reined in the energy and her fuku flickered back into focus.

Tuxedo Mask bumped her shoulder lightly with his. "Feeling anxious?" Obviously he had sensed her brief lapse through their bond and had seen her almost transform.

She nodded. "A bit. There is an awful lot of Silver Crystal power in the air right now."

She gasped a moment later when Serenity's Silver Crystal exploded into white-hot, blinding light. Even she had to clench her eyes against it for a moment to keep from going blind. Her Silver Crystal tugged almost painfully against her.

But when she opened her eyes again, all she could do was stare in shock. A beam of silver energy now shot up from the large crystal into the sky. She knew from Amy and Zoi's description earlier that all of the other smaller crystals around the city would be reacting the same way. A quick glance at the sky showed her that a hazy dome of energy was beginning to settle over the city, but she only looked at it for about a second before her eyes were pulled once more to her future self.

"Whoa!" Tuxedo Mask, Shadow, Andrew, Venus, and Kunzite all murmured in awe.

Endymion grinned at them. "I told you that you were in for a show. She's impressive, isn't she?"

"We're off to take up our positions," Kunz said in a low voice. "Mina and I, along with our younger selves will be guarding the perimeter of the palace grounds. It's up to the rest of you to hold this courtyard should the unthinkable happen and any of Discord's flunkies make it this far."

Endymion, Tuxedo Mask, Drew, and Andrew all nodded in understanding. It was their job to keep the women safe while they concentrated on keeping the barriers up for as long as possible. Everyone's hopes were riding on the younger group dispatching Discord as quickly as possible before Serenity and the others ran out of energy, because if Discord's army managed to make it inside, it would be catastrophic. Sure, the scouts, generals, and sorcerers were all excellent fighters, but a force of this size would overrun them.

Sailor Moon heard the words around her, and she vaguely realized when the two Kunzite's and Venus's left, but her attention was still firmly fixed on the queen…or more specifically, on the large, white-feathered wings that now adorned her back.

"I guess that explains the backless dress," Shadow muttered next to her. "Can you do that, Serena?"

Sailor Moon studied her future self's face and found Serenity's face to be completely calm despite all of the power whipping around her. The power was strong, and it held just a hint of the wildness that she remembered from her fight with Galaxia, but somehow Serenity was able to maintain control of it and dole it out in a steady stream instead of it bursting out rampantly the way it had the one time that she had used it.

Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know if I'll be able to pull it off, Jess. But I'm sure as hell going to try. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Just then, there was a muffled boom from the east side of the city, and Serenity shuddered a bit. Evidently their enemies had arrived. And from the sound of it they weren't too happy about finding their way blocked.

A few seconds later gold, silver, and red-orange light shot into the sky from the direction of a hill a couple of miles outside the city.

* * *

"Do you guys think he'll get the message?" Alex asked as he lowered his hands back to his side after shooting a blast of energy into the sky.

Katie rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he will. We weren't exactly trying to be subtle about it."

"He'll come," DJ growled. "We probably took him by surprise since he more than likely thought we were still in the past, but he won't let this slide. He's too much of a narcissist."

Sailor Crescent Moon shifted from foot to foot in her pink boots. "I sure hope you're right, bro. I know mom and the others can hold the city for a while, but even they won't last long if he hits them full force."

Sailor Ishtar chewed on a thumbnail through her glove. "And if he gets inside the city and finds Jess…"

She didn't have to finish that statement. They all knew what would happen if Discord got his hands on the Celestial Crystal. Bye-bye Earth!

"Looks like Aunt Serenity isn't holding back," Sailor Caloris murmured. Her handheld computer was in her hand and she was scanning the shimmering silver dome of energy that was now covering the city.

Flame looked over her shoulder at the tiny screen. "Wow! I always knew she was powerful…but damn!"

"Silly, Meatball Head mom!" Crescent Moon muttered. "She's going to tire out quickly at this rate."

DJ's expression was worried as he too looked toward his home. Then his gaze narrowed on the large group that he and the others had watched come through a portal that had opened up not too far away. "It looks like the first of them have reached the city."

A few moments later there was a loud explosion from where one of Discord's monsters had tried to blast its way in. A cloud of black smoke rose into the sky, but the shield remained firmly in place.

Katie stepped between DJ and Alex and took one each of their hands into hers. "Do you guys really think that this is the best place for this? I mean, don't you feel like were kinda tempting fate or something by facing Discord here?"

The two guys looked around for a minute, thinking over her words. Their chosen battleground for this final showdown was a place that the three of them knew quite well. It had starred over and over in their nightmares for years now. Katie looked down fearfully at the green grass that covered the small hill they were on like she expected the ground to open up and swallow them whole at any moment.

Finally, Alex shrugged. "Maybe we are tempting fate, but I prefer to think of it more as turning a nightmare into a good dream. Besides, this is the best location. We're far enough from the city to hopefully keep it out of the line of fire, but still close enough to keep an eye on things."

She bit down on her bottom lip so hard that it hurt. In fact, she actually drew a bit of blood.

"Hey!" DJ fussed gently at her as he tapped her injured lip with a golden glowing fingertip. All traces of the bite immediately disappeared. "Lex is right, Kat. This is our chance to change our worst nightmare. And remember what the original Trinity holders told us. We have to get rid of all of our doubts. Discord will use them as ammunition against us if we don't."

She jumped a bit as the warmth of his healing power took the sting out of her lip. "You're right. I have to push those thoughts out of my head. Just because we are in this place doesn't mean that the nightmare will come true." Then her silver eyes turned reproachful. "And you aren't supposed to be wasting your energy on healing people."

He chuckled and drew her closer to his side. "Then stop it with the self mutilation. Anyway, I barely had to tap into my energy to heal that little nibble."

"Hey guys," Caloris said suddenly, looking up from where she had been typing on her computer. "Something is going on down there. I think Discord's army is beginning to split up."

They looked back anxiously toward Crystal Tokyo and saw that she was right. The majority of his army was spreading out to surround the city, but another portion, about twenty-five percent of it, had broken away and had turned in their direction. The large, dark cloud of vapor that was Discord hovered over that group.

"It looks like this is it. Is everybody ready?" DJ asked solemnly.

Nobody got the chance to answer, because in that moment there was a dark flash of negative energy from Discord. And then he and his minions had vanished.

"What the…" several of the teens began to exclaim. But before they could finish there was another dark flare of energy right before them and they were suddenly confronted by an army of snarling, rabid looking sentinels that were built like tanks. None of them were smaller than an elephant. There were also more than just the wolves and wildcats that they had faced in the past. There were some that looked like they might have been rhinoceroses, gorillas, hyenas, jackals, and a few more that they didn't have time to decipher.

The guardians were no less intimidating. They only vaguely resembled humans anymore, and the shortest one in the bunch looked to be at least eight feet tall. The rest of them stood about ten feet tall, and some were even taller. They appeared broad and powerful, and looked like they could rip large trees from the ground with their bare hands. Their eyes glowed blood red and their lips curled back to reveal long, serrated fangs.

A shocked whimper came from Caloris, and even Flame couldn't stop the strangled sound that caught in his throat. Crescent Moon, Ishtar, and Callisto held on to their composure a bit better, but their eyes widened in surprise.

Though it was hard to do, DJ, Katie, and Alex managed to keep their expressions completely neutral, although they were still just as shocked as the rest of them. They had known that Discord had been working on improving his fighters, but this was beyond anything that they could have ever dreamed. This was worse than their nightmares. But they swallowed back their fear as they stared down the evil entity. It was up to them to destroy him. The world was counting on them.

Two red, eye-like orbs appeared in the dark cloud and glared down at them. And then his demonic voice rumbled, "So! You brats made it back here in time. It's disappointing, but not completely unexpected. You'll soon regret returning to this time though. If you had stayed in the past you would have been able to live a little while longer. I was considering it to be my final parting gift to you. Now you will die along with this foolish planet."

Alex wore a smirk on his face that belied his nerves. "Do you ever get tired of listening to yourself talk?"

Katie forced out a giggle, and then said in said in flat monotone voice, "I am big, bad monster. Hear me roar."

Dark energy crackled around Discord. "You little bastards dare to make fun of me! I wore down the ones that came before you, and I will do it again. But this time I will kill you all. There will be no more Galactic Trinity! The bloodlines of Selene, Gaia, and Apollo will stop here. You are nothing but children, and you don't have the power to destroy me."

DJ's voice was deadly calm as he drew his sword. "Oh don't we?"

Katie and Alex followed, pulling their swords from their sheaths. The rest of their friends closed in around them, falling into the positions that they had practiced so many times that they could do it in their sleep.

There was only the sound of the wind, and the faint explosions coming from the direction of Crystal Tokyo, for several eternally long seconds before Discord hissed, "So be it. If you are willing to die so much…then die!"

And then his assorted troops attacked.

* * *

Eternal Mars and Eternal Jupiter stood atop one of the guard towers that surrounded the city, looking out through the barrier of the Silver Crystal's energy at the attacking monsters.

"Man! Discord sure hit them with the ugly stick," Eternal Jupiter drawled.

"More like the ugly tree," Eternal Mars sniffed. "After all of these years I had forgotten exactly how hideous they were. I just hope we don't have to get close enough to smell them this time. It took me six months to get that stench out of nose last time."

Eternal Jupiter shrugged. "Maybe we'll get lucky and Discord will do us a favor by dying quickly."

"It's a nice thought, love. But I wouldn't count on it," Neph said as he appeared at the top of the ladder to the tower.

Jed was right behind him. "Yeah, ladies, it's a wonderful idea, but you know he won't give up that easily. Even if he is nothing but a cowardly, bully bastard."

Eternal Jupiter nodded. "How is the shield holding up?"

Jed shrugged. "It seems steady for now, despite all the pounding that it's taking. So far Serenity seems to be holding it together."

"She won't be able to keep it up for long at this rate," Eternal Mars murmured, her eyes worried for her friend.

Neph leaned a shoulder against the wall as he looked out at the attacking forces. "What I'm concerned about is when she and Serena make the switch. Even if Serena powers-up fast, there will still be a few seconds when the shield will be down. Some of those assholes will make it inside the city when that happens."

Jed slapped him on the shoulder. "That's what we're here for." Then he ducked to avoid the playful punch that Neph shot at him.

* * *

"So how did we get put on hospital duty again?" Uranus growled.

Neptune sighed. "Take it as a compliment, dearest. The hospitals are full to the brim with sick people that the palace couldn't accommodate and the queen wanted tight security on them. You didn't hear our future selves complain when they were assigned to the other large hospital."

Saturn snickered. "That just shows that she wants the strongest scouts on the job."

Pluto looked fondly at the dark haired girl. "You sure have been in a good mood."

Saturn nodded eagerly. "I can't explain it. But ever since I spent that time with Kenny yesterday I feel wonderful. I feel light and happy. It's almost like what I feel when I'm with Sammy, but different at the same time. I'm all warm and fuzzy inside."

Uranus's melancholy expression melted away into a smile. "Now you know how we felt when you came to live with us."

"You were the missing link in our family. You made us complete," Neptune added softly.

"Yes she was," Pluto agreed, and then she giggled. "Of course that's not saying that we didn't come close to pulling our hair out sometimes during the early days. You were a good baby, Taru, but things moved a lot smoother once you learned to talk and could tell us what you wanted instead of us having to play guessing games."

Saturn grinned impishly at her. "I guess it's a good thing I grew up so fast." Then her voice dropped into a conspiratorial whisper that only Pluto could hear. "I'm not the only one that has been acting abnormally happy. You've been positively giddy today yourself."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Pluto responded primly. But she couldn't stop her eyes from looking in the direction of the south entrance to the city, where Evan was stationed with his brother-in-law and two nephews, but at this distance she couldn't see anything.

"Uh huh," Saturn snorted disbelievingly. "Sure you don't."

* * *

"Fighting a defensive battle sure is boring," Jupiter groaned as she sat down on top of the wall that went around the city that she had been standing on. She eyed the enemies that were only about fifty yards away with a hungry gaze.

Nephrite chuckled as he sat beside her. "It is a little dull, isn't it? But you know the old saying. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense."

"I thought it was the other way around," Jadeite spoke up from where he'd actually laid down on the wall a short distance away. "I can never keep some of those old sayings right. They get all twisted around in my head."

"No surprise there," Mars drawled. She had elected to stay standing and was tapping one red high heel on the wall in impatience. Suddenly she glared down at her smirking fiancé. "You pervert! Are you looking up my skirt?"

His grin widened. "Don't blame me. You're the one that decided to practically stand over me while I'm laying down. Besides, there's nothing under that tiny skirt that I haven't seen before."

Jupiter burst into laughter while Nephrite shook his head, muttering, "You stupidly brave man."

Metaphoric steam poured from Mars's ears. "Keep it up, and I'll kick your ass right off this wall!"

"Aw, don't be that way Firefly. I was just teasing," Jadeite pleaded in his best innocent tone as he reached up to grab her hand and pulled her down to sit beside him. Then he snuggled his head into her lap. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance to fight before this is over."

"I'm sure we all will," Nephrite agreed in a slightly eager tone.

Jupiter craned her neck around. "I just wish that we had gotten assigned to the other side of the city instead of the Amys and Zoicites. They might actually be able to see the kids' fight from over there. Now that could be interesting."

Mars sighed. "I wonder how they are doing."

* * *

"So who was the lucky lady last night?" Julian drawled as he slid up next to his brother.

Kyrian jumped a bit at the sound of his voice and quickly pulled his mind away from the daydreams he had been having about Skye. "What the hell are you talking about, Jules?"

Julian grinned goofily. "Dude, you so can't get out of this one. I was bored last night, so I thought I'd pop over to your place for a little visit."

"And probably hoping to score a beer or two," Kyrian muttered.

"Of course," Julian confirmed. "But it turns out that I wasn't the one that scored. I won't bother repeating the sounds that I heard coming from your bedroom, but it sounded like you were having a good time."

"You little voyeur!" Kyrian snarled and lunged for his brother.

"I didn't stick around or anything!" Julian exclaimed as he quickly dodged the hands that clearly wanted to rip him apart. "Honestly, bro! I got the hell out of dodge the moment I realized what was going on. I was just wondering who it was."

A growl ripped from Kyrian's throat. "That's none of your damn business!"

Julian shrugged. "Whatever! It would be nice if you left some of the ladies for the rest of us. I've seen you out partying, and I've heard the stories. You've probably slept with half the girls in Crystal Tokyo that are sixteen and up by now. Even if I managed to find a girl that I like, the chances are high that she's already been with you. And no offense, that's just a little bit creepy."

Kyrian pulled up short. He'd never realized that his younger brother had viewed his cover-up, playboy image so seriously. "Look Julian, I know it seems like I get around a lot, but I haven't seen as much action as you think I have. In fact, I can promise you that the chances of you hooking up with a girl that I've been with are pretty much zero. So feel free to play the field. Just make sure to leave a few free for Taylor. I'm sure he'll be getting interested in dating soon."

"Nah!" Julian scoffed. "Taylor's got a crush on some girl from the home village. I don't think he's interested in city girls."

Talon and Evan had been listening in on their conversation/argument from their positions near Crystal Tokyo's south entrance gate. The two men had spent the last couple of minutes trying to hold back their chuckles, but now they burst into laughter.

"They sound a lot like us back in the old days. Don't they, Talon?" Evan asked his oldest friend.

Talon nodded as he gasped for breath. "Yeah they do. You had quite a playboy reputation yourself at one time."

"An _undeserved _reputation I might add," Evan corrected him. "I couldn't help it if the ladies just naturally flocked toward my good looks and charm. But just because I was nice to them didn't mean I was shagging them. I left that part to you."

"You make me sound like a man-whore!" Talon exclaimed. "I wasn't with that many women."

Evan arched a brow at him. "Oh really? How many nights did I find you in a tavern, dead drunk with your hand up some wench's skirt?"

Kyrian and Evan both recoiled at the imagery. "Ew!"

"It wasn't that often!" Talon insisted.

"It happened often enough," Evan retorted. "I lost count of the number of times I practically carried you out of those taverns and teleported you home to bed. Then I would always stick around and cover for you when Beryl would come sniffing around and wondering what you had been up to."

Talon rolled his eyes. "You would have stayed drunk and been fooling around too if you had been stuck dealing with that whiny, red-headed bitch all the time. And hell! She was screwing around on me too, so what was the big deal?"

"You brought it on yourself," Evan declared loftily. "You would have saved yourself a lot of grief and heartbreak if you had never gotten wrapped up with that woman."

"I deluded myself into thinking that I loved her," Talon replied softly. "It blinded me to everything, even Anya. But it's all ancient history now, and things worked out for the best."

Evan grinned at him and clapped him on the back. "It sure did. And it will get even better once Discord's ass is gone for good."

Talon dropped his voice to barely a whisper as he spoke to his brother-in-law. "By the way, the next time you and Lady Pluto decide you want to make out on your kitchen counter, be sure to close your blinds. Anya sent me to see if you wanted to come for breakfast this morning. And let's just say that you should be glad it was me who came and not your sister."

"Crap!" Evan groaned. "Setsuna didn't want anyone finding out about us until later. You didn't say anything to Anya, did you?"

Talon gave him a reproachful look. "The fact that she's not here right now peppering you with questions should answer that. Don't worry. Your secret is safe. I just hope you know what you're getting into. She's not just a sailor scout. She's also a one-quarter goddess. I think old Chronos just might break Zeus's rules and come after you if he ever thought that you hurt his granddaughter."

Evan just grinned. "I know who and what she is. And I'm willing to accept it all. She's worth it."

"I hope so," Talon told him, shaking his head and stepping away. Then he walked over to join his oldest son, who was leaning against the gate and staring out at Discord's monsters that were attacking the city.

"So how about you?" he asked Kyrian casually. "Should I be expecting an enraged Nephrite to come beating on my door soon, claiming that you dishonored his daughter?"

Kyrian visibly started at the question. "What? Why would…? What does Skye have to do with anything?"

Talon put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Son, I saw the two of you together in the past, and I've watched the two of you your whole lives. I knew that one day you would end up together. I also know that this so-called playboy reputation of yours was a sham to cover up your feelings. Even on the nights when you didn't stay at the house, I knew that you were alone in your apartment."

A smirk turned up Kyrian's lips. "Been spying on me, old man?"

Talon held up his hands. "Oh, hell no! I have more respect for your privacy than that. But your mother, on the other hand, still likes to check on all of her kids at night to make sure they are safe. I've been trying to get her to stop where you are concerned, but it hasn't been easy. She'll stop once she finds out that you and Skye have become a couple."

Kyrian buried his face in his hands. It was embarrassing enough that his brother had been in his apartment last night, but the thought of his mother walking in… "She didn't swing by for one of those nocturnal visits last night, did she?"

Talon grinned. "You got lucky this time. Abby woke up with a tummy-ache a couple of hours after we got home from last night's meeting and put her to bed. So she spent most of the night taking care of her. By the time she came to bed it was late and she fell right to sleep. But I think you better let her know soon that you and Skye have started a relationship so that she knows better than to just pop in on you from now on."

"Good idea. Thanks, dad," Kyrian said gratefully.

Just then, Julian popped up from out of nowhere. "Skye! You are dating Skye? But she _hates _you!"

Talon saw the expression on his oldest son's face and looked pointedly away. "I see nothing."

Kyrian grinned evilly, and then popped off a mild shot of energy that hit the younger boy right in the butt, making him howl.

* * *

Eternal Saturn looked up at the sky with a worried expression. "Serenity's weakening," concern for her sister-in-law underlined her words. "She and Serena will have to make the trade soon."

Eternal Uranus punched a fist into her palm. "Then we'll have to be ready. The moment that shield goes down for even a moment, those bastards will come running in. I know the others guarding the gates can stop some of them, but not all of them. And that's fine with me. I'm ready for some action."

"Always ready to get bloody," Eternal Neptune sighed beside her as she looked out over the city from their perch on the roof of Crystal Tokyo's second large hospital.

"Only if it's my enemy's blood," Eternal Uranus quipped back.

Eternal Saturn snorted derisively. "Then I guess it's a good thing that our enemies always explode into dust. That's a big enough pain to wash off of me as it is. Not to mention that it smells."

Eternal Uranus smirked. "That's the price you pay in battle, kiddo."

Amethyst eyes rolled at her. "Honestly! Do you really have to still call me kiddo? For god's sake! I am a grown woman, a wife, and a mother. I hardly fall in the juvenile category anymore."

"It's hard to tell with all the time you spend hanging around Rini," the blonde scout teased back. "Sometimes when you two get together and start squealing I feel like I've gone back in time about a thousand years."

"So we have a good time together!" Eternal Saturn retorted. "Despite the differences in our ages in this time she is still my oldest and dearest friend. She also happens to be my niece."

"Dear heart, this might not be the best time to be teasing our daughter," Eternal Neptune cautioned her mate gently. "We are in the middle of a siege."

Her lover shrugged. "I guess you're right. I was just trying to break the monotony of the moment. I can't help it if I find our little Taru adorable when she gets flustered."

Eternal Neptune giggled. "She is precious, isn't she?"

"You two are depraved," Eternal Saturn sighed. "You guys should really look into adopting another kid or two. That would take the heat off of me."

"Would you really want to give up your only child status?" Eternal Uranus asked.

"Gladly," Eternal Saturn answered immediately. "Especially if it keeps you two from treating me like I am only ten years old."

Eternal Neptune's eyes twinkled, like she was hiding a secret. "Hmm, we'll keep that in mind in the future."

Eternal Saturn looked like she was about to question her, but then her head shot up. "Uh oh. The shield is beginning to splinter. Cracks are beginning to appear in it. Serenity has given it all that she can."

* * *

"So you told me a bit about mom. Is dad still doing okay?" Mercury asked her future self as they watched the east gate of the city from the roof of a grocery store.

Eternal Mercury nodded. "Oh yeah. He's good. Dad is, well…he's dad. As long as he has his paints, canvases, and charcoals he's thrilled. In fact, he, Jess, and Michelle have become quite friendly over the years."

"Really?" Mercury replied, slightly surprised. "I've known dad to do a few shows in Tokyo over the years, but he avoided it for the most part. We would always meet up for dinner or something when he was in town, but he always made sure it was when mom was working. I guess he was trying to avoid her. So it's hard for me to imagine him spending a lot of time here."

"Things are a bit…different here than they were in the past," her future self answered delicately.

Mercury's expression turned horrified. "Oh no! Dad lost the house in the Freeze, didn't he?" She felt a pang of grief at the thought. The log cabin style house nestled in the woods a couple of miles outside Tokyo had been in the Mizuno family for a few generations, and it had always been one of her favorite places to go when she wanted to get away for a while.

Eternal Mercury shook her head. "No. The house survived the Freeze. There was some damage, but it was repairable. Dad just doesn't stay there full-time anymore."

"So he's got a place here in the city?" Mercury asked curiously.

Zoi looked up from the Mercury computer in his hands and then reached over to place a couple of fingers over his wife's lips. "Darling, I believe you better stop answering her questions before you accidentally say too much."

She nodded. "You're right. Sorry, Amy. I really shouldn't tell you anymore."

Zoicite nudged Mercury lightly in the ribs. "See? I told you that you shouldn't be so curious. This isn't like school where you can ask a million questions and get the answers."

Her blue eyes snapped angrily. "The only thing I'm curious about right now is how many toes you could lose to frostbite and still be able to run away from me before I shove an icicle up your a…ah…never mind." Her cheeks flamed as she thought about the threat she had almost voiced out loud.

""Good grief!" she muttered. "I've been hanging around Raye and Lita entirely too long."

Her future self burst into giggles. "You can't blame it all on them. You have to admit that you've always had those kinds of thoughts. You were just too mature to say them aloud like the others did."

Zoi pulled on a piece of her blue hair. "Is that your way of saying I pull out the immature side of you? Because you usually don't think twice about telling me to go screw myself."

"Watch it, mister!" she growled.

Zoicite leaned down to whisper in his fiancés ear, "Do we act this way in front of other people?"

She shrugged in reply. "I can't imagine that we do."

"You do. You just don't see it for yourselves," Zoi piped up, not showing a bit of embarrassment even though he had been blatantly eavesdropping on them.

Eternal Mercury hauled him back a couple of steps by his collar. "What my dear husband is trying to say is that you two aren't quite the sticks in the mud that you think you are. Sure, your friends are a bit wilder and more rambunctious, but you let loose in front of them a little more than you realize. It took us a while to figure that out too."

Mercury and Zoicite were quiet for several long moments as they thought over what she had said.

"Hmm…" Zoicite mused. "It's true that Jadeite hasn't called me General Cob-Up-the-Ass in a while."

Mercury nodded. "And none of the girls have fussed at me lately for sticking my head in a book when I'm with them…because I guess I haven't been doing it like I used to. I've just been joining in with all the gossip about weddings, engagements, and kids without a second thought."

"That's exactly what I mean," Eternal Mercury told them. "You two used to hide behind your books, brains, and computers, only coming out of your shells every so often."

"Especially when you were alone," Zoi inserted slyly with a waggle of his eyebrows, a la Jadeite style. Then he quickly jerked his foot back as his wife's blue boot came crashing down exactly where his toes had been a moment before. He smirked. "You missed, love."

"You read my mind through our bond," she accused back before returning to what she had been saying. "Anyhow, the two of you used to only feel completely comfortable when you were alone together. And over time your comfort zone has spread out to include your entire, crazy, extended family. You've learned to relax and be yourselves. You say and do exactly what's on your mind without worrying what everyone else thinks."

"I guess that explains why Hannah is so outspoken and opinionated," Mercury giggled.

"Don't even get me started on her," Eternal Mercury groaned. "Or Corey either for that matter. I could do with a bit less of their _opinions_ sometimes."

Just then, both Mercury computers began beeping, drawing the foursome's attention to the small screens. Both Zoicites hissed curses under their breaths while the two blue suited scouts came very close to doing the same.

Mercury's fingers were tapping the keys rapidly. "Serenity has reached her limit. The barrier is beginning to crack in places."

"Darn it!" Eternal Mercury muttered. "Well, I'm surprised she lasted this long with the amount of energy she's been expending." She lifted the communicator on her wrist to her lips. "Endymion, this is Mercury. Come in."

A few seconds passed with no reply. "Endymion? Darien? This is Mercury."

Still nothing.

"Jess? Drew? Anybody?" she tried again, hoping to reach somebody in the courtyard. "Serenity and Serena need to make the switch now. The shield is beginning to come apart and Discord's army will be able to force their way in soon. Can anyone hear me?"

"Maybe the Silver Crystal's power is messing up the frequency," Zoi murmured thoughtfully. "Let me try." He spoke into his own communicator. "Hey Dare, it's Zoi. Answer me, man."

About that time there was a burst of static from Sailor Mercury's communicator, followed by the familiar voice of Sailor Shadow. "Um, Amy, we've got a bit of a problem back here."

"What kind of a problem, Jess?" Mercury demanded.

"Well…" Shadow began to explain, but whatever she said after that was lost in a loud explosion as several of the smaller guardians and sentinels found their way through a crack that was just big enough for them that had opened up near the foursome. A larger, massive gorilla-looking sentinel had tried to force his way in, but he got caught up in the Silver Crystal's energy and had exploded into dust.

Mercury was blown to the ground by the force. And as she stumbled back to her feet, choking and coughing on the putrid dust, she could hear her communicator going crazy as calls began coming in from all over the city, "Breach! We have a breach in the shield!" followed by more explosions.

She didn't know what was going on back in the palace courtyard, but at the moment she couldn't dwell on it. Because the fight had now turned from defensive to offensive, and the battle for Crystal Tokyo was on.

* * *

Sweat was dripping down Neo Queen Serenity's face, plastering tendrils of her hair to her cheeks and neck as she kept pouring more energy into the Silver Crystal. Her vision was blurred and her legs could barely support her weight as more and more of her life force was drained away.

Then, warm hands were on her shoulders and the voice she loved more than any other was speaking in her ear. "Darling, you're going to have to let it go. You're too close to the edge as it is."

"I can't," she panted. "I can't let go until Serena is ready."

She blinked her eyes hard to try to clear them and then looked over at the young woman who was standing on the opposite side of the giant crystal, wearing a long white gown that was vaguely similar to her own and sporting the same hairstyle. She cupped a glowing Silver Crystal in her palms as well, but she wore an extremely frustrated expression on her face.

"Why can't I do this?" Serena ground out between clenched teeth as she tried to increase the amount of energy going into the crystal. It flared a bit brighter, but that was all.

Darien, who had transformed into Prince Endymion's armor when she had taken her princess form, stood at her side, coaxing her gently. "Come on, Serena. You can do this. You've taken down too many enemies before this to let this beat you."

Her blue eyes flashed at him. "That's easy for you to say! I usually have help when I attempt to do something like this!"

"You didn't when you beat Chaos," he reminded her quietly. "You did that completely on your own."

She started to snap back at him again, but then she latched on to his words. Yes, she had beaten Chaos all alone. She focused hard on what she had been feeling that day, the sadness, the anger, and the heartbreak. Maybe if she thought about how those emotions had clawed at her insides she would be able to tap into the true power of the Silver Crystal.

So she concentrated on that day, replaying it in her head. She had already been heart sore, thinking that Darien had abandoned her. Then the inner scouts had all died right in front of her. She remembered screaming her throat raw as Raye disappeared from her arms and Mina, Lita, and Amy had vanished as well. Then Pluto and Saturn had fallen, taken out by Uranus and Neptune, who she had briefly thought had betrayed them all. Galaxia had killed them too when it was discovered that they had only agreed to work for her to try to take her down from the inside.

That had all been bad enough. But the part that haunted her most, and what had given her nightmares for months after that battle, had been when Galaxia had revealed her collection of star seeds. Her eyes had immediately been pulled to the bright gold star seed. And she had known in that moment, before Galaxia even told her who she had stolen it from, that Darien was dead. Her heart had shattered into a million pieces, and despair, the same despair that had driven her past incarnation to commit suicide in the Silver Millennium, had overcome her.

She thought hard on all of those emotions and tried to channel them into herself once more. But long seconds passed and nothing happened. The Silver Crystal still glowed in her hands, but it didn't glow any brighter. And she certainly didn't feel her wings threatening to pop out of her shoulder blades.

She stomped her foot and shrieked, "I can't do this! No matter what I do, this stupid crystal just won't react like I want it to."

Serenity had a suspicion as to why the Silver Crystal wasn't behaving like her younger self wanted it to, and she wanted to tell her, but by this point she was barely conscious. Her voice was nonexistent and the only thing holding her upright was the man behind her.

She faintly heard Eternal Mercury and then Zoi's voices calling frantically over Endymion's communicator, but he didn't dare remove his arms from around her to answer it. Then she jolted as she felt a large amount of negative energy get tangled up in that of the Silver Crystal, and the crystal reacted instinctively, drawing on her last remaining tendril's of strength to obliterate it. The world began growing dark around her.

And then suddenly, she felt a rush of warm energy pour into her, revitalizing her just a bit. At first she felt relief, and then she was horrified when she realized that Endymion was sharing his energy with her.

She lifted her head weakly and turned it just enough to look over her shoulder. "Dare…no…don't."

He flashed her a grin. "I told you I wasn't going to chance losing you."

"But…the fight…they might need you," she insisted breathlessly.

He shook his head. "I'm okay. I didn't give you much, just enough to keep you on this side of the living. But you need to stop this, now!"

Then the communicator on his wrist went crazy with shouts from their friends saying that the monsters were now getting into the city.

Serenity jolted again as a few more large negative forces tried to push through her power. The energy Endymion had given her wouldn't last long, maybe just a few more minutes. Serena was still trying vainly to unleash her full power, but she wasn't there yet.

"I can't stop yet," she could barely croak.

"Oh for the love of god!" Eternal Shadow yelled suddenly. She followed up her outburst with a string of foul-mouthed curses that would have had her mother washing her mouth out with a bar of soap if she were still alive. As it was, she got a few open mouthed stares from those around her.

She stomped forward until she wasn't standing too far away from them. "I'll buy you guys a few minutes, okay, but only a few. I'll make as big of a shield as I can, but I won't be able to hold it long, and it won't keep everything out. When I say go, both of you stupid, Meatball Headed blondes cut off your crystals."

"Hell no!" Drew growled as he advanced on her. "You are not doing this right now! This was not in the plan!"

"Well guess what! Our plans just got screwed! Deal with it!" she snapped right back at him. The ground of the courtyard rumbled under them in response to her anger.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Once she felt calmed down some she opened them again to look into his beloved hazel ones. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. I'm just going to run some interference for a couple of minutes until Serena gets her head in the game."

He stared at her for several long seconds before he sighed and nodded. "Okay. Just be careful."

"I will," she promised. Then she cupped his face in her hands and gave him a short, but enthusiastic kiss. She released him and he began to back away slowly.

She looked over her shoulder at the rapidly fading queen. "I don't care what you have to say to Serena to kick start her powers. But whatever it is, say it quick."

Serenity nodded weakly at her.

The dark blue, star-shaped Celestial Crystal appeared in front of Shadow's chest as she called it forth. She cupped it in her hands and held out in front of her. It began glowing brightly as she activated its powers. Then, in a whoosh, her fuku changed into her long, royal blue, princess gown with its silver and gold embroidered stars at the bodice and hem. Her hair was now down out of its usual braid, and both her long, dark, burnished blonde curls and the ends of the streamers of gold and silver ribbons at her waist danced in the slight breeze that had blown up around her. A silver moon shot through with a golden rose glowed on her brow.

"Is that what I really look like when I do that?" Shadow whispered. "That can't be what I look like, because she's beautiful."

Andrew pulled her back against his chest and rested his chin on her shoulder so he could speak in her ear. "I've always told you that you were beautiful. Now do you believe me?"

She huffed a quiet laugh, but shook her head. True, she had argued earlier that she and her future self looked exactly alike, but after seeing her like this…nope, there was no way she could pull off that look. She was strictly a jeans, shorts, and Andrew's shirts kind of gal, with a few dresses thrown in from time to time for fun. But the woman before her now looked like a true, fairytale princess come to life.

"Okay, girls, let it go," that princess said now.

The glow of both of the Silver Crystals died at the same time and the large security crystal faded as well.

Two seconds later, bright blue light exploded everywhere.

And everyone around was so entranced by the show that no one noticed the two buxom women that had slipped their way to the front of the crowd. Nor did they see when those two women slipped their sunglasses down their noses to take in the scene before them with their glowing red eyes.

* * *

A large, rhino-looking sentinel shrieked as it ran into a wall of steam and burst into black powder.

"Oh yeah! Another one bites the dust!" Flame crowed as he shared a high five with Caloris. The combination of their fire and ice powers had already taken down nine of Discord's nasty minions. This one made ten.

"Don't get cocky, kids. We still have a ways to go," Ishtar warned them as she pulled back on her bowstring and a golden arrow appeared.

As she took aim at a guardian and fired, Callisto charged the arrow with her electricity. Both girls cheered when it went straight through their target and slammed into a second guardian, taking them both out.

Caloris tossed her blue head and sniffed. "And they tell us not to get cocky."

Callisto ruffled the younger scout's hair fondly as she raced by, another target already in her sights. "Nothing wrong with celebrating the small victories, Frosty."

"Now if we could just get close enough to the big guy to end this," Crescent Moon muttered from where she stood near her brother. She had been extremely productive in the fight as well, but she had refused to stray far from DJ's side.

So far everything had gone exactly the way they had practiced. DJ, Katie, and Alex had, for the most part, stayed behind their friends, letting them take care of the attacking force, only jumping in from time to time if a guardian or sentinel got too close or if someone needed help. It had been so easy up until now that it was almost scary.

Oh, it had taken them a few minutes to get into the swing of things after being caught off guard by the size of Discord's fighters, and they had been scared shitless at first, but once the fight started they had discovered a fatal flaw in Discord's design.

True, they were large and powerful, and they were fairly certain that the fact that the guardians now sported fangs that could rival their animal brethren meant that they were now poisonous as well, but all of that added weight and bulk had slowed them down. Sure, except for the three Trinity bearers, the others had to double up on their attacks in order to take down the guardians and sentinels, but since they moved slower it gave them the opportunity to pick them off.

"Things _are_ going irritatingly smooth," Katie grumbled in response to Crescent Moon's statement. "And it feels creepy. Our luck is never this good."

"Maybe not, but I'm not going to complain about it," Alex replied as his red-orange gaze followed his secret fiancée around the battlefield. He raised his sword and shot a narrow beam of energy at a guardian, disintegrating it in an instant.

"Alex!" Katie groaned. "We are supposed to be conserving all the energy we can, but you keep blasting guardians and sentinels every ten seconds."

"That guardian was way too close to Emma's back!" he defended himself.

"It was at least twenty yards away!" she countered back.

"Would you two knock it off!" DJ snapped. "You two bickering is not helping us get closer to our goal."

The twins fell silent, knowing that he was right. Their friends had managed to open them up a clear path to Discord a couple of times, but every time they had drawn close to the evil entity he would retreat back behind a group of his lackeys. He may talk a big game, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that letting the teens near him while they were holding those swords could be detrimental to his existence.

Right now, he was seething as he watched the group, who were barely more than children, work their way steadily through his warriors. Six months ago his old model guardians and sentinels had come close to beating the young heroes on several occasions, and they probably would have if it hadn't been for interference from their parents. He had known from the battles that had taken place in the past that the youngsters were training and growing stronger, and that was why he had developed this new army to face them.

But now the little brats were actually defeating his genetically superior creations without suffering a scratch to themselves! And the gods' little protégés were staying quietly in the background and letting their friends expend most of the fighting power instead of exhausting themselves like their predecessors had.

Nothing was going according to plan! He needed them weak and beaten, not strong and powerful. Perhaps if he had brought more fighters with him instead of leaving them to bombard Crystal Tokyo…no, he'd made the right decision. It was important to get inside the city. His favorite mongrel princess and her powerful little crystal were in there somewhere, and he refused to leave this planet behind as a cloud of dust and stone without first getting his hands on the Celestial Crystal.

He had the power to conquer the universe on his own, but with the crystal's help things would go faster and smoother. Not to mention the fact that his having the crystal might act as a deterrent if any of the gods decided to attempt some other sneaky plan to try to destroy him. Crystals, after all, had originally been created by the powers of the gods themselves, and the Celestial Crystal was the most powerful one ever born.

Sure, the Silver and Golden Crystals were extremely powerful as well. They would have to be since it was their energy that had formed the Celestial Crystal in the first place. But the combination of the Moon and Earth magic had created something that was absolutely unique, a wild, rampaging power that had the potential to decimate an entire planet even faster than he could. And all of that power was sitting in the hands of a silly little princess who would never use the gift that she had been blessed with.

He was so wrapped up in his musings that he didn't sense the danger he was in until it was almost too late. At the very last second he realized that the warriors that he'd kept grouped around him had fallen and that he was completely exposed. He felt a surge of energy and darted away toward what remained of his troops only a heartbeat before the Trinity bearers teleported into the exact spot he had just been in.

He felt grim satisfaction as he heard the annoying blonde girl screech in outrage at his escape. Then he felt a surge of fury toward her. He had been a fool to ever trust her future self. If it hadn't been for that woman and her meddling, he would have killed those brats weeks ago, before they got their hands on those swords and actually became a threat to him.

But the girl was the weak link here, and he knew it. He had seen into the darkest recesses of her mind before and had found her to be a pitiful creature. She harbored an enormous amount of doubt and fear inside her, and her fascination with her little Earth prince only fueled her insecurities. If he wanted to find a way to shatter the bond between the Trinity holders, then she was the key.

He gathered up his darkest illusion power and sent a blast at her.

"Calm down, Kat," Alex was telling his ranting sister. "We'll get another shot at him in a minute. He doesn't have too many more scumbags left to hide behind."

"He's got a whole lot more just a couple of miles away!" she snapped back at him. "He could probably teleport some of them here in a second."

"Or he'll go back to Crystal Tokyo," DJ muttered, flashing a quick glance over his shoulder toward his home where the silvery shield still shimmered. "Mom has got to be feeling the strain by now. I hope she's okay."

Katie grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she and Serena have already traded off. We wouldn't be able to tell the difference if…"

Her voice broke off in a gasp and her fingers tightened around his like channel locks. Then a whimper came from her throat as her voice whispered in both boys' heads, _'It's dark. Why did everything turn dark? I can't see anything.'_

'_What are you talking about, Kat?' _Alex asked her through their link. _'It's a little gloomy because of Mr. Psycho, but it's broad daylight.'_

'_It's so dark. I hate the dark! I hate it!' _her voice was growing hysterical.

DJ studied her for a moment, taking in her wide, glazed eyes that stared unseeingly at him. Her breathing was already beginning to grow erratic and he could see the pulse in her neck fluttering wildly. It was like she was locked in a waking nightmare…or under a spell.

He quickly sheathed his sword and put that hand on her shoulder since his other one was still being squeezed in her death grip. _'Kat, listen to me. Discord must be using his funky mind bending powers on you. It's not really dark. He's just making you think it is. You can fight it off. It's just an illusion.'_

'_DJ's right, sis,' _Alex chimed in. _'The sick bastard is just screwing with your head. Don't let him get to you like this. You beat Talon at this game, and I bet you can beat Discord too.'_

'_I can't!' _her voice screamed. _'He's not like Talon! He's too powerful! It's too dark!' _Her entire body was trembling by now.

DJ moved his hand up to cup her cheek. _'Remember what Grandma Serenity and the others told us. You can't believe what he makes you see. It isn't real. You can hear me and Alex, right? You can feel me touching you?'_

'_Yes,' _she answered hesitantly.

'_We are real. Now you just have to fight your way back to us,' _he told her. Then, not knowing what else he could do to ground her to reality, he kissed her. And it wasn't just a simple kiss like what they normally shared when around their friends. It was deep and it was hot.

'_Oh ew!' _Alex's voice screeched at them.

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

"Oh ew!" Alex screeched as he looked in the viewing portal at the spectacle the past forms of his sister and best friend were putting on. He glared at the dark-haired man sitting on the opposite couch. "Dude! Really? In the middle of a fight?"

DJ shrugged. "It's not exactly me. This form of me was never at that fight. So technically I didn't do it."

"Not that you remember yet," Katie grumbled from where she lay with her blonde head resting on his thigh. Her cheeks were blood red in embarrassment. "But if they manage to pull off this fight then what they are doing right now will become our memories."

He smirked down at her. "I can live with that."

"Oh, all of you hush!" Emma fussed from where she was practically draped across Alex's lap. "I find it all to be extremely romantic. Besides Cupcake, I know you haven't forgotten that night before you left to go to the past and that guardian attacked the movie theater while we were there. We were making out in the back row when it started and practically spent the whole fight kissing and groping each other every chance we got."

Now it was DJ and Katie's turn to look repulsed while Alex blushed furiously.

"What did I miss?" Rini exclaimed as she ran into the room, clutching a bag of chips and a package of cookies in her arms. "I heard Alex practically shouting, so I know I missed something. I should have known that something good would happen just when I decide to go get a snack."

Then she looked at the portal and squealed, "Oh yuck! I did not need to see that!"

"You missed the good part," Emma said smugly since the kissing couple they were watching were now pulling away from each other.

But what happened in the next few seconds shocked them all. There was a flurry of motion on the screen, and when it was over DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma all turned to stare at Rini.

The junk food fell from her hands to the floor as she gaped. "Holy crap!"

DJ looked at his sister with new admiration. "Not bad, sis. Not bad at all."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

DJ had no idea how long he had been kissing Katie. He'd lost all concept of time. He could still hear the sounds of the fight going on around them, but most of his attention was focused on the girl in his arms. When she finally relaxed completely against him and began responding to the kiss, he reluctantly pulled away to look down into her thankfully clear silver eyes.

"Better?" he asked her softly.

She nodded. "Much better. Thank you." She looked over to Alex. "Both of you."

Alex snorted. "Don't look at me. DJ is the one that decided to go all Prince Charming with the kissing thing. I'm probably scarred for life now."

"I'm sure you'll get over it," she quipped playfully. But then she saw movement behind the two boys and screeched, "Oh shit!"

The three of them had been so distracted that they hadn't noticed the enormous wolf sentinel that had been closing in on them and was now only yards away. Both guys had sheathed their swords while tending to her, but hers still hung loosely from her hand.

She pushed them both out of the way and raised her sword, praying that she had time to get a shot off. But before she could even begin to start channeling the power she needed, the sentinel exploded, choking them with its dust.

"Not my brother and friends, you bastard!" a furious voice growled.

Once the air had cleared and they had stopped coughing, DJ, Katie, and Alex looked up, blinking their eyes in surprise.

Rini stood not too far away from them, but she was no longer transformed into Sailor Crescent Moon. Instead she wore a long white gown that was identical to her mother's and a golden crescent shown brightly on her forehead. Her hands were also still glowing pink from the energy she had used to blast the sentinel. This was the crown princess of Crystal Tokyo in her full power form.

DJ let out a whoop and ran to her, sweeping her up into an enormous bear hug. "You are the best sister ever!"

She huffed a laugh. "Can I get that in writing so I can shove it in your face every time you say something mean to me from now on? I got caught up helping the others and lost you for a moment when you teleported that last time. I was on my way over when I saw that sentinel creeping up on you. I knew one of my regular attacks wouldn't take it out alone and I just snapped."

"Well are we ever glad you did," Katie told her as she and Alex joined them.

Alex nodded. "Yeah, you saved our bacon. Princess Serenity to the rescue!"

Rini blushed and waved him off. "Okay, don't make a big deal about it." Her gown shimmered and changed back to her fuku. "Whew! That's better."

Triumphant yells came from the rest of their friends as they took out the last few enemies and then ran to join them. They were rumpled, dirty, and tired-looking, but they were ecstatic. Now there was nothing standing between the Galactic Trinity and Discord.

"It's over, Discord," DJ stated firmly, sounding awful lot like his father. "We finish this now!"

The evil entity rose a few feet higher in the air, but his voice was just as ominous as ever. "Do you really think this is the end? We're just getting started."

"We're not letting you go back to Crystal Tokyo either," Katie snapped. "If you're that scared of us, you can call the rest of your goons up here. But we're not going to let you take the city."

"That's right!" Alex growled. "So if you want to party some more, bring it on!"

Discord's dark chuckle boomed all around them. "You stupid little children! Do you honestly think that you are protecting your home from me? Crystal Tokyo is already falling. Even now, Neo Queen Serenity's feeble attempt to hold back my army is unraveling at the seams and my fighters are going in. See for yourself."

The teens looked toward the city, and saw that he was right. The glow of silver energy around the city had dimmed significantly in the last few minutes. And obviously there were cracks in the barrier too, because they could see, even from there, the dark shape of monsters making their way inside the city walls. A couple of buildings appeared to be on fire, and they were sending plumes of black smoke into the air.

DJ, Katie, and Alex stared helplessly. This was their nightmare come true. They had changed nothing. Their best friends were behind them, muttering and crying, as they watched what could be the destruction of their home.

And then, Katie's infamous temper broke. She whirled and glared up at Discord, her sword pointing right at him. "No way, you son of a bitch! I'm not just going to stand here and do nothing. I have faith in my family and friends. They'll hold things together for a few more minutes. We are settling this now. And once we've finally gotten rid of your ass we're going home to help everyone else clean house. By the end of today you will only be a memory."

DJ and Alex stepped up on each side of her, and they drew strength from each other. The three of them aimed their swords at him, ready for anything. True, he was pretty high up in the sky, but it wasn't an impossible distance for them to make.

'_We'll have to time this just right and jump together,' _DJ told his companions. _'If he sees one of us coming he could move. And it won't work unless all three swords are in him at once.'_

'_I hear ya,' _Katie responded.

'_I say we go on three,' _Alex suggested.

All three of them took a deep breath and tensed to jump.

'_1…2…'_

"Aha!" Discord thundered, distracting them from their planned attack. "Your queen has fallen! And with her defeat goes your last hope for your pathetic little city."

They spun and looked. Sure enough, what was left of the Silver Crystal's barrier was rapidly fading. Then teens held their breath, waiting for the second silver shield they were expecting to spring to life. That unexpected little event would knock some of the smugness out of Discord's voice.

They waited several heartbeats and nothing happened.

"Something must have gone wrong," Katie whispered worriedly.

Then DJ jerked. "No it didn't. Look!"

A bright blue glow had lit up the center of Crystal Tokyo and was steadily growing larger, reaching out to encompass the city with its energy.

Alex jumped and punched a fist in the air. "All right mom!"

The rest of the teens began to cheer.

A foreboding chuckle came from Discord. "So the little princess has learned how to use a bit more of her powers since the last time I faced her. I wonder if she would be willing to play a game with me."

Then he began to swirl eagerly. "And what is this? Just before my two youma spies were obliterated by her energy, they managed to transmit to me that there are two Sailor Shadows in Crystal Tokyo. How interesting! Did you children feel the need to bring back help from the past? Well, this certainly increases my chances at success."

"You stay away from my mother, you sick freak!" Katie screamed at him. She was about to launch herself at him, but luckily DJ and Alex read her intentions and grabbed her before she could act. But that didn't stop her from struggling against them as she continued to spew curses at the entity, and she even managed to drag them with her a few feet.

Those red orbs glared out of the shapeless mist at them. "I grow weary of dealing with you three. I do believe I'll go and claim my prize first, and then I'll be back to take care of you…if you're still alive that is."

A surge of dark energy flew from him to impact the ground at their feet. Crescent Moon, Ishtar, Callisto, Caloris, and Flame were sent flying by the blast, but DJ, Katie, and Alex were trapped as the ground bucked and buckled around them.

And then the earth opened up into a dark, seemingly bottomless hole.

"Katie! Alex!" DJ yelled as they all began to fall.

He reached out blindly, and thought he felt the slightest brush of fingertips against his own. Katie and Alex's voices were screaming in his head as he was pelted by the rocks and dirt that was falling with them.

Then something slammed hard into his head and everything went black and silent.

* * *

**A/N **Uh oh! The nightmare came true! The ground opened up and ate DJ, Katie, and Alex! Well, Pluto mentioned something in the last chapter about taking out some extra insurance in case things got crazy. Let's just hope she can get her brain off of Evan long enough to do something. So monsters are getting inside Crystal Tokyo, Serenity is drained, Serena is having issues, and the future Jess is trying to hold things together until things get back on track. Could I have thrown any more twists in there? Sure I could have. But that would have just put things over the top. Besides, this fight is far from over. Okay, so updates for my other stories are coming soon. I'm not sure which order they will be in, but it will probably be _Rekindled_ because the chapter I'm working on for _Bad Boys_ will probably be the last one and I want to make sure it ends right. You guys all know that I adore reviews, so please feel free to drop me a few words and tell me what you thought. And thank you again, everyone, for being so patient with me. Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	43. The Battle of Crystal Tokyo Part 2

**A/N **Okay guys, I'm going to make this quick because I'm out of town at the moment visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday. But, as always, my trusty flash drive traveled with me, and I was able to borrow a computer long enough to do some quick editing and get this posted. I tried to get this finished before I left home, but real life has a way of being a total bitch sometimes. So if I've made any glaring errors in editing I apologize, but I rushed my proofreading a bit more than I normally do. I just wanted to get this up for all of you since you've been waiting forever for it. I won't be home with my own computer for a couple of more days, and I was afraid that posting would just get delayed again if I waited until then. So I'm grabbing the opportunity while I can. Since I am borrowing this computer and don't want to be rude by staying on it too long, I'm afraid I don't have time to give out all of my individual hugs like I normally would. But be assured that I know who you are, and I appreciate each and every one of you. Big Hugs to you all! Now, here's the next chapter!

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 40

The Battle of Crystal Tokyo Part 2

* * *

"Damn it, Serena! I knew your were pushing yourself too far!" Endymion growled as he cradled his wife close to his chest in a bridal hold that was as familiar to both of them as breathing.

Serenity lifted her head from his shoulder to gaze at him with exhausted eyes. "Please don't fuss at me. I was only doing what had to be done. I vowed to do everything within my power to help keep our kingdom safe, Darien."

"Not at the cost of your life!" he fired back heatedly.

She took a deep, steadying breath. "Now is not the time for us to be arguing about this. There is still a lot of work to be done. I have to talk to Serena."

"Just stay put," he told her as she tried to wriggle out of his arms. "I doubt you could walk two steps in the shape you're in. I'll take you to her."

He carried her over to where her younger self, still in her full moon princess regalia, was standing with her head leaning against her prince's armored chest.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong," Serena's voice came out muffled and thick with tears. "I've tried to remember exactly what I did the day I faced Chaos, but something is still not right. I just knew that I would find some way to screw this up!"

"Hush," Darien tried to soothe her as he rubbed her back gently. "Take a few deep breaths and try to calm down. None of this is your fault."

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. "It is so my fault. Everyone is depending on me, and I'm failing miserably as usual. I can hear Raye and Luna's voices griping at me even though they aren't here. I was always a lousy princess, even back during the Silver Millennium. Sometimes I wonder if I was worth the energy it took to have me reincarnated."

Darien looked up over her head and shared a confused look with his older self. Endymion merely shook his head and shrugged.

"Men! It's rare that you can ever think of the right thing to say at the proper time," Serenity scolded both of them as she slid out of Endymion's grip so that she was standing on her feet, although she remained in the circle of his arms and leaned against him wearily.

"Serena, look at me," she then demanded softly.

Serena took a shuddering breath before she turned around to face her future self. Her face was wet and blotchy and the skin around her eyes was pink and puffy. She sniffled hard as she looked at the queen with the expression of someone who was about to face their execution.

"Great Selene! Everyone has been telling me for years that I'm a mess when I cry. I never actually believed them until now," Serenity muttered. Then she sighed. "Serena, you were never a bad princess…ever. Mother would bend you over her knee if she were here and heard you say that. Granted, you were sheltered, pampered, and perhaps just a little bit spoiled during the Silver Millennium, but you cared for your people and tried to do your best for them, both on the moon and here on Earth. Even if the people of Earth didn't know that you were their princess and that you were looking out for them. And as far as wondering whether you were worthy of being reincarnated, well, mom would go spastic if she heard that."

Serena giggled shakily and mustered a smile through her tears. "Yeah, she probably would. And mom on a tantrum is never a good thing. So do you want to clue me in on what I'm doing wrong?"

"It's not that you're doing anything wrong, it's just…" Serenity began, but she stuttered to a stop when they heard an explosion that sounded fairly close to the palace.

"That sounded bad," Sailor Shadow said as she jogged up with both Andrews right behind her. Her eyes were wide, but they were darting around feverishly, looking for any signs of trouble, and her gloved fingers twitched like she was just itching to jump into a fight.

Endymion immediately began barking into his communicator, "Kunz! I need a status report! What's going on?"

There was a moment of static before the head general's voice crackled to life. "All four of the main gates are under heavy fire and there are cracks in the shield that are allowing some of the enemies to make it past our lines of defense. A few guardians and sentinels managed to make it within a few blocks of the palace, but we took them down. Everyone is fighting, but the outside lines are getting swamped by incoming. If something doesn't turn around soon we could lose the city."

"I'm sorry," the future Jess gritted between clenched teeth as she focused on directing her powers into trying to shield Crystal Tokyo. "I know that casting a barrier of this size causes me to have a lot of weak points that are easily penetrated. But if I try to channel more energy into the shield things could go downhill really quick."

"You're doing fine, sweetheart," Drew told her. "Just concentrate on keeping yourself calm and in the zone. The rest of us will take care of everything else."

She snorted. "Easy for you to say! I'm the one who has to worry about what will happen if things get out of control. I can keep this up for a few minutes, but after that I'll start feeling like a ticking time bomb."

Serena shrugged off Darien's hand on her shoulder and took a few steps forward so that she was only a few feet away from the queen. "You told me that I wasn't doing anything wrong. But there is obviously something that I'm still not getting. Please tell me what I need to do to use the true power of the Silver Crystal. I want to protect everyone."

Serenity's lips turned up into a tired smile. "And that right there is the key."

"Okay…and now you've lost me," Serena grumbled. "I already told you that earlier when I promised to do everything in my power to protect this city, and I meant every word of it."

Endymion huffed a chuckle. "I feel like I'm listening to a broken record. Didn't those almost exact same words just come out of your mouth a couple of minutes ago, Sere?"

"Don't start on me!" Serenity snapped in a tone that she meant to sound peeved, but was threaded with undercurrents of amusement. Then she refocused on Serena. "Close your eyes."

"What for?" Serena asked in confusion.

Serenity shook her head. "Just trust me on this, okay."

Serena shrugged. "Whatever you say." She let her eyelids slide shut.

Serenity reached forward and took her past self's hands, which were still holding onto the Silver Crystal, into hers, cupping them gently between her palms. The crystal began to glow dimly as the two of them connected.

"Listen to me, Serena," she began speaking softly. "I know this is hard for you to do, but I need you to think back to that day when you faced Chaos. Picture it clearly in your mind. Imagine yourself there. Galaxia has just tried and failed to steal your star seed because of the Light of Hope. Do you remember that moment?"

Serena flinched visibly at the unwelcome memories, but nodded. "Yes, I remember it perfectly. Tokyo was burning and collapsing around me. I can still hear the Starlights screaming for me to run, but I couldn't. Everyone else was dead, and I knew it was time for all or nothing." She felt Darien come up behind her to place his hands on her shoulders, and she drew strength from his support.

Serenity nodded, a ghostly expression of remembered pain flitting briefly across her face as well. "I remember it too. What were you feeling at that moment?"

"Broken," Serena whispered after a few seconds. "I was absolutely shattered. I felt lost, alone, and heartsick. I had faced down some tough enemies before and had been through some pretty gruesome battles, but I had never felt that low before; except…"

"Except for the last day in the Moon Kingdom," Serenity finished for her when her voice trailed off.

Serena's eyes snapped open to stare at the queen. "But it wasn't exactly the same. I mean I didn't care at that point if Galaxia killed me. I would have welcomed it. But the thought of suicide never crossed my mind."

"Probably because you didn't have a sword handy," Sailor Shadow drawled snidely.

Andrew heaved a sigh and clamped a hand over his soon to be wife's mouth. "Not helping, sweetheart."

Serena shook her head. "No. This was different. Even after I got a sword later I never thought about using it that way. In fact, I didn't want to touch it. But Galaxia pushed me into it. She kept attacking me and goading me until I just lost it. I got mad, and my anger overrode my sorrow. I grabbed that sword, and that was when everything happened."

"No. That was when everything started," Serenity corrected her. "Sure, you were angry, but that wasn't what pulled your true power to the surface. You were feeling something else, and I don't mean just your sadness. You were filled with determination."

Understanding was beginning to shine in Serena's eyes. "Well, yeah, maybe just a little bit. It was silly, but I couldn't help but feel like I would have been letting everyone down if I just sat down and gave up. We had all vowed to protect this planet. And even if I was the last one standing, I owed it to them to fight until the end. I even thought I heard Raye's voice in my head bitching at me at one point."

Serenity snickered. "If there was one person whose voice could cross the realms to give me a hard time, it would be hers. My point is that it is your conviction that has always fueled your power. No matter who you have ever faced; Metallia, the Doom Phantom, Pharaoh 90, Nehelenia, or any of the others who have come here, your desire to protect this world is what drove you. And in every battle you grew stronger and your power evolved. It reached its zenith during that battle with Chaos, but it frightened you, so you pushed it away."

Serena shuddered. "It is scary. It's wild and feels like it wants to drain me dry. Then I can't help but think of mother. She died because she used up all of her energy. When I was growing up on the moon she always warned me about the dangers of using a crystal."

Shadow tapped the toe of her boot against the ground. "The key is to remember that you control the energy of the crystal, not the other way around." Then she smacked a palm to her forehead. "Great! Now I'm starting to sound like Nebula."

Andrew chuckled. "I think we'll be okay as long as you don't suddenly develop an unusual fondness for salmon and start purring."

A sly grin twitched her lips. "Aw, baby, I always thought you liked it when I purr."

"Save it for the honeymoon!" the future Jess ground out. "Yes, you two are hot for each other and everyone knows it. I've been in your shoes before. Now, moving back to the control issues. Mine is fast reaching its limit. So whatever you people are going to do, you better get on with it. Because in about two minutes I'm going to have to decide whether to drop this shield and lay out the welcome mat or punch it with a bit more juice and hope and pray that it doesn't go critical."

Serena pulled her hands from Serenity's, clenching the Silver Crystal between her fingers. "Just hang in there for another minute. I think I know what I need to do now."

Darien's hands tightened on her shoulders as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

She turned around and went up on her tiptoes to brush a quick kiss across his lips. "I can do this."

The crystal began glowing brighter as she said those words. The light intensified until it was glowing brighter than she had ever seen it since the day that she had fought Chaos, and it was fairly crackling with energy that was begging to be released.

Neo Queen Serenity gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Now that is what I was talking about. Are you ready now?"

Serena met her eyes and nodded. "I'm ready."

Darien kissed her cheek and whispered, "Be careful. I love you," before stepping back.

"I will," she promised as she turned to face the large security crystal once more.

"Just remember," Serenity counseled her one last time. "The energy will feel strong and wild, but it is your power and you control it. It will want to burst out all at once, but you will be able to hold it back and dole it out in a steady stream."

Serena bobbed her head absently, concentrating on the pulsating crystal in her hands and her deep need to protect the planet and its people. "I understand.

The queen swept an arm regally as she backed away. "Then the stage is all yours, Princess Serenity of the Moon. Jess, drop your shield."

"It's about damn time!" the future Jess growled as the Celestial Crystal in her hands stopped glowing.

Even before the blue energy shield that had been protecting the city for the past few minutes had a chance to fade away, Serena released the hold that she had been exerting on the Silver Crystal's power and a beam of silver light shot from it into the security crystal. A heartbeat later she felt herself become wrapped in that power as a large beam of energy shot into the sky and formed a protective dome over Crystal Tokyo.

She felt an itchy prickling on her back, but for once she didn't fight against the sensation. Instead, she willed it to come. She gasped as she felt pressure in her shoulder blades that was almost painful. But she sighed in relief a few seconds later when the pressure burst outward and she felt a rush of giddiness.

So this was her true power that her former mother had been encouraging her to embrace. It wasn't as frightening as she remembered it being when she'd battled Chaos. Oh, it was strong. And if she didn't maintain a tight hold it had the potential spiraling out of control and sucking her dry in two seconds flat. But as her future self had pointed out, it was completely manageable.

She longed to look over her shoulder to see if her wings were as large, white, feathery, and as impressive as the queen's had been, but she dared not take her concentration away from the task at hand.

'_They are magnificent,' _Darien's voice echoed in her head.

'_Are you spying on me?' _she teased back.

She heard him chuckle, both mentally and out loud from where she sensed him standing several yards away. _'I'm just doing as I always do and keeping an eye on you. I can't have you over exhausting yourself. But you're so stubborn sometimes.'_

'_Jerk!' _she grumbled at him.

'_Meatball Head!' _he thought back fondly.

Serena became aware of other things that she could sense now that she had released the true power of the Silver Crystal. She felt many strong energy signatures moving around the city. The future scouts, the generals, and the sorcerers were slightly blurry to her, but the eight auras of her scouts were like shining beacons that called to her. And as she studied them she was thrilled to find that she was able to read them as easily as words on a page. They were all battling against the enemies that had managed to slip into the city, but so far they were all unharmed except for minor injuries and seemed to be holding their own against Discord's flunkies.

'_We can do this,' _she thought proudly. Then she winced a bit at the uncomfortable sensation of dark energy ramming against her barrier. But she stood her ground and growled under her breath, "Bring it on, you bastards!"

Serenity sighed as she felt arms wrap around her from behind. She felt like she could wilt to the ground and curl up to sleep for a week. But she stayed on her feet and leaned against Endymion's chest for support instead. She was tired, beyond tired actually, but this battle was far from over and she couldn't afford to be lazing around.

Her king's breath tickled her ear as he spoke. "So I guess you got through to her."

"Of course I did," she told him. "After all, she is me. I have lived through the same events that she has and felt the same emotions. I knew exactly what to say to trigger the right reaction from her. And now she has embraced her full potential."

Endymion looked over to where his past self, who was dressed in the armor from a lifetime ago, was keeping a careful watch over the reincarnated moon princess. Their identical eyes met for a moment and they shared a deep look of understanding.

Then his gaze fell on the young woman in white wielding her newfound power with experienced hands. "She will make a wonderful queen someday. But then again, I always knew you were special."

* * *

"Alex!" Ishtar screamed as she dragged herself toward the gaping hole that was now in the spot where she'd last seen her fiancé.

"DJ!" Crescent Moon echoed her in disbelief as she too crawled clumsily across the rocks and clumps of dirt that now littered the ground from the massive blast.

"Whoa! Whoa! You two hold up!" Flame exclaimed as he stumbled to his feet, cradling his left arm to his chest. He was no doctor, but he was pretty sure that it was broken. "Don't get too close to the edge. The ground is unstable. If you're not careful you could fall in after them!"

"Jay's right," Callisto agreed. She tried to stand but then let out a sharp scream of pain and sank back to the ground. She clutched her side where blood was flowing freely from a large puncture wound. Some flying projectile, probably a rock or something of that nature, had torn through her skin and muscle like tissue paper.

Caloris sat up dizzily, wiping blood from her eyes that had dripped down from a cut on her forehead. One side of her face was scratched up badly and already beginning to swell. "Where did Discord go?"

Crescent Moon snorted. "That cowardly bastard took off toward the city the moment he attacked DJ and the others." She smashed her fist against the ground. "Damn it! How did things turn out like this?" She sat up properly and held her right ankle in both hands as she rocked back and forth like it pained her.

"Alex…" Ishtar whimpered again as she grabbed handfuls of grass and continued to try and pull herself toward the hole. Her obviously broken leg dragged behind her uselessly.

"Emma, stop," Caloris cried as she let Flame help her to her feet. Then she stumbled over the uneven ground toward the peach suited scout. "Your leg is broken, and you could do more harm if you keep moving around. Not to mention that you could have internal injuries."

"I don't care!" Ishtar screamed back. "I have to find him!"

"Just calm down for a second!" Callisto snapped as she painfully crawled over to the two girls, leaving a small trail of blood behind. She flopped onto the ground next to the now sobbing blonde. "You're always ranting and raving about soul bonds. Can't you sense Alex? He's not…" she couldn't bring herself to say dead.

Ishtar's head snapped up, revealing snapping gray eyes that were the color of steel and as hard as stone. It made everyone around her shiver a bit. At that moment she resembled her father much more than she did her mother.

"He's not dead!" she growled. "But I can't contact him, which means that he is unconscious. For all I know he's laying somewhere, bleeding out. And if he is I have to try and help him."

"You're in no condition to try and help anyone. None of us are," Caloris told her firmly. She had pulled out her mini-computer and was typing much more sluggishly than usual. "Your leg is broken and you have signs of possible spinal bruising. Whatever hit Skye severed an artery and nicked one of her kidneys. Rini has a broken ankle and two cracked ribs. Jayden's arm is broken and he has a dislocated shoulder. Not to mention I feel like I could pass out at any moment from this concussion and I think my cheekbone is broken."

Flame had ventured closer to the hole, which he could now see was more like a small canyon. The ground slipped loosely beneath him, so he kept his distance. But he craned his neck to look in. "It's so deep and dark down there. I can't even see the bottom. I don't know if anyone could survive a fall like that."

"Don't say that," Crescent Moon snarled at him. "They have to be alive! They just have to be! Discord can't be defeated without them."

"Well, from where I'm laying, we are categorically screwed," Callisto moaned as she flung an arm over her eyes. "So what do we do now?"

Crescent Moon chewed furiously on her bottom lip as she fought to hold back tears of pain. She hated to crawl back home with her tail between her legs, but it didn't seem like she had much of a choice. They were all badly injured and needed medical attention.

"Damn!" she groaned. "I think we should teleport back home for now. Both my dad and Darien are there. They can probably patch us up pretty quickly, and then we can come back to look for the others."

"That sounds like a good idea," Flame said as he rejoined them. "But can we teleport through Jess's power? What if it blasts us by accident?"

Crescent Moon eyed the blue energy covering Crystal Tokyo critically. "I guess there's only one way to find out. We can't stay here in the shape we're in."

Just then, the blue shield of the Celestial Crystal disappeared to be replaced with one of silver, making the injured princess grin. "Now that I know we can teleport through. My Pink Moon Crystal shares a lot of the same powers as the Silver Crystal. I can get us through."

"I don't know if I have the energy left for a teleport," Callisto said faintly. Her skin was beginning to look pale from blood loss.

Caloris didn't say a word. She just suddenly slumped toward the ground as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.

Flame caught her in his one good arm before she could hit the ground and lowered her gently. "Shit! What do we do now?"

Crescent Moon closed her eyes for a moment. She had another option. She didn't really want to use it, but she didn't have a choice. She readied herself for the scolding that she knew she was about to receive and whispered, "Helios, I need you."

Two heartbeats later the dream priest appeared in a flash of soft white light. His amber eyes widened as he took in the five injured teens on the ground before zeroing in on his future wife.

He flew to her side in a blur. "Rini, sweetheart, what happened?"

"Discord happened," she growled. "He blasted us and then attacked DJ, Katie, and Alex. They fell down in that hole over there, and we don't know if they are okay. But we're all so bashed up that we can't even try to go and look for them. We need to get home, but Hannah is unconscious and the rest of us are barely running on fumes. I hate to call you into the middle of this, but do you think you could help us out?"

Helios looked mildly offended. "Do you even have to ask? You know that I am always here to help you if you need me."

And then they all disappeared in a flash of white light.

* * *

DJ fought to claw his way out of the darkness around him. As he crept closer to consciousness he felt his head pounding and his mouth was as dry as a desert. Had he gone on a drinking binge the night before? He couldn't remember.

He felt other aches and pains riddling his body, but they were gradually fading. He also felt warm, so he snuggled deeper into his mattress, intending to go back to sleep until he slept off this hangover or whatever it was. Then he frowned. When had his bed become so hard and lumpy? And then he heard the voices.

"I think he's coming around?" a boy's voice said.

"I know that, you idiot!" a girl snapped back. "I figured he would once the head wound started repairing itself."

"You don't have to be such a brat!" the boy's voice grumbled.

He heard a dainty snort. "Just keep the light steady so I can see what I'm doing."

DJ groaned and forced his heavy eyelids to open. At first, all he saw was a blur. But after he blinked a few times he was able to make out the figure of a girl knelt over him. It was hard to see her properly in the flickering light, but he could see long, straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"Ryssa?" he croaked, his voice rusty sounding.

The girl jumped at the sound. "Oops! I didn't realize you were awake yet!" she exclaimed as she turned to face him. "You've recovered a lot quicker than I thought you would."

He realized immediately that he had made a mistake. This girl definitely wasn't Ryssa. She was quite a few years older than the young fire scout, and looked to be around his own age, about sixteen or so. Her face was delicately boned with high cheekbones and a perfectly proportioned small nose. Something about her features screamed familiarity to him, but her eyes were what captivated him the most. They were large and round, and looked as if they could see straight into someone's soul, but there was something off about them. He couldn't make out what it was in the semi-gloom around them. That, and his mind was still too fuzzy. The main thing was that she was a stranger to him.

"Um, I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked hesitantly.

She shook her head. "Nobody important. But I'm here to help. Just stay still until I get done with you. You were injured pretty badly and were almost dead. I know you can heal yourself, but it's best if you conserve your energy." Then she looked across him and demanded, "Keep the light coming."

"Yes ma'am, your high and mightiness!" the boy's voice from before replied sarcastically before the glow of light grew a bit brighter.

DJ turned his head to look at the speaker. He appeared to be slightly older than the girl, maybe eighteen or so, with golden blonde hair that was shoulder length and pulled back into a short ponytail. The shadows cast by the light made it hard to tell what color his eyes were, but they were dark, perhaps dark brown or black. But what was shocking was that he held a glowing orange ball of energy in his hands. That was the source of light.

"Hey! Are you almost done patching him up?" another, deeper male voice asked from somewhere behind him. "The other two aren't looking so hot."

DJ twisted his head around to look in the direction that the voice had come from and growled. The flickering light was just bright enough for him to make out a light haired male figure standing over Katie and Alex where they lay just a short distance away. He couldn't see Alex well at all, but his heart clenched painfully in his chest at the sight of his girlfriend. She was pale and unmoving with blood streaking one side of her face and her arm was bent at an unnatural angle, obviously broken.

"Kat!" he groaned as he attempted to get up and go to her. She was hurt, and she needed him. He could heal her. He didn't care if he was supposed to be conserving energy or not.

The girl pushed him back down gently by the shoulders. "Just calm down. She'll be taken care of soon. She has some serious injuries, but they are not life threatening. She'll be fine. You were the one that I was worried about the most. You landed on a sharp piece of stone when you fell and it impaled you. Luckily it missed your heart and lungs, but the damage was very extensive. Now I'm more concerned about making sure your head is healed properly. You took quite a bashing."

"When I fell?" DJ murmured in confusion. He didn't even know where he was or how he had gotten there. Everything was so fuzzy in his head. But he stopped struggling and lay back down.

He almost shot up again when the girl held her hands above him and they started glowing gold, just like his and his dad's did when they healed someone. Then he felt the warm, familiar power flow over him. Just who was this girl? She was obviously a crystal carrier of some kind. But how had she ended up with this particular power?

"Don't ask. It's for the best if you don't know," she murmured as she read the questions in his eyes. "Just be assured that we are friends. And we aren't any of Discord's lackeys or products of his mind manipulations either."

Discord! The sound of that demon's name brought everything rushing back to him. He, Katie, Alex, and their friends had been fighting Discord when he had blasted them, knocking the others away while sending the three of them tumbling into the hole that had haunted their nightmares for years.

"The battle?" he had to ask.

The blonde boy answered him. "It's still going on. Your sister and your friends were injured pretty badly, so Helios came and helped them get safely back to Crystal Tokyo so they could get help. At last check, Serena was using the Silver Crystal and holding back the baddies. A few have managed to get in here and there, but the inside defense team has been able to take care of them. There's been some damage to the city. But so far there have been no civilian casualties and only a few injuries. But now Discord has set his sights on breaking down the defenses in order to get in and challenge Jess for the Celestial Crystal. So we need The Galactic Trinity back on their feet."

The dark haired girl who had been healing him sat back and wiped her forehead with her arm. "I think I've taken care of everything. How do you feel?"

DJ moved experimentally and felt nothing more than a slight stiffness in his muscles. The pain in his head had also vanished and he was beginning to be able to think clearly again. "I feel pretty good. Thanks."

She flashed him a grin and a wink. "No problem. Now do me a favor and just sit here and rest a minute while I go take care of Katie. I know you're worried about her, but I really don't need you in my way."

The boy snickered. "I'd listen to her if I were you. She gets really grouchy when she doesn't get her way."

She scowled at her companion and then flipped him off. "Screw you!"

He chuckled. "Uh, no. Not in a million, trillion years."

She rolled her eyes at him. "It was a figure of speech, you moron!"

"Do you need me to move the light?" he asked her.

She waved a hand at him. "Nah. I think there's enough for me to see by. You just stick here for a minute and keep patient number one out of trouble for me." She climbed to her feet, swaying just the tiniest bit.

The young man's whole demeanor abruptly became concerned. "Are you sure you can handle two more healings?"

"I'll be fine," she told him in a much softer tone. "Katie and Alex will be walks in the park after putting him back together." She gestured to DJ. "We're only talking about a couple of bumps on the head, a few broken bones, and some scrapes and bruises. I could heal those in my sleep."

DJ sat up as she shuffled over to Katie. He felt something wet on his stomach and reached down to place his hand over a large wet patch on the black fabric of his shirt. When he pulled it back he saw that his palm was stained red. There was also a decent sized hole in the shirt that was almost the size of someone's arm. He reached around behind him and felt more blood and another hole in the back of the shirt. He couldn't help but shudder.

The guy next to him grunted in sympathy. "Kinda makes you glad you were out cold for that part, huh? We almost thought you were dead when we got here. Little Miss Florence Nightingale over there went spastic for a minute until she realized that you were still alive."

Common curiosity was now getting the better of DJ, but he didn't want to offend his healer so he asked in a whisper, "Is there something odd about her eyes? I couldn't really tell in this light."

"Ah! You noticed that did you?" the blonde replied in just as quiet of a voice as he started playing with the energy ball he was still holding, passing it from hand to hand. "Most people usually do, but they have a hard time figuring out what it is right off the bat. What it all boils down to is that she has two different colored eyes. I guess it was some kind of a genetic flub up."

"Oh, I see," DJ mused as watched a golden veil of power fall over Katie as her healing process was begun. He really wanted to go over there, but the mysterious healing savior had made it clear that she didn't want any interference. "She sounds like someone who is used to getting her way."

The boy snorted. "She's damn bossy, that's what she is. But, I can't really complain. She's good at what she does and she's a great friend to have. I'd rather put up with her than not have her around."

"I can hear you guys you know!" the girl grumbled absently at them. Her attention was clearly focused on her current mission, but it didn't stop her from muttering under her breath, "I am so getting some colored contacts! I am sick to death of my eyes being the first thing that people notice. I don't like people thinking I'm a freak."

The blonde next to DJ jumped to his feet with a snarl. The light in his hands flashed brighter, revealing that his eyes were actually dark blue. And at the moment they were cold and hard as gunmetal.

"Who's called you a freak?" he demanded hotly. "I'll kick their asses! Nobody talks about someone in my family and gets away with it!"

"Nobody has ever said it out loud," the dark haired girl sighed. "But they don't have to. I can read it in their expressions. The ones that bother to get to know me get over it."

The third member of their party, who DJ could now see was a young man who was a few years older than the other two with messy, longish platinum hair that made him look like he had just rolled out of bed and was wearing a pair of sunglasses, despite being in a dark cavern, cleared his throat gruffly. "Don't you two think you better watch what you say?"

Well that spoke volumes to DJ. He had been time traveling long enough by now to know a Sailor Pluto threat when he heard one. Whoever these people were, they were definitely from another time. He was pretty sure that time had to be from somewhere in the future, which immediately started speculations racing through his brain, but he pushed those ideas aside, thinking, _'Nah! It couldn't be. My brains are probably still scrambled from that hit to the head.'_

"Sorry," the blonde boy told his older companion.

"I'm sorry too," the girl echoed. "I shouldn't be airing my petty problems at a time like this anyway. I don't know why I even let what other people think bother me."

The platinum haired man's tight jaw loosened as he stepped forward and placed a hand on top of her dark head. "Don't worry about it, Pipsqueak. We all love you just the way you are."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I know. But if you call me Pipsqueak again I just might have to blast you a new one." Then she sat back with a sigh as her golden power faded. "There! Two down, one to go. I will need some more light to tend to Alex."

The blonde boy's expression turned anxious as he hurried over so that the light from the energy he was casting fell over Alex, who despite what was said earlier, looked as if he had been run through a wringer as well. His clothes were ripped in places, and blood was streaming from multiple cuts and scrapes on his body while purple bruises were already beginning to form on his face.

Figuring that it was okay to move now without incurring anyone's wrath, DJ scrambled to his feet, pleased with himself that he felt steady, and almost ran to where Katie was laying. He sank down onto his knees beside her and gently lifted her upper body into his lap so he could wrap his arms around her. There was still blood on her face, but there was no sign of any cuts it could have come from and her arm appeared to be back to its normal state.

He looked over at the girl, who was now kneeling beside Alex. "Thank you."

She inclined her head. "It was my pleasure. Now to wrap this up." She held her hands over Alex as they began to glow once more.

Katie moaned low in her throat as she shifted in his arms. And then she whispered, "DJ?"

His arms tightened around her just a bit. "I'm right here, baby. How do you feel?"

Her eyes opened and she blinked the hazel orbs several times to bring him into focus. "I'm okay, I guess. I feel a little fuzzy headed though. Am I imagining things, or did we really just live out our nightmare?"

"It was real," he told her. "That bastard blasted the ground from underneath us and we fell in."

Suddenly she bolted upright as she exclaimed, "Alex!" Then she clutched her head in her hands as it spun dizzily.

"Whoa! Take it easy for a minute, Kat," he cautioned her. "You just woke up after being knocked out. Give yourself a few moments to get yourself together. Alex is going to be fine. We had some unexpected help come our way."

Katie looked up, and then looked around, taking in the three strangers. "Am I dreaming, or have we been sucked into _The Twilight Zone_?"

DJ chuckled. "I'm not entirely sure what is going on, but I don't think we're dreaming."

The platinum haired man grinned at them. "Are you so sure that it's real?" He began to eerily hum the theme song to the old television show.

Katie peered closer at him. "Wait a minute. Do I know you from somewhere? You seem awfully familiar to me."

A pale brow arched over the rim of the sunglasses. "Nope! You don't know me. You've never met me before."

"Hmph!" the blonde boy next to Alex muttered. "And you thought that my being here was going to cause a problem."

"You will if you don't keep your damn mouth shut!" the older man shot back. "You always have a tendency to run off at the mouth. You're worse than a gossipy woman!"

The healing girl's head shot up and she scowled. "Hey! I take offense to that! I happen to be female, and I don't think I gossip too much!"

The boy by her side reached out a hand to ruffle her hair fondly. "Of course you don't. But you do turn into a bit of a chatterbox when you get together with the girls."

Katie rubbed her temples with her fingers. "Why does all of this sound so familiar?"

Just then, Alex jerked under the girl's hands and his eyes flew open. Then he scrambled backward like a crab, yelling, "What the hell is going on?"

"Jeez, Lex! What a way to wake up!" Katie squealed in a startled tone. "Now stop yelling like someone just took out your computer with a shotgun and let whoever our little mystery visitors are help you out."

"He's fine," the girl reassured her. "I was pretty much done with him before he started spazzing. He just had a bump on the head and some scrapes and bruises. He didn't even break any bones. I was able to fix him right up."

"Thank goodness," Katie sighed. Then she snapped to attention. "Which reminds me, how in the hell do you have that particular talent? I only know of two people who can heal. Well three actually if you count the Darien from the past. But I don't know if I can really count him since the him from the past and the him that's from this time are really the same person. But there are two of him in one place. So I guess technically they qualify as being two separate people. But still…

DJ put a hand on her arm. "Sweetheart, you're rambling. I told you things were a bit crazy. Just go with it."

Katie peered at the girl suspiciously for a moment, then asked, "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

The girl glared back for a few seconds before she screeched, "Why are my eyes the first thing that everybody picks up on? They're not that different! Yes, they are two different colors, but it's not that big of a deal!"

"Damn, girl! Lower the decibels a bit before you bring the entire place caving in on us," the blonde boy chuckled.

"Yes, please," their companion grumbled. "You know, you could be an opera singer with that voice."

"Shut up!" she growled, stomping a foot. "There are a few things I could say about the two of you as well."

"Good grief!" Alex muttered as he got up off the ground. "Are you three siblings? Because you sure fight like you're brothers and sister."

Katie huffed a breath. "Excuse me! We happen to be brother and sister, and we never fight like that." She accepted a hand up from DJ and then made a flying leap at her brother.

Alex instinctively wrapped his arms around her to keep them both from crashing to the ground. "Whoa, Kat! Chill for a sec! I'm still trying to get my head on straight. I just…wait a minute. Are you crying?"

She reared back in his arms and began slapping lightly at his arm as tears poured down her cheeks. "Of course I am, you dumb ass! I'm scared, and I'm trying to figure out just what in the hell is going on around here! In case you haven't realized it, we just went through the worst nightmare we've ever had and we're surrounded by magic-wielding people we don't know!"

Alex looked helplessly at DJ. "Hey! Would you take her or something? You're better at calming her down than I am. Just warn me beforehand if you're going to start kissing her again like you did earlier. I'm still a little queasy from that."

The three of them didn't notice that the black haired girl flinched at Alex's words or that her expression had turned to one of mild disgust. But her two companions did have to bite back chuckles when they heard her mutter sarcastically, "Of course they would have been kissing in the middle of something important. How totally typical of them!"

"I'm fine," Katie insisted as she scrubbed her wet cheeks. "So what's our next move?"

The girl tapped her foot impatiently. "Whatever you're going to do, I suggest you get a move on. Right about now I'd say that Discord is getting geared up to try and blast his way into Crystal Tokyo."

"Damn!" DJ growled as he looked up, way up, to where the tiniest speck of light showed where the surface was. Wow, they had fallen a long way. It was amazing that the three of them had survived the fall long enough to be healed.

He turned to look at Katie and Alex. "I think we should head back home first. We can check on the others and see if any of them are still in any shape to fight. Then we'll go face that bastard again."

Katie's expression was a bit apprehensive, but she nodded determinedly. "Sounds like a plan."

Alex put a hand behind his head and chuckled. "Yeah, that better be my first stop so I can let Emma know I'm still alive. She's got to be going crazy by now."

"Can't you just talk to her through your bond?" Katie asked him.

"And have her screeching like a banshee inside my head?" Alex gasped in horror. "Thanks, but no thanks, sis. It will be much better and save me the headache to see her in person."

"We should get moving then," DJ told them. Then he looked to their rescuers, the black haired girl in particular. "Thank you for everything, you guys. We would have been screwed if you hadn't come along. And thank Pluto for us if you see her before we do. It was good of her to have a plan in place in case we got into trouble."

"That's what I thought was going on, but I wasn't entirely sure," Katie mumbled.

Alex grinned. "Now I don't feel so crazy. I was thinking the same thing."

The platinum haired boy with the sunglasses growled, "How did you figure that out?"

DJ folded his arms across his chest and looked smug. "We're not exactly stupid. And it really wasn't that hard to put two and two together. We've done our share of time traveling too, so we are very familiar with the rules about not saying too much."

Katie took a step toward the girl who had healed them. "Sorry about what I said earlier. People with unusual eyes are just a touchy subject for me. But now that I look at them, I have to say that yours are very unique. At least from what I can tell in this light."

The girl sighed and shook her head. "Colored contacts are so going at the top of my next shopping list." Then she pushed her slightly sweaty black bangs away from her forehead. "Well, this has been real and all, but you guys better book it. You've got a planet to save."

"Right!" DJ, Katie, and Alex said together as they accessed the gods' powers. Their eyes began glowing gold, silver, and red-orange respectively before they disappeared in three flashes of light.

The black haired girl folded her arms and huffed. "Mom's one to talk about unusual eyes. Hers looked pretty freaky lit up all silver like that."

The golden blonde boy holding the orange orb pulled lightly on her ponytail. "Aw, lighten up a little bit, Allie. You know how outspoken Aunt Kat can be. And she's always said that she loves your eyes." Then his voice turned serious. "Thanks for healing my dad."

She glared at him with her one sky blue eye and her other of mossy hazel. "For crying out loud, Josh! Did you honestly think that I would heal my mom and dad and leave Uncle Lex just lying there? Have a little faith in me."

The quiet, platinum haired young man pushed between them before a squabble broke out. "Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the three of us are actually cousins. Anyway, we should hurry up and get back home. We promised Setsuna that we wouldn't hang around once the job was done." He pulled a thin golden chain with a jeweled key hanging from it from under his shirt. "Besides, my mom will have kittens if I don't get this back to her soon."

"You worry too much, Endy," Josh drawled. "Is that what the pressure of being second in line for the throne does to you? You better watch out, or you'll wind up having a heart attack at an early age. It makes me glad that my side of the family chose to not accept it's royal heritage."

Allie sighed. "I wish I had that option. But at least I'm not in direct line to ever be queen. My dad may be a doctor, but he is also a prince. And having that much of a familial tie to the royal family can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

Endy pulled his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose and smirked at them with humorously glinting maroon eyes. "I'm not concerned in the least about ever having to be king. At the rate it's going grandma and grandpa will be ruling forever, which mom says is just fine with her. She and dad would rather spend most of their time in Elysian anyway."

Josh shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, let's blow this place. Who's up for pizza and a few rounds of miniature golf tonight?"

Allie groaned. "I'd love to go. But I promised my parents that I would baby-sit tonight. You know grandma's new show is opening at her gallery, and they want to go. So I'm in for a night of hell. Ren's not that hard to look after, she's happy playing with her dolls and watching cartoons. But the twins…I'll probably end up killing both of those boys before the night is over."

Josh patted her on the shoulder sympathetically. "I forgot all about that. My parents are going too, of course. Grandma always says that she needs all the support she can get when a new show opens. But I never get asked to baby-sit anymore since Kim and Clarissa have gotten old enough to watch the little ones. So how would you like some company instead? I'll bring pizza and a movie and help you run the kids ragged. And after we've tucked the rugrats in for the night we'll just kick back and veg."

"Sounds good to me," Allie replied with a grin. Then she sighed. "It's hard sometimes being the oldest of four kids."

Josh huffed indignantly. "You should try being in my shoes. My mom announced at breakfast this morning that she's pregnant again."

"Again!" the other two exclaimed in disbelief.

"Are Alex and Emma trying to start their own tribe?" Endy chuckled. "I'm glad my parents have never felt the need to provide me with a ton of siblings. I'm happy with playing big brother to just one little sister, thank you very much. And Ilene isn't as annoying as she used to be since she finally left behind the horrible pre-teen years."

Allie shook her head as a pink time portal opened before them. "Looks like Uncle Lex is going to have to add on to your house again, Josh. So Endy, did you want to join us for the veg-fest tonight?"

The prince tried to look horrified. "Now why would an eligible bachelor like myself want to sit around with my two _not yet of legal age _cousins when there are clubs out there that I could be cruising?"

Allie smacked his shoulder. "You've gotten so mean since you suddenly decided that you were _too old_ and _too cool _to hang out with us anymore. Besides," and she began to smile slyly, "I happen to know for a fact that you have been seeing a certain young lady exclusively for the past couple of months, and that she is out of town this weekend. So I seriously doubt that you are going to be out club hopping while she's gone."

He grinned ruefully. "Okay, you got me. I'm busted. And yeah, a pizza pig-out session does sound better than moping around all night. Just promise me that we can watch a good movie and not some sappy chick-flick."

"Since when have you ever known me to watch chick-flicks?" Allie huffed with her nose pointed regally in the air.

Josh snickered. "You did watch grandma's old collection of _Twilight _movies when you were sick with the flu last year."

"I did not watch them!" she protested. "Mom put them on because she thought I might like them since I had gotten into the vampire thing by reading her old collection of _Dark-Hunter _novels. But _Twilight _isn't a real vampire story. They sparkle for crying out loud. Sparkle! Vampires are supposed to be badass, not glittery, poetry spouting, piano playing gentlemen!"

"Don't let your mom hear you knock piano playing," Endy teased.

Allie let out a sound between a groan and a screech. "The point is that I mostly slept through those movies and mom kept switching them out. It was not any of my doing."

The three of them were still teasing and bickering as they stepped through the portal and disappeared.

_**(Meanwhile, in the Elysian of the future)**_

"So, how much longer do you think we should give them?" Katie asked as she reached to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting on DJ's lap.

DJ shrugged as he popped a few of the fluffy kernels in his mouth. "Not sure. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction out of them. I was a bit shocked at that turn of events myself, but not enough to act like that. In fact, and don't take offense to this, with your emotions being so jumpy lately I thought that you would be the one who would flip out the most. But you're just as cool as a cucumber."

She flapped a hand at him. "No offense taken. I know I've been a raging bundle of ranting hormones lately. But after everything that has happened to us over the past fifteen years, especially recently, I've just learned to roll with the punches."

Then she placed both of her hands on her slightly swollen stomach and a dreamy look entered her eyes. "Well, we were right about one thing. Our little girl is indeed something special. What was she, fifteen, maybe sixteen? Yet she pulled off three fairly complex healings like it was nothing."

"I would expect nothing less out of a child of ours," DJ chuckled as he leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

Katie smirked as he pulled back. "I guess you're tickled pink that she takes after you. After all, there hasn't been a true Earth Princess born in thousands of years."

"I'm more grateful than anything," he sighed. "Our past selves might have died in that hole if those kids hadn't showed up."

"That's true," she agreed. Then activity on the viewing portal caught her attention. "Looks like there is about to be some action."

DJ nodded. "I guess we should rouse the others." He stood up and surveyed the four prone bodies that were lying on the floor where they had passed out from shock.

"Wait just a sec!" Katie squealed as she reached for a pen and a sheet of paper that was sitting on the coffee table in front of her and began writing. "This is too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"What are you up to?" he asked, arching a black brow at her.

She grinned impishly. "You'll see. The four of them have been picking on us about impending parenthood for a while. Now the tables have turned slightly against them."

She ripped the paper into four squares and then grabbed a handy roll of tape that somebody had conveniently left on the table. She jumped up from the couch and bent over each of the unconscious people.

When Alex, Emma, Rini, and Helios each woke a minute later, thanks to DJ and Katie's prodding, they sat up to find that they had all had tags taped to the front of their shirts that declared in big, loopy-lettered words, _'Congratulations! It's a boy!'_

* * *

"Ouch!" Rini whimpered as she felt a twinge of pain in her side.

"I'm sorry, pumpkin," Endymion murmured soothingly as he bent over his daughter. "I'm being as gentle as I can. Just give me a minute and I'll make the pain go away."

"My poor baby," Serenity whispered as she stroked back the pink bangs on the head resting in her lap. Tears were flowing unchecked down her face. "Both of my poor little babies."

Rini's eyes were teary as well as she looked up at her mother. "I'm sorry, momma. I was trying to keep DJ safe. I was right there near him. But Discord, he…he…" She burst into sobs.

"Shh, sweetheart," Serenity murmured comfortingly. "I know you did everything in your power to help your brother and the others. And don't give up hope just yet. Those three are made out of pretty strong stuff. It will take more than falling down a hole to keep them down."

"You're damn right it will!" Eternal Shadow growled from where she was pacing nearby. "If there are two things that this family has got going for it, it's determination and a strong stubborn will to survive and fight back. They'll be fine."

"They better be!" Shadow grumbled from where she was knelt down next to Emma as Darien worked on healing her. "And if they're not, I'm going to go find them, have Darien here heal them, and then kick their asses myself for worrying us like this."

Andrew chuckled beside her. "At least you're handling this better than I thought you would."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't get me wrong, I'm pissed! And it's taking every bit of my willpower to keep from literally exploding right now. But I figure if my future self can hold it together, then so can I. The kids are fine. I just have to keep believing that."

"Do you really think so?" Emma whispered from where she was laying. "I'm worried about Katie and DJ too. But I don't know what I'd do if Alex…" She closed her eyes and began to cry softly.

Shadow had grown extremely fond of the girl that her future son loved since she had come to the past. So she picked up Emma's slender hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "He'll be back with you before you know it, Emma."

Darien sat back, armor clinking lightly, as he looked down at the young blonde. "There! How are you feeling now, Emma."

She moved around experimentally, and then sighed in relief. "Much better, thank you. How about everyone else."

Darien smiled gently at her. "They're all fine. Rini insisted on being the last, and her dad is patching her up as we speak."

Skye walked over and offered her friend a hand to help her up. The only indication that she'd been suffering from a potentially fatal abdominal wound just a short time before was the blood that had soaked into her shirt when she had de-transformed.

"Up we go, love goddess," she drawled as she pulled the blonde up. "How's the leg doing?"

"It's fine," Emma replied shortly. "So where do we stand?" It wasn't often that she exerted her authority as leader of the future guardian scouts of Crystal Tokyo, but that persona was coming through now.

Skye recognized this and answered seriously. "Jayden and Hannah are both back on their feet and ready to go. We're just waiting on Rini. After that, if she can manage to get away from Helios without him throwing a complete hissy," she glanced over to where the obviously concerned dream priest was hovering over his princess and her parents, "I guess we'll head back out to that hole and see what we can find. Hannah has been running scans of the area."

"And I'm not finding much of anything," the tiny blue haired girl grumbled as she and Jayden walked over to join them. "I've picked up a few energy signals here and there, but I can't exactly pinpoint them. Serena's barrier is making it difficult for me to get an accurate reading. I'll just have to wait until we get there."

It wasn't the answer that Emma wanted to hear, but she nodded. "Okay, so as soon as Rini is up and moving we're heading back out to find Alex and the others."

"I'm ready when you guys are," Rini stated as she climbed, slightly unsteadily, to her feet with Helios's help. "Let's get back out there and find them."

Helios gave her a disapproving look. "Don't you think you should take at least a few minutes to rest?"

She glared back at him. "And don't you think you should back off and stop treating me like a fragile piece of china? My brother and two of my closest friends are out there, possibly hurt and needing help. I have to go, so don't you dare try to stop me. If you do I'll…I'll…I'm not sure exactly what I'll do. But I'll do something!"

Endymion clapped his old friend on the shoulder. "It's probably best to let her go. Believe me, I've learned from experience over the last couple of millenniums to never stand in the way of the females in this family once they've set their minds on something."

"He's right," Drew said from where he had been brooding pensively on a nearby bench. Lines of worry were tight around his eyes, but he offered up a small grin. "I've come to the conclusion that all women with even a drop of Lunarian heritage in their systems have to be the most stubborn creatures in the universe."

"Damn straight!" Eternal Shadow quipped as she stopped her pacing to share a look with her husband. A tiny smile of her own played around her lips. "I love it when you talk dirty."

"Spaz!" Rini muttered as she dusted a bit of dirt off her jeans. Then she looked to where the silver light was glowing not far away. "How's Serena holding up?"

Darien sighed. "She's starting to get a bit worn down, but she's okay for now. She should be able to keep it up for a little while longer. I just hope that Discord doesn't try a direct assault on the barrier she's creating. I don't know what that would do to her if he did."

Rini nodded. "That's why I've got to hurry up and find DJ, Katie, and Alex. They're the only ones who can stand in his way. Is everybody ready?"

"Ready, willing, and able," Jayden replied in a much more serious voice than usual.

Hannah bobbed her head. "Me too!"

Helios grabbed Rini's hand as she started to turn away. "Please be careful. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

Her determined expression softened as she looked at him. "Don't worry. I'll be coming back to you." Then she kissed him quickly on the lips.

Serenity elbowed Endymion in the ribs as he glowered darkly at the display of affection. "Stop that!" she hissed at him.

"Sorry, knee-jerk reaction," he grouched. But his face lightened considerably as their daughter spoke to them.

"Mom, dad," Rini said softly. "I'll be back soon, and I'll have DJ with me." Then she turned to Eternal Shadow and Drew. "I'll find Katie and Alex too. I promise."

"Just be extremely careful," Serenity told her as she gripped Endymion's hand tightly to keep from pulling Rini into her arms and never letting her go.

Rini nodded firmly. "I will." She turned toward her waiting friends. "Okay, everyone, let's get ready to move."

The four girls and Jayden formed a circle. They were just about to transform and teleport when Emma's head snapped up.

"Yes!" she screeched. "Looks like we don't have to go looking for them after all. They found us."

Two heartbeats later there were three flashes of light inside the circle as the bedraggled looking trio of DJ, Katie, and Alex appeared.

Alex had arrived right in front of Emma, and he grinned at her as she silently gaped at him. "You didn't miss me, did you?"

Her mouth snapped shut as she glared at him with gray eyes that were rapidly filling with tears. Then she finally jumped at him, screaming, "Don't you ever do that to me again!" as she beat her fists against his shoulders and sobbed into his shirt.

"DJ!" Rini squealed as she launched herself at her brother, knocking poor Katie out of the way in the process.

"Hey! What the hell, Rini!" the blonde yelled in outrage as she landed hard on her butt.

Rini sniffled sheepishly. "Oops! Sorry, sorry!"

"Just give me some warning next time," Katie grumbled as she started to get up. But a second later she was flat on her back as she was hit with a flying tackle. "Mom! Get off of me!" she bellowed when she realized who it was.

Eternal Shadow scrambled off of her and sat back, wiping tears from her eyes as she did. "I'm sorry, darling. I guess I overreacted. But I was so worried about you and your brother."

"Well go maul Alex then!" Katie snapped. "Jeez! And people say I'm high-strung!"

Her mother waved a hand at her. "I said I was sorry. But what happened to you? Your face is covered in blood!"

"It's a long story," Katie muttered as she looked over to where DJ was now being smothered by Serenity as she exclaimed over the holes and the amount of blood on his shirt.

"It's also one that we don't have time to get into right now," Alex said as helped his mother up and gave her a hug before holding out a hand to Katie.

"That's right," DJ agreed as he detangled himself from Serenity. "Discord has joined his forces right outside the city and he is preparing to attack. We've got to go try and cut him off." He looked to his sister. "Are you able to fight?"

Rini nodded. "We're all ready for round two. Now let's go kick some ass!"

Before any of them could move, the ground beneath them began to quake and it grew significantly darker. Looking up, everyone could see the dark cloud that was Discord through the silver shield as he hovered in the sky above the city.

"Oh, Princess Melody, where are you?" his voice crooned eerily. "Come out and play, little one. I don't want much, just your life and your crystal. I promise I'll make your death quick if you give yourself up. You won't even be alone in the afterlife for long, because I'll be sending all of your friends and family to join you shortly. Of course, you already have people waiting for you there. Wouldn't you like to see your parents again?"

"That bastard!" Sailor Shadow snarled. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side as tendrils of blue energy began to unravel and crackle around her.

"Just calm down, Jess," Andrew tried to soothe her as he put his hands on her shoulders, ignoring the little tingles and zaps he got for his trouble.

"Girl, don't make me knock you out! And I will if you don't get your head out of your ass and back in the game!" Eternal Shadow snapped at her past self. "We've got work to do, and we don't have time for any melodramatic bullshit!"

"You're one to talk! You should take a look in a mirror and see how much your eyes are glowing right now!" Shadow fired back. But she took a few steadying breaths to calm down.

Just then, a large blast of dark energy flew from Discord and slammed into the silver barrier with a loud boom. It was followed a second later by a smaller explosion as the security crystal exploded into a thousand tiny pieces, blasting Serena backward several yards. She hit the ground and rolled a few times, her gown fading back into her fuku.

"Serena!" Darien yelled as he spun around and ran to her side to check on her.

"We've got to move! Now!" DJ demanded to the others in his group.

In just a few seconds, Rini, Emma, Skye, Jayden, and Hannah had transformed and reformed their circle. Then they all disappeared in a flash.

"I was hoping that something would change this time, but not like this," Drew was muttering to himself.

Andrew overheard him and asked, "Discord didn't attack like this when you were in my place."

The older version of himself shook his head. "Not on his own, not directly. The last time I lived this battle his forces eventually wore down our defenses and got inside the city. But he never made it that far. He was defeated outside the city."

"He hasn't actually come in yet. There's still time for things to turn around," Sailor Shadow argued.

Eternal Shadow looked at the confusion around them. The ground was still shaking from Discord's power, making the spectators still watching from the distance stumble and fall to the ground. Serenity and Endymion seemed to be debating their next move between themselves. Darien had reached Sailor Moon and was helping her to sit up. She was conscious, but appeared to be tired and extremely shaken.

"This is bad," she murmured under her breath.

It was about that time that Discord decided to speak again. "If you won't come out here to me, princess, then I'll just have to come in after you myself!" he roared as his mist-like body began to drift down toward the city.

Eternal Shadow didn't think twice as she grabbed her younger self by the arm and took off running as she pulled her behind her. "Come on! We've got to get out of sight! Now!"

"What the hell are you doing?" Shadow protested, tugging back against her. "I'm not running away from this fight! I don't care if that son of a bitch is looking for one or both of us."

"Just trust me," Eternal Shadow told her. "I have a plan. But if we stay here both us and the planet are done for!"

"Fine!" Shadow agreed after a moment, her exasperated breath ruffling the dark blonde bangs that fell over the tiara on her forehead. "But whatever you have planned better be good."

Eternal Shadow grinned at her as they began running side by side. "I just hope that you've paid attention to all of those shield training sessions you've been having with Kyrian lately. You're going to need it."

Suddenly Shadow felt a deep camaraderie with the woman she would hopefully one day become. "I take it that whatever you've got ticking in your head is pretty big."

Her future self nodded. "Huge. Just remember the dreams I sent you and what Pluto showed you when you talked with her at the time gate."

Shadow thought back to the dreams of Crystal Tokyo being overrun by monsters and the people she loved being stuck down one by one. Then she remembered the vision that she had seen in the time stream of she and her future self fighting together before bright blue light swallowed up everything.

"We're going to save the city," she whispered.

"We're going to try," Eternal Shadow confirmed. "I won't lie to you. What we are going to attempt is very dangerous, and I don't know for sure how it will turn out, but I can't do it without you. It will take both of us. So will you help me?"

Well, nobody had ever been able to accuse Jessica Alexander of being a coward. Sailor Shadow jerked her head in a firm nod and smiled widely. "I'm in. Now let's go kick some ass!"

Both women hit the shadows cast by the looming palace and vanished.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Zoicite yelled as he jumped out of the path of a charging guardian that was quite a few feet taller than he was. As it lunged past him he leapt into the air and spun, swinging his sword around to connect with the giant's neck. The sharp edge of the blade sliced through skin and bone like a hot knife through butter, severing the monster's head from its body. But instead of spewing blood like one would think, a thick, oily looking smoke poured out of the decapitated body before both it and its head exploded into choking, foul smelling dust.

Zoi, coughing from the dust of his own kill, a sentinel that had looked to be a hyena crossed with a porcupine on steroids, shook his head as he blinked his stinging eyes. "If I had to make a guess, I'd say that Discord's last attack knocked out Serena's barrier."

"You would be correct," Mercury replied from where she was standing behind her future self as she studied her computer screen. "Serena was holding her own until that demon directly attacked her energy. Now the city is wide open to the enemy."

"And the creeps are taking full advantage of it!" Eternal Mercury growled. Her eyes narrowed as a half dozen assorted guardians and sentinels pushed their way through the gate they had been watching.

"Let's see how well they do on a slick surface," she muttered under her breath as she made a sweeping motion with her arm. An instant later the ground beneath the enemy had transformed into a solid sheet of slippery ice, causing all of them to slide around before they crashed to the ground.

"Slick trick." Mercury giggled at her unintentional pun. Then she tucked her computer away and pointed her hands at the monsters. "Ice Bubbles Freeze!"

Thousands of misty, icy cold bubbles appeared, wrapping around the guardians and sentinels as they writhed on the ground in an attempt to reclaim their feet. In seconds they were all frozen solid.

Mercury dusted her hands together and then nodded to the two men. "Would you gentlemen like to do the honors?"

"Absolutely!" Zoicite answered her with a grin. In less than ten seconds he and his future self had dispatched the frozen, statue-like creatures.

The four warriors barely had a chance to draw a breath before three times as many enemies came pouring through the gate. They shared a brief look between them before they blurred into action. The air in the area suddenly dropped to below freezing and the ice was flying as the battle inside the city began for real.

* * *

"Watch the hair, would ya! Mina just trimmed my ends last week, so I'm not due for another for a while!" Eternal Mars scowled as a crackle of lightning blew by her, closer than she liked.

Eternal Jupiter smirked at her as her attack electrocuted a sentinel that looked a lot like the picture of a saber-tooth tiger that had been in one of her history books back in middle school. It snarled before it exploded into dust. "Sorry! Next time I'll just let the big bad kitty eat you if your hair is more important than staying alive."

"You're such a bitch, sometimes," Eternal Mars muttered. But a grin twitched her lips.

"Look who's talking," her auburn haired friend shot back at her playfully. "But you know our motto. Us bitches have got to stick together."

"So true," the fire priestess agreed.

"How come Lita can get away with calling you a bitch? If I did that I would find myself sleeping alone for a year," Jed grumbled as he ran by, with his flaming sword blazing.

"More like a decade, at least," his wife replied in a fake, sweet voice.

"Heads up! More coming in!" Neph warned them as he gestured to the newly blasted open gate that they had been guarding where a fresh batch of enemies were beginning to stream in. He arched a brow at his wife. "It's time to show how badass you can be, Sparky. You are supposed to be a big bad sailor scout after all."

"I'll show him badass!" Eternal Jupiter grumbled. "Let's see how he likes it when I break badass all over him."

Eternal Mars nodded. "How in the hell did we wind up getting married to them again?"

The green suited scout shrugged. "Because we actually love the dorks. Or maybe we're just masochistic. Hell! I don't know!" Then she glanced uneasily toward the center of the city and the dark cloud that hung over the Crystal Palace. "Do you think everything is okay back there?"

The raven-haired woman closed her eyes for a moment. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know for sure. Everyone's auras are still showing up, except for the two Jess's. But I figure they must be trying to distract Discord with a game of cat and mouse to buy some time for the kids. They must have run into a hiccup or something because they were all back inside the city until just a few minutes ago. Serenity is tired, but she's not out of the game by a long shot. And Serena took the brunt of Discord's attack, but she'll be okay."

"Well, I guess that's good," Eternal Jupiter replied, tapping one of her feet impatiently. "We knew that this fight could be unpredictable. At least everybody is still alive."

"Yeah, but things could turn ugly really quick," Eternal Mars sighed. Then she fully faced their current threat, which included a couple of elephant-sized sentinels that were built like tanks.

"Ew!" Jed snarled. "Who left the research lab doors open so these rejects could escape?"

Neph wrinkled his nose in agreement. "And they still smell as bad as I remember from when we faced them years ago."

"I knew we should have brought clothespins for our noses," Eternal Mars sighed, but her fire flickered to life in her hands.

"Oh great," Eternal Jupiter grumbled. "This is about to get ugly. And I'm not talking about the husband forgetting to put the toilet seat down kind of ugly. I mean a frat party running out of beer kind of ugly."

* * *

"Boy! Don't you ever even think of kissing me with that mouth ever again!" Sailor Mars snapped as Jadeite paused for breath, stopping the string of profanity that had been spewing past his lips.

The blonde man looked slightly sheepish, but completely unapologetic, although he did reply, "Sorry, Firefly. I guess I just lost my temper for a moment when that sentinel launched that sneak attack."

He brushed some of the rancid smelling dust from his kill off the sleeve of his light gray uniform and twisted around awkwardly, trying to see behind him. "That damn thing didn't mess me up too much when it knocked me down, did it?"

Nephrite chuckled evilly as he pulled his sword out of the chest of a rapidly disintegrating, at least twelve foot tall guardian on the ground and jumped back to avoid the flying dust. "You know, if it weren't for the fact that I've known you for what feels like a million years, and I am secure in the knowledge that you are strictly heterosexual, I would seriously think that you were batting for the other team after that statement."

"Shut the hell up!" Jadeite snarled. "I just wanted to make sure my pants didn't develop an ass-flap after hitting the ground like that."

"What's wrong, scared someone might catch a glimpse of your undies?" Jupiter teased as she jumped out of the tree that she had been perched in while launching her lightning attacks.

"Good one, babe!" Nephrite crowed as he slapped his fiancée a high five.

Jadeite turned a pleading look on Mars. "Help me out a little here, sweetheart. Now my pride is as bruised as my butt."

Mars sniffed haughtily. "You'll heal." Then her expression turned more sympathetic. "But you did hit the ground pretty hard after that cowardly sentinel pulled that cheap shot on you."

He sniffled dramatically. "I know. But at least I managed to take it out before it bit or scratched me. Forget sentinel poisoning! I bet that mangy mutt had rabies!"

Mars felt like her insides had turned into melted chocolate as she looked at his pouting little boy face. It was really ridiculous how childish he could act sometimes. But that was one of the things she adored about him.

"Aw, poor baby," she cooed as she let her fingers play with his golden curls for a moment.

He gave a long-suffering sigh. "I know. It makes me wish that I'd had some extra padding before I took that fall." Then he shot her a wicked grin before leaning down to whisper in her ear, "But I know how much it turns you on when I go commando."

She reared back, her face feeling like it had burst into flames, as screeched, "You PERVERT!"

"Do you think he'll ever change?" Nephrite groaned.

"For Raye's sake I hope not," Jupiter snickered. Then she raised her voice. "Okay! Break it up, lovebirds! The next round of the storm is about to roll in and we need to batten down the hatches. We let way too many of those bastards get past us in that last wave."

Mars tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. "So a few of them got by. At least it will give Amara and the others something to do so that she can't accuse us of hogging all the fun."

"Knowing that she-male, she'll find something to bitch about anyway," Jadeite quipped as he held out his sword, ready to face the incoming herd that was both scrambling though the destroyed gate and climbing over the walls around the city.

"Oh boy! Here we go again," Mars muttered as her flaming bow and arrow appeared in her hand and she pointed it at the growling horde. But she took a moment to glance worriedly over her shoulder toward the palace where Discord was floating above it. She wanted badly to run back there to check that everyone was okay, but she had promised to hold her position until ordered otherwise.

'_Damn it, Serena! You better be all right!' _she thought furiously as she fired off a shot.

* * *

"You are blind!" Talon growled at the two guardians as he used his magic to cast an illusion of darkness over the creatures. At first he didn't think it was going to work, but then he felt Kyrian's power merge with his to give it a boost. The two humongous, powerfully built males' eyes went blank as they began stumbling around with their hands out in front of them.

Talon sprang into action, using his sword to pierce the heart of the one closest to him and turning it to dust before whirling to confront the other. It disintegrated before he reached it, revealing Evan with his dust covered sword in hand.

His brother-in-law and best friend looked extremely repulsed. "Ugh! And I used to think the youmas we had around in our old base were nasty. These guys are ten times worse. Good thinking though with taking their sight. They never knew what hit them."

Talon sighed tiredly. "I just wish it worked on the sentinels as well. Unfortunately, my illusion power only works on human-like minds."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Evan told him. "You and Kyrian are both already looking beat from the magic you've already used. I hate to see what you would be like if you'd tried to bewitch every creature that has made it past this wall. I know I'm feeling the drain from just what little bit I've used. I tried hooking up with Julian's energy some, but I didn't want to wear him out. He's not as used to this level of magical fighting as we are."

"Nah! He'd rather hack things to pieces," Talon said fondly as he watched his second oldest son cleanly sever the head off a giant gorilla shaped sentinel and let out a huge _'whoop' _of satisfaction. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to give him that sword for his thirteenth birthday after all."

Evan brushed him off. "Oh come on! Both of us had been handling a sword for years by that age. And that sword in particular is probably some of my best craftsmanship."

Talon smirked. "You say that about every sword you make."

"Just speaking the truth," Evan joked back. "I've never heard you complain about yours."

Talon held his sword up and studied it for a moment, admiring the ancient engravings etched into the slender blade and the hilt that fit perfectly inside his hand. "Nope! And you never will. This sword has served me faithfully for two thousand years and never let me down once."

Evan glanced up uneasily at the sky that was rapidly darkening as Discord spread out. "So, what do you think about this development?"

Talon shrugged stiffly. "I wish the bastard would come after me. It would make me feel better if he were further away from Anya and the kids. And I know he still hates me for screwing him over. I'm just going to have to trust the others to keep them safe."

"Are you two old men going to stand around jabbering, or are you going to help us with our little pest problem?" Kyrian snapped at them as what at one time might have been a wolf or a canine of some sort, before it had fallen prey to Discord's experiments, charged at him. He jumped up into the air and then came down on its back, careful to avoid the poisonous spikes sticking out of it, and plunged his sword deep between its shoulder blades. The creature howled before crumbling beneath him.

Talon gave his eldest son a sardonic look. "Looks like you've got everything under control. I didn't think you needed my help."

Kyrian shot him an ancient rude hand gesture that roughly translated into what he thought his father could go and do with certain parts of his anatomy.

"Did you teach him that one?" Talon asked the man next to him.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Evan answered in a voice that didn't quite hide his amusement.

"If Anya ever finds out, I'm blaming you," Talon warned him.

Evan just grinned. "And how would that be different than any other time? You've been pinning things on me that weren't my fault for centuries, and I've come to never expect anything different."

"I guess we should give the younger ones a hand," Talon chuckled. Then he sighed. "Do you think we're getting too old for this stuff?"

Thanks to the heredity of their magically gifted bloodline, neither man appeared to be any older than their mid-twenties. But in reality they were both over 2,000 years old. A thousand of those years had been spent in a deep sleep while the Earth had been frozen over, but unlike the king, queen, and most of their court, they had not been reincarnated after the fall of the Silver Millennium and had lived the thousand years between their lives.

Evan smirked. "Are you joking? You're only as old as you feel. And today I feel like I'm seventeen again."

Talon rolled his eyes. "Oh for the love of…You spend one night with a woman and it turns you into a giddy fool. It's almost enough to make me wish that you would go back to being a hermit. I never thought that getting laid would have this kind of an effect on you."

"Quit talking like a decrepit old man and let's get back to work," Evan chuckled.

* * *

"Are you happy now?" Neptune asked as she watched Uranus cut down a guardian with a sweep of her space sword.

An exuberant grin lit up her partner's face. "You better believe it! I was afraid for a while that the others would hog all the action. I'm glad to see that they weren't able to stop them all from slipping past them."

"You and me both!" an almost identical, shorthaired blonde exclaimed as she whizzed by in a blur.

"Hey! No fair!" Uranus exclaimed in exasperation. "The fountain in the middle of the medical complex is supposed to be our boundary line. Get back into your own area!"

Eternal Uranus laughed but never broke her stride. "No can do! I chased a guardian over here from my side, so that means he's still my target."

"I think we have bigger things to worry about than who takes out what bad guy," Saturn muttered grumpily. "In case none of you have noticed, the city is no longer shielded, enemies are coming in from all directions, and the biggest baddie of all is hovering directly over the palace."

"I know I'm not happy about it," Eternal Saturn growled as she and Eternal Neptune joined the group. Her normally calm expression was tense and her gloved fingers were clenched tightly around the staff of her scythe.

Eternal Neptune patted her shoulder gently. "I'm sure Sammy and Kenny are just fine, sweetheart. There are plenty of people at the palace to help keep them safe. And though Sammy may not possess any planetary powers, he's quite a formidable fighter himself. He may not be able to take out a guardian or a sentinel, but I'm sure he could distract one long enough for someone else to get to it."

Eternal Saturn rolled her eyes. "No offense, but that doesn't exactly make me feel much better. My hubby may be a black belt in three different kinds of martial arts, but he's also hotheaded. He's more liable to get himself hurt rather than actually do any damage to one of the enemy."

"I completely agree," Saturn seconded. "The one and only time he tried to go up against a youma because he was trying to help me he ended up getting his head bashed in. And when I fussed at him about it later he just looked at me funny and said that there was no way that he could stand over to the side and let me do all of the fighting alone."

Uranus snorted. "Men! They always think that they know what's best for women. That's one reason why I don't bother wasting my time with them."

"Amen," Eternal Uranus agreed. Then she let out a whoop of glee. "Ah ha! There's the little bitch that I was chasing. World Shaking!"

The golden glow of her attack built in her hand, and then exploded into light as she slammed it into the ground where it began speeding toward a female guardian who had appeared at the edge of the plaza they were gathered in.

The guardian was skinny and extremely tall, probably pushing close to eight feet, and her tangled brown hair and blazing red eyes gave her a wild look as she let out a snarl. She dodged the attack and began closing in on them with superhuman speed, but she was unprepared for the double attack of both Sailor Uranus's that followed only seconds later. At such a close range, she had no time to evade the attack and was vaporized into dust.

"Well that takes care of that!" Uranus crowed smugly.

Eternal Neptune glanced around before looking questioningly at the younger scouts. "Where is Trista? Wasn't she with you?"

Neptune nodded. "She was until a few minutes ago, but then she left."

"Yeah. She said she had something _important _to check on," Saturn drawled as she rolled her eyes. "It's always something _important_ with her."

Pluto suddenly appeared behind her in her usual burst of pink smoke and smirked at her adopted daughter. "I'll keep your opinion of my job in mind the next time I'm checking on your future to make sure things are going as they should."

"She didn't mean it like that," Eternal Saturn immediately protested.

Eternal Uranus interrupted before a squabble could break out. "So, is all well at the time gate, Trista?"

Pluto nodded. "As well as can be expected under the circumstances. I was just making sure that some things that I _borrowed _from another time made it back to where they belonged. I also took the opportunity to check the time stream while I was there. I will tell you that things are still looking in our favor, but there are still a few different scenarios that can play out. The most important thing right now is that we need to prepare ourselves to do battle, because we are about to be overrun with enemies. Discord's forces are stampeding the walls, and it's too much for the others to handle on their own."

Uranus's eyes gleamed at the prospect of battle. "Well, let's get ourselves ready to face the storm."

No sooner had the words left her than all hell broke loose and guardians and sentinels descended on them from all directions.

* * *

"Love and Beauty Shock!" Eternal Venus yelled as she hit a guardian with a flurry of golden hearts. The giant of a man with his blazing red eyes had barely begun to wither away when she heard a scuffling sound behind her and she whirled around.

A short screech tore past her vocal chords when she saw the sentinel leaping toward her. It looked as though it might a jackal or a hyena, but the mutation that it had gone through made it almost impossible to tell. It was covered in the poisonous spikes that were trademark for all sentinels…and it was also roughly the size of a Clydesdale horse.

She stumbled back a few steps, raising a hand in front of her in preparation for firing off a Crescent Beam. It was her weakest attack, but it was the quickest one she could summon, and she needed to act fast. While the attack wouldn't kill the sentinel, if would hopefully distract it long enough for her to get into a better position to destroy it.

Just then, her foot slipped into a hole on the ground and she went tumbling backward. She sat down hard, the impact jarring through her and making her lose focus on her attacker. Knowing she had no time to defend herself, she threw up her arms and sucked in a quick breath, preparing to scream bloody murder. There was no way that she was going to go down quietly.

Suddenly, quicker than a deadly cobra strike, a long chain made of jewels and golden hearts wrapped itself around the monster several times and jerked it to a halt. A second later a purple energy blade burst from its chest and it exploded into a cloud of dust, revealing the two people behind it.

"Ew! That stinks!" Venus complained as she waved her hand in front of her face and scrunched her nose up. "Are those things even made out of anything that resembles a flesh and blood animal?"

"They smell because of the foul energy they've been infused with," Kunzite replied as he stepped over the pile of dust and offered a hand up to Eternal Venus.

"Thanks," she murmured as she accepted his help.

Kunz descended on them a moment later and pulled his wife into a bone-crushing embrace. "God, Mina! Are you okay? You scared me to death! I was wrapped up with a guardian and I knew there was no way I could make it to you in time."

"I'm fine," she grumbled into his chest. "I'm more mad than anything. Who would have ever thought that the leader of the guardian scouts would get defeated by a simple hole in the ground? Not to mention that I'm just a bit sore." She ran a hand over her aching backside.

"Tell me about it," Venus groaned, rotating her shoulders gingerly. "That zoo reject pulled my chain so hard that I thought my arms were going to get yanked out of socket. For a second there I thought I wouldn't be able to hold on."

"You did good though," Kunzite told her proudly. "Maybe later, when all of this is over, I'll treat you to a massage."

"Hmph!" she huffed indignantly. "There's no _maybe _about it. That had better be a promise. I think I've earned a backrub after what we've through today."

"I just can't believe how many of the creatures have made it to the middle of the city," Kunz sighed with a shake of his head. "This is different than before. Last time the majority of Discord's forces were kept mostly at the borders of the city. A few managed to squeak by, but nothing like this."

"We didn't have _that _to worry about either," Eternal Venus growled as she jerked her chin upwards to where Discord filled the sky above him. "I don't mind saying that this is making me really nervous. I just hope that Jess had the good sense to pull a disappearing act and take her past self with her when he showed up."

Venus nodded. "I'm sure she did. Discord would have started blasting the place to pieces by now if she was visible. I don't like the idea of Serena and Darien being in such a vulnerable position though; even if they do have the king and queen there to help them."

"I don't like it either," Eternal Venus agreed. "It's taking everything I have to keep from running back inside the palace grounds to go check on all of them."

Kunz put a comforting arm around her. "We promised to hold our positions unless told otherwise. We are the only defense against keeping those monsters from getting inside the palace walls."

"I'm worried about the others holding the perimeter," Kunzite murmured. "They must be completely overrun for this many of the enemy to be able to get this far. They may be fighting a losing battle."

Just then, the communicator on Eternal Venus's wrist crackled to life and Neo Queen Serenity's voice spoke. "Listen up everybody. There has been a change of plan. I want _all _inner scouts and generals to begin falling back and return to the palace as quickly as possible."

Eternal Venus's eyes widened. "What! Are you serious?"

"I'm dead serious," Serenity answered.

Eternal Mars's voice flared over the line, "Did you hit your head or something, Meatball Head? Because you are talking crazy."

The queen sighed. "Don't argue with me on this, Raye. I know this isn't what we planned, but the situation has changed. There is no way that we can stop Discord's forces from coming into the city. The best we can hope for now is to pool all of our powers together to try and protect the palace grounds and everyone inside until the kids take down Discord himself. I hate leaving the city to their mercy, and I hope that any civilians who stayed behind have since escaped, but we can fix the damage later. Until then we are going to have to stand together in order to fight this. I do ask that the outer scouts remain in the medical district to protect the people there."

"Not a problem, Kitten," Eternal Uranus replied immediately. "If things get too hairy down here we'll channel our energies into shielding the hospitals for as long as we can."

"This is insane!" Venus growled. "Is anyone else finding this just as cuckoo as I am?"

"Mina!" Sailor Moon's voice shot from her communicator. She sounded tired and worn out, but there was steel in her tone that was rarely ever heard. "Usually I value everyone's opinions and welcome the chance to hear them, but not this time. For once I need you to do what I say without questioning it. Regroup with the others and fall back. Please."

Venus swallowed the protest that had automatically risen to her lips. She had sworn her allegiance to Serena in two different lifetimes, and as her princess and future queen, she knew that Serena could simply order her to do as she said. The fact that she chose to ask for her friends' cooperation instead of demanding, even in such a perilous situation, spoke more than any words.

"Fine," she grumbled in response to the woman who was more like a sister to her than a princess. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Sailor Moon let out a shaky laugh. "To be honest, I don't. This is all Serenity's idea."

"What!" the queen's voice squawked. "It's not _all _my idea. I just said that I thought it was a good idea to rethink our strategy since things have turned out somewhat different than we expected. You agreed with me and even put in a few ideas of your own. So how does that make it all of my doing?"

"Oh, for Aphrodite's sake!" Venus exclaimed. "I was just making a comment. I didn't mean to start World War III between you two. Jeez!"

"It doesn't matter," Eternal Venus said with a roll of her eyes. Then she spoke into her communicator. "Okay everybody! You heard the what's up. Everyone except the outer scouts begin falling back to the palace. Get here as quickly as you can, but at the same time be safe. We don't want any accidents if we can keep from it."

* * *

"What are we doing here?" Sailor Shadow hissed to her future self as they lurked in the shadows of an alley about a block away from the Starlight Tower.

Eternal Shadow shrugged. "We need a spot that's high up and near the center of the city. Of course the palace is at the exact center and is easily the tallest building around, but we can't do what we are going to attempt to do there for obvious reasons."

The younger scout didn't appear impressed. "And what exactly is it that we are going to attempt to do?"

The older woman peeked quickly around the corner of the alley and grimaced at the fairly large group of guardians and sentinels that were currently enjoying themselves by demolishing the nearby shops and businesses. "First thing's first. We need to find a way to try to get past that crew without being seen."

Shadow snuck a quick look around the corner as well and curled her lip. "Yeah, there are a lot of them, but I bet together we can take them. So even if they see us it shouldn't be that big of a deal."

"Stop and think about it for a moment," Eternal Shadow growled in exasperation. "If we start blasting those guys it's going to alert every scumbag of Discord's within at least a twenty block radius to where we are and bring them down on us as well. Not to mention the fact that we have the _Head Asshole In Charge _combing the city for us as we speak."

Shadow shivered as she glanced up to where the cloud that was Discord had descended to where he was barely hovering over the rooftops of the city, even obscuring the upper floors of some of the taller buildings.

"Okay, you have a point," she admitted, and then let out another involuntary shudder as long tendrils of mist left Discord and floated down into the streets. "He's trying to flush us out."

"I know," her future counterpart grumbled. "And he's going to find us if we stay here much longer. The kids should be making a move against him soon, I hope. It would really help us out if they got his attention for a few minutes."

Movement at the opposite end of the alley caught Shadow's eye, and she jerked her head around, cursing in a harsh whisper as she saw the vapor that was creeping toward them, "Shit! He's got us trapped like rats!"

Eternal Shadow muttered a few explicit phrases herself before giving a hard shake of her head. "We're going to have to make a run for it. I know he can sense our energy and can tell that we are nearby, but if that mist touches us he will be able to pinpoint our exact location. And if it comes down to a fight between us and him, it won't end pretty."

"Armageddon," Shadow murmured under her breath.

"Our only other choice would be to give up to him. And you and I both know that we just don't have it in us to do that," Eternal Shadow answered. "Either way we go, the planet would be destroyed, either by us or him. Personally, I prefer the outcome where we all live to see tomorrow."

Shadow nodded in agreement. "You and me both. So what do you suggest we do to get out of our little problem here?"

"_Melodyyy…" _Discord's voice crooned eerily from the encroaching fog. "_Come out, come out, wherever you are, princess. You have to know that you can't hide from me forever. All you are doing is prolonging the inevitable. If you give yourself up to me I will destroy this pitiful planet quickly, giving you and your loved ones a speedy and painless death. But if you continue this little game I'm afraid that I will have no choice except to allow my pets to make lunch out of all of the poor souls currently ensconced inside the palace. I do believe your soul mate is there as well, isn't he? I bet he would make an enticing little solarian morsel."_

"Over my dead body!" Shadow snarled quietly.

Eternal Shadow felt exactly the same. She had already seen Andrew murdered in front of her twice in two lifetimes, and definitely didn't want a repeat of that experience. She knew that the bond between her past self and Andrew's was incredibly strong, but the ties between her and her husband were stronger still. He was her lover, the father of her children, and the one person that she felt knew her better than she knew herself. He was her rock, and she was his. They were partners in life in every sense of the word. And she would lay down her own life before she would let something happen to him.

She bit back her own angry tirade as she quickly scanned about for a safe avenue of escape. After a moment, she thought she found one. "Do you see that dumpster in the alley across the street and half a block up?" she asked her companion. "It's pretty dark there and should give us plenty of shadows to work with to keep us under cover."

Shadow nodded. "I see it. But that is a lot of open area for us to cross. I thought we were trying to stay off the radar."

"We are," Eternal Shadow replied grimly. "But it's obvious that we can't stay here. Luckily, we're fast. Even Uranus has never managed to beat us in a race. When I say go, haul ass as fast as you can to that alley. With any luck, even if the guardians and sentinels see us, all they'll see is a quick blur and won't realize it's us. From over there I think we can get to the rooftops and make it the rest of the way to the tower without being spotted."

Shadow quirked a grin at her. "Here's to luck then. We need all of it we can get."

Just then, the distant sky outside the city lit up brightly with gold, silver, and red orange.

A triumphant smirk appeared on Eternal Shadow's face when she saw the mist that had been creeping toward them fall still. "That was just what we needed. And not a moment too soon."

Discord's voice began hissing from the tendril of fog again. _"Ssooo…those irritating children survived and managed to pull themselves out of my trap. Now they are trying to lure me from the city as well. I will soon deal with them once and for all, but not until I get what I seek. The Celestial Crystal will be mine."_

His disembodied form began moving once again, and Eternal Shadow took a quick peek to see how clear their path was. Luckily, the light show had grabbed the attention of the sentinels and guardians, and they all had their backs turned as they stared at the sky in wonder.

"Now! Go now!" she whispered shrilly to her younger self, giving her a bit of a nudge before dashing from the alley toward their new hiding spot at a speed that reduced everything to a blur.

Shadow lunged after her, only a half step behind and moving just as fast, until she felt something that froze every muscle in her body. She skidded to a stop in plain sight in the middle of the street. Her eyes were wide and full of fear as she turned them in the direction of the palace.

"What are you doing? Are you insane?" Eternal Shadow whisper-screamed at her from the dark spot behind the dumpster that had been their target. After a few seconds she snorted in disgust and ran back to her.

"Move your ass! And move it now!" she snarled at Shadow as she grabbed her firmly by the arm and began dragging her toward the alley.

Shadow swallowed hard and tried to push past the blood pounding adrenaline that wasn't hers that was rushing through her veins so that she could form a coherent thought. "The palace is under attack! Drew is fighting!"

Eternal Shadow rolled her eyes at her. "I know. Don't forget that I have a bond with my husband and that he's back there as well. But if we don't get out of sight we're going to find ourselves in a bigger fight than the one they are facing at the palace. I know it's hard, but you're going to have to put Drew out of your mind for now and trust that he and the others can take care of themselves. If what we do is successful, then we'll end that fight."

Shadow let out a strangled sound that could have been a protest, but allowed herself to be pulled forward into the concealing darkness. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't get so bent out of shape. Drew is a great fighter. But I'm always so scared that I'm going to lose him. I know I could never live with that."

"Preaching to the choir here," Eternal Shadow tried to joke, but her eyes were deadly serious. "Look, I'm not going to bullshit you and tell you that particular fear fades in time, because it doesn't. I've held his lifeless body in my arms twice and felt my soul being ripped to shreds in the process. Both times were because he was protecting me. I don't want to ever have to go through that again. Drew, Alex, and Katie are my world. Sure, I have Serena, Darien, and the others, but they are mine. They give me a sense of completeness that I used to think I would never have. I know you would do anything you have to do to keep them safe, the same as I would. And that's why I need your help. But I need you to be with me one hundred percent. Okay?"

Shadow sucked in a deep breath. "Okay. I'm with you. So what's our next move?"

Something large moved at the opening to the alley, and they both scrambled back farther into the darkness, pressing their backs against the wall and using their powers to pull the shadows in tightly around them.

A huge, hulking beast that vaguely resembled a man, or would if it weren't for the blazing red eyes and the fact that he stood fifteen or sixteen feet tall, glided into the alley. He moved quite gracefully in spite of his size. His gleaming, venomous fangs were bared and his nose quivered as he sniffed the air around him.

His voice was hardly more than a growl. "I know I saw something come this way. Even now I can smell someone. I can also feel the shimmer of magic in the air. If someone is hiding here I will find them. Maybe it will be someone important and my master will be pleased."

"He's going to find us," Shadow breathed to her companion, her voice barely audible. "Discord has given him the ability to sense magic."

"We can't blast him," Eternal Shadow said in the same, almost nonexistent tone. "If we do it will bring the others running."

Shadow shrugged. "So we double team him and take him down the old fashioned way. It wouldn't be the first time I beat the crap out of somebody. Sure, he's big, but there are two of us."

Eternal Shadow smirked. "I like the way you think. So do you want top or bottom?"

"Definitely top," Shadow practically purred, her eyes gleaming with the light of battle, even in the gloom.

"On three then," Eternal Shadow told her. "One…two…"

About that time the giant stepped around the dumpster, his eyes narrowing on the spot where they stood. "What the…"

That was as far as he got before the two women let their powers fade and they both launched themselves at him, taking him completely by surprise.

Eternal Shadow dove at his knees, crashing hard into him and throwing him off balance while Shadow leapt off the ground and clamped her arms tightly around his thick neck, cutting off his airway and keeping him from making any sound as he fell to the ground. She held on tenaciously and kept her grip firm as she rode down with him, keeping his body under hers to absorb the impact.

They had barely landed when a dark blue boot shot into view, delivering a vicious kick to the guardian's temple.

"That's for my family and friends, you bastard!" Eternal Shadow spat as she stood above them.

Shadow released the hold on his neck and sat back far enough to ball up her fist and send it flying into his jaw in a punishing uppercut. His head snapped back with a crack, and then he was still.

"I think he's out for the count," Eternal Shadow snickered. "Nice punch by the way."

Shadow stood up, dusting her hands off on her skirt, and grinned. "Hey, dad didn't raise any dummies. All those hours of sparring in the backyard had to payoff somewhere. So what's next?"

Eternal Shadow looked up to the roof of the building beside them. "Now we see about ruining Discord's day."

* * *

"What aren't you telling me?" Andrew growled as he shoved his arm harder against the throat of the man he currently had pinned up against the wall of the palace courtyard.

"Nothing!" Drew sputtered as he took as deep of a breath as he could manage.

"Maybe you should cool off a bit," Darien said calmly as he put a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

Andrew snarled at him. "Back off, Dare, before you get hurt! Jess is missing, and so is her future self. I know this asshole knows something…and he's going to spill everything!"

"I really don't know," Drew choked out.

"Bullshit!" Andrew exclaimed, shaking off Darien's hand and pushing his future self even harder into the stone wall. "You and I are supposed to be the same person and think the same way. And I know that there is no way that you would be acting this calmly unless you knew where Jess was. Now tell me!"

"Andrew, stop!" Sailor Moon screeched as she tried valiantly to squeeze her body in between the two much larger men. "Beating him up isn't going help anything."

"It would make me feel better!" he ground out. But he didn't want to take the chance of hurting Serena, so he released the older version of himself and took a step back.

Drew gasped for a few seconds and rubbed his throat before looking up ruefully at his angry past self. "I really don't know where they are. Jess and I talked about it a little bit beforehand, and she agreed that if Discord made it inside the city that she would take your Jess and use their powers to stay hidden from him."

Andrew stared at him in disbelief. "And you actually bought that? This is Jess we're talking about, the most stubborn and impulsive woman to walk the face of the Earth. You know as well as I do that there is no way that she will just hide away quietly while there is a fight going on. She'll find some way to throw herself right into the middle of it."

"She said she wouldn't," Drew insisted. "She knows that Discord is after her crystal and that she has to keep it away from him. So that means keeping both herself and her past self out of sight and off his radar."

Andrew sighed heavily. "Did you actually get her to promise you that?"

Drew opened his mouth, and then closed it again without a sound. His eyes widened as he replayed the conversation he'd had with his wife in his head.

"That's what I thought," Andrew groaned.

Drew smacked a palm against his forehead. "I can't believe I didn't catch it. I'm usually pretty good at not falling into her little traps when she starts rambling, but she got me this time. She talked in circles around me until I was busy, but she never once promised me that she would keep herself out of trouble."

Andrew arched a brow at him. "And now there are two of her together. So I'm betting that there could be double trouble."

"Maybe not," Serenity said hesitantly, wringing her hands. "Perhaps, for once, she'll be sensible. This is a dangerous situation."

"Yeah right!" Endymion snorted. "Remember who we are talking about here. Trouble is Jess's middle name. And if there is any trouble lurking around you know that she will find herself smack dab in the middle of it."

"Well can't you two track them? You do have a bond," Sailor Moon asked the two blonde men.

Andrew shook his head. "I tried already, but she's blocking me."

Drew nodded. "Same here. I was expecting it though. Jess thought it would be safer that way in case Discord pulled any of his mind whammies. If I could sense where she was then Discord might be able to read that in my head."

Darien huffed a half-hearted chuckle. "And it also prevents you from seeing her if she is up to some mischief."

"Shit!" Drew and Andrew cursed together.

There were two orange blurs, and then both Sailor Venus's were standing with them.

"Heads up, guys! We've got incoming," Venus blurted before she had even come to a full stop.

"How many?" Endymion demanded.

Eternal Venus's expression was grave. "A lot. And none of the others have made it back yet."

"Then we have no choice. We have to fight," Serenity declared. Then she bent down and grasped the white fabric of her skirt in both hands, just above the knee, and pulled hard. The bottom half of the skirt tore away with a ripping sound.

"Serena!" Eternal Venus gasped in horror. "Is it all dresses that you have something against, or just the ones that I make? Because it seems like every time you destroy a dress it happens to be one of mine."

The queen rolled her eyes. "The dress is replaceable, Mina. Human lives are not. The fight is obviously coming to us. And since I can't transform into Sailor Moon anymore, I have to improvise. If things turn physical I won't be able to kick with that long skirt in my way." She looked down at her feet and grinned. "I'm just glad I won the battle against Luna and Nebula this morning and wore flats. They wanted me in stilettos. My balance has gotten better with time, but I don't like to press my luck."

"If I have my way you won't be involved in any hands on fighting," Endymion growled.

Serenity stuck her tongue out at him. "And since when do you ever get your way, darling?"

She plucked the crown from her head and set it gently aside, and then she pulled the hairpins from her _"meatballs"_. Her hair spilled down her back like a golden river of silk, just brushing the ground, but she began quickly gathering it and twisting it up to get it out of her way. She produced a scrunchie that she'd had hidden in a pocket of her dress and wound it around the mass.

Sailor Moon grinned at her as she finished her preparations. "I guess in times like this you miss being able to just hold up a brooch and transform."

Serenity smiled in return. "More than you know. If I had been thinking straight earlier I would have brought the Luna Pen with me."

"That's assuming you remember where you left it the last time you used it," Endymion teased her.

"Don't be a jerk!" she snapped back. "Now I think I should see about getting the people who are still watching us moved back to a safer location." She went over to one of the nearby guards to speak with him. A few moments later he and the other guards began directing the horde of people back toward the palace itself.

"And we should be getting back to the palace grounds' boundary line," Eternal Venus said. "It is quite a large group of enemy forces heading our way, and there are no signs of the other scouts or generals yet. Our best bet is to try to hold them at the outer perimeter and hope that the others make it here before they overrun us."

"Once they do you'll be able to cast your energy to protect the palace the way you did during the Black Moon invasion, won't you?" Sailor Moon asked as she fell into step beside her.

Eternal Venus nodded hesitantly. "Yes. But though it will help, it is not an ideal solution. Once we put up the shield we will be unable to fight. The palace and surrounding grounds will be under complete lockdown, meaning that nothing negative can get in. That also means that if there are any negative forces inside the grounds at the time they will be locked in with us. So there could still be a fight once the barrier is in place."

Sailor Moon summoned her moon tier to her hand and twirled it in her fingers. "Then we'll just have to do all we can to make sure as few of those freaks as possible make it inside."

"Whoa, Serena," Darien told her, taking her elbow by the hand. "Just hold on a minute here. You are still weak from using the crystal. I don't think you should just go jumping into the middle of a fight and start blasting away at everything. It could be dangerous for you."

She growled softly and jerked her arm away from him. "We are so not having this conversation right now. I told you before, I will do everything in my power to help protect this city, and I meant it. I will deal with the consequences to myself later."

"Damn, stubborn woman!" Darien groaned as he watched her walk away. His armor clinked softly as he shifted his weight restlessly.

"Yes she is. But you should know that by now," Endymion commented as he stepped up next to him. "And I'm sure the thoughts going through your dear fiancées head are the same as the ones my wife is having right now. They're upset that our plans have changed so radically. As long as the security grid was in place they could focus all of their energy into blanketing the city. But none of us were prepared for Discord to try a direct assault on the city. And now that the main security crystal is destroyed and Discord and his army are running rampant over the city, they are willing to face it head-on, without a thought to the danger they are putting themselves in."

"So where does that leave us? What do we do?" Darien asked grimly.

Endymion's lips twisted into a kind of half grin. "We do what we've always done. We fight by her side and try to give her all the support we can. But at the same time we watch her like a hawk and be prepared to step in to protect her if we have to…even if it's from herself."

Darien returned the grin ruefully. "I guess that is what we do best."

They all congregated outside the main gate of the palace, ten warriors with determined expressions as they faced down the mob of monsters that were making their way toward the palace. A quick glance over told them that they were outnumbered three to one, but they didn't waver.

A few of the guardians paused for a second at the unexpected show of force. But after studying Neo Queen Serenity, King Endymion, Sailor Moon, Prince Endymion, Eternal Venus, Kunz, Venus, Kunzite, Drew, and Andrew for a moment, they shrugged and continued forward.

"Ah, hell! Jess is going to be pissed that she missed this," Andrew snorted. A bronze glow surrounded him as he powered up to his full solarian form, the gleaming bronze armor and the sweeping copper cape with its dark blue lining taking the place of his black pants, shirt, and long leather duster.

For just a second as he transformed, he felt a spark in his connection with Jess. In it he felt her anxiety and fear for him. He tried to grasp hold of it to let her know that he was okay and to check on her as well. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

But he didn't have any more time to think about it as the horde of demons descended on them. He jumped in full force along with the others, slashing with his sword in one hand while shooting energy blasts with the other.

Time slowed to a crawl for all of them, making it impossible to gauge how long they had been fighting. It could have been five minutes or five hours. All Serenity knew was that she felt like she had been fighting for days. She had already been weak from using the Silver Crystal earlier, but now she felt positively drained. Her muscles shook from fatigue that only grew worse after every attack she launched.

She had summoned her tall scepter to help her direct her powers, as had Endymion. They had been fighting back to back since the battle had started, never straying more than a couple of yards away from each other. But a minute ago a lion sentinel had lunged for her, and Endymion had pushed her out of the way to confront it himself. She'd lost sight of him in the mob and hadn't seen him since. A quick check with their bond told her that he was okay and searching for her as well.

A flash of orange and a shrill scream had her head snapping around to see that a female guardian had grabbed Venus by the hair and had jerked her to the ground. It grinned maniacally, red eyes glowing hotly, as it opened its mouth to bare its fangs.

Kunzite was several yards away, locked in a battle with two male guardians. He was trying his best to get by them to help his new bride, but they barred his way at every turn. His eyes widened in horror as the demonic female bent over and dove for Venus's neck.

Serenity quickly summoned her flailing energy and prepared to attack the monster herself. Mina was one of her closest friends, and if her past self were killed, her future self would cease to exist. And she couldn't let that happen.

But before she could attack she heard a voice similar to her own scream, "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!" And a bright silver blast of energy hit the guardian with such force that it was instantly vaporized.

And then Sailor Moon was on her knees at Venus's side, looking every bit as exhausted as she felt. Taking out one of these freaks by yourself with one shot was extremely draining, but her younger self was trying valiantly to hide those effects as she checked on her friend to make sure she was okay.

Then she heard a loud boom, followed by the screams of many people, and spun around to look wildly toward the palace. To her horror, several of the beasts they were fighting had made it past them and were now forcing their way into the palace. The regular palace guards were trying their best to stand up to the intruders, but they were merely human with no powers. Several bodies already lay unconscious on the ground.

Serenity felt like screaming. The palace was full of innocent people. Her family, both by blood and by extension, was in there, as was a large part of the population of the city that trusted her to keep them safe.

Rage boiled through her, giving her a shot of adrenaline that reenergized her and set her feet in motion toward the palace. Without thinking about it, she blasted two guardians that got in her way, lashing out with strong enough attacks to reduce them both two a pile of dust in seconds. That should have been enough to bring her to her knees, but she kept going. She didn't care if it meant sacrificing her own life; she had to save the people in the palace.

"Serena!" she heard Endymion, at least she thought it was Endymion, yell in the distance. But she ignored him. He'd probably rake her over the coals for it later, if she survived, but she was determined to protect the palace.

She felt a fissure run through the air and spun around in time to see a massive wolf sentinel leaping through the air toward her. Knowing she didn't have time to even begin to defend herself, she froze.

Then something swirled in front of her. Black and red flashed across her vision along with a glint of silver. And then something slammed into her fairly hard. She felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time, cool metal armor beneath her fingers, as she fell to the ground with the heavier weight on top of her.

Gold light flashed around them as the ground shook under her back.

And then she heard a voice screaming, "Darien! Darien! DARIEN!"

Silver light exploded, swallowing the gold.

And everything went eerily silent.

* * *

**A/N **Yes, I know. The evil cliffhanger strikes again. Sorry! I know that until now the battle has been kind of strewn out over many different places, but that is all about to change. The next chapter should see the end of the battle, but not the end of the story just yet. We still have some weddings to get out of the way. And there may be another twist or two thrown in before Discord's final fate is decided, but I don't want to give anything away. I have a few ideas bouncing in my head that may make it into the final draft before all is said in done. Okay, so _Rekindled _is my next focus once I get back home, so I'm hoping to post on it sometime during the first part of next week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that anyway. So I'm out of here for now. To those of you who are American like me, Happy Belated Turkey Day! And I hope that everyone else is doing great as well! Please drop me those reviews and let me know what you think! Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~

P.S. BTW I know I usually do a Christmas one-shot or short story every year, but this year has flown by so quickly that I haven't really thought about it. I would like to do one though. I'm just having trouble coming up with a concept. So if anyone has any ideas they would like to pass on, please feel free to share them with me. Some of my best ideas have come from you guys!


	44. Power Play

**A/N **Yes, I'm still alive. And believe it or not, this story just might be too. I'm sorry about the long wait, but life has been rather crazy lately. My grandfather, who had been sick for a while, took a turn for the worst right around Christmas and recently passed away. So I have been traveling a lot and having to deal with family issues, which hasn't left me much time to devote to my writing. I do want to say thank you to all of you who read the DJ/Katie Christmas story, _Catching Dreams_, and left such wonderful reviews. Sadly, that was not supposed to be my main holiday story this year, it just happened to be the one I had finished before all the madness in my life descended. I have a Princess Serenity/Prince Endymion multi-part Christmas story that I was hoping to get up in time for the holidays, but unfortunately it is still incomplete and sitting on my flash drive. Maybe I'll get a wild hair and finish it up and post it out of season. Hmm…a Christmas story for Valentine's Day or Easter wouldn't be too strange…would it?

Anyway, this chapter was originally longer…a whole lot longer. I meant for the battle to end in this posting, so when it grew to massive proportions I started taking out scenes, which I felt completely killed the direction I wanted this story to go. So I've decided to split it into two chapters and have restored it in its entirety, which makes me feel loads better. Now I'm working on revamping the second half. In any case, I hope you guys like this.

Also, some of you may have noticed my new avatar. It's a picture of DJ, Katie, and Alex during this final battle. I have a very dedicated reader who had this made for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Thank you again, Meg! It was, without a doubt, one of the best Christmas gifts ever! You rock!

Sorry for not giving out individual hugs for reviews this time guys, but you know who you are. I appreciate each and every one of you. I hope you all know that. So here's a giant hug from me to all of you. I couldn't continue doing this without your support. Now, on with the show!

_**ENJOY!**_

**Last time on GT…**

_Serenity felt like screaming. The palace was full of innocent people. Her family, both by blood and by extension, was in there, as was a large part of the population of the city that trusted her to keep them safe._

_Rage boiled through her, giving her a shot of adrenaline that reenergized her and set her feet in motion toward the palace. Without thinking about it, she blasted two guardians that got in her way, lashing out with strong enough attacks to reduce them both two a pile of dust in seconds. That should have been enough to bring her to her knees, but she kept going. She didn't care if it meant sacrificing her own life; she had to save the people in the palace._

"_Serena!" she heard Endymion, at least she thought it was Endymion, yell in the distance. But she ignored him. He'd probably rake her over the coals for it later, if she survived, but she was determined to protect the palace._

_She felt a fissure run through the air and spun around in time to see a massive wolf sentinel leaping through the air toward her. Knowing she didn't have time to even begin to defend herself, she froze._

_Then something swirled in front of her. Black and red flashed across her vision along with a glint of silver. And then something slammed into her fairly hard. She felt something that she hadn't felt in a long time, cool metal armor beneath her fingers, as she fell to the ground with the heavier weight on top of her._

_Gold light flashed around them as the ground shook under her back._

_And then she heard a voice screaming, "Darien! Darien! DARIEN!"_

_Silver light exploded, swallowing the gold._

_And everything went eerily silent._

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 41

Power Play

* * *

Serenity felt like she had been sucked into a vacuum as Silver Crystal energy that was not of her making surrounded her. Combined with the weight that lay heavily on top of her, she almost felt like she was suffocating.

It was a very strange sensation to not be able to see or hear anything. In fact, it was almost as if she had been struck with complete sensory deprivation. There was not even the slightest rustle of sound around her and the backs of her eyelids were just a plain white page.

Then slowly, as if waking from a dream, her senses began returning. It began as a low whistle in her ears, like a teapot that had reached its boiling point but was far away. Gradually, it began growing louder and louder until she was able to start identifying the individual noises; the shrieks, screams, snarls, and growls.

Soon after that the light suddenly faded, making her feel like it was now safe for her to open her eyes without the threat of her retinas being burned out. She cracked her eyes open experimentally to test whether her theory was right, only to have them fly open in shock less than a second later.

The face pressed next to hers was one that she knew as well as her own. She had spent many nights over the years, in both of her lives, tracing her fingers over those high cheekbones, firm jaw, and straight nose. And that glossy black hair that fell over the closed eyes that she knew were the deepest sapphire blue behind their lids was the same hair that she adored tunneling her fingers into as she snuggled in bed with her husband at night.

But she also knew immediately that the man on top of her was not the man she had married…exactly. In a way he was, but even though the armored breastplate digging into her ribs was a huge giveaway to his identity, she recognized the other little signs, like how this face lacked the few tiny lines around the eyes and mouth brought on by years of laughter and stress.

And then abruptly his body was pulled away from her and a nearly identical face was hovering over hers.

"Sere!" Endymion cried worriedly as he began running his hands over her in search of injuries.

"I'm fine," she told him, batting his hands gently away. Then, with a bit of his help, she sat up. She tried to take a deep breath and almost immediately choked on dust. "What happened?"

Endymion was still fussing over her slightly, tucking loose pieces of her hair behind her ears and swiping at the dirt and dust on her skin. "It all happened so fast. After we were separated I was trying to make my way back to you. But two guardians and a sentinel boxed me in. Luckily, Drew and Andrew were close by and were able to give me a hand. I had just gotten away from them when I felt your anxiety spike and saw you sprinting away with a sentinel right behind you. I yelled after you and tried to get an attack off, but I knew that it would be too late. Then out of nowhere, my past self threw himself on top of you to protect you."

Serenity looked over at Darien, who was lying only about two feet away from her. His princely armor had faded, returning to the tuxedo of his alter ego. But what concerned her was the blood that she could see beginning to seep into the white fabric of his shirt. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Endymion told her as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm still here, aren't I? He managed to put up a barrier to protect you both, but I think the sentinel's claws caught him just before it was complete. They must have found a weak spot in the armor. I always said that it had a few design flaws."

"I completely agree with you," Tuxedo Mask groaned as he came to. His eyes slowly opened to look at his future self. But when his gaze fell on Serenity they flared wide.

"Serena!" he exclaimed as he struggled to push himself into a sitting position. His breath hissed painfully between his teeth. "Where is she? Is she okay? The last thing I remember is feeling her panic. And then it felt like she, I don't know, exploded."

"Take it easy," Endymion cautioned him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You need to heal yourself first. Sentinel poisoning is nothing to fool around with. And as for Serena, well, I guess saying that she exploded is a good way of putting it. She had a freak out moment when she saw that sentinel attack you and lashed out with the Silver Crystal. It was a meltdown I think even Jess could be proud out."

Serenity smacked him on the shoulder. "Oh, ha ha! You wouldn't think it was so cute if the Silver Crystal had drained her and I vanished along with Rini and DJ. Would you?"

That shut the king up.

Tuxedo Mask was still struggling weakly against his future self, his pain evident in the way he clenched his jaw and the tightening of the skin around his eyes and mouth. "But where is she? I can't sense her."

"Calm down, buddy. She's right here," Andrew told him as he approached. He held an unconscious Serena in his arms. Her blue jean clad legs dangled over one arm while her head lolled against the other, her long blonde ponytail hiding half of her face.

"She's out cold, but she seems to be okay," he explained to his friend as he laid Serena down next to him. "She put on one hell of a show though. She went supernova and fried every scumbag around here."

"Almost every scumbag," Kunzite chuckled as he, Kunz, and both Venus's joined them. "There were a couple of them that were on the outskirts of the fighting, and they hightailed it out of here real quick when they saw their comrades exploding into dust. But she still took out more than a dozen of those bastards on her own, and that is impressive."

Tuxedo Mask heard the words of praise being said, but he barely paid attention to them. He was too busy looking Serena over to make sure that she was really okay. He heaved a large sigh of relief when he checked her pulse and found it to be normal. And her chest moved up and down in a steady rhythm as she took deep, even breaths.

Then his head began spinning dizzily and he felt a burning in his veins. He knew it was the sentinel's venom making its way through his system and he quickly tapped into the healing powers of the Golden Crystal. Gradually the dizziness and burning vanished and he felt a quick sting on his back as the few scratches the sentinel had managed to give him just under his right shoulder blade healed themselves.

He was bone weary when he was done, but he couldn't help but do one final thing. He placed a still-glowing hand on Serena's chest and shared just enough energy with her to wake her up. She'd probably fuss at him about it, but he needed to see her awake to give himself peace of mind.

Her body jumped under his hand and she sucked in a gasping breath as his energy passed from his body to hers. His transformation faded away just as she slowly blinked her eyes open.

For several long seconds she just stared at him. Then her crystalline blue orbs began filling with tears. Her arms crept up at a snail's pace, almost like they were too heavy for her to lift, to wrap around his neck.

Being in a weakened state himself, Darien found himself easily pulled down on top of her as she held him close. Then he felt her breath brush his ear as she barely whispered, "You are in so much trouble."

He managed to raise his head a bit to look down at her. A ghost of a smile played around his lips. "And what would you have done if it had been Endymion who was in danger?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip as her cheeks flushed, which gave him his answer. If she had seen his future self about to be attacked from behind she would have thrown herself into the middle of the situation with no concern about the possible danger to herself.

"I rest my case," he told her in a slightly smug tone.

"What the hell is going on?" Sailor Mars demanded as she arrived with the rest of the inner scouts and generals, both past and present, along with Talon, Evan, Kyrian, and Julian. When she saw Serena lying on the ground she immediately went into protective friend mode. "Serena, are you okay?"

"She'll be fine, Raye," Serenity answered quickly. "She and Darien have just over-extended themselves in using their crystals, that's all. But am I sure glad to see all of you."

With Endymion's help she stood up and quickly reassumed her leadership role. "We are in a tight spot and need to take immediate action. The kids hit a slight snag in their plan and had to return here briefly. But they have gone back outside the city now and will try to lure Discord out to face them. Jess and her past self have hidden in order to keep from igniting a fight between them and Discord. But a few enemies have managed to infiltrate the palace, so that is our main concern at the moment. We need to do whatever we can to clear the palace and secure it."

"What did you have in mind?" Eternal Mercury asked her.

She thought for a moment. "We need the protective shield up. I want my scouts to make their way to the security room and cast their energy, just like they did when the Dark Moon attacked. Take your husbands with you so that they can stand guard for you."

Eternal Venus nodded her head. "We can do that."

"The rest of us are going to have to concentrate on getting rid of the guardians and sentinels that have gotten inside," Endymion stated. "I don't think there are more than a handful of them, but the palace is full of powerless people that don't stand a chance against them. So break into pairs and start scouring the palace. Check every room for any sign of them. If you find anyone who has been infected by their venom, contact me. Healing them will be my main focus."

"Talon," Serenity spoke up softly. "I want you and your group to head immediately up to the third floor. Your family is there as well as all of ours. I'm trusting you to keep everyone safe."

Talon bowed his head respectfully. "I will protect them all with my life."

"What about us? What do you want us to do?" Drew asked, gesturing to his past self. "I know you don't expect us to stand around and do nothing."

Serenity's expression turned calculating. "Of course not. In fact, I'm giving you one of the most important assignments. She turned to pin Serena and Darien with a sly look where they still lay in exhausted heaps on the ground.

Serena immediately began shaking her head. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes," Serenity informed her in a voice that left little room for argument.

* * *

"This isn't working, you guys," Alex grumbled as he lowered his arm to his side. "That was the sixth energy blast we've sent up trying to get Discord's attention, and he still isn't showing any signs of coming out."

"The bastard is ignoring us," Katie fumed. "If he is too much of a coward to come out and face us, I say we go in after him. We can kick his ass just as easily in there as we can out here."

"And we could also level the entire city in the process," DJ snorted. "You heard what Kunzite and Mina said earlier. Not everyone was willing to relocate to the palace during the fight, which means that there could be people hiding in the buildings. If we go in and start blasting people could be killed. And I don't want anyone's death on my hands."

"None of us want that," Sailor Crescent Moon stated firmly. "But we still have to come up with what to do next. The longer we let him continue, the worse it's going to be."

"Well I'm up for hearing it if anyone has any ideas. It looks like mom and the others have the palace on lockdown for now. But I don't know if even that will stop Discord's forces for long," Callisto pointed out as she nodded her head in the direction of the palace where a rainbow of blue, red, green, and orange light had shot up into the sky.

Flame nudged Caloris with his shoulder. "Tell them what you told me a minute ago, Hannah."

The small, blue haired scout shrugged uncertainly. "There's not really anything to tell. It was just a thought."

Ishtar tossed her long blonde hair back. "Any idea is a good idea at this point. If you have something on your mind then spit it out."

Caloris sighed, but snapped open her blue hand-held computer. "Okay, I was thinking that we could do this…"

* * *

"Deep Submerge!" Sailor Neptune called out as she felt the sensation of ocean waves crashing around her. A second later a ball of aqua blue energy flew from her hands toward an approaching sentinel that resembled an overlarge, rabid coyote.

A second cry of, "Submarine Reflection!" rang out at almost the same time, and a wave of energy in the same color joined her attack. The two slammed into the sentinel and it burst into dust.

Eternal Neptune laughed softly. "Nothing like a bit of teamwork, hmm?"

Neptune nodded in agreement. "It does come in handy. Now I just wish we could convince a couple of others to do the same."

"Amara has always been overly competitive, as I'm sure you well know," Eternal Neptune commented as she looked over to where two shorthaired blonde scouts were fighting a short distance away. "She's not even above trying to compete with herself."

Neptune giggled slightly. "They are both too stubborn to realize that they could rack up more kills if they worked together instead of trying to see which one of them can take out more than the other."

"Have you actually expected her to change after all of these years?" Eternal Saturn asked as she jogged up to them, followed by her younger self.

Saturn crossed her arms and huffed. "What do you expect after she's spent so many years competing against men? I'm all for sexual equality, but she takes it to a whole other level."

Pluto joined them in her stealthy way, seeming to materialize out of nowhere. "I think now would be a good time for us to think about going ahead and putting up a shield. The immediate area is clear for the moment, but there are enemy forces still all around. It will be easier to protect the medical district that way."

"But it will be less fun," Eternal Uranus chuckled as she loped up.

Uranus elbowed her future self with a grin. "I don't think the others find as much fun in fighting as we do."

"I'm afraid not," Pluto drawled dryly as she rolled her eyes. "Now I was thinking. Usually it would take all four of us outer scouts in order to erect a barrier, especially one of considerable size. But with the visitors from the past being here our numbers have increased significantly. With that being the case, I was wondering if the six of you could handle this on your own. I have a few situations that I would like to check in on."

"Of course we can handle it. It's not that big of a deal," Eternal Uranus scoffed.

Eternal Saturn gazed at the time guardian with wide, solemn eyes. "Be careful, Trista-mama."

Pluto smiled at her and ruffled the younger woman's hair before doing the same to Saturn. "All of you be careful too."

As she disappeared in a puff of pink smoke she murmured to herself, "You girls will be fine. If all goes according to what I have seen, you won't have to expend your energy for long."

* * *

"Is everyone in here okay?" Serenity asked as she looked around one of the drawing rooms on the ground floor of the palace. It was filled mostly with middle-aged couples, though there were a few older teenagers and young adults in the mix, probably their children.

"We're all fine, your majesty," a young woman who didn't look much older than her early twenties answered her. She sat on a small settee next to a young man who looked only a year or two older than her as she cradled a small, blanket wrapped infant to her chest. Four older adults, two men and two women, obviously their parents, hovered behind them protectively.

One of the men spoke up. "We've heard that some of the monsters managed to make it inside the palace, but so far we haven't seen any. There was a loud commotion from toward the ballroom a few minutes ago though."

Serenity nodded. "I'll check it out. In the meantime, all of you stay here and lock the door. I know a locked door might not be able to stop one of those creatures from getting in, but it will slow them down for a moment. The scouts and generals are patrolling the halls to try and catch them. Somebody will give you the all clear when it is safe to come out."

She started to turn away, but was stopped when a hand reached out to grab hers. She looked down into the eyes of the young mother.

The woman blushed slightly before murmuring, "You saved my life once before when I was a little girl. It was back before the Great Freeze. I was shopping with my mother when a monster attacked. I was very young, so I don't remember much about it, but I remember you picking me up and telling me that everything was going to be okay before handing me to my mother. I know you can beat these guys. So go get them Sailor Moon!"

Serenity shared a smile with her, and then ran a hand over the sleeping baby's head. "I'm going to try my best."

She slipped out into the hall just as Endymion came out from another room across the way. "Everything okay in there?" she asked him.

He nodded. "I had one man I had to heal. He was bitten by a sentinel while trying to get his fiancée to safety. It wasn't serious though. But they did tell me that they were near the ballroom when the attack happened."

"I heard the same thing," she told him. "I guess that's the direction that we should be heading."

They hurried down the hall, stopping at the rooms they passed along the way to check on the people inside. There were a few injuries that required Endymion's attention, but for the most part the citizens were just anxious and afraid. But they seemed to draw courage from the sight of their king and queen trying to protect them. They ran into Mercury where two corridors met.

"I'm sure glad to see you," the blue haired scout told them. "Zoicite and I just took out a sentinel down this way, but it managed to get a hold of a few people before we got there. Nobody has been killed, but there is one boy who looks pretty chewed up. Zoicite has the injured gathered in this room." She gestured to a nearby door.

Endymion went in to heal the injured while Serenity and Mercury stayed in the hall. After a moment, Mercury spoke up. "I just spoke to Venus. She and Kunzite are on the opposite side of the palace and have found and destroyed a guardian and a sentinel so far. No injuries to report there. I guess the people did a good job of getting out of the way when they realized the enemy had come inside."

Serenity rubbed her temple where it was beginning to throb lightly. "That's good. What about the others?"

The Mercury computer appeared in Sailor Mercury's hand. "Mars, Jadeite, Jupiter, and Nephrite are one floor up. They caught a couple of guardians and sentinels on the stairs on the way up, but haven't found anything else so far. It seems we got here before they moved past the first floor. I was trying to track where they were, but my readings have gotten fuzzy since the guardian scouts started casting their powers. My last scans did show a possible enemy in the central area of the ground floor."

"The ballroom," Serenity stated. "That's where Darien and I are going to check next. We've had a couple of people tell us that there was some activity going on there. I just hope we're not to late to stop someone from getting killed. There were a lot of people in there earlier. It would like being a kid in a candy store to Discord's flunkies."

Endymion and Zoicite came out of the room where they had been tending the injured. Zoicite's gray uniform was sporting a few blood spots, but otherwise looked like his usual, unruffled self. The king, on the other hand, was a bit paler than normal and slightly shaky.

Serenity was at his side in an instant, pushing back his sweat dampened bangs to look into is eyes. "Are you all right?"

He took her hands in his, removing them from his face. "I'm fine. I'm just starting to feel a tiny bit run down from all the healing I've had to do. Now, let's go check out the ballroom."

"Do you want us to come with you?" Zoicite asked immediately.

Endymion waved a hand toward the next corridor. "No. Serena and I can handle anything we come across. You and Amy keep checking that way. We can't afford to leave any stone unturned."

Still gripping one of his wife's hands in his, the two of them almost sprinted into the main foyer of the palace.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Serenity asked worriedly.

He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry about me, love. I still have a lot of juice left in me. I have to admit that it would be a bit easier if my past self hadn't tapped himself out and was here to help, but I can't really complain. He saved your life."

"Yes, you did," she murmured as they turned toward the large doors that were behind the grand staircase that led into the ballroom. She shared an apprehensive look with her husband as they heard the yells coming from behind the doors.

"I hope we're not too late," Endymion muttered as he twisted the handle and flung the doors open wide. He and Serenity froze as they took in the unbelievable sight before them.

It was like walking into a stadium during a professional wrestling match. People were everywhere, even standing on tables and chairs, as they shouted animatedly and waved their fists in the air. They all seemed to be focused on something that was happening in the middle of the room.

"What in the world…" Serenity exclaimed.

A woman nearby heard her and turned around. Her eyes widened for a moment, and then she began screaming, "Make way, everyone! The king and queen are here!"

Just like magic, the sea of people parted, giving the stunned monarchs a clear view as to what was causing all of the excitement. Their jaws dropped.

A group of close to fifty men and women stood in the middle of the room, all of them holding various items in their hands. Many of the women wielded large handbags and several older teens were swinging backpacks. Some of the men had removed their belts while others had picked up lamps. One large man in particular held a rather heavy chair in his hands.

And in the middle of the fray, lying curled up in a ball on the floor, was a male guardian who had to be at least thirteen or fourteen feet tall. Amazingly, this group of ordinary humans had managed to take him down and subdue him.

"We were just keeping him entertained until you got here," one of the men called out, causing a cheer to ripple through the crowd.

"But how did you…I don't understand," Serenity murmured in confusion.

A woman reached out to grab her hand. "We don't have powers like you and your guards do, but we weren't about to just sit here and let that overgrown ass come in here and kill us all."

Other shouts began echoing around the room.

"That's right! It's time we showed these monsters what the people of Crystal Tokyo are really made of!"

"They can't expect to come into our city and push us around!"

"We're sending out a message that we fight back!"

Serenity looked up at Endymion with tears in her eyes. "Are you hearing this?"

He nodded. "We've always said that we had some of the best people in the world living right here at home."

A loud snarl broke the moment as the guardian surged to its feet. Its red eyes darted around angrily as it glared at its attackers. Dark energy swirled around it as it prepared to retaliate.

Serenity readied her scepter. "I don't think so!"

A blast of silver energy left the scepter, joined milliseconds later by golden energy from Endymion's. The two attacks hit the guardian and immediately vaporized him.

The room was swallowed by dead silence for about ten seconds…and then the cheers erupted.

"God bless Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion!"

"Long live Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask!"

* * *

_**Elysian – The Far Future**_

"I knew I shouldn't have drank all that juice," Katie grumbled as she rinsed soap from her hands and then dried them on a small towel. "I swear I feel like I'm spending half of my time in the bathroom since I found out I'm pregnant. First it was the horrible morning sickness. Now it seems like I have to pee every ten minutes. And I'm not even that pregnant yet! I'm still wearing my own clothes for crying out loud!"

But she couldn't deny that the blue jeans that she had on at the moment were a bit tighter than they had been when she had worn them the week before. A part of her wished that she could claim that they had shrunk in the wash, but she couldn't fool herself. The jeans were the same size they had always been. She was the one who was changing.

She turned sideways and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Nobody who saw her would even be able to tell that she was pregnant, but she knew her body and what to look for. Sure, she had put on some weight since she had left Discord's service and started eating regularly again and getting proper rest, but she knew that slight rounding of her belly wasn't caused by the amounts of food she had been inhaling recently.

And she certainly knew that eating hadn't caused other parts of her body to swell. She looked down at her chest and sighed. She had always been a nice healthy C-cup, but this morning her breasts had protested painfully when she had tried to put on her bra. She'd flung the lacy undergarment away in disgust and opted to wear one of DJ's shirts instead of one of her usual tank tops. At least they had more room.

She ran a hand lovingly over her stomach. "Well, Allie, I guess I'll be in the market for maternity clothes soon. Of course I may end up having to wear a bed sheet like a toga if I don't get out of here soon. I'm afraid Elysian isn't exactly a hot spot for retail businesses looking to open shop. What I need is access to a city and a credit card."

She giggled as she felt the fluttering tickle deep inside her. "I know. Momma's being silly, isn't she? I have a feeling we'll be getting out of here one way or another soon enough. It all depends on what happens in the past. Speaking of which, I suppose we better be getting back to your daddy and the others and see what's going on."

She opened the bathroom door and stepped out, only to almost collide with Sailor Pluto as she appeared in a puff of smoke. She staggered back a step, slapping a hand to her mouth as she squeaked, "Trista!"

The time guardian held a finger to her lips. "Shh! I don't want anyone else to know I'm here."

"But you're supposed to be at the battle. I just saw you there in Helios's viewing portal," Katie babbled.

"I know," Pluto whispered. "But there are a few things I needed to take care of. One of them is to give you this." She placed something in the younger woman's hand.

Katie looked down at the small object, and lifted startled eyes to her. "Why are you giving me this?"

Pluto spoke in a voice that was barely above a hiss. "Because the pathway to the future has been narrowed down to two choices, both of them quite favorable I might add. But in one of the possible scenarios you are going to need this."

"For what?" Katie mumbled, still confused.

Pluto just gave her one of her mysterious smiles. "You'll know what to do if the time arises. I have faith in you."

Katie smirked. "Is this another one of your insurance plans, like sending my daughter and nephews into the past?"

The time guardian's smile grew bigger. "I guess you'll just have to wait and see." And then she vanished again.

Katie looked once more at what she held before slipping the object into the tight pocket of her jeans, cursing a bit under her breath when it didn't want to fit into the constricted space. She finally got it concealed and hurried back to join the others.

"There you are," DJ said as she sat next to him on the couch.

She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. It took me a minute since someone keeps refilling my glass every time it gets low."

DJ chuckled. "I'm not apologizing. Juice is healthy for you. And I only want the best for my girls."

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully before giggling. And then she turned her full attention to the events unfolding in the viewing portal.

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

"What now, genius?" Sailor Shadow hissed to her future self.

Eternal Shadow speared her with a sharp glare. "I could do without your smart ass comments."

Shadow just shrugged. "Sarcasm is my middle name."

"It should be pain in the ass. Honestly! Are you sure we're the same person," Eternal Shadow grumbled. "And to answer your question, I have no damn idea what the hell to do next."

Shadow let out an irritated growl. "I thought you had this planned out. After all, this was all your big idea. I guess you didn't take possible setbacks into consideration."

"Would you just shut the hell up!" Eternal Shadow growled right back. "I didn't do this back when I was in your position, so I'm flying just as blindly as you are. But Trista and I had several conversations about this. She knew that there could be some changes in the way that things unfolded, so we sort of hashed out this idea in case Discord actually managed to get into the city. So why don't you back off and cut me a bit off slack before I have to plant my fist down your throat!"

"Fine! But you don't have to get so pissy!" Shadow grumbled. After a minute she heaved a sigh. "Anyway, seriously, any thoughts about what we should do now? Maybe we should try to find a different spot."

Eternal Shadow shook her head. "I don't know where we could go. Trista and I picked this spot specifically because of its height and relatively central location. Those two things are important if we want what we are going to do to work."

Shadow arched a brow at her. "And what exactly _are _we going to do? You still haven't explained that part to me yet."

The older woman leaned back against the brick wall behind her and sighed. "When Kyrian was training you in Elysian he was reporting back to me on your progress. And from what I can tell you caught on to things very quickly, maybe even faster than I did. He also believes that you are capable of making a shield big enough to cover the city, just like I did earlier."

"I think I can," Shadow replied hesitantly. "But unfortunately I would run into the same problems you did earlier. The bigger the shield is, the more unstable it is. It would be full of cracks that anybody could slip right through."

"But not if you started out small and slowly expanded it," Eternal Shadow told her. "I'm sure you've found that if you do that you have an easier time channeling your energy and are able to keep better control of it. I didn't do that earlier because it was necessary to get the city covered as quickly as possible. So I threw up the biggest shield I could in the shortest amount of time."

Shadow shook her head. "But why put up a shield around the city now? All of the enemies are inside. Surely you don't want to trap them, especially him," she glanced up at the dark cloud above them and then looked down to the mist that was slowly crawling through the streets below, "inside here with us. The kids are trying to lure him out."

Eternal Shadow's expression turned smug. "And we're going to help them by pushing him out. We're also going to take out what's left of his so called army while we're at it."

"Okay, now you've lost me," Shadow grumbled as she pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation. "How exactly do you propose that we push out the big baddie and annihilate a small army on our own? I know you're not proposing that we go nuclear, because that would kind of defeat the purpose of trying to save the world if we destroy it."

"Of course not!" Eternal Shadow snorted. "But what I'm thinking could be risky to us both. Just like you, I too have a hard time trying to both create a shield and try to radiate the energy for an attack through it at the same time. So I was thinking that you could handle making the shield and I will handle funneling the attack energy. As the shield grows it will instantly fry any of the guardians and sentinels it comes into contact with. Discord won't want to take any chances with it for fear of getting sealed away again, so he will retreat, giving the kids the opportunity to strike."

Shadow gaped at her. "Have you lost your mind? You're talking about activating both Celestial Crystals at the same time, and in close proximity to each other! We could level Crystal Tokyo and every other city around the world! That's if the planet doesn't explode first."

Her future self's eyes narrowed. "Do you have so little faith in your ability to control your power?"

"I can control it!" Shadow snapped. "And I'm sure you're even better at it than I am. But still, that's a lot of power to be released at once. Talk about a double whammy!"

"I warned you that this could be dangerous," Eternal Shadow muttered.

Shadow crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to her. "I'm not worried for my sake. I'm worried about everyone else. A lot of people could be hurt or killed if we screw up. Not to mention that Katie and Alex won't exist if I die."

Eternal Shadow placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed tightly. "Then we'll just have to make sure we don't screw up. I do think this could work, but I can't do it without you."

Shadow looked over toward Starlight Tower, which was only about forty feet away from them and crawling with guardians and sentinels. "Okay, I'm in. And I see why the tower is the perfect location. So how are we going to manage to get past all our little friends?"

Eternal Shadow chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm still trying to figure that one out. Maybe we'll get lucky and a miracle will happen."

* * *

Talon sprinted up the staircase of the palace with Evan, Kyrian, and Julian hot on his heels. They had run into a couple of guardians and sentinels along the way, but they had been taken care of by the scouts and generals who were going to check out the second floor, leaving the way open for them to continue to the third.

They were making good progress until they reach the third floor landing. Then they were practically run over by a horde of people who must have fled to the upper level when the enemy made it inside. They were mostly young high school or college aged girls, and they appeared wild and panicked. Several of them were screaming, "Monsters!" as they ran by, pushing each other as they fought to get back down the stairs.

"Shit! I was hoping that none of them had made it this far yet!" Talon hissed, fear for his wife, daughter, and youngest son slapping him hard.

The group of sorcerers began running down the halls, flinging open doors and checking rooms along the way. This floor mostly housed the private apartments for the scouts, generals, and the royal family, along with rooms set aside for family and friends that visited them. All of them were empty.

They flew around corners and through the winding halls, checking all of the parlors and sitting rooms. But as they neared the recreation room they began to hear crashes and screams that curdled their blood.

Talon threw open the doors and they rushed inside, only to pull up short at what they found. There wasn't one enemy in there, but four, two guardians and two sentinels.

Ilene Tsukino stood back in the corner behind the pool table, holding her young grandson, Kenny, close to her chest. Beside her were Kathleen Furuhata and her daughter, each of them holding tightly to the hands of Lizzy's two sons. In front of them, standing in defensive positions, were Ken, Sammy, Chad, and Andy.

But the majority of the fighting was coming from the center of the room, which was now littered with broken pieces of furniture. Anya and Taylor each held swords in their hands, as did Jack and Sasha, and were facing off against the two guardians.

Meanwhile, three pint-sized warriors were busy circling the two sentinels. The smell of burning hair came from the cougar looking sentinel as Ryssa, now wearing a sailor fuku with a brick red skirt and bright purple bows, shot a handful of fireballs at it. The attack wasn't very strong, and it seemed to do nothing but piss the sentinel off. It growled and turned on her, baring its teeth ferociously, only to be hit from behind by a combined attack of crackling electricity and what appeared to be tiny blades of light purple energy. The sentinel howled in fury and whipped its tail around, knocking Nick and Kyle off their feet.

Trusting his wife and the others to be able to hold their own for a moment, Talon dove forward to help the kids. After all, he had promised Serenity that he would protect her loved ones.

He swooped in front of the cat and had snatched Ryssa up in his arms in the blink of an eye while Kyrian and Julian quickly helped Nick and Kyle up and pulled them a short distance away. Evan took a mighty swing at it with his sword, forcing it to take a few steps back.

The second sentinel, one of the canine variety, blasted out a howl as it turned and lunged for the people in the corner. Sammy took a step forward with a determined look in his eyes, and spun around tightly before lashing out with a leg to deliver a punishing kick to its chest. Chad struck with a similar maneuver at the same time, and the force of both blows sent it crashing to the ground. Out of nowhere, Ken and Andy pulled out a baseball bat and a hockey stick that they had found somewhere and began beating it over the head and back.

Sasha let out a short scream as the guardian she was facing off against backhanded her, sending her spinning around to slam into Jack. The two of them hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Talon was about to go and help them when he heard Taylor yell, "Mom!" He whipped his head around so fast that it almost gave him whiplash. And then his blood began to boil.

The other guardian had somehow managed to get its hands around Anya's neck and had lifted her up off the floor. Her feet kicked, but her legs were too short to hit her attacker. Her sword lay uselessly on the floor where she had dropped it so that she could claw at the hands that were trying to squeeze the life from her.

Talon readied his sword, about to spring forward and skewer the creature that had dared to lay hands on his wife. He was vaguely aware of Evan, Kyrian, and Julian all growling in anger behind him and of Taylor crying out to his mother as he laid sprawled on the floor where he had be knocked down by the guardian when he had attempted to defend Anya, but it was all muddled noises in his brain. He had one focus, and one focus only, and that was saving his wife.

His leg muscles bunched and tightened as he prepared to lunge, but at the last second he pulled back. Anya had removed her hands from the ones choking her and held them out toward the monster. They began glowing faintly as she began pulling on her magic.

Talon quickly latched onto the magical connection between them and concentrated hard. Gathering up his own power, he sent every bit of it that he could through the link from himself to her. The glow in her palms flashed brighter for a second before she shot her attacker with a large blast of energy that made him let her go before he flew across the room and crashed into a wall.

Anya collapsed in a coughing, gasping heap on the floor as she fought to catch her breath. Talon was at her side in less than a second, pulling her tightly into his arms.

After a few moments she lifted her head and managed to rasp weakly, "Thanks for the assist, honey. I don't think I had enough juice to take him on my own."

Talon pressed his lips to her forehead as he whispered, "I just thank the gods that I got here in time. I don't know what I'd ever do if I lost you."

"Uh oh, this is not good," Kyrian muttered suddenly.

Talon looked up and saw that Evan, Kyrian, Julian, and even Taylor had formed a human wall in front of them. Ryssa, Nick, and Kyle, who had been standing with their backs pressed up against a wall let out startled squeaks and hurried over to join him and Anya behind the line of protection.

Talon surged to his feet and pushed himself between his brother-in-law and oldest son so that he could see what had everyone so worried. And it wasn't a pretty sight.

The canine sentinel had somehow managed to get away from its attackers, and it had retreated to where the guardian had landed after Anya had blasted it. The other sentinel and guardian had joined them, and it was pretty obvious that none of them were particularly happy that their comrade had been attacked so hard. Four pairs of blood red eyes glared around at the room's occupants.

Julian fidgeted nervously. "Um, I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any."

No one even bothered to reply. They all knew that even though they all possessed a decent amount of magic, there was no way that they would be able to fend off all four enemies if they decided to attack at the same time.

Just then, a voice gasped from the open doorway. "Holy shit!"

Talon spared a quick glance and saw that Sailor Mars was standing there, Jadeite right behind her. Sailor Jupiter and Nephrite were beside them, and both appeared to be just as shocked as they were.

Jupiter regained her composure first and grinned. "Looks like you could use some help."

"You think?" Talon sneered sarcastically.

More footsteps thundered out in the hallway. A few seconds later Sailor Venus, Kunzite, Sailor Mercury, and Zoicite joined the group in the doorway.

Venus pressed a hand to her chest as she panted lightly. "We heard a boom all the way down on the first floor."

Mercury already had her computer out and her visor in place as she did a quick scan. "Be careful, guys. These four are fairly strong."

Jadeite had his fists balled at his side. "Any ideas about how we can take them out?"

"How about the Sailor Planet Attack?" Jupiter mused. "That would probably fry all four of them at once."

Mercury shook her head. "It won't work without Serena. It would take all five of us to pull that off."

"Then allow me to take her place," a soft voice spoke up as Serenity joined them, followed closely by Endymion. "I know I'm not your Serena, but I would be honored if you would let me fight with you."

Venus beamed the queen a wide smile. "It will be just like old times for you. Welcome aboard."

"Whatever you're going to do, you better do it," Talon warned them warily. "These guys are getting a bit jumpy."

Serenity looked over toward the threats, seeing that they were indeed preparing to launch back into action. The two sentinels were crouched down close to the ground, looking as if they were about to pounce, while the two guardians held themselves tensely.

"Okay, girls. Let's do this," she stated, sounding an awful lot like her younger self as she and the four other women stepped through the door and into the room. She took her place in the center, with Venus and Jupiter to her right and Mars and Mercury to her left. As soon as they were in position they called out their battle cries.

"Moon Crystal Power!"

"Venus Crystal Power!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power!"

"Mars Crystal Power!"

"Mercury Crystal Power!"

A rainbow of colored energy in pink, orange, green, red, and blue swirled around the five of them. The multicolored mass began pulsating slightly as the planetary energies synched together to work as one.

Their enemies seemed to realize that they had bitten off more than they could chew. The sentinels rose from their crouches and their growls turned to whimpers while the guardians began backing away, their eyes darting toward the windows as they contemplated making an escape.

But it was too late. There was no escape for them.

"Sailor Planet Attack!"

A large burst of energy from the women flew across the room to encompass the enemies. Within just a few seconds they were nothing more than piles of dust on the floor. As they attack dissipated a few pictures rattled and fell from the walls and one of the windowpanes cracked.

"Oops!" Venus giggled. "I guess we might have given it just a bit too much juice."

"Ew! That is a very unpleasant smell," Ilene murmured as she left her spot in the corner and approached her daughter.

"Mom!" Serenity squealed as she caught the older woman up in an exuberant hug. "Are you and everyone else okay?"

Ilene switched Kenny to her hip to keep the little boy from becoming crushed between them. "We're just fine, darling. We had some fine protectors in our group. Your father and brother even got to join in on a bit of the action."

"I almost set that big cat on fire, Aunt Serena," stated Ryssa proudly as she stood up straight, still wearing her fuku.

Kyle snorted. "Are you kidding? You barely managed to singe it."

"I bet I could do more than singe you!" Ryssa screamed back at him as volcanoes erupted in her violet eyes. "At least I didn't get knocked on my butt the way you did, you loudmouth!"

"Leave her alone, Kyle!" Nick growled at his friend as he steered the infuriated girl slightly away from her tormentor. "I think she did pretty good considering this was our first run. Cut her some slack."

Jupiter smirked as she watched the young, dark haired girl turn adoring eyes on her future son. "Ooo, do I sense a love triangle brewing here?" she snickered.

Venus shook her head. "Nope, no triangle. It just happens to be a clash of personalities. Those three have a pretty set path. Of course I can't tell you what it is."

"Where's Corey?" Mercury suddenly asked in a concerned tone. Her blue eyes scanned the room, but she saw no sign of her young future son. "Wasn't he supposed to be here with all of you?"

Everyone began looking around anxiously.

Talon was helping Anya up off the floor when she realized that another little person was missing as well. "Abby!"

"I'm right here," a shaky little voice said as Corey's blonde head popped out from underneath the pool table. "Is it safe to come out now?"

Mercury pressed a trembling hand against her chest as she sighed in relief. "Yes. All the monsters are gone now."

"Thank goodness," the little boy cried as he shimmied out from his hiding place. "Those things were really scary."

"Is Abby under there with you?" Anya demanded as she ran over to the pool table and dropped to her knees to look under it. A second later she was straightening up, wild eyed with panic. "She's not here!"

Endymion noticed that Corey look really nervous. His head was bowed as he scuffed his tiny tennis shoes against the floor.

The king crossed the room and hunkered down in front of the small boy, placing a hand on his shaking shoulder. "Corey, do you know where Abby is? It's very important that we find her before she accidentally gets hurt."

Corey looked up, his big blue eyes filling with tears as he exploded, "I tried to stop her Uncle Darien! But she wouldn't listen to me. We hid under the pool table when those monsters came in because we were scared. She was crying because she wanted her daddy. She said that she was going to go find him. I told her not to, but then she just disappeared."

Anya gasped. "She teleported?"

Talon groaned. "There's no telling where she is then. She's too young and too inexperienced with her magic to orient herself while teleporting alone. She could be anywhere."

"She couldn't have gotten far," Kyrian growled; fear for his little sister evident on his face. "None of us were able to go very far when we first started teleporting."

Anya moaned, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Julian managed to teleport a mile away the first time he did it, and he wasn't much older than Abby."

The blood drained from Evan's face, leaving it sickly pale under his tan. "That would put her outside the palace grounds."

"But the scouts of this time have put up a barrier around the palace. Surely that would keep her inside." Kunzite spoke up.

Endymion shook his head. "The barrier only works one way, to keep things out. Anybody can leave anytime they want to, but getting back in can be tricky. They have to have security clearance or be escorted in by a member of the royal family or the guard. And there is absolutely no teleporting back inside. The only ones who might be able to accomplish that would be DJ, Katie, or Alex."

Anya jumped to her feet, tears streaming down her face. "I have to go find my baby!" She ran from the room, Talon hot on her heels.

Evan spun around, his golden eyes focused on his three nephews. "Julian, Taylor, you two are together. Go out and see if you can't track down your sister."

The two boys nodded before taking off after their parents.

Kyrian met his uncle's gaze with glittering black eyes. "You and I are splitting up."

Evan nodded. "I know you can handle yourself. Be careful out there."

"You too," Kyrian responded.

In a flash the two sorcerers disappeared.

Serenity spun on the scouts and generals of the past. "Everyone spread out and search the grounds. I'm hoping and praying that Abby didn't get too far. If any of you wish to go beyond the barrier, you will have the freedom to come and go as you please. But if you do, please be careful. I don't want to chance losing anyone, but Talon and Anya need our help."

They all bowed their heads before sprinting away, none of them questioning the queen's request. Talon may have once been their enemy, but he and Anya had proven themselves to be loyal and trustworthy friends. And right now those friends needed help.

* * *

Alex pressed his lips into the silky golden hair on the head that was tucked up just under his chin. "I really don't like this idea at all."

Ishtar raised her head to look at him with perfectly calm, steady gray eyes. "I know you don't like it, but we really don't have a choice in the matter. Discord is inside the city, and he's too intent on getting his hands on either your mom or Jess right now to give it up to come out and face you guys. So we have to take some drastic measures to try and pull him out."

"By offering yourselves up as bait," he growled darkly.

Flame clapped him on the shoulder. "Dude! We are so not going in as bait. We're just going to go rattle the old man's cage a little bit and then split, hoping that he follows us back out here in the process."

Caloris sniffed delicately. "And who was it that just told me last night that plans don't always work out the way we want?"

Katie's silver eyes were wide in her face as she shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. "I don't know guys. Maybe Alex is right. Hasn't the whole idea all along been for us to stick together?"

"That was only as long as Discord had his army surrounding him," Crescent Moon stated as she tossed a pink pigtail over her shoulder. "Our main purpose was to clear a path through his forces to him so that you guys could get to him. But between the lot we took out earlier and the damage I'm sure the others have been doing inside the city, I'm sure there probably isn't much left of his army by now. The rest of this is up to you guys now. So the best thing we can do is do what we can to give you a fair shot at the bastard."

DJ reached out and pulled his sister into a tight hug. "You be careful in there, sis. You've already had a taste of how ruthless he can be. I don't want you to get hurt again."

She hugged him back. "I'll be as careful as I can. But I'm ready for this to all be over."

"Yeah, yeah! We're all ready for it to be over," Callisto muttered. "So can we please get a move on? I'm looked forward to ruining that asshole's day."

"I think it's more like you've got a certain someone you're in a hurry to get back to," Ishtar snickered. "What's wrong? Didn't Kyrian get the job done last night?"

Callisto' face burned bright red. "That's none of your business, Barbie!"

"Knock it off!" Crescent Moon demanded as she disentangled herself from her brother. "Let's move out, you guys. And that means no more sucking face, Emma!"

Ishtar sighed and pulled back from Alex's lips, which she had just started to kiss. She stroked her fingers down his cheek. "Duty calls."

He grabbed her hand as she stepped away and pressed a quick kiss to the gloved back of it. "Hurry back. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, voice trembling slightly. Then she spun away before the tears stinging her eyes had the chance to fall and raced down the hill with the others, leaving the three Trinity bearers alone and waiting.

Katie took a hand in each one of hers as she stood between her boyfriend in her brother, watching the blurs of pink, peach, mint green, red, and icy blue as they dashed back toward the city. "I hope we're doing the right thing by letting them go."

Alex gave a tired chuckle. "Like we could have stopped them if we wanted to. They're a stubborn group, especially Emma. They are determined to help us in any way they can."

DJ looked toward his home city, taking in the sight of the two pillars of light that were shooting into the sky. Coming from the palace was energy in orange, red, green, and blue. It was the energy of the inner scouts as they used their powers to protect the palace. And from the area he knew was the medical district, the outer scouts colors of yellow, aqua, and dark purple cast a field of protection. It seemed that Crystal Tokyo had fallen back to its last line of defense.

"This is it, guys," he murmured to Katie and Alex. "Our time is running out. We have to get him this time, no matter what. If we don't, there might not be much left worth saving."

* * *

_**The Time Gate**_

Pluto appeared in her realm in her usual puff of smoke and quickly hurried over to the time stream to check on how the future was shaping up. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that the two timelines that were predominate earlier were still the ones that were coming in the clearest. One was slightly stronger than the other, indicating that it was the way that events were going to unfold, but at his point she didn't care which path was followed. They both had successful outcomes that secured the future of Crystal Tokyo.

That wasn't to say that either one were perfect. There were still some close calls and hair-raising moments to come in both. And if one little slip up was made it could send the entire timeline spinning down an alternate path just like it did when Alex died an untimely death. But for now things were looking good.

She walked over to the basin that held her scrying pool and braced her hands on either side, closing her eyes as she felt a prickle of relieved tears. "I can't believe it. I just might have pulled off setting things back in order."

She knew that she needed to get back to Crystal Tokyo in case her help was needed, so she straightened up, opening her eyes as she prepared to teleport. But then a vision in the pool of still waters caught her eyes, making them flare wide as she caught sight of an event that wasn't supposed to happen.

"No!" she whispered frantically. This wasn't an event that would impact the outcome of the battle against Discord, but it was something that could have a deep impact on her personal life.

The garnet orb in her staff flashed wildly in response to its mistress's emotions as she gripped the long, key shaped metal tightly. "It's not going to happen. I won't let it," she ground out harshly.

And in a quick flash of light, she vanished.

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

"Oh, come on!" Serena whined. "You two cannot be serious about keeping us trapped in here like this!"

Drew crossed his arms and shot her a stern look. "Sorry, Serena. I'm only doing it for your own good."

"My own good!" she shrieked, lunging up from her seat.

Andrew stood shoulder to shoulder with his doppelganger, wearing an identical expression. "I don't think you understand just how much you scared everybody, Sere. I was the first one to you, and there for a minute I could tell if you were dead or alive. And you were as limp as a dishrag when I picked you up."

She threw her hands in the air. "So I freaked out and overdid it a bit! I admit it! You can't say that you wouldn't have done the same thing if it had been Jess in a similar situation."

"Ouch!" Andrew muttered.

Darien reached up and grabbed Serena's hand, pulling her down to sit next to him again. "Just let it go, Sere."

She jerked her head around to glare at him. "This is all your fault!"

His blue eyes widened. "My fault! How the hell did you come up with that logic?"

"You just had to go and play the hero, didn't you?" she almost screamed.

Now his eyes narrowed, darkening like storm clouds. "If I'm not mistaken, I saved your future life. You're welcome."

She crumpled against his chest, sobbing as she clung to his shirt. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. It's just that I've seen you die or almost die so many times. And I was scared that I was going to have to go through that again."

He sighed and pulled her into his lap, cradling her close to him as he smoothed down the tangled golden hair that had long since come loose from its ponytail. "Shh, baby. I know. And I'm sorry I made you feel that way. But I'm not apologizing for saving Serenity. She's you, and I couldn't let you die."

She nodded slowly. "I know. It's just like what you said earlier. I would have done the same thing if it had been Endymion in danger."

They sat there for a few minutes, cuddling and taking comfort from one another. But despite her tiredness, Serena still felt like she was full of nervous energy. She eventually stood up and crossed over to where her two blonde wardens were guarding the doorway of the garden gazebo that had become her and Darien's prison.

The two men had turned around to give her and Darien some privacy, and they were both looking out at the skyline of towers and tall buildings that were visible over the high walls that surrounded the palace grounds. She placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Have you guys sensed anything?" She didn't elaborate anymore than that, knowing that they would both know exactly what she meant.

Drew shrugged. "I've gotten a few vague glimpses, but nothing solid. Jess excels at being able to close herself off mentally when the occasion calls for it."

Andrew was shifting nervously from foot to foot, looking like he was about to jump out of his skin at any moment. "She's up to something. I just know it. I can't tell what it is, but I can feel it. She's blocking me from her thoughts and being able to communicate with her, but I still can't help but pick up a sense of anxiety from her."

"Which means that our two lovely hotheads are probably up to their pretty blue eyeballs in some kind of mischief," Drew groaned as he dragged a hand through his already messy hair. "I should have listened to my inner voice this morning that told me that I should have dissolved about a half dozen sleeping pills into her coffee. She can't get into any trouble if she's out cold."

"You're the one that would be out cold once she woke up," Andrew drawled wryly. "I grumbled something once about doing the same thing with some Xanaxes to chill her out the last time she got worked up over a gallery showing, and she threatened to emasculate me for it."

Drew heaved a sad sigh. "That sounds like her." Then he smacked a fist against one of the gazebo's support pillars. "Damn it! I was crazy to ever agree to her taking off like that. Even if she's not up to anything insane, I hate to think of her, or her past self either, out there sneaking around the city while they try to stay off of his radar." He glared up at the darkness that was Discord.

Serena placed a hand on each mans' shoulder. "Why don't you two go out and look for them? Even if they are blocking you and using their shadow powers, I bet you guys could track them down. And maybe you can find some way to sneak them back here without Discord finding out."

She looked out through the slight haze that now surrounded the palace grounds. "It looks like the future scouts have been able to put up their protective barrier, so it would probably be safer for her here anyway until whatever happens goes down."

Drew shook his head. "I can't. I promised your future self that I would keep an eye on you and Darien. You two have been through a lot today."

Her eyes flashed in annoyance. "And do you always do what your precious Neo Queen Serenity tells you to do? I don't see why she felt the need to confine us and sic watchdogs on us anyway. Sure, Dare and I pushed our limits earlier, but we're not helpless. I already feel loads better than I did."

"So do I," Darien claimed as he came over to join them. "So why don't you two take off and find them? I know I would be going nuts if it was Serena out there."

Andrew shared a look with his future self, who gave another negative shake of his head and said, "No. But it doesn't have anything to do with following the queen's orders. It's a matter of keeping my word. I promised Serenity that I wouldn't let you two out of my sight. And I always keep my promises."

Andrew's expression clouded. "Oh yeah! I guess we did promise that, didn't we?"

Serena's face began to take on a mischievous look. "True. You did promise to not let us out of your sight, but there are ways to work around that where you won't break your promise."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?" Andrew asked, his eyes beginning sparkle excitedly. Then he grew concerned. "Are you sure you're up for that?"

Serena smirked as she pulled her transformation brooch from her jeans pocket. "Oh, I think I can handle it."

Drew caught on to what they were talking about and began to chuckle. "I'm willing if everyone else is."

Darien performed a face-palm and groaned, "Save me from crazy blondes, both the male and the female variety!" Then he looked up at Serena, Andrew, and Drew in exasperation. "And I thought Jess was the impulsive one."

* * *

"Any sign of her yet?" Evan asked Kyrian as they passed each other at an intersection.

Kyrian shook his head, his dark chocolate hair swinging into his black eyes. "Not a peep. I thought I caught a faint energy signature a couple of blocks back, but it fizzled out. I came across Julian and Taylor a few minutes ago, and they said the palace and surrounding grounds checked out clean. They also said that mom and dad were going to teleport home real quick on the off chance that Abby managed to get that far somehow."

"That's highly unlikely," Evan muttered. "But I guess we can't afford to leave any stone unturned. Just keep looking. We'll find her."

"I'm tempted to blister her ass myself when we do," Kyrian growled.

Evan spared his worried nephew a quick smile. "Oh, I'm sure your mother will have a handle on the situation. Now get moving. I saw Venus, Kunzite, Mars, and Jadeite around a while back, so we've got plenty of people out looking."

Kyrian flipped him a mock salute and tore off down the street, his eyes darting around for any sign of his missing little sister.

Evan continued on the way he had been, also staying alert for anything that could possibly help find Abby. His heart pounded in his chest at the thought of his tiny little niece being out here on these dangerous streets. Granted, there weren't as many guardians and sentinels running around as there had been earlier, but there were still enough roaming the streets to make Crystal Tokyo a very dangerous place for a defenseless, five-year-old child to be, not to mention the fact that they also had Discord's seeking mist creeping its way through streets and alleys. If the evil entity discovered Abby and found out who her parents were…well…Discord was definitely the type to hold a grudge, and he had a huge one against Talon and Anya. He was also sick and demented enough to not be above using a child to get his revenge against them.

Evan longed to call out Abby's name in hopes of hearing her call back to him, but he held back. Sure, searching silently could take much longer, but the last thing he needed to do was alert any enemies to his location.

A loud snarl followed by a crashing sound had him ducking into the recessed doorway of a nearby shop for cover as his eyes scanned the area for a possible threat. A few seconds later he heard a scuffling noise and a series of growls before two large, lion-type sentinels dashed out of an alley, one chasing the other. Both creatures were covered in bite and scratch marks, suggesting that they had been fighting with one another.

After waiting several long moments he stepped out from his hiding spot, keeping the sword that he had pulled from its sheath clenched tightly in his hand as he did. Keeping all of his senses on high alert, he continued down the block.

Just as he reached the next corner he picked up on a faint energy signature that he immediately recognized as being Abby's. At the same time he heard a high-pitched, girlish voice wailing, "Help!" He darted around the corner to find a sight that made his blood freeze in his veins.

Abby was pounding down the sidewalk toward him as fast as her short little legs could carry her, her long, medium brown ponytail whipping behind her and tears pouring down her cheeks. And almost skipping along behind her was a demonic looking female guardian with stringy, snarled black hair, long, curled black claws for fingernails, and, of course, glowing, blood red eyes.

"Abby!" Evan yelled in panic.

Abby's wet, jet black eyes took a moment to focus on him. And then she screeched, "Uncle Evan!"

"No saving for you, little one," the guardian chanted in an eerie, singsong voice. "I'm going to gobble you up. I bet you'll make a tasty little treat." She sped up, closing in on her prey.

Evan surged forward, blurring with super-human speed. He would have teleported, but there wasn't time for him to summon the energy needed. But even with as fast as he was moving, he was afraid that he wouldn't reach Abby in time.

And then, the little girl tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, sending her sprawling out on the concrete.

Evan's legs burned as he pushed them as fast as he. But he was still several dozen yards away. He wasn't going to make it.

The guardian cackled. "You're mine, my little morsel."

Evan's heart almost stopped as Abby screamed.

Suddenly, there was a burst of smoke and pink light between Abby and the guardian, and a very angry voice snarled, "Dead Scream!"

A large ball of fuchsia energy slammed into the guardian, vaporizing it before it could make a sound.

Evan reached Abby and scooped her up into his arms, watching in amazement as the smoke and dust cleared to reveal the tall, trim woman he loved so much. "Setsuna," he barely breathed.

Pluto whirled toward them, and was at his side in an instant. "Is she okay?"

He hugged Abby's trembling body closer to his chest. "I think so. She's probably more scared than anything."

"What in the world is she doing outside the palace grounds?" Pluto demanded.

He shrugged. "From what I can tell, she got scared when a group of Discord's flunkies got inside the palace and she tried to teleport to find Talon, even though she has been told to not use her powers until she has been properly trained."

Abby lifted her head from his chest and hiccupped, "Sorry, Uncle Evan."

He gave her a squeeze. "That's okay, Sweet Pea. I'm just glad you're okay."

"That makes two of us," Pluto agreed as she smoothed back some wispy strands of the little girl's hair.

Abby turned to look at her second rescuer, and her eyes widened in awe. "You're Sailor Pluto, aren't you?"

Pluto gave her a rarely seen grin. "The one and only. Now, you should let your uncle get you back to the palace. I'm sure the rest of your family is very worried about you."

"I guess you're still technically on the clock," Evan chuckled as she turned away.

She tossed him a teasing look over her shoulder. "For just a little bit longer. It should all be coming to an end very soon."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him before she could disappear. Then he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."

Pluto felt her cheeks burn with a blush. "You're welcome," she answered softly. And then she was gone in a small puff of pink light and smoke.

"I like her," Abby giggled against Evan's chest. "I think you like her too."

"I do like her," he replied simply. "Now I think it's time to get you back to your mom and dad."

His arms tightened around his tiny niece as he teleported them to the boundary surrounding the palace grounds. Then he took a deep breath. His sister was going to have ten litters of kittens to have her daughter returned to her, he just knew it.

* * *

Crescent Moon peeked over the edge of the building she was standing on and looked down at the fairly large assortment of guardians and sentinels on the street below. Then she turned back to look at her team. "Are you guys ready to do this?"

Ishtar, Callisto, Caloris, and Flame all nodded. So far their re-entrance into Crystal Tokyo had gone unnoticed by any of Discord's forces, but that was all about to change. They had made their way close to the heart of the city, where they had discovered this group of demons milling around the Starlight Tower.

Crescent Moon returned their nods with one of her own. "Okay then. You guys know the plan. Wait until everybody is in position, and then start whaling on those bastards. If we're lucky, Discord will be angry enough to come after us. If he does, run like hell back to DJ and the others."

"Right!" the rest of them agreed. And then they all split up to take up their posts on top of different buildings around the area.

Crescent Moon waited until she received the signs that the others were ready. Once she saw the quick flashes of orange, green, blue, and red light, she quickly sent them a fast flash of pink to let them know that she was ready. Then she leapt up onto the ledge of the building.

"Explosive Wave!" she cried, brandishing her wand as she unleashed a wave of pink energy onto to enemies below.

At the same time she did that, golden arrows, electrically charged stars, and icicles rained down from where the other members of her team were positioned. A large dragon made completely of fire swarmed down into the streets from the building where Flame was at, its mouth open wide as it sought to devour any enemies it came across.

The result of their little sneak attack came quicker than any of them thought it would. Up until now, Discord had ignored all attempts to get his attention. But this time he roared loudly, the dark cloud shifting in the sky until his glowing red eyes glared down at Crescent Moon.

"Pathetic little Future Queen!" he thundered. "You and your family have caused me enough problems over the centuries! I am going to make sure that everyone of Selene's line dies today. Starting with you!"

A large beam of dark energy shot from Discord, impacting the building she was standing on. It rocked crazily under her, and then began to collapse. As the front of the building began to fall away, she spun and ran to the far side of the roof, looking to jump to the next building.

Her foot was on the ledge, and she was just about to shove off with a powerful leap, when the bricks and mortar crumbled away beneath her, sending her plummeting out of control toward the concrete below. Figuring that this was the end for her, she closed her eyes and screamed.

Behind her eyelids, she saw a flash of white light, and then she landed on something. But it wasn't the cold impact with the ground that she had been expecting. Whatever it was was still fairly hard, and it rattled her teeth and knocked the breath from her, but it was also warm and moving. Something tickled her nose, and she opened her eyes to find her face full of silvery white hair.

"Helios!" she gasped, tightening her arms around the neck of the Pegasus that had swooped in and saved her from certain death.

'_Are you all right, my love?' _his voice echoed inside her head.

She nodded against his neck. "I am now. How did you get to me so fast?"

He turned his head to give her a censuring look with one amber eye. _'After what happened earlier I thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on you. And it looks like it was a good thing that I did.'_

She knew that she ought to be a bit peeved that her soon to be fiancé had been spying on her, but she couldn't feel any anger toward him. If it hadn't been for him she would probably be dead by now. She hugged him tighter and whispered, "I'm glad you did."

He flew them a couple of miles away before landing in an empty park. As soon as she had slid from his back and her feet touched the ground, he transformed into his usual form and gathered her up into his arms.

He buried his face into her pink hair, chanting, "Rini, Rini, Rini! By the gods, I thought I had lost you. I've never flown so fast in my life."

She felt a drip of something wet on her scalp and pulled back just a few inches to look at him incredulously. "Are you crying?"

He used the back of one of his hands to scrub at his wet eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just that I was so afraid for you."

She was stunned into silence for a moment. She had seen Helios go through a broad range of emotions over the years, but never had she seen him cry. She felt tears of her own beginning to sting her eyes as she pulled him closer and kissed him gently on the lips.

"I'm not going anywhere, Helios," she whispered against his mouth. "I'm afraid that you are going to be stuck with me for a really, really long time."

Despite the tear tracks on his face, he smiled. "I like the sound of that." And then he pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

A loud boom from the direction of Starlight Tower had her breaking the kiss and looking toward where she could see flashes of light brightening the sky. She sighed. "I have to go back and check on the others. I can't leave them alone like this."

Helios took her hand and squeezed it in understanding. "Okay. But this time I'm going with you." And then he teleported them away in a flash of white light.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Callisto screeched as she defeated a sentinel, only to have two guardians scramble onto the roof she was on.

At first she had been doing okay, keeping all of the enemies down on the ground level with her attacks, even managing to take out one or two in the process. But it seemed that once Discord had turned his sights on Rini, it had whipped his forces into a frenzy and they had started swarming the building faster than she could knock them down.

"This is so not good," she muttered, hearing the scuffling sounds behind her that indicated that more were coming up behind her. "Static Shock!" she yelled, bringing down a hailstorm of electrically charged stars on the two in front of her, paralyzing them for a moment.

She spun around to check her back, and let out a startled screech when she saw a cheetah sentinel leaping at her, it's poisonous claws reaching for her and it's sharp teeth gnashing. She quickly summoned a field of crackling electricity around her body and hoped that it would be enough to deflect the attack.

Then there was a muted flash of light and the metallic sheen of a sharp blade as it sliced through the cheetah's neck. It crumbled to dust to reveal a large man, dressed all in black. His longish, dark chocolate hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, but pieces of that hair had fallen out to frame his handsome face and shadow his glinting black eyes.

Then he smirked. "I thought you might need a hand, Shocker."

"Kyrian!" she gasped. But the sounds of her other attackers told her that they were coming out of their paralysis. So she turned around and released the electricity surrounding her in a surge toward them.

It hit a female guardian head on, blackening her skin and burning away her hair before she crumbled into ash.

Callisto then turned her attention to a male guardian, but before she could act, Kyrian had jumped into action. There was a low glow as he called on his powers and his sword flashed menacingly as it sliced through the midsection of the guardian. It let out a demonic growl before exploding into dust.

"Trying to steal my fight?" Callisto asked in a teasing tone.

Kyrian turned to look at her with a mischievous grin. "Nope! Just looking to score a bit of action for myself. There's nothing like the heat of battle you know." And before she could say another word he had hauled her into his arms and started plundering her mouth ruthlessly.

Within seconds she felt herself turning into a limp, useless bundle in his arms. All she could do was cling to his shoulders helplessly as she moaned into his open mouth, her tongue boldly meeting his stroke for stroke.

After what seemed like eternity, but was really only about twenty seconds, he pulled back to grin down into her passion dazed face. "Yep! Nothing like a good fight to get the emotions flowing, huh?"

She nodded weakly, and then reality came crashing back down on her. "Oh my god! Rini! I have to go see if she's okay. Discord just brought a building down under her!"

Kyrian grabbed her hand as she started to turn away and tugged her back to him. "Rini's fine. I saw the building come down too, but Helios swooped in and saved the day."

She collapsed against his chest. "Thank goodness! Now I need to check on the others. I know Emma can handle herself pretty well. But Jayden and Hannah are still a bit green."

"Let's go then," he told her as they took off across the rooftops.

"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked as they ran side by side.

He shook his head. "My sister somehow managed to teleport herself out of the palace and we were out looking for her. Luckily my uncle found her. I was about to head back to the palace after the call, but then I sensed you nearby and thought I would check in."

Her steps faltered and then stopped. "You could sense me?"

He skidded to a stop, and then turned to face her. "Yeah. I've been able to sense you for years. But I have to admit that it's gotten even stronger since last night. Haven't you noticed the connection between us?"

She started to shake her head, but then thought back over the last couple of years. She had never really given it much thought, but now she remembered all the times that she just knew that he was in the palace, before she ever even saw him, and how she could immediately locate him, even in a crowded room.

That could only mean one thing. They were soul mates! She had known that they had an intense attraction for each other; last night had proven that. And they had told each other that they loved each other, but she had never delved into the deeper aspects of their relationship.

But Emma had known! That had been why her blonde friend and her mother had been so insistent about pushing her and Kyrian together, despite their arguments. And the little sneak had never once told her, even though she had begged many, many times to tell her who her soul mate was. The love goddess had some explaining to do!

"Let's get moving!" she growled. And they took off once more. In less than a minute they landed on the roof where Sailor Ishtar was trying to hold of a sentinel by rapidly firing golden arrows from her bow.

"Static Shock!" Callisto snarled, unleashing her attack at the same time one of the arrows hit the wolf-like sentinel. Between the two attacks it was reduced to almost nothing.

"Hey, guys!" Ishtar chirped in her bubbly way.

Callisto stomped up to her and whispered heatedly in her ear, "You are so dead when this is over, Aphrodite!"

Ishtar just smiled demurely. "Figured it out, did you? I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but some things you just have to learn on your own. The bottom line is that you're happy with him, right?"

Callisto rolled her slate blue eyes. "Well duh! I'm sure that's pretty damn obvious. The point is that you could have given me a sign or something. I wasn't sure if this was a forever type thing or something that would fizzle out in a few months. I don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping relationships."

"That's because none of the guys you've ever dated were the right ones for you," Ishtar quipped back. "Now, you can just thank me for my meddling in your love life so we can get back to work."

Callisto gaped at her for a long moment as her anger ran out of her. Then, with another roll of her eyes she muttered, "Thanks. Now let's go check on the little guys."

"Um…what about Rini?" Ishtar asked as she ran alongside Callisto and Kyrian.

The other two filled her in on Crescent Moon's rescue by Helios as they flew over the rooftops. A short distance later they found the two youngest members of their group together on the same roof.

"Fire Dragon!" Flame bellowed as he unleashed his deadly flaming dragon upon a gigantic female guardian that Caloris had been hitting with a barrage of icicles that had little affect. The demon woman shrieked loudly as the dragon gobbled her up, leaving only ashes behind.

"My hero!" Caloris cried as the dragon faded away, and then she ran over to the blonde boy in the red uniform and threw herself into his arms. Two seconds later the pair were kissing each other ravenously.

"Holy shit!" Callisto gasped. "When did they become _that _involved?"

Beside her, Kyrian chuckled. "That's my boy! I always knew he had it in him."

Ishtar took a moment to sigh at the vision of young love with little hearts in her eyes, but then she snapped back to business. "Okay you two, that's enough. There will be time to play kissy-kissy later."

The young teens jumped apart from each other like they had been hit with an electrical shock. Caloris ducked her head, letting her shoulder length blue hair fall over her face to hide her pink cheeks. But Flame just grinned sheepishly, his blue eyes sparkling happily.

He snagged his girlfriend around the waist and kept her pinned close to his side. "So what's the story? It looks like our first plan is a bust, and I saw Horseboy flying off with Rini a few minutes ago."

There was a flash of white light, and then Crescent Moon and Helios were standing with them. Crescent Moon shot Flame the evil eye. "I'd watch it with the _'Horseboy' _comments if I were you, Smoky. Especially if you want to live to be old enough to be considered a man."

"So what exactly were you guys trying to do by attacking Discord's little pets?" Kyrian interrupted, hoping to stop the bickering before it started.

Crescent Moon scuffed a pink boot across the roof. "We were hoping to lure Discord back out of the city to where DJ, Katie, and Alex are. They're afraid that if they confront him inside the city that it would cause too much destruction and somebody might get killed. It looks like it wasn't a very good idea for me to get involved though since he holds such a grudge against my family." She looked across the way at the crumbled building she had been standing on earlier and fervently hoped that no one had been inside it.

Helios noticed where she was looking and read the look on her face. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "There was nobody in there, sweetheart. I didn't pick up on any auras other than yours."

She blew out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness!"

"You guys are crazy. Did you know that?" Kyrian said with a shake of his head. "Not that I hold that against any of you. Crazy is a good thing. But I don't think there's anything that's going to make Discord leave this city right now. He's too fixated on Jess and trying to get his hands on the Celestial Crystal. His got his monsters and this funky mist stuff combing the streets looking for her. And I don't think he cares whether it's her past or present self. So far she's managed to stay off the radar, so that's good. But I don't think he's going to leave here until he has what he wants. He'd have to be pushed out, and there's not enough power around here to do it."

"What about the parents?" Callisto asked. "Can't they do something? Maybe if they acted like they were going to seal Discord away again he would leave."

"There's no way," Kyrian answered. "The palace was overrun a little while ago, and there was some heavy fighting. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are completely wiped out and the king and queen aren't in much better shape. Your moms and dads have put up the barrier around the palace while the outers are doing the same for the hospitals. That just leaves us with the inner scouts and generals from the past and both Andrews. And to be honest, Discord isn't going to see that as a threat."

Flame muttered a curse and kicked a rock. "So pretty much what you're saying that we are screwed."

"It looks that way," Kyrian grumbled. "You might as well tell DJ, Katie, and Alex to storm the city, because I don't see any other way for them to be able to end this. Some lives may end up being lost, but that just might be the price we have to pay."

"I'll go," Ishtar whispered. She hated the thought of delivering such news to her fiancé and friends, but she wanted to see Alex one last time before the showdown.

Crescent Moon grabbed her hand. "We'll both go. Helios can teleport us there in a second."

The dream priest nodded his head. "It would be my pleasure."

A wild beeping noise came from Caloris, and she slid her small computer from her pocket. She quickly scanned the screen murmuring, "What in the world?" Then her head shot up and she pointed toward the top of Starlight Tower. "Look up there, you guys!"

"What is that?" Callisto muttered as she walked over toward the edge of the roof, looking up to where a small blue light had appeared at the top of the tower. As the seconds passed it grew bigger and brighter.

Crescent Moon felt her heart try to both sink and pound at the same time in fear and expectation. "It's Jess!"

* * *

"What in the hell were those kids thinking, taking on Discord's horde like that?" Sailor Shadow growled as she pounded up the stairs of the Starlight Tower on the heels of her older self.

Eternal Shadow shook her head. "I don't have a clue. I'm just glad it doesn't look like any of them got hurt. I about died when I saw Rini go down with that building."

"You and me both," Shadow agreed. "At least Helios was able to get to her in time. Maybe Endymion will lighten up about her relationship with him now that he's saved her life."

"Not freaking likely!" Eternal Shadow snorted. "He's way beyond protective when it comes to his little girl. Hell, he even got into it with Drew one time when he…oops! I guess I shouldn't tell you about that."

Shadow snickered. "Will I ever get to live down being Melody in my past life?"

Eternal Shadow let out a giggle. "To a point you will. But unfortunately some things never change no matter what life you're in. Serena and Darien mean well though, and I couldn't ask for better friends."

"True enough," Shadow sighed. "On a more professional note, it _was _nice of the kids to clear the tower for us."

Her future self tossed a grin over her shoulder. "It does make things easier for us. I was starting to get worried about how we were going to be able to try and pull this off."

The two of them reached the next to the last floor, the inside observation deck, and dashed across it quickly to reach the stairs that would take them up one more floor to the outside observation deck and its panoramic view of Crystal Tokyo. It was the perfect place to put their plan into motion.

Eternal Shadow flung the door open and ran inside. As she did, her senses roared to life with a warning, but it was a second too late. She crashed hard into something and went reeling back a few steps, colliding with her past self and sending the younger woman sprawling on the ground.

Then she saw the glint of metal flashing quickly and felt a burning sting in her arm as the at least fifteen foot tall female guardian she had just bumped into slashed out at her with a slender sword. "Shit!" she hissed painfully as blood began pouring down her arm.

The guardian began cackling and then called out, "Master! I have found her!"

"I guess our cover is blown," Eternal Shadow growled as she summoned a ball of blue energy and sent it slamming into the guardian's stomach. The demonic woman shrieked before turning into a pile of dust.

Shadow sat up in a daze. Everything had happened so fast. "What in the hell…?"

Eternal Shadow hauled her up with her good arm and began pushing her up the stairs. "Talk later! Right now we have to act quickly before all hell breaks loose."

They stumbled onto the observation platform, and Eternal Shadow immediately whirled on her younger counterpart. "Get a shield up around the two of us, Jess. Now!"

"So nice of you to ask politely," Shadow grumbled sarcastically. But she summoned her energy to create a blue bubble around them that crackled with silver and gold.

Eternal Shadow slumped to her knees. "Thank god! Just give me a second."

That was when Shadow noticed the blood streaming down the elbow length white glove on her future self's right arm. "You're hurt!"

"It's just a scratch," Eternal Shadow waved her off. Then she began to faintly glow blue. Within seconds the long cut on her upper arm had vanished.

"You can heal yourself?" Shadow screeched.

Eternal Shadow smirked. "Don't lose your focus, girl. It's not that big of a deal. It's just a little perk I got when I reached my Eternal status. I can't heal others or remove sentinel poisoning the way Darien and DJ can, and my power really only works on things like cuts, but it does come in handy sometimes."

"It must be a kick back from the Golden Crystal," Shadow mused.

Eternal Shadow shrugged. "I'd say from both the Golden and the Silver Crystals. Serena can do moderate healing too, but only on herself. We let Darien take care of the hard stuff."

She got to her feet and looked up into the dark cloud that was Discord. "Ready to do this?"

Shadow huffed a slight life. "As ready as I'm ever going to be, I suppose. It's not like I really have much choice in the matter now that we've called attention to ourselves."

"True," Eternal Shadow agreed with a grin. "Now power up. I need your best energy for this."

Shadow groaned. "Drew is going to kill me for this." But she reached down inside of herself to connect with the powers of the Celestial Crystal. There was a warmth in her chest as she summoned the crystal forth to float before her. As she reached up to cup the pulsing sapphire star in her palms, she felt her fuku melt away.

She looked down at herself and smiled when she saw the flowing royal blue gown with its off the shoulder design. The gold and silver stars that were embroidered around the hem and the low cut bodice matched the streamers of ribbons in the same color that tied at her waist. She felt her hair unravel from its braid to float behind her in long, honey kissed curls in the sudden wind that had blown up around her and a warm spot on her forehead told her that her symbol of a silver crescent moon shot through with a golden rose had appeared.

She glanced over at her future self and saw that she too had assumed her princess form. She supposed it was like looking in a mirror, but she still had a hard time believing that she looked anything like the angelic creature standing next to her.

She giggled nervously. "It's been a long time since I've done this. And it's only my second time."

Her older self shot her an understanding smile. "You'll do fine. You just concentrate on keeping the shield steady and expanding it. I'll take care of all the rest." The bubble around them glowed a brighter blue as she started adding her energy to it. The thunder and lightning rolled in as the sky darkened even more than it already was.

Then Discord's voice boomed overhead. "So my little princess finally decided to come out and play. And look at this, I get two for the price of one."

Jess took a deep calming breath and then told her future self, "All right! Let's teach this bastard a lesson."

* * *

Endymion was in the conference room of the palace with Serenity and the inner scouts and generals of the past, going over possible contingency plans in case things fell apart before the Galactic Trinity could be used. He was in the middle of speaking when he felt a large surge of energy flow through his planet…and then there was a slight tremor. His voice trailed off.

Serenity was at his side in an instant. "Darien, what's wrong?"

And then she felt it, a wave of energy that tugged at something deep inside of her. The Silver Crystal flared inside her chest in reaction.

"What is she doing?" she hissed.

"I don't know," Endymion muttered. "She was supposed to lay low. But we should have known that she would pull something."

Serenity ran to the closest window where she could see out to where sapphire light was beginning to radiate out from the Starlight Tower. The intensity of the light stunned her.

"She's not alone in this," she whispered in both dread and apprehension. "It's both of them."

* * *

Three blocks from the Starlight Tower, both Drew and Andrew fell to their knees.

"What's wrong?" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she ran over to both of them.

Drew's eyes gleamed as he looked up at the past version of the queen. "Jess decided to take things into her own hands."

Andrew nodded, his hazel eyes shining as much as his future self's. "It's both of them. I can tell."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask both froze as they felt the tugging at their crystals that told them that the soul of their past daughter was calling upon the powers of the Celestial Crystal.

"She's playing with fire," Tuxedo Mask muttered angrily as he felt the tremors running through the Earth beneath him. The already dark sky turned almost black as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

And then Discord's voice crackled down, louder than the thunder, "So my little princess finally decided to come out and play. And look at this, I get two for the price of one."

"Oh, god! What is she thinking?" Sailor Moon moaned as she looked toward the Starlight Tower and the blue energy that was building and growing there.

"She's not thinking," Andrew growled. "That's one of her biggest problems. She doesn't think before she acts."

Drew nodded. "I'm so tempted to wring that blonde head from her neck right now."

The two blonde men shoved themselves to their feet and took off running toward the tower, quickly leaving behind the tired duo of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. Their promise to not let the two future monarchs out of their sight was quickly forgotten in the face of knowing that the women they loved could be in danger.

They rounded a corner and saw a stampede of guardians and sentinels headed toward them. But this group seemed panicked instead of intent on attacking as they ran from the wall of blue energy that was chasing them. As they watched, the blue light overtook the monsters, disintegrating all of them in mere microseconds.

As the canopy of power fell over the men, they both sucked in breaths as they felt the emotions that fueled their beloveds' actions. They could sense her anger, fury, and rage toward the evil entity that had plagued her for so long, but underneath that burned even stronger emotions. Her love for her family and friends and her fierce need to protect them offset the more negative emotions, creating a balance that was allowing her to maintain careful control over her volatile powers.

'_Jess, what are you doing?' _Drew moaned at his wife through their bond, which was now wide open between them.

Her voice whispered back, _'What needs to be done. Don't worry, my love. I won't overdo things. We're just trying to push him out of the city toward the kids. This has gone on long enough, and it's time to end it for good.'_

A very different conversation was taking place between their past selves.

'_You are insane! Have I ever told you that before? Completely insane!' _Andrew ranted at his fiancée.

He could have sworn he heard a giggle in his head. _'Aw, baby! That's probably one of the nicest things you've ever said to me. Now please be quiet and let me do my work.'_

Andrew threw his hands up in the air. "She's crazy!"

Drew gave him a droll look. "Are you just now figuring that out?"

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask jogged up to them, looking slightly winded. The blonde heroine looked particularly peeved as she panted, "Gee! Thanks for sticking with us, you guys!"

"Sorry, Sere. I guess I just lost my head for a moment," Andrew apologized sheepishly.

She waved him off; looking up worriedly to where she could now see the two women in the long blue gowns, light glowing around them as they cast their energy. "So what do we do now? Do we go up there and try to stop them?"

Drew barked a harsh laugh. "Do you honestly think you could stop them? You should know as well as I do, Serena, that there has never been another person in existence more stubborn than Jess. Once she sets her mind on something there is no changing it."

Even Andrew had to snicker. "A brick wall wouldn't stand a chance against her. We're just going to have to trust that they know what they're doing."

Tuxedo Mask didn't look convinced. "And if one or both of them manage to lose control?"

Sailor Moon slipped her hand into his and squeezed gently. "We can't give up hope. I believe in Jess. I always have, and I always will."

* * *

Discord was outraged as he stared down at the two identical women who sought to fight against him. They were determined; he'd give them that. But even after all of the centuries that had passed he could never understand how such a strong soul had been granted to a princess who was destined to wield such power. What had Cosmos been thinking when she had let that soul out of the Galaxy Cauldron?

Still, no matter how powerful the heir to the Silver Millennium and the Golden Kingdom was, she was still only human. And she had all of the weaknesses that came with being a member of that pathetic race. That was why he coveted her power so. She held a fondness in her heart for the Earth, and she had people that she cared for. Her love held her back from realizing her true potential.

_LOVE! _He scoffed. What a pathetic, useless emotion. Destruction…now there was something that he could admire. Nothing brought him more joy than seeing a planet suffering from an apocalyptic event. The screams of fear and agony were like sweet music to his ears. It was what he had been created for during the birth of the universe. He was Creation's opposite, meant to keep the balance between life and death. He just happened to like it when the scales were tipped in his favor.

And yet before him stood two women who each held the power to decimate a planet even faster than he could between their tiny hands. It was a shame that even now, when facing him, they refused to unleash their full power. It was such a waste!

He still had to begrudgingly admit that they were proving to be an impressive opponent, even while they were holding back. As their blue power grew and expanded he could feel his creations being destroyed by the handfuls. Soon there would be nothing left of his army. He'd even had to quickly reel in his misty tendrils when their power had begun burning away at them.

But it didn't matter that they were able to hold him at bay. Even with both of them working together they had no chance of trying to defeat him without one of them unleashing their crystal's full power. This was just a minor setback. Eventually they would either fold under the pressure or give in to their power. Either way he would win. And since there were now two of her in the same time, he might just get lucky enough to lay his hands on two Celestial Crystals.

He floated down as close as he could to the growing blue shield, almost moaning in ecstasy as her felt the hum of power rippling out from it. He couldn't physically pass through the barrier, even in this form, without sustaining injury. And he was fairly certain that any negative energy blasts he sent at it would just bounce right back. But that didn't mean that some of his other powers wouldn't work.

He felt the three impatiently burning auras of the Trinity bearers waiting for him outside the city, but they were just going to have to wait their turn. He had a couple of mongrel princesses to deal with first, and it was time for them to either put up or shut up.

If he had a human form at the moment, he was sure that he would have been grinning maniacally. But the lack of a solid body didn't stop the thrill of exhilaration that ran through him.

The game was on!

* * *

**A/N **Okay! I promise that the next chapter will bring the battle to a close. Like I said in the beginning, I was planning on posting everything up to the end of the battle in one go, but it is just too much. I even tried cutting out some parts in an attempt to shorten it, but it just didn't feel right to cut up the story like that. So instead I've split it into two and put back in all the parts that I started to chunk, and I feel much better about that. I'm even going back now and adding in some things in the next chapter that I originally scrapped for the sake of length. I'm hoping that it will make for a better end to this war that has lasted for over 2,000 years. Before I felt like I was rushing it to the end and my characters started losing some of their personality quirks, and that was just wrong. Anyhoo…I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please feel free to drop me those reviews and tell me what you thought. I know _Rekindled _is in sad need of updating, but I may wrap up this battle first before diving into the fight with Beryl. I'll just have to see where my muse leads me. Later gators! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


	45. Even the Mighty Can Fall

**A/N **Sorry about the long wait. To put it all in a nutshell, life has been way beyond crazy. Family stuff and career changes have really gotten the way of my writing, but I've finally put the finishing touches on this battle. I just hope that it meets with your approval. This is the climax of the fight with Discord, but there will be more to come. We still have at least a couple of weddings to get through. Thank you all to everyone that has reviewed this story. I would take the time to give out hugs to all of you personally, but that would probably take me a few months. So I'm just going to dive right in. I hope it lives up to your expectations.

_**ENJOY!**_

* * *

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 42

Even The Mighty Can Fall

* * *

DJ took a flying leap and somehow managed to tackle both his girlfriend and his best friend at the same time. The twins had gone berserk when they had sensed their mother's power radiating out from Crystal Tokyo and had felt the need to rush to her. DJ had acted without thinking in an attempt to hold them back, calling subconsciously on Gaia's powers to help him. Luckily it seemed that the goddess's powers had helped keep the two of them from teleporting away.

"Let me up!" Katie screeched in his ear as he held her partially pinned down with a leg thrown over hers and half of his chest pressed against her.

"Not happening, sweetheart," he drawled back in an attempt to sound like his usual cool, aloof self. "If you go charging in now it could blow our chances of winning this."

"Who gives a damn about chances right now?" Alex roared up at him as he attempted to throw him off. "Our mother is facing off against that bastard! This could kill her!"

DJ rolled his golden eyes. "If you two hotheads would calm down for a minute and take a good look at what's going on you'd get the bigger picture."

The writhing underneath him stopped as they both ceased struggling against him.

Katie's silver eyes blazed hotly up at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He sat up slowly, but remained cautious in case either one of them attempted to leave again. Then he swept his hand out in a grand gesture. "See for yourself."

The twins grumbled as they sat up, shooting glares at him before turning their heads to look back toward Crystal Tokyo. And then both of their mouths fell open.

"She's not attacking. She's shielding," Alex muttered after a few seconds.

Katie shook her head. Since half of her mother's powers came from the moon she was able to partially sense her energy through her own moon powers. And whatever was going on was something huge. "No. This is more than just simple shielding."

DJ nodded, having picked up on the Earth half of the energy surging out of the city. "I agree. It's a strong shield, but there is a lot of power radiating through it as well. I bet anything that is consumed with negative energy would be toast if it touched it."

Alex snorted. "You two have lost it! You know mom doesn't have the ability to make a barrier and channel her energy through it at the same time. It always backfires on her and something gets blown up. She'd never take that chance inside the city."

"Unless she had some help," DJ said quietly.

Katie and Alex looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment before his words suddenly clicked, making them exclaim together, "It's mom and Jess!"

DJ's expression turned smug. "Took you long enough. I'd say it looks like they've decided to clean house. There probably won't be a guardian or sentinel left by the time she gets the whole city covered."

"You're probably right," Alex murmured as he watched the expanding blue shield that was growing out from near the center of Crystal Tokyo. Almost half the city was covered with it now. It wouldn't be long before all of it was blanketed by the protective energy.

Then a voice whispered through his head. _'Alex!'_

He started in surprise. _'Em?'_

'_What's going on?' _Katie and DJ both demanded silently.

'_You two just butt out for a minute!' _Alex exclaimed, flapping a hand at them to tell them to be quiet. Then he focused on the bond with his soul mate. _'I'm here, baby.'_

'_Oh, thank god! I didn't think I would ever get through to you. It took me a minute to realize that mental bonds don't work when the power of the Celestial Crystal is between the two trying to talk, so I'm having to keep on the move so I can stay in front of the shield. I just thought you might want an update.'_

'_What's going on in there?'_

'_Our plan was a flop. Discord wasn't interested in any of us, well, except Rini. But she's fine. Instead he just turned his goons loose on us. The next thing I knew your mom and Jess were at the top of Starlight Tower and had whipped out their crystals. I ran into your dad a few minutes ago, and he told me that according to your mom, she and Jess are working on wiping out Discord's army and pushing him out of the city so that you guys can have your shot at him. Just thought I'd give you the heads up.'_

'_So that's what she's doing! There for a minute I thought she'd lost it and decided to take that bastard on by herself.'_

'_Nope! She's just trying to level the playing field.'_

'_That's some of the best news I've heard all day. Now do me a favor and stay under my mother's protection until this is over.'_

'_But…'_

'_No buts! I'll be able to concentrate better knowing that you and everybody else are safe. So please, just do this for me. As soon as Katie, DJ, and I get a chance, we're going to take it. It's time to end this.'_

'_Okay. I'll stay. But you better be careful. I love you.'_

'_I love you too.'_

Alex felt the connection between them grow fuzzy and then disappear, and he knew it was because Emma had allowed herself to be swallowed up by the power of the Celestial Crystal. He heaved a sigh of relief at knowing that everyone inside the city would be safe.

"Care to share?" Katie snickered. "You were off in La La Land for a few minutes there. Speaking to Emma, I presume."

He grinned and reached over to tug on her light blonde ponytail, knowing how much that irritated her. "Yes, Miss Nosey-pants, I was talking to Emma. She thought we might like the lowdown on what's going down on the inside." Then he related to them what his fiancée had told them.

"Ah! I see," DJ mused when the tale was completed. "It does make a lot of sense. Discord won't be able to get into the city and everybody will be protected. And without his army around to back him up it will leave our path wide open to him.

Katie studied the dark cloud that was still hovering over the city and almost blending in with the blackened sky. "He does look like he's been pushed back a bit. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. He may decide to run rather than face us."

DJ's eyes flared a brighter gold for just a moment. "Let him try! I don't know about you two, but the last thing I'm going to let him do is get away when we are so close to taking him down."

Both twins nodded and responded together, "We're with you!"

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

Zeus sat back in his chair in Chronos's domain and stretched his incredibly long legs out to prop his feet on the table before him. "Sooo…are things going the way you planned for them to?"

Both Selene and Gaia shuddered at the question. Neither one of them quite knew how to answer him.

Apollo shrugged. "Do any plans ever actually unfold the way they are meant to, father? I do have to say that this has been entertaining thus far."

A soft growl rumbled from a translucent woman who was nearby. "I don't think _entertaining _is quite the word I would apply in this situation, Lord Apollo."

The sun god smirked, but inclined his head respectfully. "My apologies for my lack of tact, Lady Serenity. I was merely commenting from a spectator's point of view. And may I also compliment you by saying that you have become quite an assertive woman. I remember well when you were just a young girl and would blush and stammer the few times I spoke to you when I was fortunate enough to be graced with your presence."

"Oh, for the love of Creation," Gaia muttered under her breath.

Selene's melancholy expression became irritated as she stalked over to the much taller god. Reaching up, she yanked harshly on a lock of his flaming red hair. "Do you mind leaving your _unamusing _banter until later, Mr. Sunshine. In case you haven't noticed we happen to have a potentially cataclysmic situation on our hands."

Apollo bellowed in pain, his golden eyes flaring in disbelief as he glared hotly at the petite moon goddess. "Damn it all, woman! There is no need to get physical. I was just trying to relieve some of the tension around here."

A second ghostly woman sniffed disdainfully. "Well it's not helping."

Apollo rounded on Hades, who was sitting with Zeus at the long table in Chronos's chamber. "Why in the universe did you let them out of the Elysian Fields again?"

Hades merely grimaced as he swirled a goblet of wine in his hand. "To save myself from a potential migraine. The four of them planted themselves at the gate and caused quite a commotion, especially the women. I thought that nobody could outdo my Seph when she gets on a rant, but those two queens could give her a run for her money. They wanted to know how the battle was going, and they refused to back down until they had answers. In the end I figured it was just easier to let them see for themselves."

This wrung a few giggles from Gaia. "Why Hades, you big marshmallow! Are you finally turning soft on us after all of these eons?"

"I am not!" he sneered back. "I just didn't feel like putting up with the racket."

Selene leaned over to whisper in Gaia's ear. "I think it is more along the line that he is just too tired to care. I heard Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis gossiping in the Great Hall this morning, and it seems that they saw someone who looked an awful lot like Persephone sneaking into Hades's chambers last night. It is doubtful that he got much sleep."

Gaia choked back a laugh. "Aphrodite strikes again. I was wondering why she decided to throw that dinner party last night on such short notice, and why she insisted on Demeter attending when we all know that there is no love lost between them. That little sneak!"

Apollo, who had been eavesdropping on them, bent down to join the hushed conversation. "Well that could turn into quite the catfight if Demeter ever finds out that others are conspiring to help her daughter spend time with her husband. My money would be on Aphrodite though. She may appear sweet and delicate, but she can be as lethal as they come."

Serenity and Althea tuned out the gods' chatter as they ghosted over to where Jonathan and Edward were standing with Chronos in front of his time mirror. The two normally jovial and playful kings were subdued and serious as they watched the events unfolding before them, letting the rulers that they once were shine through.

"How are things?" Serenity asked as she slipped her hand gently into her husband's. Although they were only in spirit form and would pass right through solid objects, being made of the same energy allowed them to touch one another.

Jonathan's fingers tightened around hers. "It's hard to say exactly. Discord keeps changing the rules. He got that one lucky hit in on the kids earlier, and now he's ignoring them like they don't exist."

"Something is going to blow soon," Edward growled. "I can feel it. I can understand them not wanting to take the fight into a populated area, but they are at a stalemate and the city is under siege. Eventually one side will have to give."

Althea clung to his arm. "Melody is the one I'm worried about. How long do you think she can keep using her power like this before it either kills her or destroys the planet?"

A deep chuckle had the four deceased monarchs turning to face Chronos. The time god had been focusing intently on the scenes that were playing out in one corner of the mirror, and whatever he had seen had greatly amused him.

He turned his mischievously glinting garnet eyes on the foursome. "Have faith in your lineage. I don't give a damn what man's so called modern science says about genetics. It doesn't matter that none of your descendants share your blood. Heredity is passed on through more than genes. Who they are is buried within their souls. Just look at your children. Although the kingdoms they were originally meant to rule have long been gone, they still managed to become the king and queen of a great kingdom. And it is all thanks to the guidance and knowledge you gave to them in their previous life. In return, that has been passed down to the next generation. So take comfort in the knowledge that you live on in all of them. And don't lose hope in your family."

Serenity watched as his eyes flicked to the mirror where it showed Sailor Pluto saving a little girl from one of Discord's demented followers. His expression softened even more when he witnessed his granddaughter kissing the cheek of a tall man with white blonde hair.

"Now I see where Setsuna gets her words of wisdom from," she murmured. "She always did have a way of helping me put things into perspective, even when she was just a child. She must take after you."

Chronos shook his head. "Serenity, you know better than that. You knew my dearly departed wife, so you know that she is the one to be credited for the way my family turned out. I was an ass before I met her, an arrogant god who thought he knew everything. And in my arrogance I broke Zeus's law about no contact with the mortal world and I met her. I wanted her from first sight, so I just thought I would take her and bring her back here to keep me company until I tired of her. But then she smiled at me and spoke, and it was if my entire outlook on existing changed. Her kindness and sincerity touched something deep inside of me, something I didn't know I was missing, my humanity. That was passed on to our son, and through him to our grandchildren. Setsuna was always a bit more introspective than her brother though. Nathaniel was the more outgoing of the twins."

Althea huffed a quiet laugh. "I don't care what you say, Chronos. There is more to you than you give yourself credit for. And like you just said to us, it lives on in our descendants. Setsuna may carry herself with all of the gentility of her Plutonian heritage, but there is no mistaking that the blood of a god runs through her veins as well."

"All of those who fight carry a piece of us in some way," Selene remarked as she, Gaia, and Apollo joined them.

The mahogany haired earth goddess nodded. "Even Endymion's generals are not immune. Every living thing on Earth, whether it be plant, animal, or human, has been touched by my energy. They also have the little added bonus of being blessed by the deities of their soul mates as well."

Apollo grunted grumpily. "Oh sure, they all have impressive abilities of their own, but it's the three that we have chosen that have to step up and take care of business. And so far I haven't seen them do anything outstanding."

Althea visibly bristled, but when she spoke it was with all of the regality of the queen she had once been. "Try to contain yourself for just a bit longer, Lord Apollo. I may not have been a member of the original Galactic Trinity, but I can assure you that this fight isn't over yet. Genetics may not officially tie me to those three, but they are still as much my grandson and great-grandchildren as if they had been born directly from my blood. I have a feeling that they will end up impressing you in the end."

Zeus spoke up before any other inflammatory remarks could be made. "Let's all hope that you are right, Lady Althea, for the sake of humanity."

Edward chuckled. "I wouldn't question my wife's intuition if I were you, Almighty Zeus. She is very seldom ever wrong when she makes a pronouncement. If she says that those kids can pull this off, then they can. You'll see."

Hades kicked back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. A small, smug smile played around his lips. "I think what everybody is failing to remember is that despite the fact that even though those three kids have been blessed by the Silver Crystal, just like everyone else on Earth in their time, and have almost infinite life spans because of that, they are still only mortals. All the god powers in the universe won't be able to help them if they mess up."

"You know something, don't you?" Selene snapped, her eyes crackling with silver fire. "Please don't tell me that you set those nasty little Fates that you like to coddle to hovering over our Trinity bearers lifelines!"

Gaia sniffed disdainfully. "He probably did, knowing him. He has been doting on those three little bitches for more eons than I care to remember. And they have been hovering for weeks just looking for an excuse to whip out their scissors and begin snipping."

"Not to mention that we all know how much he likes to collect strong souls into his realm," Apollo drawled in a lazy tone, although his expression was filled with both irritation and fury. "I'm sure he would just love to add Alex and the others to his little menagerie."

Hades surveyed the three angry gods coolly. "Don't get your feathers so ruffled. It is true that the Fates are observing your little champions' strings very closely, but they will not cut them unless there is absolutely no choice but for them to die. And you three would do well to remember that no one is truly immortal…not even us. We might be gods, but we have our weaknesses as well. And for all our power, even we can die if the right being were to discover what those weaknesses are. Just keep that in mind."

"That's what I've always admired about you. You possess the rare ability to always keep the atmosphere around you light and carefree," Zeus muttered sarcastically. "Now why don't you put your dire predictions of doom and gloom to rest for a while and pour yourself another glass of wine? Whatever is meant to be will be. And all we can do is wait."

* * *

**_Crystal Tokyo_**

Sailor Ishtar skidded to a stop in front of the group congregated at the base of the Starlight Tower and bent over for a moment with her hands on her knees, panting for breath.

Crescent Moon snickered. "Getting out of shape, Emma?"

"Stuff it, Rini!" Ishtar growled. "This has been the longest day of my life, and I'm really not in the mood right now."

"Wow! I bet those words have never come out of a love goddess's mouth before," Sailor Callisto chortled snarkily as she leaned against Kyrian's shoulder. The young sorcerer bent his head down to bury his face in her hair to hide the grin that popped up on his face.

Flame snorted. "Yeah, it's already been a long day, and it's not even half over yet. It's just barely after lunch time."

A loud rumble filled the air and Sailor Moon clasped both hands over her stomach. "Oh please don't mention anything even remotely associated with food around me right now. I'm absolutely starving after all the energy I've used today."

"Typical you," Tuxedo Mask chuckled; ignoring the glare she shot at him.

"I think we're all getting off the subject," Sailor Caloris stated primly as she glanced up from her hand-held computer.

Drew's bronze armor clinked softly as he stopped his nervous pacing. "That's right. Emma, were you able to get in touch with Alex?"

Her golden blonde head bobbed rapidly. "Yes. I had to run like hell to stay in front of the energy shield, but I was able to tell him what's going on in here. He, Katie, and DJ are ready to make a move the moment they get the chance."

"What in the world is going on here?" a deep, angry voice demanded as King Endymion strolled onto the scene along with Neo Queen Serenity and all of the scouts and generals from both the present and the past.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "What do you think? As usual, Jess has decided to do things her own way and take matters into her own hands. And it seems her future self is just as reckless and impulsive."

Drew rounded on him. "I admit that my wife can be hard-headed at times, and her artist mentality can make her appear a bit flighty sometimes, but she's one hell of a woman and a damn wonderful mother. Her capacity to love is endless, and she would never intentionally do anything that would endanger those she cares about."

"Hell, you don't have to tell me that," Andrew muttered. "I know as well as you do how big Jess's heart is. I just wish that sometimes she would think about herself before she jumps into a potentially dangerous situation."

Sailor Moon flapped a hand. "Yeah, yeah! We all know how she is. The question is what is everybody doing here?"

Serenity's eyes narrowed. "I could ask you the same thing. I distinctly remember parking you in my garden gazebo and telling you to stay put."

"Did you really expect us to do that?" Sailor Moon countered.

"I suppose not," Serenity sighed. "But to answer your question, we all decided to come and see what was going on. Since the entire city is covered by the power of the Celestial Crystals, we figured there was no need to keep up the shields around the palace and the hospitals. We left Talon and the rest of his crew behind to keep an eye on things, but there is no negative energy left inside the city. The Jesses have obliterated every bit of it, except for Discord himself."

"Now let's just hope that he is destroyed before those two run out of juice," Endymion grumbled. "I don't want to jinx us, and I don't want to brag, but although events have unfolded differently this time than they did before it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. It would be nice to end this before things take a nasty turn."

Eternal Venus disengaged herself from the hug she had been giving Ishtar. "The only problem is that things almost always seem to take a nasty turn for us."

Her younger counterpart nodded. "That's sad but true. I can't even begin to count how many times something unexpected has jumped up to bite us in the ass just when things seem to be going our way."

"Probably because you can't count past five," Jupiter replied snidely before turning to share a high five with her future self. Neph and Nephrite muffled chuckles behind their hands.

"Okay, that's enough!" Serenity snapped, cutting off the irritated grumbles that were beginning to rise from the other scouts and generals. The last thing they needed right now was a bickering match. "The main thing we need to focus on is making plans for what to do if Jess and her past self run out of energy before the kids can take Discord down. If that barrier drops he will be in here and on top of them and the rest of us before we can blink."

Drew paled a bit at her words. "And on that note, I think I'm going to head up to the top of the tower. Jess is holding herself together, for now. But she's already tiring some and won't be able to keep this up forever. I'm not leaving her alone." He turned to his past self. "Are you with me?"

Andrew nodded. "All the way. We can't leave them wide open to a possible attack. I know that both of them are stronger than most people can imagine, but everyone has their limits."

"Well I'm staying here," Sailor Moon stated firmly. "Jess is one of my closest friends, and I'm not leaving her alone when her life could possibly be in danger."

Tuxedo Mask clasped her shoulders from behind and gave her a wry grin when she turned her head to glance at him. "And wherever you stay, I stay."

Endymion rolled his eyes at his wife. "Don't even say it, Sere. I've learned better than to argue with you when it comes to situations like this. Wild horses couldn't drag you away from here right now."

"You got that right, buddy!" the queen told him as she nudged him in the ribs with an elbow. "But the big problem is that we need to decide who is staying and who needs to go back to the palace. We can't leave our family, friends, and the rest of the people unprotected in case Discord breaks through."

"Well if you think I'm leaving, you've got another thing coming, Meatball Head!" Eternal Mars snapped. "Ares only knows what kind of trouble you would get yourself in without me here to keep an eye on you."

"And that goes double for me," Mars announced as glared at her princess. "Not that I'm doubting Darien's ability to keep you safe, Serena, but you do have a bad habit of getting yourself into some bad situations at times."

Jupiter nodded her head. "You have a point, Raye."

Even Mercury had a look of concern on her face. "It is a proven, yet sadly true fact."

"How soon everybody forgets the many times that I was the last one standing and had to save all of them," Sailor Moon muttered under her breath to Serenity.

The queen offered her a small smile as she shook her head. "Oh, they remember. They just choose to come down with cases of temporary amnesia whenever tense situations come up."

As small arguments broke out between the scouts and generals over who would go and who would stay, Flame motioned for Crescent Moon, Ishtar, and Callisto to join him and Caloris where they were standing a short distance away from the adults. The three scouts wandered over with Helios and Kyrian trailing behind them.

"What's up?" Crescent Moon asked immediately.

Flame frowned. "Not sure. But it could be a problem. Tell them about it, Hannah."

Caloris looked up from where she had been studying her computer. "Everyone is just taking it for granted that the Double J team up on the tower took care of all of Discord's flunkies. And they did, for the most part. But that was only inside the city. There were a few who were milling around outside the city limits, and a couple of more were able to slip out before they could be destroyed by their power."

Crescent Moon sucked a hissing breath between her teeth. "So you're telling me that there is still a group of guardians and sentinels prowling around outside the barrier where DJ, Katie, and Alex are?"

"I'm afraid so," Caloris confirmed. "I can't get any clear readings through the shield, but I estimate about ten or twelve of them are out there."

Helios squeezed Crescent Moon's hand gently. "Maybe you should tell your parents about this."

"Hell no!" Callisto retorted. "I say we go out there and take care of them ourselves."

Kyrian shrugged. "If Hannah's right, then it's a relatively small group. If DJ, Katie, and Alex come across them I'm sure they can handle them."

"But it's supposed to be our job to clear the way for them," Flame argued. "The whole point of us training with them all of this time was so that we could take care of the little guys while they conserve energy and focus on Discord. We can't do that if we hide in here like a bunch of cowards."

"What do you think, Emma?" Crescent Moon asked the golden haired scout who had been standing beside her quietly.

Ishtar chewed her bottom lip nervously as she fought an internal battle. On one hand she wanted to run out and blast every damn monster that was left. On the other hand, she had told Alex that she would stay safe inside the barrier. But he hadn't known at the time that there were more enemies around than just Discord.

After a few more seconds of deliberation, she made a decision. "I'm going out there. I'm not leaving them alone to face everything by themselves. We are supposed to be a team…and I think it's time we got back on track."

The others nodded in agreement. Even Kyrian and Helios decided to go with them to lend a helping hand wherever they could. The adult scouts and generals were still so wrapped up in their debate that they didn't notice when the seven of them silently slipped away.

* * *

"I'm starting to feel sleepy," Jess moaned as she felt her body begin to sag from the effort of expending her energy so long.

Her older self wore a similar expression of exhaustion on her face, but her voice was firm as she encouraged her, "Come on! You can go on for a while longer. Just make sure you keep the power level steady. You're beginning to slip just a bit."

Jess took a deep breath to try and rejuvenate herself before throwing herself back into keeping the shield up. She felt a strong wave of energy surge through her as she called on the power of the Celestial Crystal. Dark blue lightning and gold and silver sparks snapped in the air around her in response.

The other woman standing next to her jumped in surprise. "Whoa there! You don't need to be quite that enthusiastic. You do much more than that and everything will go ka-boom."

Her younger counterpart was not amused. "Not enough…too much…I wish you would make up your effin mind already! I'm getting damn sick of this shit. I wish the bastard would just hurry up and die already so we can get this whole ordeal the hell over with!"

"Wow! Somebody sounds ticked off," an amused male voice chuckled. "It's amazing that a mouth that can spill out words like that can kiss the way it does."

Both dark blonde heads snapped around to gape at the two sandy haired men who had snuck up on them without them sensing them. Behind them stood Serenity, Endymion, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask.

"What are you guys doing here?" they demanded in unison.

"Trying to keep you from doing something even more incredibly insane than what you've already done," Drew answered as he stepped up behind his wife and pulled her back so that she could lean against his chest.

Andrew did the same with his fiancée. "How are hanging in there, slugger?"

Jess took great comfort in his support. "Honestly, I'm almost too pooped to pop. I've never done a shield this large before, and I've never kept one up this long. Every muscle in my body feels like it's made out of rubber."

Her doppelganger snorted. "Don't let her fool you, Andrew. She's been doing a great job. Though I have to agree with her about how tiring this is. I'm starting to feel like a piece of cooked spaghetti."

"And that's why we're here," Serenity announced. "Since the Silver and the Golden Crystals are parents to the Celestial Crystal, they should be more than compatible enough to share energy with it."

Jess shot a quick look at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask's tired faces and took another moment to register the fact that the queen and king didn't look to be in much better shape. She shook her head. "No way! You guys looked wiped out enough as it is. The last thing we need to do is take all of us out of commission. If by some chance we can't hold this shield up until Discord is gone, you're going to need all of your power to help protect as many people as you can. I'm not taking any of your energy."

"She's right," her older self agreed. "If all six of us are down and Discord gets in here it will be a disaster. The scouts and generals are good, but they wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell against him. And if, by some chance, the kids don't get a shot at him, I want you guys to promise me that you'll try to seal him away again. It may piss the gods off, but it's better than everyone dying."

Sailor Moon smirked. "I knew they would say something like that."

Tuxedo Mask nodded. "I was expecting it too."

"This subject is not open for debate," Endymion growled. "The point is that we all need to work together. All vigilante heroics is going to accomplish is getting someone killed. And that is what we're trying to avoid. So both of you shut up and accept our help."

Both dark blondes stared at him with wide, shocked, dark blue eyes. Their expressions turned mutinous for a moment before they appeared to swallow the angry words that they were dying to spit out. To everyone's surprise, they looked away and muttered quietly, "Yes sir."

Andrew shared an astonished look with Drew. "Did I just hear what I think I heard? It must be a sign of the apocalypse. High Queen Hardhead never gives in without a fight." His breath whooshed out softly as Jess shoved an elbow back lightly into his stomach.

Drew shook his head and chuckled under his breath, but wisely kept his mouth shut. Over the years he had witnessed a few times that his wife had bowed to her former father's wishes without putting up too much of a fuss. And he had learned the hard way that it was best to never mention the incidents.

Serenity rolled her eyes at her husband. "It's not like we're alone in this. All of the inner scouts and generals stayed behind with us and are positioned down below."

"That's only because they are all stubborn and refused to leave us," Sailor Moon grouched as she thought about the heated debate that she'd had with her friends before coming up the tower. Venus and Mercury had been stoically quiet in their refusal to leave their princess behind while Mars and Jupiter had been loud…very loud.

"You may as well get used to it, Serena," Serenity told her. "Sometimes I'm amazed that they allow me to go to the bathroom in peace. But I admit that their being here is a huge help. The scouts can share energy with us while the generals will give Endymion and Darien a boost. Between all of us we should be able to give the Celestial Crystals enough juice to hang in there a while longer."

The older Jess looked over at her past self in concern. The younger woman indeed appeared ready to drop from exhaustion at any moment and her power levels were beginning to fluctuate badly, which could cause the barrier to become unstable. And as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't feeling near as steady as she would like herself. Both of them were already seriously pushing the boundaries of their powers to the breaking point and would soon either have to give up and hope everything turned out okay…or unleash the fury of their full power, which would probably destroy the Earth.

She heaved a big sigh. "Okay. Let's see what we can do about holding this bastard off for just a little while longer."

* * *

Discord felt a fissure of glee run through him as he sensed the energy barrier around Crystal Tokyo begin to pulse wildly. The two little half-blood princesses had thought to hold him off, and he had to admire them for their spirit. But he'd known that if he was patient that they eventually would fall, leaving themselves wide open for him to swoop in to kill them and relieve them of their crystals.

If he had been in a human body he would have been licking his lips in anticipation. He had been waiting for this moment for over two thousand years, ever since Talon had unwittingly released him from the seal that Serenity, Jonathan, and Edward had cursed him into.

When he had first been freed he'd thought to only use Talon and his group of sorcerers until he had gotten strong enough to go through with his original plan to destroy the Earth. But once Talon had let it slip that such a power had once existed and might one day be reborn into the world his plans had changed. He'd allied himself with the magic wielders and helped them search throughout the centuries for the next person who would be born as the next master of the Celestial Crystal.

He had to give the former moon queen credit, she had hidden her granddaughter's reincarnation well, even going as far as locking the crystal away in Elysian until the girl had become old enough to reclaim her legacy. But once he had discovered that the Sailor Shadow who was fighting against them in an attempt to keep the crystal out of their hands was the reincarnation of Princess Melody, one time heir of both the Moon and Earth Kingdoms and the true holder of the Celestial Crystal, he had been plotting her demise. He wanted that power for himself. With it, not even the gods would attempt to thwart him, even if Zeus let them off their leashes.

He could still see them through the blue haze of their power. The two women stood boldly at the top of the tall tower with their solarian lovers and the past and present versions of their former parents. The assembled group must be thinking to protect the princesses when they fell, but they wouldn't stand a chance. His forces may have been obliterated for the most part, but they had done a good job of wearing down his enemies. As soon as he got the chance he was going to swoop in and claim his prize before any of them knew what was happening.

He was completely focused on the task of getting one or both Celestial Crystals, but he hadn't forgotten about the Galactic Trinity. He'd made sure to keep his senses in tune to the three brats in case they decided to make a move against him, but so far all they had done was watch from a distance. They were probably too scared to face him after the blow that he had dealt them earlier. That's what the gods got for choosing children to be avatars for their powers. No matter. He would deal with them soon enough.

A flicker of movement and a flash of light slightly to the west of him caught his attention and turned it that way. How interesting! A small group of his army, about twenty or so, had managed to escape the Celestial Crystal's purging of Crystal Tokyo and had regrouped nearby. But since he had been distracted and really had no use for them at the moment he had completely forgotten about them.

Well, he had forgotten about them until this moment. Now it seemed that a small group of junior warriors, led by that pink haired princess had shown up and decided to engage his pets in a little fight. Oh well, at least the confrontation would keep those brats out of his way for a while.

The pressure in the air around him changed and he turned his interest back toward the barrier that was keeping him from what he wanted. The power level of the shield was beginning to fluctuate wildly, dropping down and then spiking up every several seconds as weak spots began to appear in the dome of blue energy. He knew that neither one of the princesses would draw upon their full power, so he figured that they only had a minute or two left in them before they would be forced to drop this charade of a defense. He readied himself to make his move.

Just when he thought the shield was about to fizzle out and die, it suddenly sprang back to life, shining just as brightly as it had when it had first been cast. Only now there crackles of gold and silver that raced across the surface like the lightning that was still flashing in the sky above him.

He turned his attention back to the tower and an ominous snarl rumbled from him when he saw that the two pinpoints of blue light at the top of the tower had now been joined by silver, gold, and bronze as well. In fact, there was a multi-colored rainbow of energy wrapping around the entire area.

"So her family and friends have rushed to her aid in an attempt to hold me back," he grumbled to himself. "This is annoying, but not completely unexpected I suppose. But that is of little importance. There is more than one way to achieve my goals. I may not be able to get my powers through that barrier, but there are many ways to use a person's mind against themselves if the right opportunity presents itself."

He swirled around for a moment, and then settled in as close to the barrier as he could without sustaining damage. His red eyes gleamed like lasers inside his misty form as he whispered, "All right, princess. Let's play our game. We'll see just how far you can take it before you crack. But I don't believe it will take long. Much like your daughter, I know your deepest fears and weaknesses. I will bring you to your knees."

* * *

Katie kicked the toe of her boot against the ground in frustration. "We may as well face it. He's not coming after us."

"Kat's right," Alex growled. "As much as we wanted to keep the fight as far away from the city as possible, I think we're going to have to move in closer to get his attention."

"I guess you guys have a point," DJ sighed. "I was just really hoping that once Jess locked him out of the city that he would come after us. But the bastard seems content to try and wait her out. He knows she can't keep it up forever."

Katie's silver eyes speared through him. "And every second that we waste here brings him possibly one step closer to getting his hands on my mom's crystal. If that happens we can all kiss our asses goodbye because this planet is history."

He nodded as he watched Discord settle down even closer to the city, hovering like a hawk searching for its prey. "Okay. It looks like we really don't have any other choice. Let's take this fight to him and get it over with."

Just as the three of them were preparing to teleport, Alex bit out a curse. "Damn it! Of all the times for this to happen!"

"What is it?" Katie and DJ both asked out loud, but at the same time they were already getting the answer straight from his mind thanks to their mental bond.

'_What in the hell do they think they are doing?' _Katie screeched in her head as she felt through her brother's thoughts that Emma, Rini, and the rest of their friends were locked in a violent battle against a fairly large group of Discord's minions.

DJ's voice was just as loud in their minds. _'I thought they were all staying inside the city.'_

Alex rolled his eyes. _'Emma claims that they are just doing their job and trying to make sure nothing gets in our way. But things aren't exactly going the way they planned. Helios and Kyrian are with them, but the group is larger than they anticipated. Even with the extra help they are still outnumbered about 3 to 1.'_

'_Then I guess we better make sure they are all okay on the way,' _Katie murmured. _'They have all already been through so much today trying to help us. I don't want to see any of them hurt again.'_

DJ snorted. _'Hmm…I can't promise anything. I just might be tempted to throttle my sister once I get my hands on her.'_

'_Same thing with Emma,' _Alex agreed.

Katie arched a brow at him. _'For some reason I don't either you or Emma would take that as much of a punishment.'_

Her brother gaped at her for a moment before turning to glare at his best friend and yell, "You pervert! You have completely corrupted my innocent sister!"

DJ merely smirked. "I hate to break it to you, buddy, but there was no corruption involved. There is a whole other side to your sister that you choose not to see. She may look sweet and innocent on the outside, but there is a dark side to her personality that likes to come out and play sometimes."

Katie squealed in outrage and stomped her foot. "Do you two idiots mind? I happen to be standing right here! Now are we going to just stand here and discuss who has the dirtiest mind out of the three of us, or are we going to go kick some ass?"

Both boys flushed and looked sheepish as they mumbled, "Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

They teleported away in flashes of gold, silver, and red-orange.

* * *

_**Elysian – In the Future**_

Katie jumped up from her seat on the sofa as she watched her past self and the past forms of her brother and lover disappear from sight on the viewing portal. A peculiar feeling swept through her, making her clasp her hands over her suddenly queasy stomach.

DJ shot to his feet beside her only a second later and hovered protectively. "Honey, what's wrong? Is it the baby?"

Rini and Emma both exclaimed in concern as Alex crowded in on her other side to place his hands gently on her shoulders. "Kat, what's the matter? Do you feel sick?"

She shook her head at both of them. In truth she did still feel a bit nauseous, but that wasn't what was bothering her. She had a horrible, gut-deep feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And whatever it was had to do with what was going on in the past.

Terror shot down her spine like a shard of ice as a vision burst through her brain with blinding intensity. She saw Alex, the younger one that she had just observing in the portal, on his knees, screaming, as he rocked the lifeless body of Sailor Ishtar in his arms. Her golden hair was soaked red with blood while her peach and white fuku hung in tatters from her body, along with what appeared to be strips of skin. The poor girl looked as if something had literally tried to rip her to pieces.

Katie swallowed hard, trying get rid of the lump that had risen in her throat so that she could breathe. All she could think of was a dark night from long ago when her dear twin brother had died. His body had been much in the same condition after being mauled by that sentinel. The damage had been so bad that his funeral had been a closed casket service to spare family and friends the grief of having to look at his destroyed remains.

To her horror, the vision didn't stop there. Crescent Moon and Helios were in a crumpled heap together on the ground. And from the unnatural positions of their bodies, she was pretty sure they were both dead. Callisto and Kyrian were still on their feet, but they were severely battered and bruised and looked as if they could drop at any second. Caloris and Flame were sitting down, leaning against each other and covered in blood. She couldn't tell if it was his or hers, but there was so much of it that she suspected that came from both of them.

Then she became aware of the odd angle in which she was viewing the horrific scene, and realized that she was laying on the ground. A blinding agony of pain tore through her a second later, and she looked down in shock to see that a hole, the size of a man's arm, had been blasted through her chest. Hot blood gushed from the wound in a steady stream to flow down her sides and pool around her like a ruby red pond.

Black flashed across her vision, and then DJ was above her, kneeling in her blood. His expression was terrified and tears streaked from his golden eyes and down his cheeks where they fell onto her face.

His voice cracked as he whispered, "Oh baby, I'm sorry. I didn't see that guardian behind you until it was too late. But don't worry. I'm going to make you better." His hands began to glow gold.

She tried to draw in a breath, but couldn't. Her lungs didn't seem to work and she could taste blood as rose thickly in her throat. Panicking at the choking sensation, she jerked her head to the side as the red liquid spewed past her lips like a fountain.

"Oh god, Kat! Just hang in there for another minute!" DJ almost screamed at her as he forced his healing energy into her body.

She lay there, unable to speak or breathe. Normally the healing power of Earth caused a warm, fuzzy feeling in the person being healed, but this time she felt nothing except a frigid cold creeping over her and making her limbs shake uncontrollably. In that moment she knew the truth. She was too far gone to be saved. The damage was too extensive and she had lost too much blood. She was dying.

"Why isn't it working?" DJ shrieked as he gathered her up carefully in his arms and began to rock back and forth, not caring that he was becoming covered in her blood. His voice was hot and feverish as he mumbled against her ear, "Stay with me, baby. Please don't leave me like this. I'll get you to my dad and he'll help me save you. Don't you dare give up on me…on us. I love you. Damn it! I love you so much!"

The pain in his voice hurt her worse than the wound that was taking her life, and she managed to lift her head just enough to gaze up into his beloved face. Her poor prince! She wished that she could do or say something to wipe that agonizing expression from his face. But all she could do was look at him, and hope that he could read her love for him in her eyes.

He had been her one and only love…her hero. She only hoped that he knew how much she had loved him. Gathering the last dregs of her flailing energy, she thought to him, _'I will always love you, my dark prince…for eternity.'_

And then an empty, silent darkness washed over her.

Katie crashed back into the present, doing her best to bite back a scream as she bit down on the knuckles of one hand hard enough to break the skin. Yelling voices were erupting all around her, but she heard them as if she were in a dream. They were fuzzy and distorted.

Then her wide hazel eyes clashed with a calm, wise, amber gaze, and she felt a wave of calmness begin to settle over her. Helios spoke no words out loud to her, but his eyes said it all. Pluto may have thought that she was being sneaky during her earlier visit to Elysian to see her, but nothing happened in the land of dreams that its high priest wasn't aware of. And right now those eyes shone with encouragement and understanding.

And just like that, everything made sense. The vision she had just seen had been the sign that Sailor Pluto had told her to look for. And now she knew what she had to do.

"It must be the stress and the excitement of watching the events of the past. I'm going to take her to go lay down for a while," DJ was saying next to her.

Alex nodded rapidly. "Yeah, you do that. We can't have anything happening to my sister or my little niece."

Katie ignored them both and shoved her hand into the pocket of her jeans to take out what Pluto had given her earlier. She paused for a moment as her hand slipped effortlessly into the pocket with no problem. In fact, her pants suddenly felt a couple of sizes too big for her.

For a moment, she started to panic, but then she felt a tiny ball of warmth in her stomach and heard a girl's voice say, _'Bye, bye, momma. You're changing the past, so I'm going home to my own time now.'_

She sucked in a startled breath, but remained calm at the realization that she was no longer pregnant. She had often wondered, since her daughter's soul had fought to exist in this timeline, at what age she would have her if her life hadn't been so screwed up these past fifteen years. Granted, she was still young, only thirty-one. But she had a feeling that if things worked out in the past that she and her prince would be married with at least one child in the new timeline by the time they reached the ages they were now. And Allie's departing words to her gave her hope that the past was being rewritten as it should be.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about putting her baby's life in danger when she did what she had to do next. She closed her fingers around the small piece of metal in her pocket and pulled it out.

"Come on, Kat. Let's get you up to bed," DJ was saying as he tried to pick her up bridal style.

She shimmied slightly away from him, but remained in the circle of his arms. "No! I'm fine. Really I am."

"Bullshit!" Alex snapped. "Something was definitely wrong with you a minute ago. I thought you were going to pass out or start screaming or something."

Katie reached over and clasped her brother's arm tightly with her free hand. "I promise, I am perfectly okay." Her eyes darted back and forth between the two important men in her life. "I just need both of you to trust me right now. All right?"

DJ's eyes narrowed as he tightened his arms around her waist. "What do you mean?"

She gave them both a secretive grin. "Just hang on to your socks, boys."

She thrust her other hand, which was holding a time key securely in her fingers, up into the air. There was a flash of pink light…and then the three of them vanished.

"What the…?" Emma mumbled after a few stunned seconds.

Rini appeared equally stupefied…and then she got angry. "How…? Where did they…? How could they just take off like that and not take us with them? I swear I'm going to _murder _my brother the next time I see him!"

Helios merely sat back down quietly in his seat and turned his attention back to the viewing portal. He knew where the trio was heading, having studied the many outcomes of the battle with Sailor Pluto over the years, and he knew which path they were going down. Now all he could do was hope for the best.

He pulled his ranting wife into his lap and wrapped her tightly in his arms, praying with all of his might that she wouldn't suddenly fade away from his life.

Taken by surprise, Rini's tirade stuttered to a halt. "Helios? What is it?"

He shook his head and gave her a small smile before burying his face in her long, soft, pink hair. "It's nothing, my love. I was just trying to find a way to shut you up for a moment."

Rini wrapped her fingers into his silvery locks and tugged gently until he was looking up at her. She gave him a mock pout. "I would have thought that you could have come up with a better idea for that after all of these years." Then she bent down to cover his lips with hers.

As he found himself wrapped up in the feel and smell of his true love, Helios sent out a mental encouragement to the three that had just left, knowing that they couldn't hear it, but it made him feel better. _'Good luck, you guys.'_

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

"Feeling better?" Sailor Moon giggled as she absorb the rainbow of energy from her inner scouts and channeled it through herself, using the power of the Silver Crystal to channel it into Jess. Beside her, Tuxedo Mask was doing the same thing as he manipulated the golden Earth energy tinged with planetary colors through the Golden Crystal to give the younger woman a much needed boost.

Jess heaved a sigh of relief. "Boy do I ever. I really hate admitting to this, but this was the closest I've come to meltdown stage since that day we faced Discord up in the mountains. It's scary when you feel like you can't control yourself."

"Hey, you held it together though," her future self mumbled from where she was receiving her own recharge from Serenity and Endymion. "I know I never would have been able to hold out that long when I was your age. Hell! I was barely keeping it together myself now."

"And you wonder why I always call you my ticking time bomb," Drew chuckled as he pulled her back more firmly against his chest. "Sometimes I'm amazed that you didn't bring our house crashing down around us years ago."

Jess felt Andrew's arms around her waist tighten, and then his chin was on her shoulder as he whispered in her ear, "Are you really feeling better? Or are you just saying that to reassure all of us?"

Her glowing blue eyes under her blazing moon and rose symbol on her forehead turned to gaze into his hazel depths. "I am feeling more stable. But…"

"But?" he prompted her gently.

"I'm scared," she barely breathed. "I thought I was prepared for this. All of the conditioning and training that I've gone through…I don't think it's enough. I feel like I'm barely holding onto my control by my fingertips. Serena, Darien, and the others can't keep feeding me their energy forever. And when they have to stop I'm afraid that…I'm afraid that I just might fulfill that ancient prophecy after all. I don't want to be the Angel of Darkness that destroys the world."

He hugged her close, knowing how scared she must be to voice her concerns out loud. His fiancée was a loving and open person, but she was also one of the most stubborn that he had ever met and always felt the need to appear strong.

"You won't blow up the planet," he exhaled softly, breath brushing her ear. "I love you, and I believe in you. You are my spunky princess, who tried numerous times to push me into the fountain of the Moon Castle gardens when she lost a game…and failed. But you are also my passionate artist, who always seems to be there at the end of a long day, ready to greet me with kisses and a relaxing glass of wine. You are my reason for living."

"And you are mine," she whispered back, tears shimmering in her gleaming eyes. She snuggled closer to him, soaking in the warm strength of the energy he was radiating to her. "You are my rising sun. Just promise me that you'll never let me go."

"Never," he vowed, and then he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

The sound of several throats clearing made them realize that they had become the center of attention, and they pulled their faces away from one another, flushing slightly as they looked around.

After a few seconds, Jess snorted. "I don't see why all of you are standing there snickering. You guys look like you're getting pretty touchy-feely yourselves."

It was true. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were in a position similar to theirs, with his dark head on his princess's shoulder. He had ditched the mask at some point, and his sapphire eyes glinted humorously as he lightly kissed the moon pale skin of his soon to be wife's neck.

She jumped a bit in his arms, cheeks flaming red as she wailed, "Darien! This is neither the time or the place!"

Endymion chuckled. "Believe me, finding the right time and place can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I've finally come to learn to grab every spare moment that you can find, because you never know when another one my come along."

Serenity had turned in his arms and had her front plastered against his so close that it would be impossible to squeeze a hair between them. She rolled her eyes playfully. "Sad, but true. Still, there are a few instances where perhaps we should have thought things through just a tiny bit."

He shot her a wolfish grin. "Maybe. But we sure had fun at the time." Then he gave her a quick, but very hot kiss.

The future Jess raised her head from Drew's shoulder where it had looked like she had merely been resting. But there was something on her husband's tan neck that looked suspiciously like a fresh hickey. She smiled wickedly. "You never know when somebody might pop in, do you? That's why I made sure that every room in my house has locks on the doors."

"Especially the kitchen," Drew purred as he dove his face down to her neck, making her giggle.

"Unbelievable!" Sailor Moon groaned. "I have been listening to Rini grumble for years now about hormonal parents, but I always brushed it off, thinking that she was over-exaggerating. Now I'm starting to think that there might be some truth to her words after all."

Tuxedo Mask huffed a laugh. "I don't see why you sound so surprised. She's said the same things about us from almost the first day she fell out of the sky and landed on us."

Jess's face burned red, though she tried to keep her voice nonchalant. "Yeah, yeah! So we are all adults with perhaps slightly higher than average sex lives. It seems to me that the kids have learned to live with it."

"Speaking of kids," Sailor Moon mused. "I wonder what happened to the under eighteen crowd. They were all downstairs with us for a while, and then they wandered off."

Serenity let out a delicate snort. "Knowing that crew, they probably went to the edge of the barrier to see if they could catch sight of any action. I think they are all a little bummed that their part in the fight is over."

Endymion sighed. "At least we know that they are all safe inside the city. I'm sure one of the Jesses would be able to feel if someone tried to breach the shield."

The two dark blonde women looked at each other with startled eyes.

"I…I don't know if I would or not," the older Jess stammered.

Her younger self shook her head. "I don't think I would. There have been so many energy fluxes in the barrier that it's hard to tell. Negative energy touching it is the only thing that I have been able to identify."

"I'm sure they have enough sense to not leave the city," Sailor Moon piped up in her brightest voice, though it sounded a bit forced. "Besides, the only enemy left to face is Discord himself, and there's nothing can do against him."

"Speaking of The Great Grumpy Thundercloud," future Jess growled. "Heads up, Thing #2. It looks like we have some company about to drop in."

Jess glowered up into the sky, where indeed Discord's vaporous form was descending closer to the city, but it didn't stop her from grumbling, "Hey! Who says that you get to be Thing #1?"

The older woman shot her a smirk. "Age before beauty, my dear. I know we may look almost identical, but in truth I am much closer to forty than I care to admit."

Serenity giggled. "Technically you are pushing close to 1,040."

"I didn't ask from any feedback from the peanut gallery," future Jess snarled. Then she told her past self, "Make sure you're keeping the energy flow steady. And really make sure there are no weak spots right above us, because the bastard is coming in close. I really hope he touches this barrier. If he does, he's going to get a jolt he won't forget even after he's dead and gone."

The dark cloud that was Discord lowered down just over their heads, coming as close to the shield as he dared. But even with the several feet of cautious space he kept between himself and the pulsating blue energy, he was barely fifty yards away from them. To conserve energy, the two women had pulled their energy in as close as they could, only making the dome tall enough to clear the tallest buildings.

Glowing red eyes glared at them from the murky darkness as he spoke in a maddeningly calm voice. "Aren't you ladies ready to give up yet? I mean really, you're only prolonging the inevitable. You know as well as I do that your energy supply will run out eventually. You have already exhausted your reserves, and your friends won't be able to help you for long without sacrificing their own lives. Soon it will be just you…alone…again. And when that happens you will only have two choices. You will either have to accept defeat and surrender to me, or you will have to draw upon your full power. Of course living up to your full potential will not only result in your death, but the deaths of everyone you love and the destruction of the planet. And between you and me, I think we both know that you are too pathetically human to do that."

Jess crossed her arms across her chest and returned his glare with one of her own. "Are you quite done now? I swear, I get so tired of listening to your predictions of doom every time I have the misfortune of coming across your sorry ass."

Her future self nodded. "It does become quite tiresome after a while."

Discord made a disgusted sound. "Careful, princesses. You can talk a big game, and you possess quite a bit of talent, even if you won't use it to its fullest extent. Just remember that there is no grandmother here this time to grant you another chance at life once this one is over. Not that there would be a planet for you to live on anyway."

Both women's eyes narrowed in irritation, but they remained silent, drawing strength from their supporters who remained behind them.

"I do wonder though," Discord continued slyly. "Why you were so willing to accept help from the gods, and why you readily let your children become a pawn in this game to attempt to destroy me. The gods are vain, narcissistic beings that take great pleasure in playing around in the lives of mortals. And you, my dears, have been their greatest entertainment ever."

"What in the hell are you talking about?" the older of the two Jesses snapped.

A chuckle rumbled above them. "You mean you really don't know? I thought you were supposed to be highly intelligent, at least by human standards. I figured that you would have unraveled the source of your existence by now."

Jess snickered sarcastically. "I hate to disappoint you, big guy, but they teach that subject in elementary school nowadays. You see, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much they…"

"Jess!" Sailor Moon exclaimed in an appalled screech.

"What?" Jess shrugged. "I was just giving him the rundown of modern day sex education. He insinuated that I didn't know where babies come from. All the years of private school and college have to count for something."

"Very cute," Discord snarled. "It's easy to see where your son and daughter get their witty personalities from."

"I'll take that as a compliment," the mother in question replied.

"If I may continue," Discord growled. "What I was referring to wasn't your physical existence, but your soul. Have you never wondered why you were born into the circumstances that you were? It was planned that way. You see, once Zeus decreed that the deities could no longer interact with the human world, they lost their favorite pastime. After that, they had to come up with creative and inventive ways to have fun. The only problem is that humans have free will, so they had to find ways around that to get the results that they wanted."

"That's ridiculous!" Endymion snapped angrily. "You can't change a person's free will to make their own decisions. At least not without brainwashing them or something. And I'm sure that would have defied Zeus's order."

"Of course," Discord agreed solicitously. "But the decisions made by mortals can be influenced by outside sources…say by the placing of certain prophecies for example. It really isn't that hard for a god to show someone something or to whisper words into their ears. And they can do it without crossing the line between their world and this one."

Jess's mind was whirling fast as she processed his words. "Hold the phone just a minute! You say that the prophecies about me were planted. But if I'm not mistaken, Apollo, in addition to being the god of the sun, plagues, and lot of other things, is also a god of prophecy. And since he's one of the main ones trying to take your ass down, I seriously doubt that he would be playing around with me since he needs me."

Laughter boomed from the cloud. "I'm impressed! You know your mythology well. Yes, Apollo would be the first one that most people would assume to be passing around prophecies. But you are correct in saying that he was not the one behind the prophecies. After the debacle your grandparents made out trying to defeat me the first time he devoted himself to watching over Jonathan's descendants, because he knew that one day one of them would be the next sun holder of the Trinity. He even went as far as to confer with Aphrodite, Eros, and Psyche to make sure that a certain solarian soldier and the sailor scout of the sun ended up together. It seems that the two of them had been denying the attraction between them for a long time because of their positions. But they were wed, amidst much opposition, and then accepted positions on the moon, ensuring that solarians were there to help protect Jonathan's line. By default, he was also looking out for Serenity's as well, but I doubt he saw it that way. The gods are so selfish."

"Is there a point to this history lesson?" Serenity demanded, sounding annoyed.

"Patience, your majesty," Discord drawled. "I am merely explaining some ways that the gods have meddled. Now, back to you, princess. You know that I've recently spent a lot of time at the time gate. While I was there I was able to take good long looks at several different time periods and timelines. And of course, your lives were of great interest to me. I have to admit, what I found was quite shocking. You see, since I am a non-human entity, I can sense the glitches in time when a higher being has altered a human's path. And your path is riddled with more holes than swiss cheese. I dug back as far as I could to find the origins of why your lives have turned out the way they have. And do you know what I found?"

Future Jess sighed heavily. "It doesn't matter if I want to know or not. You're going to tell us anyway."

Discord cackled ominously. "You weren't supposed to exist when you did"

"What?!" the group on the tower exclaimed together.

The evil entity swirled excitedly. "I was just as shocked as you are. But I looked all the way back to when the original prophesy was made, and made a startling discovery. I found out that Eris…you do know who Eris is, don't you?"

"The goddess of chaos and discord," Jess ground out through gritted teeth. "I'm sure you two are big fans of each others."

"She does hold a special place in my limited affections," he agreed. "Anyway, it seems that poor Eris had gotten quite bored over the centuries and was looking for a bit of fun. One night she got quite drunk at a party being held by Hades and Persephone and overheard an interesting conversation between Aphrodite and Apollo concerning dear Serenity and her Endymion. They were talking about the future relationship between the two, and Apollo was encouraging Aphrodite to make sure that the two of them did not wed until Serenity was seventeen. It had been foretold to him that their first child would be born very powerful, but that it was important that the child not be born until after the princess had passed her sixteenth year. If the heir to the Earth and Moon Kingdoms was born any earlier it could lead both kingdoms to disaster. Aphrodite agreed and promised to keep the bonds of love loose around them until Serenity was seventeen.

Well Eris saw this as a chance to have a bit of fun, so she conspired with the Fates, and set them to work intertwining Serenity and Endymion's fate lines far earlier than they should have been. She then whispered the prophecy into Beryl's father, the old seers, ear, foretelling of the destruction that could come if the moon princess and the earth prince were to wed. She knew that that, along with weaving their strings together, would push the two young royals together ahead of Apollo and Aphrodite's schedule. Then, the moment they were married, the Fates began spinning your life string, Melody."

"And she was born almost nine months to the day after our wedding," Serenity whispered in a horrified tone.

Sailor Moon appeared just as troubled. "I was still only sixteen when she was born."

Future Jess snorted. "So what you're trying to say is that my being born when I was was all part of some trick being played by a bored goddess?"

"Yeah! What difference did that make?" her younger self snapped. "So I showed up a little earlier than expected. I don't see what the big deal is."

Discord chuckled. "It was a very big deal, my dear, because your birth completely changed the flow of time. If Serenity and Endymion had waited just a bit longer to be married, things would have turned out much differently. Instead of being distracted by his new wife and coming child, Endymion would have led his army to victory against Beryl, Talon, and their followers."

"You're lying!" Tuxedo Mask snarled. "Our marriage had no effect on the outcome of that war. Beryl was a sneaky witch who kept us running around in circles. Whether or not I was married had nothing to do with it!"

A growl rumbled in Endymion's throat. "If anything, my worries for keeping Serenity and Melody safe pushed me to fight harder in order to end the war as quickly as possible."

"Is that what you really think?" Discord sounded amused. "You always were a blind fool, Endymion. Admit it. Even when you weren't sneaking off to visit your little family, they consumed your mind. And your biggest worry was how to protect your daughter if the rest of the galaxy knew she was alive. You knew that she would be hated and hunted for merely existing, and those thoughts kept you from making the sound military decisions that you might have made. Whereas if you and Serenity had waited to bear the fruit of your union, peace would have been declared between the Moon and the Earth and you would have lived happily ever after. Instead, Melody's existence brought about the end of your kingdoms."

"I've heard enough of this shit!" Future Jess hissed. "You think I haven't blamed myself for what happened all of those centuries ago? I have! And the last thing I need is an asshole like you rubbing it into my face. But I don't buy all of this crap about how my whole life has been engineered by Eris."

Discord made a humming sound. "Well…not in this lifetime. Eris lost interest in all of you after the fall of the Silver Millennium and moved on to other things. After all, she had gotten the entertainment she wanted. But you, princess, had quite fascinated the Fates, and they weren't quite through playing yet. They have followed your current incarnation and have immensely enjoyed toying with different aspects of your life."

An angry breath hissed through Jess's teeth. "Just what the hell do you mean?"

"What I mean, dear princess," Discord drawled, "is that your life this time around would have gone very differently if the Fates hadn't interfered. Most of what they did was quite harmless, mostly just whispered thoughts or suggestions that would spark a quarrel for their amusement. But sometimes even the smallest things can have dire consequences. Allow me to show you an interesting blip I found while studying your timeline."

Dark energy swirled in front of him before forming what appeared to be a giant movie screen. Everyone held their breath as figures began flickering to life.

_*****Discord's Vision*****_

_**Suburban Los Angeles – almost 2 years before Jess moved to Tokyo**_

"I really hate these kinds of functions," Josh Alexander grumbled as he stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of a closet door as he knotted his tie.

His wife, Kim, giggled from her seat in front of a dressing table where she was inserting earrings into her ears. "I know you do, darling, but I can't help but be proud of you. This dinner is to honor you and your team for your work on your new program."

Josh groaned as he turned around. "Yeah, but it's not all about me. There were a lot of other people working on the project. I doubt anybody would miss me if I didn't show up."

Kim pursed her lips as she added a touch of lip-gloss. "You know better than that. Your cell phone would probably explode with the influx of calls that would come rolling in. You are a man that is in very high demand."

"I just want a bit of peace and quiet," Josh complained. Then a twinkle appeared in his brown eyes. "I've got an idea! Let's pull a disappearing act. We'll throw on some old jeans, grab Jess, and go out for a night of fun. We'll go to Mama Rosa's, pig out on nachos and enchiladas, have a couple of margaritas, and then go for a walk on the beach. I bet there has to be a band or two playing down there somewhere. What do you think?"

Kim slid a look at him over her shoulder. "Hmm…tempting."

Josh streaked across the room and swept her up into his arms. "I'm sure I can persuade you," he murmured before he gave her a long, lingering kiss.

Her eyes were glazed when he pulled back a minute later. "Well…since you put it that way…"

He began to grin roguishly.

Just then there was the slightest shimmer in the air next to Kim, and she tilted her head slightly as if listening to something. Her expression suddenly cleared and she pushed lightly against his shoulders. "No, we can't skip out on this dinner. Your colleagues will be expecting you there, and it would be rude not to show up. Besides, Jess has been holed up in her studio since right after lunch, so she's probably up to her eyeballs in some project."

Josh wasn't ready to give up. "You know as well as I do that the promise of a trip to Mama Rosa's will have her out the door before we are. That girl never turns down a good meal."

"That's true enough," Kim agreed. "But we'll just have to save your night of fun for another time. Maybe we'll all go out tomorrow night. But tonight we have to do the mature and responsible thing. You'll thank me for it later,"

"I doubt it," he grouched. "It's not like I'll be working with those people much longer anyway, By the way, when are we going to break the news to Jess that I'm being transferred back to Tokyo? You know she'll be ecstatic about it."

Kim slipped away from him to touch up her now smudged lip-gloss in her mirror. "I know she will. I thought we were going to have to physically drag her onto the plane last week to get her to leave Tokyo after our visit. I don't regret moving here. I know it was the best thing for her at the time. But she's missed home as much as we have. And now that she's older I think things will be easier for her there. I doubt anyone will remember her after eleven years. I had a devil of a time hiding the fact that you were gone to a business meeting from her while we were there though."

Josh smirked. "I bet you did. Hardly anything gets past her, and she's as curious as a kitten. We probably should have told her what the trip was all about when we went, but I didn't want to get her hopes up in case the transfer fell through."

"I tell you what," Kim replied as she turned back to him and reached to straighten his tie. "Let's plan on going out tomorrow night and we'll tell her then. That will probably be better than tonight anyway. The weather forecast is predicting rain for later this evening. Then we can celebrate properly. Besides, I bought this dress especially for tonight because I thought you'd like it."

"Oh, I like," he assured her eagerly as she spun in a circle before him. He eyeballed the hem of her bronze silk dress as it swung around her knees. "I look forward to helping you get out of it later even more."

She stroked his jaw with her fingers as she purred. "I'm going to hold you to that. But first we have to take care of the business of the evening." She moved to pick up a small black handbag from her dressing table.

He sighed. "For someone who dislikes big social functions as much as I do, you certainly seem eager to get going all of a sudden." He held his hands up in surrender as she turned icy green eyes on him in a glare and opened the bedroom door.

Kim preceded him into the hall and then walked over to a set of stairs that led up to the attic. Rock music pounded at a moderate volume from above as she called up the stairs, "Jessie, sweetie? Daddy and I are leaving now."

There was a bump and a thud, as if something, or someone, had fallen, followed by, "Shi-Crap! Don't worry! I'm okay!" Then there was a splash and a clatter. "Mother Pus-Bucket!"

Josh chuckled while Kim shook her head and muttered, "What are we going to do with that girl?"

He shrugged. "She's a free spirit."

"I guess that's one way of putting it. But I can't help but wish she would mature just a little bit. She is sixteen now, and college is a lot different than high school," Kim grumbled.

That mysterious shimmer appeared again next to Josh, and a few seconds later he shot his wife a reproachful look. "I thought you were proud of everything our daughter has accomplished."

Kim looked taken aback by his angry tone. "I am proud of her. I just meant…"

Her voice tapered off as footsteps thundered down the steps. A few seconds later, a young Jess, barefoot, in frayed cut-offs and a worn out, dark blue tank top whirled through the door like a miniature hurricane. Her dark blonde curls were pulled back in a messy twist on top of her head. Colorful paint splattered her arms and a dark streak of charcoal marred her cheek. A large wet spot on her shirt was a souvenir of whatever had spilled during her mad dash.

"I'm here!" she announced with a bright smile.

_*****End Vision*****_

Jess barked a laugh as the vision faded away. "You are so full of it, Discord! I learned to not fall for your wacky mind games a long time ago. Let me let you in on a little secret of mine. I am well aware of the fact that my father used to laugh at my antics and that I almost drove my mother batty because of my, as she put it, lack of decorum. But if you think that showing me some warped vision of the past is going to change my mind about holding you back, then you have another thing coming!"

The evil entity chuckled. "What makes you think what I showed you was warped?"

She ground her teeth together. "Because I knew them very well."

"Ohh…" he drawled. "Then you knew about the move they were planning to make."

"They weren't planning any move," she shot back. "You're just trying to confuse me with one of your tricks. And it's not going to happen"

She turned to her future self and demanded, "Come on! Back me up on this! Tell him that mom and dad didn't have some secret move they were waiting to spring on me."

"Actually," the future Jess murmured. "That part is true. Dawn let something slip years ago and I pestered it out of her. During that last trip to Tokyo we took about two weeks or so before they died, dad got offered a promotion and a transfer, and he took it. He and mom thought that we had spent long enough away for everyone to forget about us by then. But unfortunately they never got to tell me about it."

"Well that explains why dad disappeared a couple of times during that trip," Jess muttered irritably. "But that doesn't explain why Super-Psycho would bring that up now. That's not going to accomplish anything."

"True," her future self agreed.

"Did you stupid little girls not pay attention to anything that I just showed you?" Discord sneered. "You claim to know your parents so well. Surely you realized that they were acting a bit out of character that night. You forget that I have been inside your head, and I have seen all of your memories. What would your mother normally have done if your father had suggested skipping a mundane dinner party?"

Jess sucked in a sharp breath. "That was weird. They played hooky from stuff like that all the time. All dad had to do was suggest doing something else and she would be all over it."

"And the way dad snapped at mom about me," her counterpart whispered. "That was so not like him. It was almost like they were different people for a moment."

"Or like someone was influencing them," Discord stated smugly. "Come now, neither of you are blind. I know you had to see the mysterious wavering in the air around them. That, my dears, was the Fates at work. You see, I've seen the alternate timeline of your life. If those mischievous little imps hadn't decided to interfere that night, your parents would have never gone to that dinner. And if they hadn't gone, they wouldn't have been on that rainy highway that night and they wouldn't have died. Then you're little family would have packed up and moved back to Tokyo and you would have met your soul mate and friends much sooner than you did. Instead you gave the Fates almost two years of amusement as they watched you wallow in pain and grief. I'm sure they enjoyed it immensely."

"Why don't you go (insert a word that rhymes with duck) yourself, you bastard!" Jess screamed at him. A bright flash of blue blasted out around her, breaking the connection she had with Andrew, Sailor Moon, and Tuxedo Mask as they stumbled back.

"Hey! Don't start coming apart on me now, girl!" her future self exclaimed as she disengaged herself from Drew, Serenity, and Endymion in a much gentler fashion and rushed to grab the younger woman by the shoulders when she appeared to be preparing to jump from the tower.

"Go to hell!" Jess spat in her face. "You know what your problem is? You've gotten too damn soft! Maybe that's an effect of marriage and motherhood, and maybe I'll be the same way someday, but for now I am still me. I am Jessica Alexander, the sailor scout of the shadows. And being Sailor Shadow has always been the one way that I could channel my anger by taking it out on my enemies. You told me that you sometimes still feel that anger burning inside. Aren't you feeling it now?"

Blue clashed with blue as their eyes met. And then her older self began to smile. "You know what, I do."

"Then help me put a hurting on this guy," Jess pleaded. "We may not be able to destroy him, but we can definitely screw him up before the kids send him to hell."

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before her future self nodded. Then she turned to the others. "You guys better head back to the palace and put up a nice, strong shield. This fight is about to get down and dirty."

"The hell it is!" Drew and Andrew both exclaimed at the same time, and ran forward as the two women jumped up onto the railing that surrounded the observation deck.

"Don't worry. We'll be okay," Future Jess assured her husband. "We'll be back before you know it. I love you." She shot him a wink.

Jess gave Andrew a somber look. "You know I have to do this."

"No you don't!" he insisted as he reached for her.

"I love you," she told him as she dropped over the side of the tower only milliseconds before he could grab her.

As she fell though the air, with her future self at her side, they both transformed back into their sailor scout forms. They hit the ground, ignoring the exclamations from the inner scouts and generals, and paused for only a moment as their crystals retreated back into their bodies. Then the two of them struck out, running as fast as the wind toward the shimmering barrier their power had created, which was already beginning to fade.

* * *

"Cupid's Arrow!" Ishtar screamed as she shot her attack at the closest sentinel, one that reminded her a lot of a woolly mammoth. The beast slowed, but didn't stop its charge toward her.

As she quickly scrambled to charge up another arrow into her bow, she heard another battle cry. "Static Shock!" Electricity crackled to life all around it, shocking the creature and making it almost stumble to its knees. But it still kept coming.

"What the hell!" Callisto shrieked as she appeared at her blonde friend's side.

A flash blew past them and flew up into the air to land on the sentinel's back. Kyrian's sword glowed with magic before he brought it down, severing the head from the body. He leapt away as it crumbled into a cloud of thick, oily smoke.

The young sorcerer coughed and waved a hand in front of his face. "Geez! What the hell is Discord feeding these bastards? Whatever it is, it reeks."

"At least you were here to save the day," Callisto teased him with a coy smile.

Ishtar looked around anxiously to check on the rest of her friends, and sighed with relief when she saw that Crescent Moon and Helios had teamed up with Flame and Caloris and were holding their own for the moment. Then she turned back to her rescuer. "Thanks for the save, Kyrian."

She almost screamed a split second later when a red orange light flared next to her and Alex appeared. She cringed under the glare from his smoldering eyes and stammered, "Uh…hi honey."

"Is that all you have to say?" he growled at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get back inside the city and stay safe like I asked you to."

She bristled under his chastisement. "You can't tell me what to do! I am supposed to be a leader. How can I lead if I stay hidden during a fight? The whole point of me going to the past and training was so that I could help get rid of the obstacles in your way so that you can do your job. So that's what I am trying to do!"

Alex opened his mouth to fire back another protest at her, but quickly scrambled out of the way as a giant guardian and a monstrous sentinel barreled between them, scattering him, Ishtar, Callisto, and Kyrian in different directions.

And then, he heard his secret fiancée scream.

* * *

"What the hell, Rini!" DJ raged as he and Katie flashed to his sister's side.

Crescent Moon tossed a pink pigtail over her shoulder as she glared at her younger brother. "Don't even start on me! I'm doing my job! What the hell have you been doing?"

"Trying to lure Discord away from the city so that no one will get hurt!" he shot back at her. "Do mom and dad know you're out here?"

"I'm almost eighteen! I don't need their approval!" she practically screeched at him.

He snorted. "This isn't a game, dummy!"

"Um…guys," Katie squeaked when she noticed the amount of enemies that were beginning to converge around them. But the siblings continued to argue like she hadn't said anything.

A jolt of fear that wasn't hers shot down her spine, and she spun around to look in the direction that she knew, thanks to not only the Trinity bond, but also to the twin connection she shared with her brother, that Alex was in trouble. She shrieked when she saw a sentinel and guardian barrel through him, Ishtar, Callisto, and Kyrian, and sent them tumbling in all directions. She also saw a second, wild cat sentinel leaping toward Ishtar with its fangs bared.

She took a half a step forward before a ruckus broke out behind her. She had barely glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of two guardians and a sentinel attacking DJ, Crescent Moon, Flame, and Caloris when every hair on her body seemed to stand on end. She turned on her heel and saw a guardian only a few yards away from her, charging up an energy blast in its palm that was aimed at her chest. There was no chance for her to even begin to summon a counterattack. So she just screwed her eyes shut and waited for the pain.

But it never came. A split second after her eyelids slid closed, she saw a flash of silver. After counting quickly to five, she opened her eyes to confront the most incredulous thing she had ever seen.

The guardian had paused barely two yards away from her, but now the hand it'd had pointed at her chest was now bound tightly to its side by ropes of silver energy. Approximately ten feet behind it stood a sailor scout in a familiar black-skirted fuku adorned with silver bows.

"Sailor Eclipse," she whispered as her knees suddenly went wobbly and she almost fell to the ground.

"You're not killing me, you punk!" Eclipse snarled as the ropes around her prey flared brighter, turning him into smoke. She dusted her gloved hands off on her skirt and smiled at her younger self. "I bet you're surprised to see me, aren't you?"

Katie let out a shaky laugh. "Just a little bit."

Eclipse strolled forward ad patted her on the shoulder. "I saw that that things were about to get ugly, and Pluto had given me a time key in case that happened. So we decided to pop in and help you guys."

"We?" Katie whispered as she looked around. Two blurs of black had also entered the fight, who she recognized as the slightly older versions of Phantom and Phoenix, and they had quickly dispatched with the threats to the others. At the sight of the unexpected reinforcements, the last few enemies ran away.

"Let them go," Phantom said as several members of the group made to go after them. "They will disappear as soon as Discord is taken care of."

"Here's hoping," DJ grumbled as he got to his feet and ran to Katie. "God, baby! Are you okay? I almost died when I saw that guardian sneaking up on you. But I knew there was no way I could get to you in time."

"I'm fine," she reassured him as he scooped her up into a tight hug, and then asked anxiously, "Is everyone else okay?"

"We're alright," Crescent Moon said as she and Helios stumbled over to them. Her maroon eyes darted back and forth between DJ and Phantom. "But I admit that I am very confused at the moment. I think I'm seeing double."

"Well you did hit your head slightly when you fell," Helios murmured.

She glared hotly at him. "And why did I fall? Oh, that's right! Because a certain dream priest decided to act macho and pushed me out of the way!"

He returned her glare with one of his own. "It was either that or watch you get clobbered! Just what kind of person do you take me for?"

"Katie!" Ishtar's shriek rang out over the voices of the bickering pair. "Would you tell your overbearing brother to put me down?"

Katie and Eclipse both turned and stifled giggles at the sight of Alex lumbering toward them while trying to contain the struggling blonde he was holding bridal style in his arms. Phoenix was about a half step behind them with a wide grin on his face.

Alex appeared far from amused. "Just hold still for a minute, Em! Damn it!"

"And I said I can walk on my own!" she yelled back at him. Then she shoved an elbow sharply into his stomach, causing his breath to whoosh out and his arms to lose their grip on her. She landed on her feet and took two wobbling steps before her knees began to buckle. Phoenix stepped quickly around his past self and caught her in his arms.

She crashed into his chest, and then looked up to blink at him several times. Then a drunken smile appeared on her lips as she slurred, "Hey there, handsome. Wanna go find a place where we can be alone? I bet we could have some fun."

Phoenix shook his head and chuckled. "Sorry, beautiful, but I don't think that would go over too well with my fiancée. She can be a bit of the jealous type sometimes, even of herself."

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Callisto demanded as she dusted off her skirt. "She's acting even ditzier than usual. Then she turned around to glare at Kyrian behind her. "Did you just pat my ass?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "There was some dirt on you."

Alex straightened up, rubbing his stomach. "See that blood on her shoulder? She was bitten. That damn sentinel tried to rip her head off! Luckily help arrived in time."

"She'll be okay once she's healed," Caloris stated as she typed busily on her computer. "I know it looks like a lot of blood, but she really hasn't lost that much. None of her major arteries have been severed. It's just the poison right now that's making her act all loopy."

"Sounds like a job for me," DJ replied, but paused when a black-gloved hand landed on his shoulder. He looked up into a pair of dark blue eyes behind a black mask.

"Let me do it," Phantom told him. "You're supposed to be conserving energy, remember."

Katie nodded. "He's right. And we haven't exactly been doing a great job at doing that the last couple of minutes."

"This is so cool!" Flame exclaimed as he looked around at the visitors. "So these are your future selves that you guys were telling us about, huh?"

Katie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just when I thought this day couldn't get any stranger, it does. We fall into a giant hole. Weird kids from some other time pop in to heal us. And now you guys show up again just in time to save our bacon. Can I have a rain check on this fight and come back to it after I've slept for about a month?"

DJ slung an arm around her shoulders. "I know what you mean. But I'm afraid we still have big business to take care of. And we need to move. Alex, come on!"

Alex looked up from where he was knelt next to Ishtar as Phantom was healing her. "B…but…"

Phoenix laid a hand on his shoulder. "Go on and beat that bastard. I'll make sure Emma is taken care of."

He closed his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. "Once she's healed, try to get everyone back inside the barrier so they'll be safe."

Caloris looked up from her computer with a worried frown. "Uh guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the barrier is coming down."

A quick look toward the nearby city confirmed her words. The blue haze of energy from the Celestial Crystals that had been protecting Crystal Tokyo was beginning to slowly fade away.

"Shit! It looks like mom ran out of juice," Katie groaned.

"We can't wait anymore," DJ growled. "It's time to end this, now!"

Alex quickly kissed Ishtar's hand that he had been holding and laid it gently down. "I'll be back, baby," he promised her softly, and then he was at his comrades' sides. "Let's get this over with, once and for all."

And in a blink they teleported away.

* * *

Eternal Shadow and Shadow both pushed off from the ground at the same time, leaping high into the air to land on the wall that surrounded Crystal Tokyo.

"You got a game plan?" Shadow muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

Eternal Shadow grinned. "Hey, I thought this was your rodeo. I'm just along for the ride."

A slightly maniacal smile appeared on Shadow's face. "Then I say we go to town on him. We whale on him and whale on him, and then we do it some more. He can be hurt. I've seen it. So between the two of us we should be able to cause some damage."

"It's also a good idea to get him to come down out of the sky," Eternal Shadow murmured. "I was worried that the kids wouldn't have a shot at him if he stays up so high. They have to get those swords in him if they want to have any chance of defeating him."

A flash of light caught her eye, and she turned to see a shield of sailor scout power beginning to wrap around the palace. "Good! It looks like Serena and the others got word to the outers to put their barrier back up. And once the rest of them get back to the palace they will be able to add their powers to it. That should keep everyone safe until this is over."

"Then let's get this party started," Shadow snarled. Then she yelled, "Hey, Discord! You wanted us so much, well here we are! Come on down here and face us!"

The dark cloud in the sky swooped down until it was hovering just a few feet above the ground, but it was massive enough that it billowed up taller than the wall. Two red eyes pierced out from the darkness to bore into them.

Discord chuckled ominously. "You two are either braver than I thought, or incredibly stupid. We are all aware that neither of you will use your full power to stand up to me. So why don't you be good little princesses and hand over your crystals quietly. I promise the end will be quick if you do."

"Not happening, pal!" Shadow snapped. She ran a few steps down the wall to one of the watchtowers and vaulted up the side of it to catch the edge of the platform with her fingers. Then she swung her legs up behind her and over her head and let go, somersaulting through the air to land on the roof in a gold medal-winning move. Her boots had barely touched down when she held her glowing hands in front of her and shot a wide beam of blue energy at him.

The blast took Discord by surprise as it tore through his form and came out the other side. Black, oily drips of his essence began to run down and form pools on the ground.

Shadow looked around for her future self, and found the woman still standing on the wall with her elbows on the ledge and her chin propped in her palms as she watched the fight. "What the hell! Why are you just standing there?"

Eternal Shadow shrugged. "You seem to be the one that has all the pent up aggression. I figured I'd let you have your fun."

"You really suck! Did you know that?" Shadow told her, even as she shot another attack at Discord. This one did almost as much damage as the first one had.

"If that's the way you want to look at it," Eternal Shadow answered blandly. "I'm just here to make sure you don't do something stupid, like get yourself killed. If you need my help, I'll join in."

* * *

"What do you mean we can't interfere with the fight?" Andrew demanded as he ran side by side with his future self.

Drew grimaced. "Look, it's hard to explain right now, but you have to let Jess do this. It's important to her future."

Andrew let out a disbelieving snort. "So I'm just supposed to let her get herself killed? Yeah right!"

"I have to agree," Sailor Moon said as she pulled up beside them. "It's too dangerous to let the two of them face off against Discord alone. One wrong move could change everything."

"You're just going to have to trust us," Serenity told her as she kept pace next to her past self. "Granted, things are not going exactly how they did when we were in your place, but this confrontation needs to happen."

"I get the feeling there is a lot that you guys aren't telling us," Tuxedo Mask grumbled from behind them.

Beside him, Endymion chuckled. "Just wait. It will all make sense soon."

"You guys slow down a bit! We can't all run as fast as you can!" Venus complained from several yards behind them.

The six leaders ignored the ones following them, continuing forward until they reached the city wall. They leapt up toward where they could see bright flashes of blue light.

"About time you got here," Eternal Shadow said with a grin as she straightened up from her slump over the wall. "I thought you were going to miss the show."

"How is she doing?" Serenity asked as she focused on the form of Sailor Shadow, who was currently doing a series of back handsprings along the wall in an attempt to dodge the blasts of dark energy being shot at her from Discord.

"About as well to be expected," Eternal Shadow muttered. "I'm just waiting for her to find that spark."

"What spark?" Andrew practically yelled. "Why are we all just standing here doing nothing? I've got to help her!"

Eternal Shadow blocked his way as he started forward. Her dark blue eyes snapped angrily at him. "If you try to interfere I will knock you out personally."

Andrew stumbled back a few steps from the infuriated woman. "What the hell!"

"I tried to warn you," Drew murmured sympathetically.

"Well I want to know what's going on," Sailor Moon shrieked. "Why are we letting Jess face Discord alone?"

Eternal Shadow rolled her eyes. "If everyone would stop shouting for a minute, I'll explain." Just then three flashes of light announced the arrival of DJ, Katie, and Alex, making her groan. "Oh great! You guys are early!"

"What do you…" the trio began to ask before they were forced down by Serenity and Endymion.

"Just stay down and out of sight for now," the queen ordered them.

"As I was about to say," Eternal Shadow continued, "what will hopefully happen soon will be a major part in me becoming who I am today. Just like it was imperative for Serena to tap into her greater power, it is important that my past self experience this confrontation. If she doesn't, then I may not become the person that I am now. It's not happening exactly the way I remember, but this has to take place."

"But mom," Katie hissed from her huddled spot by the wall," it's our job to take care of Discord."

Eternal Shadow smiled fondly at her daughter. "And you'll get your chance, darling. But first I need to make sure I become the mother that you know. Just bear with me a few more minutes."

At that moment, Discord roared at his tormentor, "You little brat! Just who do you think you are to oppose me the way you are?"

Sailor Shadow paused, poised on the edge of the wall in a crouch, as she surveyed the damage that she had inflicted on the evil entity. Her eyes began to glow bright blue as her crescent moon and rose symbol began to shine on her forehead.

"You want to know who I am?" she drawled in a silky smooth voice. "I'll tell you exactly who I am. I am Jessica Alexander, daughter of Josh and Kim. I am also Sailor Shadow. In the past I was Princess Melody Rose DeLune Terra, daughter of Serenity and Endymion. I was the heiress to both the Silver Millennium and the Golden Kingdom. I am also the mistress of one of the most powerful crystals ever born, so you should have thought twice before picking a fight with me, you asshole!"

"Finally!" Sailor Shadow sighed as she saw the blue glow that began to encompass her past self. "I have been trying to condition and steer her toward this all day." A slender blade of blue energy that resembled a samurai sword appeared in her hand.

The blue glow around Shadow increased, and she shrieked as it swallowed her up entirely. After a few seconds the blaze died down to reveal her again, in the identical eternal sailor scout uniform that her future self wore. A blue energy sword manifested in her hand as well.

"It's about time!" Eternal Shadow crowed as she dashed toward her past self, sword glowing in her hand.

"Did we miss anything?" Sailor Uranus asked as she and the other outers landed on the wall. "The future inner scouts and generals made it back to the palace and told us that we might want to see this since they have already experienced it."

Sailor Pluto stepped back to watch the show since she already knew what would happen. She had known from the moment that the inner scouts and generals of Crystal Tokyo had rushed in the doors and told the outer scouts of the past that they were there to relieve them so they could join their friends and the king and queen that things were beginning to line out. She smiled to herself.

* * *

_**Mount Olympus**_

Zeus threw up a shield of energy to protect Hades from the attack coming from the three enraged gods convening on him.

"I always knew it was a mistake for you to take in those three little brats!" Gaia snarled. "They have spent years playing with the life of someone who plays a huge part in this battle."

Selene growled, " You never should have offered those treacherous triplets sanctuary! Because of them all of our work may have been for nothing!"

Even the normally infallible Hades appeared shaken. "I had no idea that the Fates had gone to such drastic measures. I assure you that they will be dealt with."

"They better be," Apollo growled. "Do you know how messed up things could have become just because they decided to make Melody their own personal project?"

Serenity spun around with a snarl. "You better hope that everything turns out okay. If not I will make sure that I torment you for eternity."

Althea smirked. "Not to mention that I am sure that Gaia and Selene will be willing to help us make sure that Persephone is convinced that you are spending time with another woman."

The god's already pale skin turned a sickly shade of white as he gulped. "You wouldn't!"

Selene gave him a deceptively innocent smile. "Just try us, Sunny."

"Hey everyone! It looks like the time for the final showdown has finally arrived," Edward announced excitedly from where he was watching the events in Chronos's time mirror.

Jonathan rubbed his hands together with glee. "Yeah! I don't think you want to miss this."

* * *

_**Crystal Tokyo**_

"It's about damn time," Eternal Shadow growled as she landed next to her former self. "I thought I was going to have time to stretch out and take a nap since you were taking so long. But I guess it was worth the wait. You look almost as good in that outfit as I do."

Shadow twisted around, trying to get a good look at herself. "What the hell?"

Eternal Shadow chuckled. "I told you earlier that you had to wait just a little while longer to achieve your eternal status. Now you can see that I wasn't lying to you."

"I didn't know you meant only a few hours!" Shadow shrieked. "How did…"

"How about we save the questions for later after all of this is over?" Eternal Shadow interrupted her. "I promise, I'll treat you to the largest margarita outside of Mexico and answer any questions I can. But the kids are itching to put this asshole out of all of our misery. So what do you say we give him one last parting gift?"

"Sounds good to me," Shadow agreed with a grin. Then she held up her new weapon. "A samurai sword, huh? How appropriate."

Eternal Shadow shrugged. "We were trained with one from an early age. Besides, it's nice to have another way to fight instead of just shooting energy blasts from my hands all the time. I trust I don't need to tell you how to use it."

The blade in Shadow's hands began to burn brightly with energy. "Nope. I got this. Shall we?"

A crescent moon and rose symbol that mirrored her own sprang to life on her future self's brow as her eyes flared bright blue. "Let's do it!"

"You little bitches!" Discord thundered as he rose up before them. "I'm going to make you wish you had never been born!"

Eternal Shadow barked a laugh. "In your dreams!"

Then Shadow snarled, "Go to hell!"

The two of them swung their swords in an arc as he shot a blast of negative energy at them. Two long lines of blue energy erupted from the blades and crossed each other, forming an X as it flew toward the entity. It sliced neatly through his attack, dispersing it in a cloud of silver and gold glitter. Then it slammed into Discord, cutting through his vaporous body with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel.

A high-pitched keening wail burst from Discord as his misty body sank toward the ground.

Eternal Shadow spun around to where the others were watching and screamed, "Now you guys!"

In less than a second, DJ, Katie, and Alex had sprung up from their positions behind the ledge and had vaulted neatly over the wall. As they fell toward the ground they each unsheathed the gods' swords. When they touched down, they began sprinting over the meters that separated them from their enemy. The symbols on the black leather bracelets on their wrists were flashing wildly as they called on the gods' powers.

'_We've just got to get close enough to stick the swords in him,' _Katie thought determinedly.

DJ's voice echoed in her head, _'Right! It doesn't matter what part of his body it is as long as the swords are inside of him.'_

Alex chuckled at them. _'Personally, I'm hoping to luck out and stick him right in his ass.'_

And them he was right before them. DJ and Alex let out a whoop as they each ran up to the vaporous blob and plunged their swords into it. Black essence squirted out, making them both cringe and mutter, "Eww!"

But Katie's steps faltered at the last second as those hideous red eyes turned to her and seemed to burn straight to her soul. Then she froze.

"Come on, Kat! What are you doing?" DJ yelled at her.

That was followed by Alex screaming, "Get your butt in gear! This is no time for you to spaz out!"

She heard them, but was unable to make her body move. She was held transfixed by those eyes, the eyes that had haunted her dreams for so many months. She felt the pressure that was building in her head and knew that Discord was about to try one of his mind attacks on her. She scrambled to try and put up her mental shield, but before she could her vision went completely dark.

'_Oh no! Not again!' _she whimpered as she fought the instinctual panic that began to rise up in her at being confronted by her old fear once again. _'DJ? Alex?' _she cried out pleadingly. They could talk her down from this. She knew they could. But she heard nothing but silence in return. Her ears picked up no sound and her brain was eerily quiet as the sensation of being wrapped from head to toe in heavy wool washed over her.

She choked for breath, feeling like she was being suffocated. And then she heard that horrible voice in her head. _'So predictable! I always knew that you would be the weak spot in the gods' trio. That was why I chose you to be my puppet. I admit that both you and your future self have been more trouble than I anticipated, but I knew that you would come through for me in the end.'_

'_Shut up!' _she thought back at him angrily. _'I have never been your puppet. You may have tried to beat me down, but I came back from your torture stronger than ever. I won't allow you to use me!'_

His laughter thundered through her brain like an earthquake. _'I have already used you, you silly girl. Because of your weakness, the Earth will fall to me. The god's were delusional to think that you could ever be one of their champions. You are definitely nothing like your parents. They both stood up against me, filled with all of their noble, righteous anger. You, my dear, are nothing more than a scared little girl that wants to run and hide whenever things turn ugly and let other people take care of you.'_

Her anger began to simmer down as she wondered, _'Am I really that weak and cowardly? Is that type of person really what people see when they look at me?'_

'_Of course it is,' _Discord whispered into her mind. _'Why do you think your friends and family have fought so hard today? Because they knew that in the end you would fail.'_

Her brain whirled as bits and pieces of conversations she'd had over the last few months flew through her head.

_*****Flashbacks*****_

"Hey Jess," she asked as she looked up from her French book and gazed across the coffee table at the younger version of her mother. "Do you think I make a good sailor scout?"

Jess's head jerked up from the notes she was studying with a surprised expression on her face. "What a silly question! You are a wonderful sailor scout, honey. Much better than I was at your age. I don't think I could have handled the situations that you have when I was sixteen. I was too focused on anger and rebellion at the time. But if you don't believe anything else, just know this, I am so proud of you and I am honored to know that you'll be my daughter someday."

* * *

She shivered in the cool night air as she sat on the apartment balcony. She knew she should get up and go inside to bed, but she had a lot on her mind. Suddenly, a warm weight rested on her shoulders and she looked up to find Andrew smiling at her as he adjusted a jacket around her.

"Thinking hard, or hardly thinking?" he asked quietly.

"Maybe a bit of both," she whispered. "Sometimes things seem so overwhelming, and it makes me wonder if I'm cut out for all of this."

He sat down next to her and pulled her close against his side. He rested his chin on top of her head and murmured, "All we can do in life is try our best. As long as you work hard and put your best foot forward, that's all that matters. But I can't picture you failing at the task that has been set before you. You have my determination. And heaven knows you have your mother's stubbornness. You'll do just fine."

* * *

"Can't sleep?" Alex's voice whispered across the room they shared as she rolled over yet again.

She shook her head. "Nope. Too much on my mind."

"Thinking about us?" he asked. "You know, this whole Trinity thing?"

"I don't know if I can do it," she sighed. "You and DJ are just so much better at this stuff than I am. I'm afraid I'll end up holding you back."

A pillow sailed across the room to land on her. "You're completely crazy! Did you know that? We are a team. We need each other to even things out. DJ is the brains while I'm the suave, cool, good-looking one. But you, you help keep everything balanced between us. We couldn't do this without you."

* * *

She lay in DJ's bed with her head resting on his chest, listening to the thump of his heart as it gradually slowed. The covers were twisted all around them, and goose bumps began to pop up on her skin as her body cooled, but she made no move to cover up. She was enjoying being in her prince's arms and feeling his fingers comb through her long hair too much to disturb the moment.

Then she felt his breath ruffle her bangs as he whispered, "I never thought I'd ever be able to love anyone as much as I love you."

She twisted her head around enough so she could look up at his face. She huffed a tiny giggle. "You sound so serious all of a sudden."

He glanced down at her with those soft blue eyes she adored so much. "I am serious. I've been doing a lot of thinking about the way our lives have been going the past several months. And as much as I would love to keep you out of the upcoming fight, I can't help but be happy that you'll be at my side. You are what gives me my strength, Kat. I can't imagine myself without you."

_*****End Flashbacks*****_

'_Of course the people who love you would tell you those things,' _Discord hissed. _'They have protected you all of your life. They wouldn't want to hurt your little feelings by telling you that they didn't believe you were up to the job.'_

Katie felt her anger from earlier return full force, but there were other emotions mixed in as well. She indeed had her father's determination and her mother's stubbornness. Her brother had faith in her and her prince loved her. All of her family and friends believed in her. She knew that deep down in her soul. It was time she cast aside all doubts and truly began believing in herself.

Pride in who she was and self-confidence rolled through her, and she felt the mental hold that Discord had over her shatter. Sound returned to her in a deafening roar, and she heard DJ and Alex yelling for her. But she kept her eyes shut for a few moments more, for once reveling in the darkness instead of fearing it.

Then she opened her eyes, a bit surprised to find that tendrils of Discord's misty form had wrapped around her and lifted her several feet off the ground. But all she was focused on was they glowing red eyes only a couple of feet from her face.

"You have no power over me!" she spat. "I will never again allow myself to be dragged into a world of fear by a disgusting creature like you!"

She glanced down quickly; relieved to see that DJ and Alex each still had their swords embedded in the demon. Her own sword arm was bound tightly to her side with Selene's sword barely dangling from her fingertips. But in one fluid move she jerked up, causing the silver blade to cut through enough of the tendrils to free her arm.

"I hope you enjoy eternity in hell!" she screamed as she embedded the sword right between his eyes. Then she took every bit of the moon goddess's energy that was flowing through her and shoved it through the sword and into Discord.

'_Do it, guys!' _she called out to DJ and Alex frantically.

* * *

"He's got her! We have to get her free from him!" Alex shouted as he watched tendrils shoot out from Discord and begin wrapping his sister up like a mummy.

"Don't you dare take that sword out of him!" DJ demanded. "We may not get another shot at this."

Alex glared at him in disbelief. "But what good is it when we only have two swords? We have to have Kat in order for this to work. He's got her completely tied up from head to toe and under some kind of mind whammy. For God's sake, I can't even sense her anymore!"

"Just wait," DJ growled at him.

"Don't you even care?" Alex yelled. "I thought you said you loved her!"

DJ shot him a look that stopped his words cold. "I love her more than anyone or anything in this world. You also told me that that she was one of the strongest women that you knew and that you believed in her. Were you lying about that?"

Alex looked down and muttered, "No. Nothing would ever make me stop believing in her."

"Then we have to hold our positions and keep hoping that she can work this out," DJ stated. "She's gotten so strong the past few months. I know that any second she's going to throw off his control and attack. We have to be ready when she does."

"Right," Alex agreed. "She can do this. And boy is she going to be angry when she does."

They watched anxiously as the black wrapped form of Katie was lifted off the ground by the tendrils and brought to hover just in front of Discord's eyes. The entity was quiet, but they had no doubt that plenty was being said inside Katie's head.

Alex shifted restlessly from foot to foot. "Whatever she's going to do, I wish she'd get on with it already."

A few seconds later, the tendrils unwrapped from around her head, and they both felt her presence slam back into them like a hurricane, swirling with too many emotions to even begin to explain.

"Kat!" they both yelled at her.

They saw her eyes open, and then she said something to Discord that neither of them could hear with their ears, but they heard it through their bond.

_'You have no power over me! I will never again allow myself to be dragged into a world of fear by a disgusting creature like you!'_

Then she glanced down at them with a look of relief in her silver eyes. With a quick jerk of her arm she had cut herself partially free and had buried her sword neatly between Discord's glowing eyes. She began to shine bright silver as she called upon Selene's power.

'_Do it, guys!' _they heard her scream in their heads. And both of them immediately began funneling Gaia and Apollo's energy from them, through the swords, and into Discord.

The ground rumbled as Discord roared. He began breaking apart as cracks appeared over his form and bright silver, gold, and red-orange light began to spill from him. Unconsciousness began to pull at the three teens, but they all held on to the end, throwing every bit of energy they could muster into their attack.

At last, Discord seemed to fold in on himself, and then exploded outward in a brilliant light show of color. When it finally faded, there was nothing left of the evil entity except a large lake of black sludge…with three bedraggled, unconscious teenage bodies lying in it.

* * *

"Well, it looks like they did it," Sailor Eclipse whispered as she stood in a small stand of trees not far from the battle site with her two black clad companions.

Phoenix chuckled. "You had me worried there for a second, sis. I thought your past self was about to blow the whole thing."

Eclipse stuck her tongue out at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"I knew you could do it," Phantom said lowly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I've always believed in you."

She arched a brow at him. "There are fifteen years in there that I'm not so sure about."

He grinned sheepishly. "Well, you know what I mean. I believed in you all the time that you weren't trying to rip my head off."

"That doesn't speak very well for us," she moaned. "We spent the first sixteen or so years of our lives fighting. Then we got a few months of happiness before spending the next fifteen years trying to kill each other. By next week we could be at it again."

"I'll take my chances." Then he kissed her softly before whispering against her lips, "Besides, that past doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't exist."

"Ugh!" Phoenix groaned. "Can you two please try not to act so lovey-dovey around me? I swear I need eye bleach to erase the horrifying images you guys have given me." Then he jerked his head toward their past selves. "Should we go check on them or anything?"

Eclipse giggled. "I think they have more than enough help heading their way."

Sure enough, their small band of friends were dashing toward the fallen bodies at the same time that several adults were leaping from the wall around the city. Their past selves were in good hands.

"We're still here, so that's a good sign," Phantom murmured. "So what do we do now?"

Eclipse pulled the time key from her skirt pocket. "I guess we head back to our time and to Elysian. Rini and Emma are probably going crazy by now."

"Actually," a humorous voice replied as Sailor Pluto arrived in her usual puff of pink smoke, "I have a little bit different destination in mind for you. How would you guys like to head home and get back to your lives the way it should be?"

Eclipse hugged her now completely flat stomach, missing the feel of the life growing inside of her. "You mean I can go home to my baby?"

Pluto smiled. "You'll just have to wait and see. I don't think you'll be disappointed. So what do you say? Are you ready to rejoin the land of the living?"

The three of them looked at each other, and then nodded. "We're ready," they answered together.

Pluto waved her staff to open a portal. And then the four of them stepped through it and disappeared. After fifteen years of grief, doubt, and uncertainty, they were finally ready to face the future that awaited them.

* * *

**A/N **So that is finally the end of Discord. Yay! The Galactic Trinity was successful…in a roundabout way. So there will be a follow up after this to go over the events that happen after this. We still have the Jess/Drew wedding and the Sere/Dare wedding at least after this. And what about the fate of DJ, Katie, and Alex? The battle may be over, but the story is not quite done yet. I'm sorry again for the wait. I hope some of you out there are still reading. If you are, please take a moment to tell me what you thought. Reviews are food for a writer's soul. More updates coming soon! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~


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